Clew Bay slaveholders talk in Mayo this evening

‘THE House that Sally built - Clew Bay Slaveholders in the former British Caribbean’ is the title of a talk to be delivered by Dr. Michael M. O’Connor to Westport Civic Trust this evening (Tuesday, October 17) in the Walnut suite, Plaza Hotel, Westport, at 8 p.m. All are welcome.

This lecture will examine the connections between Clew Bay families, such as the Garveys, Brownes, O’Malleys and Clarkes, and historical slavery in the British Caribbean before the abolition of slavery in 1834.

It will consider why individuals with links to Clew Bay became involved in planting and slavery. It will look at the benefits that accrued to them socially, politically and economically through having a presence on both sides of the Atlantic.

It will also consider the difficulties of reconstructing the biographies of the many thousands whose lives were stolen and identities erased by planters and slaveholders who called Clew Bay their home.

Finally, it will consider the broader issue of the legacies of Clew Bay slaveholders and the connection between Clew Bay and Jamaican political activist, black nationalist and Pan-Africanist Marcus Garvey.

Mayo native Dr. Michael M. O'Connor is a lawyer and independent researcher. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, he is a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales and the High Court of Ireland.

His research interests in legal history, slavery and the experience of women before the law are reflected in his recent published work - Anatomy of A County Gaol: history of imprisonment, capital punishment and transportation in County Mayo; Criminal Conversations with my wife - women and the laws of men; and Caribbean Slave Owners & Other Lesser-Known Histories from County Mayo.