J. J. Kenneally (born James Jerome Kenneally; 1870 – 20 February 1949) was an Australian journalist and trade unionist. An early populariser of Australian bushranger Ned Kelly and his gang via his book The Inner History of the Kelly Gang and Their Pursuers (1929), he was also one of the original members of the country's Labor Party and later formed his own party. Raised in the northeastern part of Australia's Victoria known as "Kelly country", he taught school, started Tasmania's Timber Worker's Union and was active in the union movement. He ran for the House of Representatives seat for Mernda, Victoria in the 1906 and 1910 elections. He self-published Inner History in 1929, and the work was plagiarised by the press of the day. Twenty years later, it inspired Sidney Nolan's important Ned Kelly series of paintings and, by 1980, over 30 years after Kenneally's death, it had gone through nine editions. The book continues to be referenced as a significant work into the 21st century. Early life and career Born in Gaffneys Creek, Victoria, he was the youngest of the Kenneallys of Goomalibee, Benalla, Victoria who were originally from Ireland; his older brother Matthew (1857–1937) was born there. James studied at McCristal's College in Benalla and became a schoolteacher, later an auctioneer then an agent. Political career He was active in the union movement, and started Tasmania's Timber Worker's Union. He was one of the original members of the country's Labour Party (ALP). He ran for the House of Representatives seat for Mernda, Victoria in the 1906 and 1910 elections. He won 41% of the vote in the latter election, but lost to Robert Harper of the Commonwealth Liberal Party, who was less than 4 points ahead. He then served as a federal organiser for woodworkers via his position as general secretary of the Sawmill and Woodworkers Association of Tasmania then formed his own party. The Inner History of the Kelly Gang Content For his 1929 book, Kenneally put together police statements made under oath at the time of the Kelly break-out and the events leading up to it, with the findings of the 1881 Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Victorian Police. Many of the policemen involved in the saga were subsequently demoted and pensioned off or, in the case of Constable Fitzpatrick, the constable whose initial charges against members of the Kelly family ignited the war between