Did Arthur O Connor want to be King ?

[amblincork]

Did O Connor want to be King of Ireland ?
Jane Hayter Hames, in her biography of Arthur O Connor, referred to Thomas Addis Emmet’s suspicions that O Connor had ambitions to become King of Ireland.
According to Hames : “ Napoleon had put General Bernadotte on the throne of Sweden , his relations on the thrones of Spain and Italy. Why not instate an O’Connor on the Irish throne? Arthur always said a French invasion must be immediately followed by elections….Emmet’s fears were unfounded, O Connor had no designs on a throne. If Bonaparte had foisted him on the Irish as a monarch, he would have been insulted and furious. “
Whilst Hames exonerates O Connor from the charge of Kingly ambitions, she does raise the very real question of how much the French would have interfered in Ireland if the rebellion had been successful.
It is unlikely that Bonaparte would have been content to leave Ireland outside of his empire and at the very least might have considered a puppet government of some sort. And even if he had been generous would a victorious Britain have been content to leave an independent Ireland on its doorstep after defeating France.
Perhaps we need to take a more pragmatic approach when looking at the events of 200 years ago.

[amblincork]

The first two paragraphs of Hayter Hames's epilogue of her biography of Arthur O connor, United Irishman :

"Every man may look in the mirror and Arthur O Connor frequently turned his gaze upon himself.
Was it I or was it Pitt, he asked himself ? Either I have been the author of the greatest evil or…..it is Pitt. Even the question was a reflection of his sense of importance. There were other culprits, perhaps they were beneath his notice. There was Lake, a barbarous General. There was Beresford, the epitome of corruption. Camden was head of government when martial law was declared. King George III refused Catholic Emancipation because he was unaware of its necessity.
O Connor understood political power, he had experienced it. For a brief period, he led the United Irish Men and set the pace in Ireland. He recognised the power that Pitt exercised as head of the British government and the skill with which he used it. The slim high- stepping Minister had resolute determination. O Connor had energy, the energy which rage breeds in intellect. In the contest, thousands died. "

[Utopian Hermit Monk]

I can't say whether or not Arthur O'Connor wanted to be King of Ireland.

But I think C.J.H. would have been happy to accept the role.

[jellyroll]

According to Hames : “Napoleon had put General Bernadotte on the throne of Sweden ,.

Surely this is a bit simplistic. It reads as if Napoleon woke up one morning and decided to put Marshal Bernadotte on the Swedish throne. Anyone with a passing knowledge of this era would know that the matter was much more complicated than that. Rather a basic error for someone writing on this era to make.

[advertismo]

''It is unlikely that Bonaparte would have been content to leave Ireland outside of his empire and at the very least might have considered a puppet government of some sort.''
- the past prefiguring the present.

[amblincork]

I can't say whether or not Arthur O'Connor wanted to be King of Ireland.

But I think C.J.H. would have been happy to accept the role.

touche