Liberator Daniel O'Connell: The Life and Death of Daniel O’Connell, 1830-1847

By Patrick M. Geoghegan

In this sequel to his critically acclaimed King Dan, Patrick Geoghegan examines the latter part of O’Connell’s life and career. Daniel O'Connell, often referred to as The Liberator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century. One of the most remarkable historical figures in Irish history, he campaigned for Catholic Emancipation, including the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, and repeal of the Act of Union which combined Great Britain and Ireland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gill & Macmillan
• Release date: Oct 15, 2010
• ISBN: 9780717151578

Patrick M. Geoghegan

Dr Patrick Geoghegan is an expert on the Anglo-Irish relationship in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as on the competing themes of constitutional nationalism and republicanism between 1782 and 1848. His acclaimed two-volume study of Daniel O’Connell completed his examination of the tensions and conflicts which emerged following the abolition of the Irish parliament. The first volume provided a new analysis of the winning of Catholic Emancipation in 1829 while the second discussed the attempts to repeal the Union which failed so dramatically in the 1840s. A Vice-President of the College Historical Society (and a former gold medalist for oratory at the L&H), Dr Geoghegan has always been interested in the role of oratory in political debate and how oratory shaped political discourse. His current work develops from these interests and examines how Edmund Burke both succeeded and failed in using oratory to change the nature of imperial debate in the eighteenth century. He has also been commissioned to write the official history of the College Historical Society for its 250th anniversary. He also presents a popular radio programme on Newstalk every Sunday night called Talking History.