On the 29-30th of July, a Symposium organised by the Trinity Long Room Hub took place at Trinity College Dublin. The conference commemorating the life of Daniel O’Connell was hosted in partnership with The Bar of Ireland and Diageo, and in affiliation with the School of Histories and Humanities, Glasnevin Cemetery, and the Daniel O’Connell Summer School. The event comprised four lecture sessions focused on the life and global impact of O’Connell, a keynote session with an address from Taoiseach Micheál Martin, and a panel at Glasnevin Cemetery.
Professor Patrick Geoghegan, Director of the Trinity Long Room Hub was the dedicated figure behind the Symposium. As a leading Trinity historian and author of multiple publications on eighteenth and nineteenth-century Ireland, he composed a two-volume biography of Daniel O’Connell – an acclaimed work highlighting the significance of O’Connell’s legacy for contemporary students. Prof Geoghegan opened the Symposium with an introduction in the Edmund Burke Theatre in the Arts Block.
The most-awaited session of the event took place at 6pm on the first day of the Symposium. The session opened with Trinity Provost Dr Linda Doyle who introduced the speakers of the evening and discussed Daniel O’Connell’s involvement with Trinity and The Hist.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was the first guest to deliver a speech, thanking the respective organisers and partners of the event and noting O’Connell as a pioneer in the human rights movement. The Taoiseach’s address was, however, promptly interrupted by Nathan Hutchinson-Edgar of the Student Neutrality Front, who accused Martin of turning his back on the people of Palestine and confronted him on Ireland’s role as the second-biggest trade partner with Israel.
After Hutchinson-Edgar was removed from the lecture theatre, Martin continued his address, stating that “the one thing O’Connell believed in was the freedom of speech, and he avoided the suppression of the capacity of people to speak from a public platform.” This was met with applause from the audience.
The Taoiseach ended his address with the unveiling of two new stamps dedicated to Daniel O’Connell and picturing scenes from the Liberator’s political life. The stamps were designed by Irish artist David Rooney.
O’Connell’s legacy as a human rights advocate was further invoked by Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer. In 2022, Matviichuk’s organisation The Centre for Civil Liberties was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Matviichuk began her speech by quoting Daniel O’Connell and relating his words to the conflict in Ukraine. She acknowledged that “it is not just a war between two states. This is a war between two systems – authoritarianism and democracy.” Matviichuk expressed her hope to continue O’Connell’s cause in the fight against oppression and advocated for the significance of the masses as a source of change.
This sentiment was furthered by Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin – former UN Special Rapporteur and expert on international human rights. Ní Aoláin closed the session with her speech on Ireland’s role in the global community and O’Connell’s significance in shaping today’s values of equality and autonomy.
Other prominent guests included Professor Christine Kinealy, who delivered a presentation on O’Connell’s involvement in the anti-slavery movement, and Imogen McGrath SC, who honoured O’Connell as a brilliant barrister. McGrath further introduced the Bar of Ireland’s newly launched Liberator Scholarship, which will provide a young barrister with funding to attend Harvard’s Programme on Negotiation and Leadership.
The O’Connell 250 Symposium is a part of a series of commemorative events which will culminate in 2029 with the celebration of Catholic Emancipation.
