O'Connell, Daniel

O'Connell, Daniel (1775–1847), political leader. Born in Co. Kerry, the nephew (and eventually heir) of a local Catholic landowner, O'Connell studied briefly at Douai but fled to escape the developing extremism of the French Revolution. He read for the bar in London during 1794–6. Allegations of United Irish sympathies led him to withdraw from Dublin to Kerry in November 1797, but he expressed what appears to have been genuine horror, both at the time and later, at the insurrection of 1798.

O'Connell's first political appearance was in January 1800, when he was one of the minority of Catholics openly hostile to the proposed Act of Union. From 1805 he was prominent in a succession of movements for Catholic emancipation. His strong opposition to the veto, along with his rising fame as a barrister, established him as a popular Catholic champion. However, it was not until 1824 that the introduction of the Catholic rent transformed the Catholic Association into a nationwide mass‐based movement. O'Connell's mastery of events during the period that followed should not be exaggerated: for example, it was only after Wyse and others had already mobilized the Catholic voters of Waterford and elsewhere that O'Connell, who a year before had been prepared to see the 40‐shilling freeholders disenfranchised (see ‘Wings’), belatedly recognized the potential of such tactics. But his oratorical and organizational skills, capacity for brinkmanship, and mastery of political theatre were nevertheless crucial to the eventual success of the campaign.

Following the general election of 1832 O'Connell became the leader of a small party of 39 Irish MPs pledged to secure repeal of the Act of Union. However, he continued to hold out the possibility of co‐operating with the Whigs to promote measures of practical reform. From 1835 such co‐operation was formalized in the Lichfield House compact. When the Tories came to power in 1841, O'Connell reverted to the campaign for repeal, which reached its climax during 1843. After the collapse of the agitation he was convicted of conspiracy and imprisoned from May 1844 until his release in September following a successful appeal. The experience produced a physical decline, and a new cautiousness that helps to explain the rupture soon after with the Young Ireland movement. But he continued up to his death to explore the possibility of new initiatives and alliances, negotiating among others with both Whigs and federalists.

O'Connell remained throughout the 19th century a hero for moderate nationalists. The laying of the foundation stone of the statue that stands in what is now O'Connell Street, Dublin, was attended by a reputed half a million people, the largest political meeting recorded in 19th century Ireland. Today his development of a wholly new style of mass agitation is recognized as a major contribution to the process of politicization. Despite his genuine desire to gain Protestant support for repeal he is also seen as having contributed, through his political alliance with the Catholic clergy and also, at times, through his rhetoric, to a growing polarization of politics along religious lines. Attempts to present O'Connell as an exemplar of non‐violence are misleading: his rejection of physical force was based on a belief that it was likely to lead, in the Irish case, to disaster for those involved, and did not prevent him endorsing both the Belgian revolt of 1830 and the wars of liberation in South America. On the other hand criticisms of O'Connell for abandoning the pursuit of self‐government for the short‐term gains of a Whig alliance are anachronistic. O'Connell himself must be recognized as a figure in British as well as in Irish radicalism, active in promoting parliamentary reform, Jewish emancipation, the abolition of slavery, and a range of other progressive causes. And his career must be located in the context of what can in retrospect be seen as a transitional phase in Irish political development, in which Catholics had not yet finally decided whether their interests were best served by the politics of nationalism or by participation in movements for reform within the United Kingdom.

Bibliography

MacDonagh, Oliver , O'Connell: The Life of Daniel O'Connell 1775–1847 (1991)