danieloconnell

Both the statue and the plinth are still at City Hall - the statue has been moved inside (seen on the left in this panorama photo), whereas the plinth has been moved to the side (Streetview of plinth.)

Well done Sharon, now show how good you are by getting Dan's baptismal records in his parish register:-)

National Library of Ireland on The Commons Unfortunately, the Caherciveen recordsdon't go back that far :-)

The sculptor was Waterford-born John Hogan:

For at the time that he began to work on the statue, about 1844, O'Connell was long past the prime of manhood . He was, in fact, nearly seventy and had only a few years to live. There was no longer anything of the Greek athlete about him — if ever there had been. Always a big man, he had grown rather fleshy. But Hogan, being a great and highly sensitive artist, was able to give refined statement to the unrefined fact of O'Connell's prodigious physique. Thus, without denying that here and there O'Connell tended unduly to bulge, he designed the classical folds of the mantle to carry one over to the dignity, one might indeed say to the majesty, of the figure as a whole, to the heroic proportions and movement, the splendid shoulders, the magnificently poised head. Again, there is no denial of the unclassical pugnaciousness of the O'Connell chin, but how Hogan balances it by insisting on the fine lines about the mouth, suggestive of mobility, of eloquence, of charm, of humour. Here is where one realises that all the stories of O'Connell's genius as an orator must be absolutely true.

Some Statues by John Hogan by Thomas MacGreevy in The Father Mathew Record, August 1943

Three degrees of separation from Library Towers - John Hogan was apprenticed to Thomas Deane, father of Thomas Newenham Deane, who designed the National Library and National Museum buildings...

Streetview with the courthouse. Another angle in which we see the rock (now painted) peeping out.

On the OSI 25", and also the 6" from 1840.

It's properly Steele's Rock, named after Tom Steele: He dreamed of romance and "cherished an ardent sentiment of attraction" for Miss Matilda Crowe of Abbeyfield House, Ennis. He was convinced that she held similar feelings for him, despite the advice he received from his friends. He would stand or sit on a rock, now known as Steele's Rock, on the bank on the river Fergus opposite her house, merely to catch a glimpse of her as she passed by the windows. Sadly for him, she never acknowledged his presence.

Interesting that this one sided romance must have been around 1810-1820, and by 1840 the rock was named on the Ordnance Survey. I can see nothing to help with a date here - the NIAH dates only the Courthouse (1852, no help).

Niall McAuley The Co. Clare Record of Protected Structures gives a date of c. 1870 for Steele's Rock. (The carving and painting, I presume.)

Thanks to a Google Image search - the c. 1843 'original' in colour at the UK National Portrait Gallery, with lots of details - www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw270260/Moral...

And a Megazoomable version at Library Towers: catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000167819

Some details of the 'Clontarf Proclamation' (1843)(see note) - www.theirishstory.com/2011/10/08/today-in-irish-history-o...

An early use of speech bubbles in a cartoon?? Top left.

It's a powerful image. He deserves a decent movie or TV series made about him, although I know it's far less glamorous than shooting people with guns. Keep up the great work, guys! It's nice to know you're all still hard at it despite the mayhem all around us. Stay safe and well!