James Patrick Mahon
Encyclopedia
Charles James Patrick Mahon, known as the O'Gorman Mahon or James Patrick Mahon (17 March 1800 - 15 June 1891) was an Irish
nationalist
journalist
, barrister
, parliamentarian
and international mercenary
.
, County Clare
. His father was Patrick Mahon of New Park, who took part in the Rebellion of 1798
; his mother Barbara, a considerable heiress, was the only daughter of James O'Gorman of Ennis. Mahon studied at Clongowes Wood College
, where he was one of the earliest pupils, and at Trinity College Dublin, where he took his BA in 1822 and his MA in law in 1832. Until his father's death in 1821, he was sent an annual allowance of £500; afterwards, he inherited half the family property, also becoming a magistrate for Clare. He soon adopted the title "the O'Gorman Mahon", O'Gorman being his mother's maiden name. This was in part intended to give the false impression that he was the head of the Mahon clan.
In 1830 Mahon married Christina, the daughter of John O'Brien of Dublin. She was an heiress and had property valued at £60,000 in her own right, which gave Mahon the resources to seek election to parliament. The couple spent little time together, and she died apart from him in Paris in 1877. They had one son, St John, who died in 1883.
Born in a time when duelling was relatively common in Ireland, Mahon later claimed to have instigated and fought thirteen duel
s; and in these, to have been injured in six but to have drawn blood in seven. These enhanced the tall, striking Mahon's dashing reputation.
. He encouraged fellow member Daniel O'Connell
to stand for election at the Clare by-election, 1828. O'Connell's election, in which Mahon played a large role, persuaded the British Government to pass the Catholic Relief Act 1829
, which finalised the process of Catholic Emancipation
and permitted Roman Catholics
to sit in the British Parliament.
As a result, when Mahon was elected for Clare
at the 1830 UK general election, he was entitled to take his seat. However, during the election campaign he quarrelled with O'Connell, and after his election he was unseated for bribery
. He was subsequently acquitted, and stood again at the 1831 election
, but was defeated by two O'Connell-backed candidates, one of whom was his old schoolfriend Maurice O'Connell, Daniel O'Connell's son. Mahon gave up on politics, became deputy lieutenant
of Clare, and captain of the local militia
.
At the 1847 general election, Mahon was elected for Ennis
, and declared himself a Whig in favour of Irish Repeal. However, he opposed the Young Irelanders, and narrowly lost his seat at the 1852 election
.
After exploits abroad he returned to Ireland in 1871 and was a founding member of the Home Rule League
. Nearly ruined by his ventures, he even ended up at the Old Bailey
as a consequence of his dealings, but was acquitted. He was defeated in Ennis at the 1874 general election
, and also at the Clare by-election in 1877. Finally, he won the 1879 Clare by-election, and held the seat at the 1880 general election
.
He was a close associate of Charles Stewart Parnell
, who he successfully nominated for the leadership of the League in 1880, but in 1885 was dropped as a party candidate because of his age and his tendency to vote with the Liberal Party
in Parliament. He was also embroiled in a court case disputing the will of his son, St John Mahon, who died in 1884.
Parnell personally ensured Mahon was a candidate at the 1887 Carlow by-election, which he won at the age of 87 as a Liberal. By this point, Mahon was the oldest MP in the House of Commons
of the United Kingdom
. He died at his home in South Kensington
while still in office.
Mahon had served alongside William O'Shea
as an MP, and the two were close friends. He introduced him and Katharine O'Shea, his wife, to Parnell. After Parnell was named in the O'Shea's divorce case in 1890, Mahon split with Parnell, siding with the Irish National Federation
. However, Parnell attended Mahon's funeral in Glasnevin Cemetery
a few months later.
in 1834, but the following year, he left for Paris
. There he associated with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, becoming a favourite at Louis-Philippe's court and working as a journalist. He travelled the world, spending time in both Africa, where he befriended Ferdinand de Lesseps
, engineer of the Suez Canal
, and South America, before returning to Ireland in 1846.
Following his defeat in the 1852 election, Mahon returned to Paris, then travelled on to St Petersburg, where he served in the Imperial Bodyguard. During this period, he journeyed through lands from Finland
(where he hunted bear with the tsarevich) to Siberia
. He then travelled across China
, India
and Arabia. His finances largely exhausted, he served as a mercenary in the Ottoman and Austrian armies before returning to England in 1858. Late that year, he left for South America, where he attempted to finance the construction of a canal
through Central America
. He investigated the disappearance of Lionel Lambert, captain of the Vixen, on which Mahon had voyaged, and forced the Peruvian Government
to instigate an investigation which revealed that Lambert had been murdered. He reported these findings to Lord Palmerston
, a former Parliamentary colleague.
