Tag Archives: Daniel O’Connell

Ennis councillors to further discuss reinstating railings around restored O’Connell monument in the county town MEMBERS of the Ennis Municipal District have remained on the fence when it comes to the possibility of reinstating wrought-iron railings around the O’Connell monument. Councillor Johnny Flynn has urged the municipal district to start a public consultation process on the potential of reinstating a portion of the railings at the Height. Workers have had “unpleasant dealings with people who occupy the area” around the Height, and railings would help prevent litter in the area, he told the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. Councillor Flynn said the work would “complement and enhance” planned public realm works in O’Connell Square and Bank Place as well as the conservation works on the O’Connell monument. “Such works could also be seen to be complementary to proposals incorporated in the current Part 8 planning application for welcome public realm upgrades to O’Connell Street and Barrack Street,” said …

A stone sculpture commissioned by Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne and  created by Kilnamona sculptor Michael McTigue has recently been erecdted in Corofin. It is in memory of the famous march of the local forty shilling freeholders, led by Fr John Murphy PP of Kilnaboy Rath and Corofin,  into Ennis in July 1828, in support of Daniel O’ Connell’s election. With the famous Burren terrain depicted in the background, the monument shows Fr. Murphy on his horse and gig followed by the local 40 shilling freeholders carrying tree branches in support of O’ Connell. St. Bridget’s Church, the first architect designed Catholic Church in the Killaloe Diocese since the reformation, built by Murphy in 1822, features in the background. It was here that Murphy made his famous speech in the Irish language to his parishioners seeking their support for O’Connell and Catholic Emancipation. This speech was widely reported both locally and well beyond the area and was witnessed by …

A CAMPAIGN is underway in Corofin to erect a permanent memorial marking the famous march of the 40 shilling freeholders from the village to Ennis to vote for Daniel O’Connell in the 1828 Clare Election. The freeholders were led by the parish priest of Corofin, 39-year-old Fr John Murphy, a native of Newmarket-on-Fergus, who became a central figure in the election of Daniel O’Connell as MP for Clare, an event which subsequently led to Catholic Emancipation in 1829. In Corofin Community Hall recently, a special night was devoted to the memory of Fr John Murphy by Cumann Staire is Dúchais Chora Finne. The night included a lecture on Fr Murphy, who was parish priest in Corofin from 1818 to 1831, by the association’s chairperson Declan Kelleher and a talk on his biographer, Fr Denis Spellissy, by its president Dr Maccon MacNamara. “The Clare election of 1828 was in itself a statement of defiance from a downtrodden people, who put their necks on …

THE  annual commemoration of Daniel O Connell, the Liberator, will take place on Sunday at 12 noon at Glasnevin Cemetery. Along with the representative of the Government, Minister Jimmy Deenihan, the attendance will  include the Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisín Quinn, members of the O’Connell family and pupils of the O’Connell Schools. Daniel O’Connell, a former Lord Mayor of Dublin, who was also elected as an MP for Clare, was the foremost constitutional parliamentarian of his age. His mass peaceful mobilisation of the Irish people into the parliamentary process, resulting in Catholic Emancipation, was a template followed by many in later years. Not alone was he a Liberator to his people, he was a leading figure in the development of democracy and human rights in Europe. The commemoration marks the 167th anniversary of the death of Daniel O’Connell in Genoa in May 1847. The O’Connell Monument and Round Tower have been refurbished in recent years as part of the continuing …

David Duggan ALMOST every town and city in Ireland has a recognisable symbol or emblem that best represents them. When you think of Dublin, you think of O’Connell Bridge or the GPO. When you think of Galway, you think of Eyre Square. The statue of Daniel O Connell, which stands high above Ennis on a pedestal, also became a trademark for the town and just like Belfast City Hall it was an established rallying point, which it has still remained up to the present day. The monument was constructed by William Carroll, a local builder and contractor, whose work can be seen thought town, which includes the Cathedral tower, the Franciscan Friary and several bridges which are still all in use today. The notion that nothing was ever built with out controversy is appropriate when discussing the construction of the O’Connell monument, which was completed fully in 1865. Prior to its construction, the courthouse was the trademark of the town …