Denis O'Conor, O'Conor Don ( ga, Donnchadh Ó Conchubhair Donn; 1794–1847) of Clonalis,

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...

, was an Irish nobleman, and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 65 ...

Early life and family

He was born in May 1794 t
Owen O'Conor, O'Conor Don
and his wife Jane Moore daughter of Edward Moore of Mount Browne, Co. Dublin and Jane Reynolds. Denis was the eldest of four children. He had one brother Edward who became an agent for their father and then to Denis, and two sister Jane and Catherine. He was brought up in

Belanagare Bellanagare () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. The N5 national primary road passes through it , though a by-pass is planned. The village is located between Tulsk and Frenchpark on the Dublin to Castlebar/ Westport road. History ...

until his father moved the family to Clonalis on the death of his fourth cousin once removed, Alexander O'Conor, O'Conor Don in 1820 whom his father inherited the title of

O'Conor Don The O'Conor family (Middle Irish: ''Ó Conchubhair''; Modern ga, Ó Conchúir) are an Irish noble house and were one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of C ...

. The O'Conors were prominent Catholic gentry who had been the traditional

Kings of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

and counted among their ancestors two twelfth-century High-Kings of Ireland, Tairrdelbach Mor Ua Conchobair and

Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair Ruaidrí mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair ( Modern Irish: Ruairí Ó Conchúir; anglicized as Rory O'Conor) ( – 2 December 1198) was King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1198. He was the last High King o ...

who was the last high king of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. On his father's side, he was a nephew of Rev. Charles O'Conor and

Matthew O'Conor Matthew O'Conor Don ( ga, Mathghamhain Ó Conchubhair Donn; 1773–1844) of Ballinagare, County Roscommon, Ireland was an Irish historian, the O'Conor Don and ''de jure'' King of Connacht. O'Conor Don was the grandson of Charles O'Conor Do ...

. His father's first cousin was Thomas O'Conor and therefore Denis was a second cousin of Thomas's son Charles O'Conor of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His great-grandfather was the eminent

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, ...

and protagonist for

catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

civil rights during the penal laws, Charles O'Conor of Belanagare. His maternal grandfather was a wealthy Catholic

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

who was descended from Lewis O'More youngest brother of

Rory O'More Rory O'More, also known as Rory Oge O'More ( ga, Ruairí Óg Ó Mórdha) (died 1578), was the Irish lord of what became Laois. Family background Rory O'More was the second son of Ruairí Ó Mórdha, Captain of Leix, and Margaret, daughter of ...

. His maternal grandmother was a daughter of Thomas Reynolds of Rathfarnham and

Dundrum Castle Dundrum Castle, a ruin standing over the town of Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland, must not to be confused with Dundrum Castle in Dundrum, County Dublin. It was constructed by John de Courcy, sometime near the beginning of the 13th centu ...

. Thomas was a successful

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

manufacturer who descended from a cadet branch of

Mac Raghnaill ''Mac Raghnaill'' is a masculine surname in the Irish language. The name translates into English as "son of ''Raghnall''". The surname originated as a patronym, however it no longer refers to the actual name of the bearer's father. The name '' R ...

chiefs of

Lough Scur Lough Scur () is a freshwater lake in south County Leitrim, northwest Ireland. It is part of the Shannon–Erne Waterway. There have been Human settlements here since the New Stone Age. Modern features include quays and moorings. Protected fea ...

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

. Through this connection Denis's Mother was a first cousin o
Thomas Reynolds
He was educated at

St Edmund's College, Ware St Edmund's College is a coeducational independent day and boarding school in the British public school tradition, set in in Ware, Hertfordshire. Founded in 1568 as a seminary, then a boys' school, it is the oldest continuously operating and ...

, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Lincolns Inn and the

King's Inn The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

to train as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

and took the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

in the early 1820s.

