Fourteen Victoria Cross heroes forming guard of honor to Dr Mannix, St Patrick’s Day celebration, 1920, photographic print, Melbourne, 1920, Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria

Archbishop Daniel Mannix used the 1920 St Patrick’s Day celebrations to champion Irish independence. Around 100,000 people lined Bourke Street to watch the procession of 20,000 Catholics, including returned soldiers thanking Mannix for his anti-conscription campaign (1916–17). The parade was led by Mannix, 14 Irish-Australian Victoria Cross winners and 11-year-old Mollie Harrington, pictured here.