'My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome, my soul to Heaven': Ireland's own heart bleeds for O'Connell's missing one

 ROME - Daniel O'Connell, who was born in 1775 in County Kerry and died in Genoa in May 1847, is Ireland's most celebrated hero, a father of the nation to whom monuments, streets and ongoing celebrations are dedicated. His body rests beneath a monumental tomb, topped by a tall column, in Gaisnevin Cemetery in Dublin.

 But where is his heart? It was in Rome, but it has disappeared. A great-grandson, Maurice O'Connell, is now taking advantage of the 250th anniversary of his famous ancestor's birth to ask that the search be resumed and that the heart, once found, be buried next to that of his wife Mary on Abbey Island.

 Daniel O'Connell, despite all his love for Mary, would probably not approve of this destination. He was on a pilgrimage from Genoa to Rome when he fell ill, and before he died he had time to say: “My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome, my soul to Heaven”. The first two points were granted: the heart was embalmed, placed in an urn and sent to Rome to the Irish College and placed in a crypt in the church of Sant'Agata dei Goti, in what is now Via Mazzarino.

 The heart remained there for more than half a century, an object of veneration for many Irish people visiting Rome. William Gladstone, prime minister for four terms, had described O'Connell as “the greatest popular leader the world has ever known”. When he gave speeches, 100,000 to 200,000 people would flock to hear him, all captivated by his words.

 He was a lawyer, nicknamed “the Liberator”, and fought against British laws that discriminated against Irish Catholics compared to Anglicans. Catholics, for example, were forbidden from being elected to Parliament. He had promoted campaigns against the payment of tithes to the Anglican Church of Ireland and had fought for the repeal of the Act of Union of 1801, which placed the Kingdom of Ireland under the control of England. O'Connell was a pacifist; he did not lead the masses into battle, but he fought vigorously to curb British interference.

 He dreamed of a Kingdom of Ireland headed by Queen Victoria, whom he greatly admired, but without laws that discriminated against Catholics. He had been elected once to the House of Commons but had refused to swear allegiance to George IV because the king was also head of the Anglican Church.

 His strong point was his oratory. Prime Minister Robert Peel was so concerned about the effectiveness of O'Connell's “monster meetings”, as they were called, that he banned them. Confirming his pacifist nature, he gave up holding any more, but was arrested anyway for sedition in 1844.

 He was released after a year thanks to the intervention of the House of Lords, but the harsh conditions of his imprisonment had already irreparably compromised his health. The pilgrimage to Rome, and a sure meeting with Pope Pius IX, should have served to restore his strength and confidence.

 In 1927, it was discovered that the urn containing the heart had disappeared from Sant'Agata dei Goti. An entry in the 1859 Irish Catholic Directory confirmed that it had been taken there, as evidenced by a commemorative plaque, and there was a letter from 1875 stating that the urn was inside the church.

 Historian John Crotty, who has devoted much research to the mystery of O'Connell's heart, recalled on RTE television that the Irish College was very proud to have received the relic: “We have the privilege,” they said, “of keeping the great heart of the father of this nation in our church”. The urn was placed in a niche in the wall, behind a marble plaque, and remained there for several decades.

 In 1927, however, the entire College had to move because work was underway to expand the headquarters of the Bank of Italy, which took over some of the church's appurtenances. While waiting for the construction site to close, almost every object was packed up and put in a safe place, and of course O'Connell's heart could not be forgotten. The plaque was removed to retrieve the urn, and to great surprise the niche was empty.

 According to Crotty, it is possible that the crypt had already been cordoned off a few days earlier for the works and that the heart had been taken to the Verano cemetery with other relics removed from that area. However, the Irish historian does not dismiss rumours that the relic had been transferred to a silver urn more precious than the original and that a worker, insensitive to the value of its contents, had kept it for himself.

 A Dublin artist, Claire Halpin, donated a reproduction of a heart to Sant'Agata in 2023, placed in a glass jar, to keep the memory alive and remind everyone that the search must continue.

 Maurice O'Connell also believes that if something is not done now, while the anniversary of his illustrious ancestor's birth brings his name back into the spotlight, “it will never be done”.

 It seems Rome hides things in a heartbeat but perhaps without ever losing them; it’s the search for these things that takes a long time and infinite patience.

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