Presentation detailing the life of Daniel O' Connell (known as "The Liberator") and his fight in Ireland for Catholic Emancipation

1. Daniel O Connell
The
Liberator
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2. 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 O’Connell establishes the Repeal
Movement
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3. 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
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4. 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)
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5. 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
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6. 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
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7. 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
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8. 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
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9. “NO POLITICAL
CHANGE
WHATSOEVER IS
WORTH THE SHEDDING
OF A SINGLE DROP OF
HUMAN BLOOD”.
- Daniel O’ Connell
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10. The Catholic Association
• In 1823, O’Connell 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
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11. 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
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12. 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”
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13. The Repeal Association
• Next, O’Connell 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
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14. The Repeal Association
• He began to hold huge open-air meetings
around the country which became known as
Monster Meetings
• In October 1843, O’Connell 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, O’Connell cancelled
the meeting
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15. The Repeal Association
• This disappointed many people and O’Connell
lost much of his popularity
• Shortly afterwards, O’Connell was arrested and
sentenced to one year in jail
• He was released after three months
• On his release from jail, O’Connell continued his
campaign but without success
• In 1845, the potato crop failed and people were
more concerned about getting food
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16. 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
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17. Daniel O’ Connell Memorial
A high Round Tower
marks the spot in
Glasnevin Cemetery
in Dublin where
Daniel O’ Connell is
buried
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18. 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
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