Education Trinity College, Dublin | ||
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Died 25 April 1852, Le Bignon-Mirabeau, France Books The state of Ireland, The Present State of Great-Britain, The Origin and Progress of the Irish Union | ||
Arthur O'Connor (4 July 1763 – 25 April 1852), was a United Irishman and later a general in Napoleon's army.
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Early life
Born near Bandon, County Cork, O'Connor embraced the Republican movement early on as he was encouraged by the American Revolution overseas. From 1790 to 1795 he was a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons for Philipstown. The Irish House of Commons was part of the colonial parliament that sat in College Green. O'Connor was also a member of the Kildare Street Club in Dublin. His brother Roger O'Connor, author of the Chronicles of Eri, shared his politics. His two other brothers were pro-British loyalists.
United Irishmen
In 1796 he became a member of the Society of United Irishmen. He and Lord Edward Fitzgerald petitioned France for aid in support of an Irish revolution. While traveling to France he was arrested alongside Father James Coigly, a Catholic priest, and three other United Irishmen. Coigly, who found to be carrying an incriminating letter, was hanged, whereas O'Connor was acquitted. He was re-arrested immediately and imprisoned at Fort George in Scotland along with his brother Roger. On his way to confinement, he distributed a poem, which, seeming to recant his republican beliefs, with verses re-ordered, was instead a ringing re-affirmation of them:
France
O'Connor was released in 1802 under the condition of "banishment". He travelled to Paris, where he was regarded as the accredited representative of the United Irishmen by Napoleon who, in February 1804, appointed him General of Division in the French army. General Berthier, Minister of War, directed that O'Connor was to join the expeditionary army intended for the invasion of Ireland at Brest.
When the plan fell through, O'Connor retired from the army. He offered his services to Napoleon during the Hundred Days. After Napoleon's defeat he was allowed to retire, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1818. He supported the 1830 revolution which created the July Monarchy, publishing a defence of events in the form of an open letter to General Lafayette. After the revolution he became mayor of Le Bignon-Mirabeau. The rest of his life was spent composing literary works on political and social topics.
Personal life
In 1807, although more than twice her age, O'Connor married Alexandrine Louise Sophie de Caritat de Condorcet (b 1790/1-1859), known as Eliza, the daughter of the scholar the Marquis de Condorcet and Sophie de Condorcet.
Eliza and Arthur Condorcet-O'Connor's efforts took over where Sophie de Condorcet had left off, publishing the Marquis de Condorcet's works in twelve volumes in 1847–1849.
Eliza gave birth to five children almost all of whom died before their father. One son Daniel (1810–1851) married and had issue.
Children of Arthur O'Connor and Elisa de Condorcet:
Daniel's descendants served as officers in the French army. According to Clifford D. Conner (biographer of Arthur O'Connor), the O'Connor descendants still live at Chateau du Bignon.