The Irish standard., 1886-08-07
THE Family OF O'C0NNELL.
In the Year 1916 an Invasion Of Irelanc
Successfully Opposed by an Ancestor
Of the Great Liberator.'
DAMS FIRST PUBLIC SPEECH,
His Duel With D'Esterre, the Bully Of the
Dublin Corporation, in Which the
Latter Was Mortally Wounded.

lne O'COnnellS nave Deen, IIOm HIS
to last, an agitating family, firm hater
Of the Saxons, bold foragers in the hou
of national struggle, and ever read,
to wipe out in blood any insult Offered
to their clan. An Irish MS. preserved
in the British Museum, mentions {
Daniel O'Connell who successfully op
posed an invasion of the Scotch, on the
northern coast OF Ireland, in the veal
]245 A yet earlier record (for these
are early dates in the dllapidated an
nails of modern Ireland) is preserved, OF
the courage and patriotism Of this fam
lily. many of whom have fallen on the
the memorable field of Clontarf, in de-
Tense of ''Brian the Brave"
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the
O'Connell ofIveragh made a treaty with
that sovereign, by which h9 was guar.
anreet the security Of his property ana
the enjoyment of his power. The son
of this Lacquer is mentioned in history
s<,on after as high sheriff of Kerry
When the last monarch OF the Stuarts
besought the land he had repeatedly in
jured, for support against that he had
too pliantly conciliated, John O'Con
neil of Iveragh, raised regiment Of his
clansmen, and poured out of his noun.
tain fastness, to aid the dethroned
monarch at the Boyne. In that desper,
ate struggle between wise knave and
foolish one, which stained the i'll,
fated field of Aughrim in Ireland's true
regal blood, and Redeemed the broad
waters of the Shannon, and flooded the
banks Of ''Boyne's jll-fated river'' the
O'Connells remained firm to the royal
weakling, and suffered, as all the best
blood of their land have, by their fidet-
ity. '...
The remnant of their regiment sailed
with Sarsfeld to France; some returned
to Kerry, but the vast majority lay dead
on the battlefield, or cold within tie
ramparts of Limerick city In the
lapse Of two generations, Derrynane
Abbey, the old residence OF Iyeragh's 8
toparchs, passed into other hands, and
ultimately crumbled into dust, in
mournful consonance with the fortunes
OF it's rightful possessors. The present
abbey, which is OF modern date, stands
near the ruins OF it's venerable prede-
cessor. Its doors are open to the
stranger; the board is laden as CT old,
and the vintage of foreign lands and
the usquebaugh of the mountains are
offered as literally as any O'Connen of
the Older, time could wish.
The 9th Of August 1775, is ever nem-
orable in the annals OF Ireland as the
birthday of her liberator The house
in which this event occurred yet stands,
although in {. ruinous condition; the
roof has fallen in, and the wal.-hower
shakes in every blast On the crumbling
ewes. 1t stands apart from the village
OF Cahirciveen, County Kerry, at &
short distance from the highway which
no traveller passes, Of high or low de-
gree, without pausing to gaze upon the
classic spot.
Of the childhood Of Mr. O'Connell
little more is remembered than that he
was of a bustling and intrepid nature,
fond Of physical exercises, as most
healthy children are, and full of pranks
and playfulness. His first and only
tutor was an aged priest, who often
partook Of the hospitality Of his faith
er's house and who, as he became.
more enfeebled by age, made it in
great part his residence.
O'Connell studied in France in the
days Of the tremendous revolution,
which not only shook that country III
every part, but set all Europe in COM
Having completed his education in
France, Mr.. O'Connell returned home,
but was obliged, as an Irishman, to
study his professionalism OF lawn
London. He therefore entered himself
at the Middle Temple, where it was
only remarked of him that he was a
good -natured young man, and an at
tentive student. After spending the
usual time in attendance on the courts
Of law, he returned to Ireland, and was
admitted a member OF the Irish Bar, at
Dublin, in 1898.
O'Connell's first public speech was in
opposition to the passage of the ac-
cursed Act of Union, which he devoted
so many of his after years to repeal.
During the debates on the measures in
the Irish Parliament, Lord Castlereagh
and his followers had often limited that
the Catholics Of Ireland were favorable
to the act, while, at the same time, they
cunningl held out the bait of emancipa-
tiol as the result Of imperial liberality.
To disprove the imputations thus