Daniel Charles O'Connell

Daniel Charles O'Connell Dónal Ó Conaill
Born	21 May 1745(1745-05-21) Derrynane, County Kerry, Ireland
Died	9 July 1833(1833-07-09) Château de Mâdon, Blois, France
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	soldier

Daniel Charles, Count O'Connell (May 1745 - 1833)^[1] was the uncle of Daniel O'Connell "the Liberator." He was from a noble family of Derrynane House, County Kerry, Ireland, but because of the Penal Laws (Ireland) of the time, which forbade a Catholic to have any education or profession, he, like many other ambitious young Irishmen, went to the Continent for an education, and remained abroad. He entered the service of the king of France in the Royal Swedish Regiment (Royal Suédois) in 1761, and in 1769 was transferred to Lord Clare's Regiment of the Irish Brigade (French) and served in Europe and Mauritius until 1778. Then he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel and transferred back to the Royal Swedish Regiment, with which he saw action at the siege of Port Mahon and at the Great Siege of Gibraltar. "At Gibraltar he was on board one of the famous floating batteries and was severely wounded." He was later appointed Colonel Commander of the Salm-Salm Regiment, and was created a Chevalier of the Order of Saint Louis. He also was appointed to a military committee charged with revising French infantry tactics.

Daniel Charles O'Connell was created Count O'Connell by Louis XVI in 1785.

He became an officer in the French king's Irish Brigade.^[2] He was a friend of, among others, Benoît de Boigne.

O'Connell left France for England after the French Revolution. The laws against Catholics were weakening, and in 1794, at the instigation of British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, he now joined the British army ^[3] and raised the Fourth Brigade of the Irish Brigade of the British army, which he commanded until the corps was disbanded.^[4]

He died at Blois, France, at the chateau of his stepdaughter, in July 1833, holding the ranks of General in the French and Colonel in the British army.

See also

• O'Connell of Derrynane
• Irish nobility
• Uí Fidgenti

References

1. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004-2007
2. ^ O'Connell, Mary Ann Bianconi. The Last Colonel of the Irish Brigade, London, 1892, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co.
3. ^ Griffin, Martin Ignatius Joseph. Catholics and the American Revolution, vol. 1. Ridley Park, PA, 1907.
4. ^ Bernard Burke. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland London, 1899, Harrison & Sons.

Persondata
Name	Oconnell, Daniel Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	21 May 1745
Place of birth	Derrynane, County Kerry, Ireland
Date of death	9 July 1833
Place of death	Château de Mâdon, Blois, France