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King Dan Daniel OConnell 1775-1829: The Rise of King Dan

According to his dying wish, his heart was buried in Rome at Sant'Agata dei Goti , then the chapel of the Irish College , and the remainder of his body in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, beneath a round tower. His sons are buried in his crypt. O'Connell's philosophy and career have inspired leaders all over the world, including Mahatma Gandhi — and Martin Luther King — He was told by William Makepeace Thackeray — "you have done more for your nation than any man since Washington ever did".

William Gladstone — described him as "the greatest popular leader the world has ever seen". William Grenville — wrote that "history will speak of him as one of the most remarkable men that ever lived".

King Dan: The Rise of Daniel O'Connell - by Patrick M. Geoghegan

O'Connell met, befriended, and became a great inspiration to Frederick Douglass — a former American slave who became a highly influential leader of the abolitionist movement, social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. Notwithstanding his pronounced opposition to slavery, however, O'Connell, in the words of Lee Jenkins in his Irish Review article "Beyond the Pale: Frederick Douglass in Cork", "accepted money for his Repeal cause from Southern slaveholders".

A splendid orator, a moderate but creative radical, an uncompromising believer in peaceful agitation, he was acclaimed as the first to reconcile modern democratic principles with the Catholic religion and may be called the forerunner of modern Christian democratic movements. Daniel O'Connell and the working class" in which he criticised O'Connell's parliamentary record, accusing him of siding consistently with the interests of the propertied classes of the United Kingdom.

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O'Connell recoiled before the cannon at Clontarf" though adding "I do not blame these men; you or I might have done the same. It is a terrible responsibility to be cast on a man, that of bidding the cannon speak and the grapeshot pour". In O'Connell's lifetime, the aims of his Repeal Association —an independent Kingdom of Ireland governing itself but keeping the British monarch as its Head of State—proved too radical for the British government of the time to accept, and brought upon O'Connell persecution and suppression.

The main street of Limerick is also named after O'Connell, also with a statue at the end in the centre of the Crescent. It was a love marriage, and to persist in it was an act of considerable courage, since Daniel's uncle Maurice was outraged as Mary had no fortune and for a time threatened to disinherit them. The marriage was happy and Mary's death in was a blow from which her husband never fully recovered.

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By , O'Connell was forced to state that he would not be a political patron of the brewing trade or his son's company, until he was no longer a member of parliament, particularly because O'Connell and Arthur Guinness were political enemies. Guinness was the "moderate" liberal candidate, O'Connell was the "radical" liberal candidate. The rivalry caused dozens of Irish firms to boycott Guinness during the Repeal election. It was at this time that Guinness was accused of supporting the "Orange system", and its beer was known as "Protestant porter".

The brewing business proved to be unsuccessful though, and after a few years was taken over by the manager, John Brennan, while Daniel junior embraced a political career. In , D'Arcy's ceased trading and the firm of Watkins, Jameson and Pim carried on the brewing until they too succumbed to the pressures of trying to compete with Guinness.

Daniel junior was the committee chairman of the licensed trade association of the period and gave considerable and valuable support to Daniel O'Connell in his public life. Some time later a quarrel arose and O'Connell turned his back on the association and became a strong advocate of temperance. During the period of Fr. Mathew 's total abstinence crusades many temperance rallies were held, the most notable being a huge rally held on St. Patrick's Day in Daniel O'Connell was a guest of honour at another such rally held at the Rotunda Hospital.

Michael Doheny , in his The Felon's Track , says that the very character of emancipation has assumed an "exaggerated and false guise" and that it is an error to call it emancipation. He went on, that it was neither the first nor the last nor even the most important in the concessions, which are entitled to the name of emancipation, and that no one remembered the men whose exertions "wrung from the reluctant spirit of a far darker time the right of living, of worship, of enjoying property, and exercising the franchise".

O'Connell monopolised its entire renown. Mitchel agrees that Sir Robert Peel and the Duke of Wellington said they brought in this measure, to avert civil war; but says that "no British statesman ever officially tells the truth, or assigns to any act its real motive. A critic of violent insurrection in Ireland , O'Connell once said that "the altar of liberty totters when it is cemented only with blood", and yet as late as , O'Connell had whipped his MPs into line to keep the First Opium War going in China.

