Search Results for 'John Blake Dillon'

On Friday evening, September 15 1843, Daniel O’Connell, with a small group of close friends, including his son Daniel and Dr John Grey, proprietor of the Freeman’s Journal, arrived in Galway. The excitement was intense. O’Connell, at 68 years of age, was at the height of his powers. Fourteen years previously he had succeeded in removing the oaths that had prevented Catholics from becoming members of parliament. He took his seat as MP for Clare, the first Irish Catholic to do so. His charismatic personality, brilliant oratory, and powerful intellect, had won him an enormous following, not only throughout Ireland but in Europe as well. His achievement earned him the title of The Liberator, which had all the resonance of an ancient and powerful king who had raised the sword of freedom.

It is customary on St Patrick’s Day for the US president to speak glowingly of Ireland, invoking the name of the national saint and smiling when handed a bowl of shamrock. However, when President Obama this year made his remarks on St Patrick’s Day, he gave his audience a brief history lesson linking two remarkable men, one Irish and the other African American. The Irishman was Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847), the African American, Frederick Douglass (1818-1895).