James Charles Mahoney (1907–1997), professor of French, was born on 9 August 1907 at Maryborough, Queensland, eldest of five children of Queensland-born parents James Richard Denis Mahoney, schoolteacher, and his wife Annie Maud, née O’Brien, who had also been a teacher. Young James attended the State primary schools at Sellheim (1912–14), Tinana (1914–17), and Kingaroy (1917–21). After the family moved to Brisbane, he continued at St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane (1922–23), and St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace (1924–25). A gifted student, he came fifth in the scholarship (1921), first in the junior (1923)—winning the (T. J.) Byrnes memorial medal—and second in the senior (1925) State public examinations. He was awarded an open scholarship to the University of Queensland (BA, 1929), where he took first-class honours in modern languages (English and French).