Daniel O'Connell | Letters to Matthias Joseph O'Kelly, and related material, early 19th century

Daniel O'Connell

A collection of letters and a petition, comprising:

i) Daniel O'Connell, four autograph letters signed, to Matthias Joseph O'Kelly, on subjects including plans for public assemblies, Parliamentary business ("...I have no choice left - but to oppose the Cemetery Bill...", 1846), and personal affairs, 4 pages, 1816-46

ii) Daniel O'Connell, autograph letter signed, to his son Morgan, writing in affectionate terms encouraging his young son to write home, 3 pages, 4to, 19 May 1815

iii) Petition, calling for "an Aggregate meeting of the Catholics of Ireland, to be held on Thursday the first of July next, in Dublin, to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning and th best method of preparing, and presenting petitions to Parliament at an early period of the next Sessions", signed by O'Connell, Owen O'Conor, and 20 others, 1 page, 4to, [probably 1820s]

iv) 18 further letters, mostly by O'Connell's sons Morgan O'Connell and Maurice O'Connell, chiefly to members of the O'Kelly family, c.1800-1822

Matthias Joseph O'Kelly (1786-1868) was politically active in the cause of Catholic emancipation in the 1820s, and took a particular interest in founding cemeteries that were not connected to the Episcopal Church of Ireland, thus allowing Catholics to inter their dead without fear of disturbance. Daniel O'Connell considered O'Kelly a "dear friend and valued co-operator" (Dictionary of Irish Biography) and he was for a time secretary to the Catholic Association. These letters show the close family ties between the O'Connells and the O'Kellys.