Daniel O'Connell, born in 1775, was a prominent Irish lawyer and political leader who campaigned for Catholic emancipation and the repeal of the Act of Union. He founded the Catholic Association in 1823 to advocate for the rights of Catholics, achieving significant milestones including his election as the MP for Co. Clare in 1828 and the granting of Catholic emancipation in 1829. O'Connell passed away in 1847, after which he was remembered through monuments and statues that honor his contributions to Irish politics and society.

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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