St Aiden’s Homeschool

Daniel O’Connell
Aka
Dónal Ó Conaill
A Biography

Presented by Donnette E Davis

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 Cover image courtesy of Wikipedia Daniel O'Connell, 1836 – by Bernard Mulrenin

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 the 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.

O'Connell's Home at Derrynane

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 duellist,
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

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Allegiance to the English crown and the crisis point had been reached. With 6
million 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 million 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.

Statue of Daniel O'Connell outside St Patrick's

Cathedral, Melbourne

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Acknowledgements, Thanks & Terms of Use

(C) Copyright http://www.ireland-information.com

http://www.wikipedia.org
http://brian_boru.totallyexplained.com/

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