Aodhan I of Calaré

His Majesty King Aodhan (Aodhan Michael Sidney Joseph; 17 June 1958) is the first King of Calaré, reigning from the establishment of the monarchy on 21 November 2001. So far, King Aodhan is Calaré's only and longest serving Monarch, having reigned 9 years, 11 months and 16 days.

The King was the leader of the movement that led to the independence of Calaré, and after accomplishing his goal, took a back seat in the politics of the nation, preferring to become a constitutional monarch rather than a president or Prime Minister.

Early Life
Aodhan Michael O'Cuinn was born in Orange on the 17th June 1958. He is the son of Sidney O'Cuinn (1921 - 2000) and his wife Nancy McKenna (1927 -). Together they operated a small farm near the village of Borenore, 20 kilometres west of Orange. Aodhan was the second child born to the couple, and has 5 brothers and sisters. Aodhan was schooled at De La Salle School and then Santa Maria High School from 1966 until 1976. He did not attend university. When his father died in 2000, Michael took control of the family farm, which was primarily a sheep and cattle grazing property.

Aodhan is a deeply religious man, who attends church every week. He was a member of Presbyterian Church until 1984 when he converted to the Roman Catholic Church. The King often calls upon his countrymen to develop a sense of religion and faith to sustain them when they are in need of support. He has made no attempt to evangelise, but has seen the need for many people to have a strong faith system. As a Roman Catholic Monarch Aodhan has made a break with tradition by asserting the separation of Church and State and as such has at times come into conflict with the Holy See over issues such as abortion and same sex marriage.

Marriage
Aodhan married his childhood sweetheart, Caoilainn Fahy on the 19th August 1977 in St Michael and St John's Cathedral, Bathurst. The couple honeymooned in New Zealand for two weeks.

Political agitation
The future king has always had a keen interest in politics, and was active in the local branch of the National Party. Throughout his early life, Aodhan was identified as an agrarian socialist. In 1993 he agitated for the party to show leadership and independence from the much larger Liberal Party, with whom the Nationals had been in coalition for the better part of seventy years. The Nationals were, however, unwilling to strike out on a dangerous course and risk losing the share in government they would inevitably hold with the Liberals from 1996 onwards.

When the first gulf war broke out, Aodhan resigned from the National Party, believing it was not in Australia's interests to be involved. He received support when he went public with his clashes with the leadership of his former party and used this support to organise a new political movement, the New Calaré Party. Rather unsurprisingly, the group drew in some radical elements from both the far right and far left. The Orange branch was dominated by the left, something that happened nowhere else. Although Aodhan's politics was somewhat right of centre, he openly supported the branch and encouraged people to join.

Rebel Leader
In late 1995, the Prime Minister announced that the United States would be establishing permanent military bases in Calaré. The outcry from the public was enormous, and it it sent on course a tragic course of events that would lead to war. Aodhan became president of the local branch of the New Calaré Party. On 7 January 1996, Federal Police raided the headquarters of the New Calaré Party, and a number of people, including Aodhan, were arrested on dubious terrorism charges.

Civil War
After his release two weeks later, Aodhan now took up arms with other members of the New Calaré Party. They sensed that the country was evenly split and that the Commonwealth was poorly defended with a significant proportion of its forces abroad.

Exploiting this weakness, Aodhan formed together a group of loyal supporters and issued a proclamation from Bathurst on 19 February 1996. On that day, Calaré was born. Fighting would continue for another four years, until the New Zealand government intervened and was able to get both parties to agree to the Treaty of Singapore.

King
Having led the movement for so long, Aodhan announced to his supporters that he wished to retire. His friends and supporters managed to convince him to stay on, but Aodhan made it clear that he did not want to be the head of the new government. He asked his closest friend Jonathan Braddock to write a constitution that would create a figurehead role for the head of state, and Braddock obliged (to everyone's surprise) by making Aodhan the King of Calaré.

With the support of his family, Aodhan accepted the offer. He was proclaimed King by the constitutional convention, and ascended to the throne on the 31st October 2001, the day the Calaré formally became an independent nation. The new King immediately employed a number of royal courtiers from Europe to train him and family in proper royal protocol and procedures. Constitutional experts were also brought in to train Aodhan and his children in how their new nation was governed and what their role in this country would be. The King made it clear from day one that his children were to set a good example to the country and not act in a spoiled or stuffy manner. They were to carry out their roles with humility and not embarrass themselves or the country.