Immortalised in Irish history as ‘The Liberator’, Daniel O’Connell was not only one of the greatest statesmen this island ever produced, he became one of the most admired and celebrated champions of democracy in modern world history, writes Dr. Richard McElligott.
Born near Caherciveen in 1775, Daniel O’Connell was the eldest of ten children from a family of modest, Catholic, Irish-speaking landowners. At the age of four, he was effectively adopted by his wealthy uncle, Maurice, who lived on a nearby estate at Derrynane.
Sent to France in 1791 to receive a formal education, O’Connell witnessed firsthand the blood-soaked descent of the country into revolution and anarchy. This experience had a profound effect on his teenage mind, embedding a revulsion towards political violence.
Escaping to London in 1793, O’Connell continued his education, graduating in law. His time in the city was also critical to his intellectual and political development. Discovering the works of the philosophers of the ‘European Enlightenment’ like Voltaire and Rousseau, O’Connell was drawn towards a liberal, and indeed radical, political ideology, cherishing the ideals of civil and religious equality, freedom of thought and the principles of popular democracy.
Moving to Dublin in 1796, O’Connell quickly established a reputation as arguably the city’s most famous barrister. He became renowned for his intelligence, eloquence, charisma, quick wit and often ferocious cross-examinations. Such talents, honed in the courtroom, served him admirably once he made the step into the political arena.
Most of his legal career was spent defending Catholics against the discrimination and secondary status they endured in a country controlled at every level by the Protestant ‘Ascendancy’. Indeed, O’Connell’s personal frustrations about his career prospects in the legal profession being severely limited was a catalyst for his turn towards political activism.
O’Connell was on hand to witness the violence and bloodshed of the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion. Horrified by the scale of death and destruction, O’Connell nevertheless bitterly denounced the British government’s decision, in the aftermath, to abolish the Irish parliament and Ireland’s status as a separate kingdom through the Act of Union.
By its terms Ireland was now formally incorporated into the new United Kingdom and direct rule from the British parliament was imposed. To sell the measure to Irish Catholics, the British government promised its introduction would be immediately accompanied by Catholic Emancipation – the removal of the last remnants of the Penal Laws, especially the right of Catholics to stand for election. Yet once the Union was introduced, they reneged on that promise.
Consequently, Irish Catholic resistance to the Union emerged almost simultaneously. Indeed, O’Connell’s first formal foray into politics came in January 1800 when he made an impassioned public denouncement of the measure, arguing it would do nothing to end the centuries-long prejudice of the Catholic majority in their own country. When his arguments quickly proved accurate, his status as an emerging leader of Catholic opposition grew.
Increasingly frustrated that the quest for Catholic Emancipation was floundering, O’Connell decided on a more radical strategy. He now conceived of creating a cohesive, disciplined, democratic mass movement from among the millions of Irish Catholics and using such overwhelming popular pressure and moral persuasion to compel the British establishment into conceding to its demands. Essentially, he insisted that ordinary Irish Catholics had to take responsibility for winning their rights, rather than hoping others in power would someday, someway, give this to them.
O’Connell’s genius was that, as a leader, he could connect with and incorporate Catholics of all social levels into this burgeoning behemoth. Though Emancipation would ultimately only befit a minority of Catholics – who might have the means to run for elections – O’Connell successfully politicised all manner of Catholic grievances and issues to ensure the broadest possible support.
Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own
