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Coat
Coat, green with gold piping and gold buttons, possibly part of Clare Militia uniform, possibly connected to Daniel O'Connell
Coat, green, double breasted, with gold piping of intricate knots on sleeve cuffs, collar and on skirt at front, gold buttons on front and on coat tails
As a mark of his appreciation for loyal service, Daniel O’Connell gave this woollen frock coat that he had himself worn to Ennis man Michael G Considine, sometime before O’Connell’s death in 1847. When Michael Considine died in 1884, the coat stayed with the family and was passed down through the generations, with visitors to the house being invited to try on the coat that was once worn by one of the most important political figures in Irish history.
In 1965, descendants of Michael G Considine presented the coat to the newly opened but short-lived Ennis Museum in Bidon Street. When the museum closed in 1975, the collection was moved to the newly built library building in Harmony Row. It was transferred to Clare Museum in 2000.
The coat underwent conservation in 2009 and has been on display in the long-term exhibition for a number of years. The harp badge on the front of the coat is not original and is likely to have been added during the Home Rule campaign in the late 19th or early 20th century.
Collection: De Valera Museum
Category: Costume