The Rt. Hon. Thomas Power O’Connor, MP, pictured in 1928

An extract from Memoirs of an Old Parliamentarian by T.P. O’Connor:

QUEEN’S COLLEGE DEBATING SOCIETY

Why did they come to me - living in a garret, with no money and no record of political service? It all went back to my Life of Beaconsfield[i], which had raised my head above water and made me known a little in Ireland. There were other reasons. I had graduated in the Queen’s College in Galway, and had acquired some distinction in my studies; but, what was more important for my future - though in itself very unimportant[ii] - we had a debating society connected with the College. Its meetings were usually held in private, but occasionally it held public discussions, to which the people of the town were admitted.

Though I was terribly shy, and did not know whether I stood on my head or my feet, I made a little speech at one of these public meetings. It was during the American Civil War, and I used to recall the fact, when I was speaking in later years, that this maiden speech of mine was in defence of the South. Knowing nothing about the merits of the struggle, I think I was mainly influenced by the discourse of one of those curious Irish “returned empties” that get back to Ireland - poor as when they go except in travellers’ tales. This man - George Marshall I think was his name - had a great flowing beard, a belligerent look and manner. One of his tales was that, in his eagerness to discover a new star, he held his eye to a telescope for three years without interruption.

He was a fierce anti-clerical, and gave blood-curdling tales of how he had made war on the monks of Mexico. He was known as the Texan Ranger, and I fancy that he lived on his relatives, for he never did a stroke of work. He had proclaimed everywhere the chivalry of the South, and the fact that the Southern States demanded what might be called Home Rule established an analogy between their demand and that of Ireland. To a young Irish Home Ruler like myself, this was enough to justify their claim.

My second speech excited more attention; I quoted freely from Thackeray’s indictment of the Georges, mentioning, among other horrors, the statement that George II cared only for his fat German mistresses. This had the effect of driving out one of the audience with a loud protest; but then, he was a Presbyterian clergyman.

Finally I was chosen to be one of the four chief debaters in a set public debate. I forget the subject, but I prepared my speech with some care; it was, if I remember rightly, well arranged. When I sat down I had established my reputation locally, and Frank Hugh O’Donnell[iii], who was, after all, something of a rival, proclaimed me the orator of the Literary Society.

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[i] O’Connor wrote a famous biography of the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (the Earl of Beaconsfield), which was published in 1876. The book wasn’t exactly glowing in its portrayal of Disraeli, and brought O’Connor considerable public attention.

[ii] Surely he can’t mean what it sounds like he says?

[iii] Frank Hugh O’Donnell was Auditor of the Lit & Deb in the 1860’s, and went on to become a Nationalist MP for Dungarvan. Noted for his oratory in parliament, he was the plaintiff in the libel action against the London Times over the Piggot Forgeries which almost toppled Parnell.