Daniel O Connell

The Liberator
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Daniel O Connell Timeline

1775 Born in Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry 1791 Went to France 1798 Became a Barrister 1800 Act of Union Passed 1823 Catholic Association Established 1828 Elected MP for Co. Clare 1829 Catholic Emancipation Granted 1840 OConnell establishes the Repeal Movement

Daniel O Connell Timeline

1841 O Connell become the first Catholic Mayor of Dublin since the Reformation 1843 Monster Clontarf Meeting banned 1845 The Great Famine commences in Ireland 1847 O Connell dies in Genoa, Italy

Daniel O Connell - Background

Born in Cahirciveen in Co. Kerry in 1775 A Catholic First went to a Hedge School and later to a school in Cork Sent to France to study Law. (Saw some of the bloody events of the French Revolution)

Daniel O Connell - Background

Became a successful Lawyer Fought for Catholic Emancipation (the removal of the Penal Laws against Catholics) Became known as The Liberator

Penal Laws
Laws passed towards the end of the 17th century Known as the "Penal Laws" as they "penalised" or punished Catholics Designed to ensure that Catholics remained poor, ignorant and without spiritual guidance The laws were grouped under the headings of education, religion, property and civil life

1800 Act of Union

After 1798 Rebellion, Britain was worried about further rebellion in Ireland In 1800, the Act of Union was passed, joining the Irish and British parliaments Irish people now had no say in the making of any laws used in Ireland Daniel O Connell decided to fight to repeal the Act of Union

Catholic Emancipation
O Connell decided to firstly fight for Catholic Emancipation This meant the removal of all Penal Laws against Catholics He wanted Catholics to be allowed to vote, sit in parliament, represent people in all courts, hold high positions in the Civil Service and hold high positions in the Army He believed in only peaceful means to achieve his aims

NO POLITICAL CHANGE WHATSOEVER IS WORTH THE SHEDDING OF A SINGLE DROP OF HUMAN BLOOD.
- Daniel O Connell

The Catholic Association

In 1823, OConnell founded the Catholic Association to campaign for Catholic Emancipation He started the Catholic Rent one penny per month to support the campaign The Association became very popular, also getting support from the clergy

1828 By-Election
Catholics were allowed to vote, but not allowed to sit in Parliament Voting was not in secret so tenants usually voted the way their landlord wanted them to In a By-Election in Clare in 1828, O Connell stood for election and managed to persuade tenants to vote for him The election went on for five days and O Connell easily won, becoming MP (Member of Parliament) for Co. Clare

1829 Catholic Emancipation

But O Connell was a Catholic and could not enter Parliament in London Irish people became angry that their MP was forced to remain outside Parliament The Government in Britain was afraid of another rebellion in Ireland In 1829, the Government granted Catholic Emancipation O Connell famously became known as The Liberator

The Repeal Association

Next, OConnell turned his attention to the repeal (abolition) of the Act of Union In 1840 he founded a new organisation called The Repeal Association He wanted the British Government to restore the Irish Parliament in Dublin He again wanted to achieve this by peaceful means

The Repeal Association

He began to hold huge open-air meetings around the country which became known as Monster Meetings In October 1843, OConnell planned a Monster Meeting at Clontarf, Dublin A huge crowd was expected The government in London became alarmed and banned the meeting In order to avoid bloodshed, OConnell cancelled the meeting

The Repeal Association

This disappointed many people and OConnell lost much of his popularity Shortly afterwards, OConnell was arrested and sentenced to one year in jail He was released after three months On his release from jail, OConnell continued his campaign but without success In 1845, the potato crop failed and people were more concerned about getting food

Daniel O Connell Final days

By 1847, O Connell had more or less left public life He was in poor health He decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome On his way there, he stopped off in Genoa, Italy, where he died on May 15th, 1847 In his will, he asked that his heart be buried in Rome and that his body be buried in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin

Daniel O Connell Memorial

A high Round Tower marks the spot in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin where Daniel O Connell is buried

Daniel O Connell Statue

O Connell Street in Dublin is named after Daniel O Connell and a statue of him is prominently placed in the centre of the street