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Clodagh Finn: Mary O’Connell, the Liberator’s wife, remains almost invisible

Why is Mary O’Connell so little celebrated when she played such a key role in Irish history?
Clodagh Finn: Mary O’Connell, the Liberator’s wife, remains almost invisible

Mary O'Connell with her youngest son Daniel in a portrait by John Gubbins. Picture: courtesy of OPW and Derrynane House

THE injustice of it hits me every time I walk down O’Connell Street. I’m referring to the main thoroughfare in Dublin, but the same applies to the street in Limerick or anywhere there’s a school, club, or organisation named after the great liberator Daniel O’Connell.

The memory of the barrister, politician, and nationalist leader who fought for Catholic emancipation is still sharp in the public mind.

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