Mahon then returned to soldiery. He served in a number of forces, often in honorary positions. In Uruguay
he was appointed a general
in the government forces during the Uruguayan Civil War
. He also claimed to have commanded a Chilean fleet during the Chincha Islands War
and to have served as a colonel in Pedro II of Brazil
's army. Later legends claimed that he was made an archbishop
while in Brazil.
When Mahon heard that the American Civil War
had broken out, he went to fight for the Union. In 1866, he returned to Paris, where he was made a colonel
in a regiment of chasseurs by Louis-Napoleon, but the following year, he moved to Berlin
, where he became a close associate of Otto von Bismark. He was plagued by debts in this period, seeking money in speculative ventures, and in 1871 he returned to Ireland.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, parliamentarian
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
and international mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
.
Personal life
Mahon, the eldest of four children, was born into a prominent Roman Catholic family in EnnisEnnis
Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....
, County Clare
County Clare
-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...
. His father was Patrick Mahon of New Park, who took part in the Rebellion of 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
; his mother Barbara, a considerable heiress, was the only daughter of James O'Gorman of Ennis. Mahon studied at Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College
Clongowes Wood College is a voluntary secondary boarding school for boys, located near Clane in County Kildare, Ireland. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1814, it is one of Ireland's oldest Catholic schools, and featured prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the...
, where he was one of the earliest pupils, and at Trinity College Dublin, where he took his BA in 1822 and his MA in law in 1832. Until his father's death in 1821, he was sent an annual allowance of £500; afterwards, he inherited half the family property, also becoming a magistrate for Clare. He soon adopted the title "the O'Gorman Mahon", O'Gorman being his mother's maiden name. This was in part intended to give the false impression that he was the head of the Mahon clan.
In 1830 Mahon married Christina, the daughter of John O'Brien of Dublin. She was an heiress and had property valued at £60,000 in her own right, which gave Mahon the resources to seek election to parliament. The couple spent little time together, and she died apart from him in Paris in 1877. They had one son, St John, who died in 1883.
Born in a time when duelling was relatively common in Ireland, Mahon later claimed to have instigated and fought thirteen duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
s; and in these, to have been injured in six but to have drawn blood in seven. These enhanced the tall, striking Mahon's dashing reputation.
Politics
In 1826, Mahon joined the newly-formed Catholic AssociationCatholic Association
The Catholic Association was an Irish Roman Catholic political organisation set up by Daniel O'Connell in the early nineteenth century to campaign for Catholic emancipation within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was one of the first mass-membership political movements in...
. He encouraged fellow member Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell
Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
to stand for election at the Clare by-election, 1828. O'Connell's election, in which Mahon played a large role, persuaded the British Government to pass the Catholic Relief Act 1829
Catholic Relief Act 1829
The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 24 March 1829, and received Royal Assent on 13 April. It was the culmination of the process of Catholic Emancipation throughout the nation...
, which finalised the process of Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
and permitted Roman Catholics
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
to sit in the British Parliament.
As a result, when Mahon was elected for Clare
Clare (UK Parliament constituency)
Clare was a parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. From 1801 to 1885 it returned two Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland....
at the 1830 UK general election, he was entitled to take his seat. However, during the election campaign he quarrelled with O'Connell, and after his election he was unseated for bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
. He was subsequently acquitted, and stood again at the 1831 election
United Kingdom general election, 1831
The 1831 general election in the United Kingdom saw a landslide win by supporters of electoral reform, which was the major election issue. As a result it was the last unreformed election, as the Parliament which resulted ensured the passage of the Reform Act 1832. Polling was held from 28 April to...
, but was defeated by two O'Connell-backed candidates, one of whom was his old schoolfriend Maurice O'Connell, Daniel O'Connell's son. Mahon gave up on politics, became deputy lieutenant
Lord Lieutenant
The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representatives in the United Kingdom, usually in a county or similar circumscription, with varying tasks throughout history. Usually a retired local notable, senior military officer, peer or business person is given the post...
of Clare, and captain of the local militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
.
At the 1847 general election, Mahon was elected for Ennis
Ennis (UK Parliament constituency)
Ennis is a former United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Ireland, returning one MP. It was an original constituency represented in Parliament when the Union of Great Britain and Ireland took effect on 1 January 1801.-Members of Parliament:Notes:-...
, and declared himself a Whig in favour of Irish Repeal. However, he opposed the Young Irelanders, and narrowly lost his seat at the 1852 election
United Kingdom general election, 1852
The July 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed election in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising...
