|
Roger O'Connor (1762-1834) was an Irish nationalist and writer, known for the controversies surrounding his life and writings, notably his fanciful history of the Irish people, the ''Chronicles of Eri''. He was the brother of Arthur O'Connor and the father of Feargus O'Connor and Francisco Burdett O'Connor. ==Early life== O'Connor was born in Connorville, County Cork, into an Irish Protestant family.〔James Dunkerley, ''Americana: The Americas in the World Around 1850'', Verso, 2000, pp.449-50.〕 He studied law and was called to the bar in 1784. He married Louisa Anna Strachan, who died after giving birth to two children, Louise and Roderic.〔James Dunkerley, "The Third Man: Francisco Burdett O'Connor and the Emancipation of the Americas", ''University of London Institute of Latin American Studies Occasional Papers'', No. 20, 1999.〕 He remarried in 1788, to Wilhamena Bowen, who bore him four sons and three daughters.〔 Roger's younger brother Arthur O'Connor was one of the United Irishmen. Roger was himself associated with the movement, editing the nationalist journal ''Harp of Erin''. His two other brothers, Daniel and Robert, were pro-British loyalists. After his oldest brother Daniel got into debt, Roger bought out his inheritance for £5.000.〔 These political and financial conflicts were deepened by a family dispute following the suicide of his sister Anne, who had not been allowed by the family to marry a Catholic man she was in love with. This led to a long feud between Roger and his brother Robert.〔 According to historian James Dunkerley Robert, who was the local sheriff, "even tried to have Roger executed" for treason because of his involvement with ''Harp of Erin''.〔 Roger and Arthur engaged in nationalist activities in London, building a network of contacts. He went into hiding in the run up to the abortive 1796 rebellion. He subsequently surrendered to the authorities and was released. In July 1797 he assisted in the defence of other accused persons. According to Roger, this act led to further plots against him led by his loyalist brother Robert. He and Arthur were arrested and held in various locations over a period of several years before being finally released. Though an avowed Irish nationalist, O'Connor denied that he had ever been party to treasonable conspiracies. In 1799 he published ''To the People of Great Britain and Ireland'', a booklet that detailed what he considered to be his mistreatment.〔〔Roger O'Connor, ''To the People of Great Britain and Ireland'', Dublin, 1799.〕 The O'Connors received considerable support from Whig politicians in Britain. MP and playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan wrote that "the usage of Roger O'Connor, who is one of the finest fellows I ever saw, has been merciless beyond example".〔 O'Connor was held in Fort George near Inverness until 1801, when he was moved to London, but was barred from travelling to Ireland. ==Dangan== In 1803 O'Connor was finally allowed to return to Ireland. Following these troubles, O'Connor moved to Dangan Castle, Summerhill, County Meath having acquired the property on a permanently renewable lease from Thomas Burrowes of the East India Company. The castle had been the childhood home of Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington. O'Connor asserted that he had acquired it as "a suitable residence in which to entertain Napoleon" after the anticipated defeat of the British.〔〔Donald Read & Eric Glasgow, ''Feargus O'Connor: Irishman and Chartist'', Edward Arnold, 1961, p.13.〕 At this time he began his career as a writer, preparing commentaries on the Old Testament. He did so from a position of scepticism towards religion; he once said Voltaire was his God.〔 His wife Wilhamina died in 1806. After her death O'Connor's behaviour apparently became increasingly eccentric and extravagant. In 1809 a large part of the Castle was destroyed by fire. O'Connor was suspected of insurance fraud, as he had recently taken out a policy on the house. Many years later his son Francis (then known as Francisco) wrote in his autobiography that he had accidentally started the fire himself when melting lead to make bullets.〔〔Francisco Burdett O'Connor, ''Independencia Americana: Recuerdos de Francisco Burdett O'Connor'', 1895, reprint, La Paz, 1972, p. 5.〕 In 1817 O'Connor and his son Arthur were arrested on a charge of having organised a mail robbery five years earlier, during which a guard was shot and killed. Two of the robbers had been apprehended after attempting to pass some of the stolen property, and had implicated O'Connor. The robbers were labourers employed on O'Connor's estate.〔 It was alleged that O'Connor's steward Martin McKeon had conspired with him to organise the robbery, with McKeon recruiting the robbers. O'Connor was allegedly motivated by debt. Both men were put on trial. Arthur was also arrested, but later released. O'Connor stated that his only connection to the robbery was that his son had found the abandoned mailbags on his land. An endorsement of O'Connor's moral character was given by O'Connor's close friend the MP Sir Francis Burdett, who stated that he was happy to lend any sum of money to O'Connor. O'Connor and McKeon were both acquitted, as the accusers' evidence was not considered credible.〔 O'Connor and his supporters pointed out that the robbers had been spared the death penalty for testifying against him. O'Connor published his version of events, in which he argued that there had been a conspiracy to have him convicted. He claimed this was only the most recent of ten conspiracies to kill him, "being the first against my character—the tenth against my life in the past twenty-four years". Its real purpose was to destroy his reputation among the local people who "adored" him: O'Connor's later attempt to sue one of the accusers for perjury brought out details of events on the night of the robbery that led to continued suspicion against him. Local support was also undermined when he was cross-examined about his religious views, and asserted that the Bible was not a divine revelation. John P. Prendergast, in an article on O'Connor, says that "thenceforth Roger O'Connor stood condemned in public opinion of the robbery for the Galway mail".〔 Shortly after these events O'Connor's landlord attempted to get him evicted from Dangan, but the attempt failed. Nevertheless, O'Connor left the property and moved to Paris.〔 It was later alleged by McKeon's son that the robbery was a cover for the interception of compromising letters written by Burdett to a married lover. This was supposed to explain Burdett's support of O'Connor.〔O'Connor, Roger, Dictionary of National Biography〕 While these events were unfolding, O'Connor's teenage sons Feargus and Francis fled the family home, travelled to London and asked to be looked after by Francis Burdett. Burdett took them in.〔 O'Connor's oldest son Roderic moved to Australia. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Roger O'Connor」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|