The 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell, the 19th-century Irish political leader, has renewed interest in the unexplained disappearance of his heart from a Roman church nearly a century ago. O'Connell, known as 'the Liberator' for his role in securing Catholic emancipation, died in 1847 with the request: 'My body to Ireland, my heart to Rome and my soul to heaven.'
His embalmed heart was subsequently placed in an urn behind a marble plaque in the church of St Agata dei Goti, attached to the Irish College in Rome. However, when the college relocated in 1927, the heart was found to be missing. Despite numerous theories, its whereabouts have never been established.
Speaking to RTÉ, Maurice O'Connell, a great-great-great-grandnephew of the statesman, said the anniversary provided an impetus to renew the search. 'It's a travesty if it was just left like that,' he said, adding that he would like to see the heart reunited with his wife, Mary, who is buried on Abbey Island in County Kerry.
One theory suggests the urn was accidentally removed during construction work by the Bank of Italy, which encroached on the church's crypt, and later reinterred at the Campo Verano cemetery. Another holds that the heart was transferred to a silver casket that was subsequently stolen by thieves.
Historian John Crotty told RTÉ it would be a 'tragedy' if the heart had been stolen, but expressed hope that it either remains beneath the chapel or was moved to Campo Verano. O'Connell's remains lie in Dublin's Glasnevin cemetery, but his heart is still unaccounted for, leaving the mystery unresolved as commemorations continue.
