DANIEL O'CONNELL
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Daniel O'Connell was born in 1775 in Cahirciveen,
County Kerry. Although he was born into the native
ascendancy, he was raised among the Catholic
peasantry and thus learned not only the Gaelic
language, but also the many tribulations faced by
the poorer class.
As a teenager he was sent to France for further
education but travelled to London in 1793 on
foot of the French revolution. His experience of
the violence that was part of the revolution
forged his lifelong commitment to peaceful means
to achieve social change.
He qualified as a barrister and built a successful
practice in Dublin. O'Connell abhorred the
violence of the Wolfe Tone led 1798 rebellion but
agreed with the overall aims of thr United
Irishmen.
In 1802 O'Connell married his cousin Mary. The
marriage was a good one with 12 children being
born, although only 7 survived.
The 1800 Act of Union had raised hopes of Catholic
emancipation but these remained unfulfilled.
O'Connell soon got involved in political
activities and in 1823 founded the Catholic
Association with the express aim of securing
emancipation.
O'Connell was known a famous orator, debater and
a sharp wit. He was a regular thorn in the side of
the Dublin authorities and when in 1815, he called
Dublin Corporation a 'beggarly corporation', the
authorities thought they had a chance to discredit
him. One member of the Corporation, D'Esterre, a
noted duelist, challenged him to a duel. If
O'Connell accepted the challenge then it was
thought he would certainly be killed. If he backed
down then he would be politically damaged and
discredited.
To everyone's surprise O'Connell accepted the
challenge and fatally wounded D'Esterre. O'Connell
always regretted his death, and later assisted the
D'Estere family financially.
With the backing of the clergy O'Connell stood
for election to the English parliament in County
Clare in 1828. A massive victory for O'Connell
followed as the momentum for reform gathered pace.
O'Connell refused to take the Oath of Allegiance
to the English crown and the crisis point had
been reached. With 6 m-illion supporters backing
O'Connell the English government feared an
uprising was on the cards and eventually granted
Catholic emancipation in 1829. O'Connell was
now the undisputed hero of Ireland and a year
later became the first Catholic in modern history
to be take his seat at the English parliament.
By this time O'Connell had given up his legal
practice and was concentrating fully on politics.
He set his sight on repealing the Act of Union
and the establishment of an Irish parliament. His
Repeal Association organised monster meetings that
attracted hundreds of thousands. An estimated
three-quarters of a m-illion people attended the
Hill of Tara meeting. The authorities responded
by banning a similar meeting scheduled for
Clontarf in 1843. Despite cancelling the meeting
O'Connell was arrested and charged with conspiracy.
He served 3 months in prison before being released
but the damage had been done. The tactics that
had achieved emancipation could not be used to
achieve an Irish parliament. His stay in prison
had also adversely affected his health.
The more radical 'Young Irelanders' withdrew from
the Repeal Association. In the countryside the
potato crop was already beginning to fail. The
Great Famine of 1847 devastated the Irish
countryside. O'Connell tried to help and spoke
in the London parliament, appealing for aid for
his desperate starving countrymen.
O'Connell will always be known as the 'Liberator'
and Catholic emancipation was indeed his greatest
success. It is unknown if his peaceful mass
protests could have achieved any further
concessions on the road to Irish independence. The
famine that resulted in over 1 million deaths from
starvation and a further million taking the
emigrants boat stopped any political momentum
dead in its tracks.
At 70 years of age O'Connell was advised to move
to a warmer climate to placate his ailing health.
He set off for Rome but only made it as far as
Genoa. He died in May 1847 and was buried in
Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin. His funeral was
among the largest ever seen in Ireland.
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