Carear

In the 1820s he supported the pro-Catholic agitation in Roscommon led by his father, the O’Conor Don, later that decade and assisted in his return for the county, following the granting of emancipation, in 1830. He moved the resolution for repeal of the legislative Union with Britain at a county meeting, on 14 January 1831, and seconded one in favour of parliamentary reform at another, on the 16 April 1831. On the death of his father in June 1831, less than a month after he had regained his seat at the general election, he not only succeeded to his ancient title and large estates, but, as heir to his father's patriotic reputation, was the obvious choice of the county's liberal Catholics for the representation. Denis was elected unopposed to the seat, which he held until his death in 1847. His father had been an emancipationist and O'Conor continued in this tradition, always voting with

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. O'Connell wrote to Denis a month after his father's death:

The death of my most respected and loved friend, your father, was to me a severe blow ... How little does the world know of the value of the public services of men who like him held themselves always in readiness without ostentation or parade but with firmness and sincerity to aid in the struggles which nations make for liberty ... I really know no one individual to whom the Catholics of Ireland are so powerfully indebted for the successful result of their contest for emancipation ... His was not holiday patriotism ... No, in the worst of times and when the storms of calumny and persecution from our enemies and apathy and treachery from our friends raged at their height he was always found at his post.

He was neither a prominent nor a particularly effective parliamentarian. His rather infrequent interventions were long-winded and pedantic, though always temperate. He was by disposition a conventional Whig rather than a repealer, but family loyalty kept him in O'Connell's camp. In 1843 he was much drawn to the liberal–unionist alliance of

William Smith O'Brien William Smith O'Brien ( ga, Liam Mac Gabhann Ó Briain; 17 October 1803 – 18 June 1864) was an Irish nationalist Member of Parliament (MP) and a leader of the Young Ireland movement. He also encouraged the use of the Irish language. He ...

and Thomas Wyse; he joined with them in obstructing the arms bill at the end of May 1843 and supported O'Brien a few months later in drawing up his remonstrance against British policy in Ireland, which served as a manifesto for the liberal unionists. However, when O'Brien was looking for signatures O'Conor demurred because, in Wyse's opinion, he was afraid of what O'Connell would say. O'Connell spoke well but blandly of O'Conor and Charles Wood, joint

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title ...

, termed him ‘a gentleman, not wise but worth attention and civility’. On 6 July 1846 O'Conor was appointed Junior Lord of the Treasury in

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...

's government; he was one of five Irish MPs who obtained junior ministerial posts as a result of the Irish party's alliance with the whigs.

Personal life

On 27 August 1824 he married his first cousin once removed Mary Blake (died 1841), daughter of Major Maurice Blake, of Towerhill house, in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

, and Maria O'Connor, daughter of the wealthy catholic merchan
Valentine O'Connor
from a cadet branch of the O'Conor Sligo who had settled in Galway and Mary Moore. Mary's father was from a cadet branch of the

Blake baronets There have been four baronetcies for persons with the surname Blake, one in the Baronetage of Ireland, two in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2010. The Blake ...

of Menlough through a younger son of

Sir Valentine Blake, 3rd Baronet Sir Valentine Blake, 3rd Baronet (died 1652) was an Irish merchant and politician. Biography Blake was the eldest of three sons of Sir Thomas Blake and Juliane, daughter of Geoffrey Browne. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on 19 July 1628 ...

. They had seven children: * Jane O'Conor. A Catholic nun at Princethorp Convent. * Kate O'Conor. A Catholic nun at Princethorp Convent. * Josephine O'Conor. A Catholic nun at Princethorp Convent. * Eugenia O'Conor. A Catholic nun at Princethorp Convent. * Dionysia O'Conor. A Catholic nun at Princethorp Convent. * Charles Owen O'Conor, O'Conor Don (1838-1906). *

Denis Maurice O'Conor Denis Maurice O'Conor ( ga, Donnchadh Muirgheas Ó Conchubhair Donn; 1840 – 26 July 1883) was an Irish barrister and Liberal Party politician who represented County Sligo in the House of Commons. The second son of Denis O'Conor, O'Conor Don ...

(1840-1883). He was a founding member of the

Reform Club The Reform Club is a private members' club on the south side of Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it comprised an all-male membership for decades, but it was one of the first all-male cl ...

and a member of

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as well as being a member of the Stephen's Green Club in

. He died on 22 July 1847. His eldest son Charles Owen succeeded him.

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oconor, Denis 1794 births 1847 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Roscommon constituencies (1801–1922) UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Politicians from County Roscommon Denis Irish chiefs of the name Irish Repeal Association MPs