pointed to be quite true—that some qualification must have been withheld, or some imaginary circumstance artistically inserted to give them such epigrammatic brilliancy… We have dwelt long upon the intellectual and moral calibre of O'Connell, for there is, we think, scarcely anyone who is more underrated in England, and there is scarcely anyone concerning whom English and Continental writers more widely differ. It is impossible for those who do not realize the position which he occupied with reference to the progressive party in his Church, to understand the full grandeur of his position." O'Connell showed great clearness of moral vision and unflinching consistency in his opposition to American slavery. He attended the Anti-slavery Convention held in London in 1840, and afterwards sent back money forwarded to him by slaveholders for the furtherance of Repeal. In a speech delivered in Conciliation Hall, Dublin, about 1845, he said: "I hold in my hand the Boston Quarterly Review, in which this American scribbler charges me with being an enemy to America—to her 'peculiar institution,' as it is called. I am not an enemy to America; but I am a friend to civil and religious liberty all over the world. My sympathies are not confined to my own green island, but my spirit walks abroad upon the clement waters, and wherever there is tyranny I hate the tyrant—wherever there is oppression, I hate the oppressor. I will continue to hurl my taunts against American slavery; my voice shall make its way against the western breezes; shall cross the Atlantic; it shall ascend the Mississippi; it shall descend the Monongahela, and be heard along the banks of the Ohio in denunciation of American slavery; until the black man becomes too big for his chains, and shall arise a regenerated and enfranchised American citizen." Few British politicians stood higher in the estimation of foreign nations, or have been regarded with more aversion by political opponents, than O'Connell. The only book written by him appears to have been one volume of A Memoir on Ireland, Native and Saxon, 1172-1660 (Dublin, 1843), never completed. In 1811 he published anonymously in London, a pamphlet: An Historical Account of the Laws against the Roman Catholics of England. He left four sons (now deceased)— Maurice, Morgan, John, and Daniel—all of whom occupied seats in Parliament; and three daughters — Ellen, Catherine, and Elizabeth. Ellen (Mrs. Fitzsimon) published a volume of poetry, which has been much admired. The centenary of O'Connell's birth was celebrated with great enthusiasm in many parts of Ireland in 1875. For notes on his English ancestry, see Notes and Queries, 4th Series. 7 16 53 123 146 158 173 212 217‡ 233 254 255 256 257
O'Connell, John, third and favourite son of preceding, was born in 1811. He was called to the Bar, and early took a prominent part in politics with his father, entering Parliament in 1832 for Youghal. Successively representing Youghal, Athlone, Kilkenny, and Limerick, he sat continuously until 1851, and again represented Clonmel from 1853 to 1857. An amiable and conscientious man, he was generally respected, but he was quite unable to sustain the role of leader of the Repeal agitation after his father's decease. The Loyal National Repeal Association was broken up, 6th June 1848, the "rent" having dwindled down to £12 the previous week. Its only official publications ordinarily to be met with are three volumes (1844-'6) of Reports of the Parliamentary Committee of the Repeal Association. John O'Connell retired from parliamentary life in 1857, on being appointed by Lord Carlisle to the clerkship of the Hanaper Office in Ireland. He was known in the literary world as the editor of the Life and Speeches of Daniel O'Connell (Dublin, 1846), and as the author of two volumes of Parliamentary Recollections and Experiences (Dublin, 1846), and the Repeal Dictionary (1845). He died in Kingstown, 24th May 1858, aged 47, and was buried at Glasnevin. 7 233
O'Connor, Roger, for many years a prominent character in Irish affairs, son of Roger Conner, the descendant of an opulent London merchant, was born at Connerville, in the County of Cork, in 1762. Possessed of ample means, and having received a good education, he was called to the English Bar in 1784. He more than once suffered imprisonment for being involved in the revolutionary designs of the United Irishmen, and was consigned to Fort George in Scotland, with his brother Arthur, Thomas A. Emmet, Neilson, and others. He was subsequently engaged in several not very creditable transactions. He was proved to have wasted his brother Arthur's property, which he held in trust, to the extent of £10,000. His residence, Dangan Castle, once the home of the Wellesley family, was burnt down shortly after he had effected an insurance for £5,000. Twice married, he eloped with a married lady. In 1817 he was tried at Trim for complicity in the robbery of the Galway coach and
