Thomas Steele : Short Biography

Thomas Steele was born in Derrymore, Tulla in 1788.  He was from a Somerset family who had settled in Ireland in the 17th century.  His father, William died when he was very young, and he was raised by an uncle, Thomas Steele, a very large landowner  at nearby  Cullane House.  He was educated at Trinity College in Dublin, and obtained further education at Magdalene College, Cambridge. Young Thomas was adventurous in spirit and he fought in the Spanish War of 1823 after leaving university.  He returned to Ireland and became an ardent supporter of Catholic Emancipation and one of the earliest members of the revived Catholic Association even though he was Protestant.

As a result of his activities, he came into contact with Daniel O'Connell and became a loyal  supporter and great friend to him.  He seconded O'Connell's nomination for Clare in 1828 and actively urged people to vote for him.  As he was not only a Protestant supporter,  but also a landowner, his influence in that election was one of the main contributing factors to O'Connell's success.  As a result of his support, Daniel O'Connell appointed him to be the Head Pacificator due to his sincerity and belief in honesty and integrity.  Thus, he became known as Honest Tom.

Tom Steele continued to support O'Connell through the 1830s and 1840s, even though factions within the Catholic Emanicipation Movement developed.   Both men were tried and imprisoned for a year in 1843.  Tom Steele was despondent towards the end of his life, particularly after O'Connell's death and  having wasted most of his fortune on his causes and he attempted suicide in the Thames River in 1848.  He was rescued but died shortly thereafter.

He is buried next to Daniel O'Connell in Glasnevin Cemetery.  He authored the book entitled  Practical Suggestions For the Improvement of the Nativation of the Shannon (1828).

For further information on Thomas Steele,  please go to  Turtle Bunbury's excellent article on the following link:  www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_heroes/hist_herohonesttom.htm.

or through the Facebook page of Wistorical.

Many thanks to Turtle for allowing us to share his link.

Information taken from www.wikisource.org./thomassteele.