The Reverend Father Robert John Thomas Maguire AM, RFD is an Australian Roman Catholic priest, community worker and media personality from South Melbourne. From 19732012, a period ofyears, Maguire was parish priest of Saints Peter and Paul church in South Melbourne. Commonly known as Father Bob, Maguire was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for service to homeless youth through the Open Family Foundation.
Maguire was born in 1934, the son of a violent alcoholic. His father James Maguire migrated from Glasgow in 1922. His mother Annie was usually the subject of her husbands beatings, which frequently left her cut, bloodied and bruised. Bob was the youngest of four children. His only memory of his father taking any notice of him was when hed been away and when he came home, he beat me with his belt. The eldest sibling was Eileen, then Kathleen, then James who was eight years older than Bob, the last child. The family had to shift house a number of times when all the rent money was spent on drink. James was often found unconscious in the street and his son Jim had to drag or carry him back home. Sometimes their father drank Bay Rum, an oil used in the preparation of mens cologne and toiletries. The family was very poor, and Bob had to borrow his brothers old services overcoat to hide the holes in the clothes he wore to school, and he rarely had socks. Bob looked up to his longsuffering m
Source: Wikipedia