You may have noticed that the O’Connell Monument in Dublin’s main thoroughfare has undergone a major facelift. This monument was unveiled by the Right Honourable Charles Dawson MP Lord Mayor of Dublin on 15th August 1882.

The foundation stone was laid on Monday August 8th 1864 with an imposing ceremony by The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Dublin, Peter Paul McSwiney.

The procession which preceded the ceremony was said to be one of the most splendid sights ever witnessed in Dublin. It took three hours to pass. It started from St. Stephen’s Green and along its route the streets were populated with throngs of people. The procession reached Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street) and at 3.30pm, the Lord Mayor arrived, accompanied by the then-Archbishops of Cashel, Limerick, Cork, Dublin etc. and Sir John Grey and other distinguished Irishmen.

Sir John Grey made an eloquent address to the Lord Mayor on behalf of the O’Connell monument committee and requested him as the first citizen of Dublin to lay the foundation stone on behalf of the people of Ireland.

He then handed the Lord Mayor a trowel of beautiful workmanship composed of solid silver and bearing the following inscription: ‘Presented by the O’Connell National Monument to the Right Honourable Peter Paul McSwiney, Lord Mayor of Dublin on the occasion of the laying of the first stone of the monument on August 8th 1864’.

The foundation stone formed a large square block of granite weighing two tonne.

The Lord Mayor, assisted by Sir John Grey, completed the laying of the stone.

It would be 18 more years before the actual statue was in place and I am sure you will agree that as a work of art it stands unrivalled, full of power and grace.

On a personal note, when I look at this great monument, I cannot but think of the unobtrusive forerunner of the great liberator John Keogh, whom history has at times forgotten.

When O’Connell came on the scene, the Catholics had been freed from the tyranny of the penal laws but the great John Keogh fought for their rights against overwhelming odds.

John was born in 1740 and died at Mount Jerome in 1817. He is buried in St Kevin’s Park (Formerly St Kevin’s Church and graveyard Camden Row) where his grave is still preserved.