The Irish patriot. Daniel O'Connel's legacy to Irish Americans

by Daniel O'Connell

Dear Friends : You are at a great distance from your native land! A wide expanse of water separates you from the beloved country of your birth—from us and from the kindred whom you love, and who love you, and pray for your happiness and prosperity in the land of your adoption.

Ye regard America with feelings of we do not look upon her as a strange land, nor upon her people as aliens from our affections. The steam has brought us nearer together; it will increase the intercourse between us, so that the character of the Irish people and of the American people must in future be acted upon by the feelings and dispositions of each.

The object of this address is to call your attention to the subject of slavery in America—that foul blot upon the noble institution and the fair fame of your adopted country. But for this one stain, America would indeed be a land worthy your adoption; but she will never be the glorious country that her free Constitution designed her to be, so long as her soil is polluted by the foot-prints of a single slave.

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 31, 2010

About the author

Daniel O'Connell (Irish: Dónall Ó Conaill), often referred to as The Liberator or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century. He campaigned for Catholic emancipation - including the right for Catholics to sit in the Westminster Parliament, denied for over 100 years - and repeal of the Act of Union which combined Great Britain and Ireland.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.