Charles Owen O'Conor, "the O'Conor Don"

Landlordism, liberal Catholicism and unionism in nineteenth-century Ireland

Aidan Enright

• Publisher: Four Courts Press
• Year: 2022
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781801510752
• Subtopic: Irish History
• Index: History

This book uncovers the world of Charles Owen O' Conor, "the O' Conor Don" (1838– 1906), a Catholic landlord and MP from County Roscommon. The scion of the last high king of Ireland and one of a long line of politically active O' Conors, he was destined for a life in politics and served as Liberal MP for County Roscommon between 1860 and 1880. In parliament, he pursued reforms in education, juvenile care, factory law, Sunday closing, the Irish language, and landownership. However, as a loyalist and a unionist, he was out of step with the mood and aims of popular Irish nationalism, especially on the issue of home rule. Indeed, what this book demonstrates is that although he was a devout Catholic and proud Irishman, his attachment to the union, the crown, and the empire ensured that he became an increasingly marginal figure in Irish politics between 1880 and his passing in 1906.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title pages
• Copyright page
• Table of contents
• Foreword
• List of illustrations
• List of abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. ‘Amongst the great Catholic Houses of Ireland’: the making of the O’Conors of Ballinagare and Clonalis,c.1640–1850
• 2. ‘An upholder of the old liberal opinions’: the O’Conor Don and his world
• 3. ‘Your relations with your numerous tenantry are most creditable’: the O’Conor Don and themanagement of his estates, 1860–1906
• 4. ‘Let them get rid of the landlords altogether’: the O’Conor Don and land reform, 1860–1903
• 5. ‘There must be perfect equality in educational matters for all’: the O’Conor Don and the Irish university question, 1860–80
• Plates
• 6. ‘I never will court popularity at the expense of my convictions’: the O’Conor Don, liberalism and nationalism, 1860–80
• 7. ‘I could not speak as an admirer or lover of the Union’: the O’Conor Don, liberalism, nationalism and unionism, 1880–1900
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1: The O’Conor Don’s family tree
• Appendix 2.1: Map of Ireland, with counties Roscommon and Sligo highlighted
• Appendix 2.2: Maps of counties Sligo and Roscommon with the civil parishes in which the O’Conor Don owned land
• Appendix 3: Landownership tables
• Bibliography
• Index