theliberator

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...

Phew! Still standing in 2011 via Tom Halpin

" ... While the O'Connell family had previous associations with the area, it was Daniel O'Connell's grandparents, Domhnall Mór Ó Conaill and Máire Ní Dhonnchadha Dhuibh, who built or extended the house in the 1700s.[3] The oldest part of the house, built in 1702, was demolished in 1967 for safety reasons during the restoration work. Daniel O'Connell built the two-storey south wing facing the sea and the library wing to the east in 1825, the oldest surviving part of the house. The chapel was added in 1844 and was modelled on the ruined monastery chapel of Derrynane (Ahamore) Abbey on nearby Abbey Island. Restoration work was completed in 1967, when the house was officially opened to the public as a museum by the then president Éamon de Valera. ..."

From - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derrynane_House

Here's his birthplace, in slightly worse condition, at the Eastern entrance to Cahirsiveen.

Via Trove, some good and bad news ...

1846 - Tenants in strife - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226465215?searchTerm=%...
and trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36244986?searchTerm=%2...

1892 - Hat brush ! - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/111319138?searchTerm=%...

1926 - File book found - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/291964969?searchTerm=%...

1929 - Colourful description of the house - trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/118065843?searchTerm=%...

Part of the 1929 glowing description linked above ...

" ... The Open Door
There is no formidable or ostentatious entrance: the drive might be part of the green lane leading to it, just as the grounds of the house mingle imperceptibly with the surrounding woods. There is no note of hostility or aggression to mar this soft approach, no injunctions sending tradesmen to the back door, or warning you to beware of the dog; no barbed wire, no locked doors marked 'Private,' no threats to trespassers. Derrynane has never condescended to such, things. Even the shrubs are left to your honor. The gate is open, the drive is free; even the hall-door stands wide and inviting. No echo of the civil war seems to have resounded here; not a faintest breath of the strife left its mark on it. How did it persist, so loved and imperturbable, when the best in our national life had turned sour and offensive? In searching for an answer, we were more attracted by the ordinary coats and hats hanging in the hall than by the crossed swords on the staircase. We were led into the dining-room, and the maid proceeded to show us the handsome pieces of silver presented to O'Connell by admirers, lifting some eggs out of a dish to enable us to examine it. But the eggs were more important than any inscription; and the remains of a recent meal on the table had more significance than Robert Emmet's heavy gun, or the pistol used in the duel with D'Esterre. Touches of Continuity. Similarly, a copy of yesterday's paper lying on a chair meant more than the signature of Louis XVII. on the wall under the date of 1790. Walking through the rooms, we noted avidly those evidences of present-day life: a basket of needlework on the drawingroom table; an open, book on the library shelf, near a chair with creased cushions; and we were more glad of the little recent shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes by the altar than even of the Papal rescript permitting the erection of the Chapel. For those touches of continuity are what give Derrynane its unique character. Here you do not come to a dryasdust museum; you' art not met at the door by a paid official, ready to overwhelm you with, the guide-book patter. You have come to the home of gentlefolk, in which life has flowed on continuously and tranquilly since the Liberator's day. The present occupants of the house are two ladies, the great-granddaughters of Daniel O'Connell. Therefore a partial explanation of its permanence is that Derrynane House has never passed into alien hands— its custodians have always been of the Liberator's flesh and blood, the surest interpreters and the most jealous guardians of its spirit. ... "

“The O'Connell Monument was unveiled to the public on 15 August 1882, on the centenary of the Volunteer Movement and the occasion of the Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition in the Rotunda Gardens. On the same occasion the newly-widened Carlisle Bridge was renamed O'Connell Bridge in honour of its main focal point”

www.buildingsofireland.ie

The winged figures below the frieze, added later in 1883, represent Patriotism (holding a sword and shield), Fidelity (with an Irish Wolfhound), Eloquence (holding a book) and Justice (with a serpent).

The Key Symbolic Entities of the frieze
The Maid of Erin (Ireland): Positioned front and center facing south, this allegorical female figure represents the nation. She is depicted trampling on broken shackles to symbolize national liberty. With one hand, she points up to O'Connell as her liberator; in her other hand, she holds the physical document of the 1829 Act of Catholic Emancipation.
The Catholic Church: Represented by a bishop holding a crosier alongside members of the clergy. This acknowledges the foundational support of the Church in O'Connell's historic mobilization of the rural Catholic population.
The Professions and Civic Leaders: This group includes figures such as a bewigged lawyer, doctors, and civic leaders. This underscores O'Connell's own professional background as an elite barrister and his election as the first Catholic Lord Mayor of Dublin.
The Arts and Sciences: Symbolized by poets, historians, and scholars, demonstrating how the national cultural revival was intimately tied to his political campaigns.
The Trades and Industry: Portrayed by physical laborers, urban craftsmen, and merchants. They represent the emerging urban working class that powered the civic life of the capital.
The Peasantry: Depicted as rural agricultural workers carrying farm tools (such as hoes or scythes). This symbolizes the masses from provincial Ireland who formed the backbone of the "Catholic Association" and the monster political rallies.

Read All Abou It !
Via Trove, an extremely wordy description of the events - trove.nla.gov.au

A relevant excerpt (page 6, col. 1)
"... When the monument was reached, at a quarter to one o'clock precisely, the Lord Mayor proceeded to perform the formal ceremony of unveiling the statue. His lordship drew the cord, and revealed to the people the magnificent proportions of Foley's masterpiece. At this moment a bright gleam of sunshine burst forth and fell upon the noble figure. Cheer after cheer was raised, and loud expressions of admiration were heard on all sides ..."

15 August 1882 was a Tuesday ...