On This Day: Daniel O'Connell, "The Liberator," died, in Genoa, in 1847

Daniel O' Connell, The Liberator, died on May 15, 1847 in Genoa, Italy.

Daniel O’Connell, aft er whom Dublin’s main street is named, was nicknamed "The Liberator" or The "Emancipator."

An Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century, O’Connell campaigned for Catholic emancipation, including the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament in London, denied for over 100 years, and the repeal of the Act of the Union, which tied Great Britain and Ireland together.

2

The statue of Daniel O' Connell on O' Connell Street in Dublin. (RollingNews.ie) In commemoration of the Irish politician, known for his gift of oration, here are some of his best-known quotes.

Quotes from 'The Catholic Emancipator' Daniel O' Con‐ nell:

“Nothing is politically right which is morally wrong.” “Thealtar of liberty totters when it is cemented only with blood.” - Written in his journal, Dec 1796, and one of O' Connell's most well-known quotes “Gentlemen, you may soon have thealternative to live as slaves or die as freemen.”

- from his speech in Mallow, County Cork “Good God, what a brute man becomes when ignorant and oppressed. Oh, Liberty! What horrors are committed in thy name! May every virtuous revolutionistremember the horrors of Wexford!”

“My days-the blossom ofmy youth and the flower of my manhood-have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In this my native land-in the land of my sires - I am degraded without fault as an alien and an outcast.” “How cruel the Penal Laws are which exclude me from a fair trial with men whom I look upon as so much my inferiors...”

- O' Connell's Correspondence, Letter No 700, Vol II “I want to make all Europe and America know it - I want to make England feel her weakness if she refuses to give the justice we the

Irish require - there storation of our domestic parliament...” IrishCentral History

Love Irish history? Share your favorite stories with other history buff s in the IrishCentral History Facebook group.

- A speech at a 'monster' meeting held at Drogheda, June 1843

“No person knows better than you do that the domination of England is the sole and blighting curse of this country. It is the incubus that sit son our energies, stops the pulsation ofthe nation' s heart and leaves to Ireland, not gay vitality but horrid the convulsions of a troubled dream.”

- Letter to Bishop Doyle, 1831 (O'Connell Correspondence, Vol IV, Letter No. 1860) “I would walk from here to D rog heda and back to see the man who is blockhead enough to expect anything except injustice from an English Parliament.”

“OS axon cruelty! how it cheers my heart to think that you dare not attempt such a thing again !”

H/T: IzQuotes

*Originally published in 2014, updated in May 2024.