.
After exploits abroad he returned to Ireland in 1871 and was a founding member of the Home Rule League
Home Rule League
The Home Rule League, sometimes called the Home Rule Party, was a political party which campaigned for home rule for the country of Ireland from 1873 to 1882, when it was replaced by the Irish Parliamentary Party.-Origins:...
. Nearly ruined by his ventures, he even ended up at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
as a consequence of his dealings, but was acquitted. He was defeated in Ennis at the 1874 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1874
-Seats summary:-References:* F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
, and also at the Clare by-election in 1877. Finally, he won the 1879 Clare by-election, and held the seat at the 1880 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1880
-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...
.
He was a close associate of Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell
Charles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
, who he successfully nominated for the leadership of the League in 1880, but in 1885 was dropped as a party candidate because of his age and his tendency to vote with the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
in Parliament. He was also embroiled in a court case disputing the will of his son, St John Mahon, who died in 1884.
Parnell personally ensured Mahon was a candidate at the 1887 Carlow by-election, which he won at the age of 87 as a Liberal. By this point, Mahon was the oldest MP in the House of Commons
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. He died at his home in South Kensington
South Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
while still in office.
Mahon had served alongside William O'Shea
William O'Shea
Captain William Henry O'Shea was an Irish soldier and Member of Parliament.Born in Dublin, O'Shea was a captain in the 18th Hussars of the British Army....
as an MP, and the two were close friends. He introduced him and Katharine O'Shea, his wife, to Parnell. After Parnell was named in the O'Shea's divorce case in 1890, Mahon split with Parnell, siding with the Irish National Federation
Irish National Federation
The Irish National Federation was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded in March 1891 by former members of the Irish National League who had left the Irish Parliamentary Party in protest when Charles Stewart Parnell refused to resign the party leadership as a result of his...
. However, Parnell attended Mahon's funeral in Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery
Glasnevin Cemetery , officially known as Prospect Cemetery, is the largest non-denominational cemetery in Ireland with an estimated 1.5 million burials...
a few months later.
Travels
Mahon became a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in 1834, but the following year, he left for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. There he associated with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, becoming a favourite at Louis-Philippe's court and working as a journalist. He travelled the world, spending time in both Africa, where he befriended Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...
, engineer of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, and South America, before returning to Ireland in 1846.
Following his defeat in the 1852 election, Mahon returned to Paris, then travelled on to St Petersburg, where he served in the Imperial Bodyguard. During this period, he journeyed through lands from Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
(where he hunted bear with the tsarevich) to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
. He then travelled across China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Arabia. His finances largely exhausted, he served as a mercenary in the Ottoman and Austrian armies before returning to England in 1858. Late that year, he left for South America, where he attempted to finance the construction of a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
through Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. He investigated the disappearance of Lionel Lambert, captain of the Vixen, on which Mahon had voyaged, and forced the Peruvian Government
Government of Peru
Peru is a presidential representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. Under the current constitution, the President is the head of state and government; he or she is elected for five years and cannot seek immediate re-election, he or she must stand down for at least one full...
to instigate an investigation which revealed that Lambert had been murdered. He reported these findings to Lord Palmerston
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, a former Parliamentary colleague.
Mahon then returned to soldiery. He served in a number of forces, often in honorary positions. In Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
he was appointed a general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
in the government forces during the Uruguayan Civil War
Uruguayan Civil War
The Uruguayan Civil War, also known as "Guerra Grande", was a series of armed conflicts that took place between the Colorado Party and the National Party in Uruguay from 1839 to 1851...
. He also claimed to have commanded a Chilean fleet during the Chincha Islands War
Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War was a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile from 1864 to 1866, that began with Spain's seizure of the guano-rich Chincha Islands, part of a series of attempts by Isabel II of Spain to reassert her country's lost...
and to have served as a colonel in Pedro II of Brazil
Pedro II of Brazil
Dom Pedro II , nicknamed "the Magnanimous", was the second and last ruler of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he was the seventh child of Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil and Empress Dona Maria Leopoldina and thus a member of the Brazilian branch of...
's army. Later legends claimed that he was made an archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
while in Brazil.
When Mahon heard that the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
had broken out, he went to fight for the Union. In 1866, he returned to Paris, where he was made a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in a regiment of chasseurs by Louis-Napoleon, but the following year, he moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he became a close associate of Otto von Bismark. He was plagued by debts in this period, seeking money in speculative ventures, and in 1871 he returned to Ireland.
External links
- The O'Gorman Mahon, Hansard The O'Gorman Mahon