The Daguerreotype

• Photographer
  Deirdre Brennan
• Agency / Studio
  Deirdre Brennan Photographer
• Photo Date
  July 2025

To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O’Connell, I recreated a very rare daguerreotype of O'Connell with living relatives. This is the only known surviving photographic image of him, taken in 1844 while he was imprisoned in Richmond Bridewell by Alexander Doussin Dubreuil. © National Gallery of Ireland. One of Ireland’s most influential political leaders, O'Connell is remembered for his tireless advocacy for civil rights, most notably Catholic Emancipation. O’Connell was also a fierce opponent of slavery. In 1845, he met the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Deirdre Brennan holds a Bachelors in Fine Art from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. Her work has been published internationally in titles such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Guardian, American Photography, The Sunday Times, Newsweek, Mother Jones, Portrait of Humanity, Le Monde, The Hollywood Reporter, Der Grief, Marie Claire, Der Spiegel. Her photographic practice has always been informed by a life long interest in social justice, politics and history. Fusing historical and social research with image experimentation.