The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-08-06
THE O'CONNELL CENTENNIAL.
The Tooth Anniversary OF Daniel
O'ConneII--Short sketch of His Life
..Celebrati0n In wheeling To. day


Or the sixth dsy::of August l775, one
hundred years ago to-day, the county Of
Kerry, in the provi, ce Of Munster, was
honored BY the birth Of Daniel O'Con-
nell ore Of the most distinguished bar
risters and parliameHtarians that ever
the Green Isle produced. In the old
country, it is considered great honor te
be able to trace ones lineage back for
centuries. OF course the tables are not
always very ineligible to any but those
who frame them, and are mos. Interested
/ in them, but they serve the purpose and
crafty their authors. But as to the
ancient lineage Of OConnell there
! can be no doubt; indeed his an
cestors were notable for their an
tiquity more than for their extensive
possessions and great riches. The name
of the father of the great agitator, orator
and politician was Moyan OConnell,
who was not endowed with large
amount of this worlds goods, but never
theless enjoyed Il comfortable competence,
which he secured BY his own industry,
prudence and economy. Daniel did not
enjoy the best facilities in his youth for
acquiring liberal education He
received his first lesson from
the lips of a hedge-schoolmaster
WHO happened t. call at his fathers
house while on begging excursion.
This impecunious pedagogue took u
strong fancy for young OConnell as
soon as he saw him, and at once began TO
teach him the alphabet, which he learned
lat single sitting" At the age al thir-
teen he was sent to school near the
Cove of Cork, which was presided over
by Roman Catholic priest named Har-
rington. At the expiration of II year, his
Uncle Maurice, who had adopted him
and his brother, sent them to st. Omers
College, in France, whore they remained
year, and then removed to the Eng
lish College at Douai. At st. Omer's
Daniel stood high in hi> classes, and bore
of many honors.
The breaking out of the French Revo.
luton caused the young OConnells to
leave the Continent and set their faces
towards home. Although scarcely
boy when he took his departure from
France, on the same day that Louis was
beheaded in Paris, the Reign Of Terror
greatly moved him, and Us soon as he
embarked upon the boat at Calais that
was to carry him across the channel to
England, it is said that he tore the tri-
color cocliade from his cap and flung it
with contempt and scorn into the sea.
When he reached his native isle of the
ocean he declared that he WAS almost II
Tory at heart.
At the time the aveEue to the bar was
thrown open to Catholics, and young
Daniel resolved to qualify himself for an
Irish barrister. With this view he en-
tered one of the Inns of Court in London,
when he was nineteen years of age, and
was called TO the bar when he was TWEEN
ty-three, and from that time till he died
in Genoa, in Italy, in the Seventy-second
year of his age, there are few living who
do rot know something of the outline of
his brilliant yet eventful life. Be.or" he
was twenty-five years of age, he made a
speech in Dublin at q meeting held to
prepare petition against the Legislative
union of England and Ireland which COM
manded the highest admiration, and may
be said to have been the starting point of
his fame a. an orator. He was ready
dcbater, an able though not perhaps a
most profound iurist, II skllful parlia.
mentarian, rs witty as he was wordy, and
strong advocate of civil and religious
liberty. He was the friend OF the
slave and the champion Of the
oppressed, man of noble impulses
generous to fault, and commanded the
respect OF those with whom he split many
lance and fought many a wordy bat
tie On one occasion he denounced the
corporation of Dublin rs "beggarly," and
Mr.. d Esterre, one of the members of
that body, feeling that his honor was
wounded and his dignity Insulted by the
application of such term to him, de-
manded satisfaction at the mouth of the
pistol. O'Connell accepted the chal-
lenge, although he may be said to have
been non -combatant, having declared
when he first entered public life, that lie
would accept Of no social amelioration.
at the cost of a single drop of blood"
The result of the duel proved fatal to
d Esterre, thing which became
source of grief to O'Conpcll during the
remainder of his life. 1t was his abso-
lutte refusal to employ physical force tc
secure the political amelioration he SO
anxiously sought, that led to II breach be-
tween him and the Young Ireland
party in 1916 But in an evil hour, as
he believed, he gave way and fought
duel with D'E-terre which was contrary
to principle laid down by him at an
early period of his lie, and matter of
course gave him great sorrow.
To-day the lrishmen OF Wheeling, a
well as the other cities in the country,