Who is Paddy Cleary from the novel, The Thorn Birds?

Paddy Cleary was an Irish immigrant, a dairy hand on a large ranch in New Zealand belonging to the aristocratic Armstrongs. When Fiona Armstrong, the beautiful young daughter of the family, becomes pregnant by a married man, Paddy is offered money to marry her. Paddy takes the cash and buys a small sheep ranch in the hills near Wahine, New Zealand. Although his well-born wife knows nothing about keeping house or cooking, Paddy falls passionately in love with her. After her son Frank is born, the Clearys have 8 children together, much to Frank's embarrassment.

As patriarch of the Cleary clan, Paddy rules with an absolute authority. He decrees that no one will help his wife in her household chores, and the children will have no friends outside the family.