Daniel O'Connell brought to life - graphically!

Biographies of historical figures tend to be either academic tomes or childish works for the very young. Here is something fresh and exciting: a highly accessible book that, with lively text and striking illustrations, brings Daniel O’Connell and his world to life for young adults and adults alike.

Did you know that Daniel O’Connell shot and killed a man in a duel, fought against slavery, and spent time in jail? In his struggle for Catholic emancipation, he achieved the first and most important step towards Irish freedom. He stormed into the House of Commons against the wishes of the Government and the King, smashing down the door that had denied Catholics a place in Parliament. But his life was so much more than that – it was epic, from his birth until his death. He fled France during the French Revolution. He witnessed the Penal Laws, the 1798 Rebellion and the Great Famine. One of the greatest legal men in Europe, he struck fear into opponents, judges and the British establishment alike.

It can be easy to lose sight of the real man behind the iconic ‘hero’ of the nationalist tradition. He was vain, completely incompetent with money and had comic drunken adventures as a youth. He was a trash talker, levelling incredibly personal insults at many of his foes, living or dead. And yet, he was a softie whenever he addressed his kith or kin. His name is an everyday presence in Irish life – on streets, bridges and pubs in every town and city throughout the country. Now find out about the real man behind the name.

The first meeting of Dan’s great speaking tour was held at Trim in County Meath on Sunday 19 March 1843. It was, according to one reporter, ‘magnificent beyond description’. While fog had shrouded the country since dawn, it lifted before noon and by 2 pm, over 30,000 people had gathered in the town centre under a bright sky. After a celebratory journey through the countryside from Dublin, Dan was greeted in the town by triumphal arches and banners of all descriptions. When he finally took his stance on a timber platform, to rapturous cheers, it was to be the first of thirty-one outdoor meetings he would address that year. It was in County Meath, however, that he began his year of agitation and stirring oratory. ‘Are you slaves?’ he called to the people of Trim. ‘And are you content to be slaves? I shall either be in my grave or a freeman … for I am tired of remaining under submission to others.’

The most striking of all the monster meetings, which was held on the Hill of Tara on 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption. It is described in engaging detail in the book: 'The reporter from The Freeman’s Journal estimated there could not have been fewer than half a million people on the historic hill and its surrounds. ‘In the history of Ireland,’ he wrote the next day, ‘and perhaps that of Europe, there is no record of a meeting like that which was witnessed yesterday.’ From everywhere the people came. There wasn’t a hackney carriage to be found in Dublin – they had all descended on Tara.'

Jody Moylan is a writer from Roscommon who now lives in Dublin. For Jody, the book began with a visit to Dan’s birthplace in southwest Kerry, and ended with a trip to Rome to seek out the Liberator’s buried heart. He has written for the Irish Independent and The Irish Times.

Illustrations are by Mateusz Nowakowski, a Polish artist based in Dublin and Warsaw. He has a degree in Visual Arts and now practises illustration, drawing and printmaking.

 

Price €9.99/£7.99 • Paperback • April 2016 •

218 pp • 210 x 148 mm • 978-1848892699 • B&w illustrations • Young Adult/Biography