Charles O'Connell of Liscannor and the 1847 election

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sadhbh
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Location: Clare

Charles O'Connell of Liscannor and the 1847 election

Post by sadhbh » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:59 am

The Irishman's Diary in yesterday's Irish Times (September 1st) discussed how the Famine didn't feature much in the election of August 1847.

"Reasons for this failure included wishful thinking that the worst was over, an unwillingness to face reality and an inability to propose sensible measures to tackle immediate problems. Many candidates spoke of good harvests and talked about the "past famine", though others did refer to the ongoing crisis. It is amazing that only a few individuals warned about the small quantities of potato crops planted. Their words of concern were simply disregarded by the vast majority of politicians and electors and it was not until late August/September that most people woke up to this problem.

In some constituencies candidates did discuss the Famine and made suggestions to improve matters, usually with long-term ideas, such as land reform. Curiously, the new poor law arrangements, which were introduced earlier in the summer and which later would prove disastrous, attracted relatively little critical attention. A number of candidates deplored conditions aboard emigrant ships, but none appear to have advocated specific reforms of navigation laws."

Brian Walker goes on to relate the lack of concern for the effects of the disastrous Gregory Clause, which barred anyone owning more that a quarter acre of land from entering the Workhouse, and mentions rare opposition by a Clareman, Charles O'Connell:

"Charles O'Connell was a maverick who, after falling out with both Repealers and Confederates, announced his own intention to stand for election. In early August he issued a very uncommon warning that this [Gregory] clause would "drive our poor unprotected fellow creatures to despair" by compelling them to give up their homes before they could obtain relief. He then withdrew from the contest and supported the successful Conservative landlord candidate. Ironically, in light of his prophetic observation about people losing their homes, the Limerick Chronicle of August 18th reported that O'Connell's house at Liscannor was "maliciously demolished" due to his support for the Conservative."

The complete article can be read on http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opi ... 58527.html

O'Connell's house in Liscannor was Castlepark, a kilometer SW of the village. Charles O'Connell was an attorney at law and was accused of accepting a bribe to transfer his election support from local landlord, Cornelius O'Brien to Sir Lucius O'Brien of Dromoland, who ousted Cornelius in the 1847 election.

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