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1830 – The Liberator’s Tour Stops at Carrick on Suir

V0050274 Daniel O'Connell drives a coach containing cheering schoolbo Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Daniel O'Connell drives a coach containing cheering schoolboy politicians that departs from the "Victoria Establishment". Coloured lithograph by H.B. (John Doyle), 1840. 1840 By: John DoylePublished: 11 August 1840 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Clonmel Chronicle, 23 January 1830

In early 1830, Daniel O’Connell was at the peak of his powers. The previous year he had led the successful charge for Catholic Emancipation, and a matter of days after this fleeting visit to Carrick on Suir he would become the first Catholic to take a seat at Westminster in modern times. He was feted in fine style wherever he went, and there were very few towns in Ireland that had not generously donated to his testimonial for both his political and personal use. He enjoyed his stop-over in Carrick on Suir whilst on his way to Waterford, where he intended to canvass against George Beresford in the Waterford election. In a letter to Nicholas Purcell O’Gorman about this time he stated

“The greatest blow the aristocracy ever got, the greatest triumph the Association ever attained, would be by beating the Beresfords with the worthy secretary (O’Gorman).”

Beresford topped the poll.

Clonmel Chronicle 23 Jan 1830

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