The Tories at the time had proposed a motion of censure over the war, and O'Connell had to call upon his MPs to support the Whig Government. As a result of this intervention, the Government was saved.

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Politically, he focused on parliamentary and populist methods to force change and made regular declarations of his loyalty to the British Crown. He often warned the British establishment that if they did not reform the governance of Ireland, Irishmen would start to listen to the "counsels of violent men". Successive British governments continued to ignore this advice, long after his death, although he succeeded in extracting by the sheer force of will and the power of the Catholic peasants and clergy much of what he wanted, i.

Although a native speaker of the Irish language , O'Connell encouraged Irish people to learn English to better themselves.

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At his insistence, in , the British law " De Judaismo ", which prescribed a special dress for Jews, was repealed. In April , misled by inaccurate press reports, O'Connell thought Disraeli had slandered him and launched an outspoken attack upon him:. His name shows that he is of Jewish origin. I do not use it as a term of reproach; there are many most respectable Jews. But there are, as in every other people, some of the lowest and most disgusting grade of moral turpitude; and of those I look upon Mr. Disraeli as the worst.

He has just the qualities of the impenitent thief on the Cross, and I verily believe, if Mr. Disraeli's family herald were to be examined and his genealogy traced, the same personage would be discovered to be the heir at law of the exalted individual to whom I allude. Disraeli now, and as the lineal descendant of the blasphemous robber, who ended his career beside the Founder of the Christian Faith, I leave the gentleman to the enjoyment of his infamous distinction and family honours.

Disraeli sought satisfaction by challenging O'Connell's son Morgan to a duel, Daniel having sworn never to duel again after previously killing a man. Morgan declined, replying that he was not responsible for his father's words. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A Dictionary of Irish Biography 3rd ed. King of the Beggars: Winston Churchill once referred to the U. I had the luxury of emailing my colleague in Scotland at the Press and Journal for clarification. Otherwise, I may have been left a bit confused. Still, it was a good read and actually a bit fun at times. Mar 26, Patrick O'Rourke rated it liked it. O'Connell was a fascinating character, and this biography reminds us of this. However this is a flawed book; a case of too many trees and now enough wood. Geoghan runs through O'Connells life up to the act of emancipation. He gives us much detail and original quotation and descriptions of minor events, such as meetings or trials, or financial problems are not passed over, and, as such, build a detailed portrait of O'Connell.

But it is all too O'Connell-centric and little or no detail is given to O'Connell was a fascinating character, and this biography reminds us of this.

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But it is all too O'Connell-centric and little or no detail is given to anybody or anything else. Whilst there is a welcome lack of divergence from the main subject, how often had you had that oh no moment, when a biographer goes 'Caro' and decides to exposit on some arcane piece of social history. Here the needs and opportunities for expansion and explanation are ignored. A small example of this is the 'forty shilling freeholders'; vitally important to the emancipation act, but why? You won't find out here. After reading this you can see that there is a need for a masterful treatment of the man in his times, but this isn't it.

May 15, James rated it it was amazing. An excellent biography of one of Ireland's most notorious and yet least well-know political heroes. O'Connell's legacy lives on through his name, though his story is not a familiar one for most Irish people. This volume, the first of two in Geoghegan's biography of O'Connell, is a thorough and entertaining examination that astutely references primary sources throughout to give the reader a fascinating picture both of O'Connell as a man, and of Irish society and politics during his lifetime.


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May 31, Donald Nadreau rated it it was amazing. Well written with many facts and quotes. I was surprised at how readable this book was. I love Ireland and find its history fascinating. O'Connell is an interesting subject, complex and yet very human like all of us he has his strong and weak points. Doug James rated it really liked it Jul 17, Cathal rated it liked it Jan 10, Alan rated it really liked it Oct 13, Yvonne rated it it was ok Aug 29, Manda rated it really liked it Nov 27, Famous in his day as the most feared lawyer in Ireland, O'Connell tormented judges, terrorised opposing barristers, and won a reputation for saving the lives of so many men who would otherwise have been hanged.

He became 'The Counsellor', the fearless defender of the people. He secured that reputation through his campaign for Catholic emancipation when he founded the first successful mass democratic movement in European history, and became 'The Liberator'. Prisons and Prisoners in Victorian Britain. Murder as a Fine Art.

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