Andrew Christopher Fogarty (28 January 1884 – 29 November 1915) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon and University in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Chris Fogarty
Personal information
Full name Andrew Christopher Fogarty
Date of birth (1884-01-28)28 January 1884
Place of birth North Melbourne, Victoria
Date of death 29 November 1915(1915-11-29) (aged 31)
Place of death Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey
Original team(s) St Pats, Ballarat
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 84 kg (185 lb)
Position(s) Follower
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1906 Essendon 02 0(0)
1908–1910 University 26 (12)
Total 28 (12)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 1910.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

He was killed in a shell explosion in Gallipoli.

Family

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One of the ten children, six boys and four girls, of the wealthy wine merchant and former Mayor of Hotham (now known as North Melbourne) Thomas Fogarty (1836–1900) and Cecilia Mary Fogarty (1854–1933), née Cullen, Chris Fogarty was born on 28 January 1884 in Hotham, Victoria. He married Mary Agnes O'Connor (sometime given as Agnes Mary O'Connor), in Hawthorn, on 7 May 1915, the day before he left Australia.[1][2] Their daughter, Anne Christine Fogarty, was born in London on 5 March 1916.[3][4]

Education

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He was educated at St Patrick's College, Ballarat, Ormond College, and at the University of Melbourne where he first studied engineering and then transferred to a veterinary science degree.

Football

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University VFL Team: 23 May 1908:
Chris Fogarty, 2nd player from left, back row.

Four of the six Fogarty brothers played VFL football: Thomas Bernard "Tom" Fogarty (1878–1922), played for St Kilda, South Melbourne, and University for a total of 95 games;[5] John Joseph Fogarty (1882–1952), played a single game for South Melbourne;[6] Chris Fogarty, played for Essendon and University for a total of 28 games;[7] and Joseph Patrick "Joe" Fogarty (1887–1954), played with South Melbourne, Essendon, and University for a total of 16 games.[8] His nephew, Thomas Bernard Fogarty (1909–1984), son of his brother Tom, played 13 senior VFL games for St Kilda.[9]

Along with his brother Joe, he played football, representing Ormond College, in a combined Melbourne University team, against a combined University of Adelaide team, on 8 August 1906.[10]

Fogarty played his first senior match for Essendon, against Geelong, at the Corio Oval, on Saturday, 8 September 1906 (which Geelong won by 24 points), and his second march was in the Semi-Final on the following Saturday, against Fitzroy, where he played full-back in an Essendon team that lost by 36 points (his brother Joe also played for Essendon team in each of the matches).

He played football both for Ormond College and Melbourne University during 1907 in the Metropolitan Association, and was awarded a "blue" for football. In late 1907 the VFL agreed to admit University to its 1908 competition;[11] and, now 24, with his brothers Tom (aged 30) (who captained the team) and Joe (aged 22), Chris Fogarty played in the first competition match that the University VFL team ever played, against Essendon, at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, on 2 May 1908.[12] He played well in the ruck, although his team lost by 66 points, 14.11 (95) to 3.11 (29).[13]

He played another 25 games for University, playing his last VFL game for University, on the half-back flank, against Collingwood, at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, on 27 August 1910 (round seventeen).[14] University lost the tight match by 16 points, 9.5 (59) to 10.15 (75).[15]

Military service

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His younger brother, Major Joseph Patrick Fogarty (1885–1954), OBE, MC, of the 21st Battalion (Australian Army Medical Corps), served in AIF, in the Middle East and France during World War I. His older brother, Sergeant Thomas Bernard Fogarty (60679), a lawyer, also enlisted (on 17 July 1918).[16]

Chris Fogarty, single, listing his occupation as grazier, enlisted in the First AIF on 26 February 1915. Having received officer training, he was promoted to Lieutenant on 22 April 1915, appointed to the 24th Battalion, AIF, and left Australia on 8 May 1915. He was killed, amongst 31 dead and 100 wounded, by a massive explosion caused by a Turkish shell barrage, on 29 November 1915, at Gallipoli. His brother, Joe, a Medical Officer with the Australian Army Medical Corps, was close at hand and heard the explosion:

    Fogarty's brother, Captain (later Major) Joseph Fogarty (a doctor with the Australian Army Medical Corps) also was at Gallipoli at the time and when he heard the carnage caused by this barrage, rushed to the scene and frantically searched for his brother's body.
    He found only a left foot and was able to identify it as his brother's because of a large bunion. That foot, all that remained of Chris Fogarty, is buried under the headstone featuring a cross and name. (Main and Allen, 2002, p. 65)

A brother in law, John Maurice Orr Colahan (1894–1917), son of Surgeon-Major-General John Colahan, M.D., was killed in action on 14 October 1917.[17][18]

Remembered

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He is buried at the Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipoli, Turkey; and his name is located at panel 101 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.

His parents installed a stained glass window in his memory at the Roman Catholic church, St Mary Star of the Sea, at West Melbourne.[19][20]

See also

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ Fogarty—O'Connor, The Argus, (Saturday 15 May 1915), p.11.
  2. ^ Catholic Soldier Killed: Lieut. A.C. (Chris.) Fogarty, The Tribune, (Thursday, 16 December 1915), p.4.
  3. ^ As a Woman Views It: A Welcome Infant, The Graphic of Australia, (Friday, 24 March 1916), p13.
  4. ^ Births: Fogarty, The Age, (Saturday, 11 March 1916), p.5.
  5. ^ AFL Statistics: Tom Fogarty.
  6. ^ AFL Statistics: John Fogarty.
  7. ^ AFL Statistics: Chris Fogarty.
  8. ^ AFL Statistics: Joe Fogarty.
  9. ^ AFL Statistics: Tom Fogarty.
  10. ^ Inter-University Sports: Arrival of the Victorians, The (Adelaide) Advertiser, (Wednesday, 8 August 1906), p.11.
  11. ^ The Football Season: Opening Day's Games, The Argus, (Saturday, 2 May 1908), p.17.
  12. ^ The three brothers had been granted clearances from Essendon on 29 April (Football: Permit Applications, The Argus, (Thursday, 30 April 1908), p.6.)
  13. ^ Essendon's Even Side: Commencement Day, The Argus, (Monday, 4 May 1908), p.9.
  14. ^ Football: Fourth Place Struggle: Collingwood v. University, The Argus, (Saturday, 27 August 1910), p.17.
  15. ^ Observer, For the Finals: University Fail, The Argus, (Monday, 29 August 1910), p.6.
  16. ^ World War I Service Record: Thomas Bernard Fogarty (613082)
  17. ^ Roll of Honour: Gunner John Maurice Orr Colahan, Killed in Action, The Advocate, (Saturday, 17 November 1917), p.17.
  18. ^ Latest News: Distinguished Visitors, The (Adelaide) Evening Journal, (Monday, 15 June 1896), p.2.
  19. ^ Personal, The Argus, (Monday, 14 May 1917), p.6
  20. ^ Victorian Heritage Database Report: Stained Glass Window at West Melbourne St. Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic Church.

Sources

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