Daniel OConnell of Derrynane Ireland

Daniel  OConnell  6 August 1775 - 15 May 1847

Daniels father Morgan OConnell born 1739 lived in Carhen nr Cahereiveen Ireland. He owned and ran a general store. Morgan was also very involved in smuggling.

Due to Morgans house being so small, Daniel was fostered out to one of his fathers tenants until he was four years old. Returning home for a short space of time until his uncle Hunting Cap, the owner of Derrynane house became his guardian. Daniel was well educated in Ireland and then France. Only returning home because of the threat of danger due to the ongoing French revolution. Daniel then spent three years in London training to be a barrister.

I will include little more about Daniels public life as so much as already been documented, I also do not have enough space here to do justice to his legal and political acheivments. Suffice to say that there has never been an Irish man before or since whom has been so admired. There are many streets named after him in Limerick and Dublin, the most famous being O Connell street in Dublin where a huge statue of him is situated.

The private Daniel was a person whom little is known about. There have been many rumors about his sexual history none, Little of which can be proven. His family believed these things to be spread by the English to discredit him and ruin his political career. Possibly many stories were invented.  But as I am a direct desendent of Daniels his illegitimate daughter being my great great gran, I find it hard to believe that the stories are all lies although his family and other desendents still refuse to believe any claims of relationship. There are a few clues left to indicate that he was very active before and during his marriage, also after the death of his wife.  Daniel did pay a form of maintinence to a women he had been having an affair with before his wedding, whether this was because a child had been born of the relationship, I have yet to find out. It is also worth noting that in 1831 Ellen Courtney filed a paternity suit against him. History reports that this court case was an attempt to blackmail him but I am not so sure.Although Daniel refuted her claims of fatherhood this would have been within the necessary time frame for Ellen to be my great x4 grandmother, as Daniels illegitimate daughter would have been born before 1839. I have yet to find her death certificate to establish a year of birth.

Two other interesting pieces of information i have stumbled upon, the first that Daniel was accused of rape, I have misplaced the paper work I have documenting the details. The other was that later in life Daniel proposed to a young women from the north of Ireland, this women was not a catholic and was very young. Although I am sure that much of the gossip about Daniel was untrue, as the old saying goes there is no smoke with out fire. I am documenting this to show that Daniel was clearly a man whom loved women. History documents the fact that many rich and powerful men had mistresses, often the servants of the family home. Clearly Daniel would have been no different from many other politicians of his day. This indicates that it is likely Ellen was not the only illegitimate child.

We have no information on Ellens family, her mother was taken to Limerick after the death of her parents, so was on orphan, we also have no name for her so Ellens maternal line has probably been lost along the way.

Ellen was cared for at the Convent of Jesus and Mary Limerick as a favoured ward.

Ellen attempted to elope to America with Thomas Toomey but was stopped at Liverpool and taken home in disgrace by emmissaries of the OConnell family. She eventually gained permission to marry Thomas, they stayed in Ireland for a while and some of their children were born there. The family then moved to Marylebone London where they settled.

This must have been a big scandal  and I am sure there will be clues to Ellens mothers name some where but I have yet to find them.

It is worth noting that Daniels sons must have known about Ellen although the family now dispute all knowledge of his illigitimate children. Ellen would have been born 1830-1842 so by the time she attemted to elope Daniel had died, therefore someone knew of her existence as she was followed to Liverpool.