Exhibit to explore Frederick Douglass’ visit to Ireland

Douglass was in his 20s when he visited Ireland on a lecture tour and met one of his heroes, the Irish abolitionist Daniel O’Connell. (Photo By George Kendall Warren – This media is available in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration, cataloged under the National Archives Identifier (NAID) 558770.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. This scan from DOD War and Conflict CD collection.A lossless version is here, Public Domain)

HAMDEN, Conn. — A Connecticut museum dedicated to Irish history is launching an exhibition focusing on the time Frederick Douglass spent in the country in the 1840s.

The exhibition at Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University explores the impact that the poverty-ridden country had on the development of the anti-slavery campaigner.

Douglass was in his 20s when he visited Ireland on a lecture tour and met one of his heroes, the Irish abolitionist Daniel O’Connell. Throughout his life, Douglass playfully referred to himself as a “black O’Connell.”

The exhibition at the museum is part of a series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Douglass’ birth. It opens Feb. 2.

A 9-feet-by-9 feet statue of Douglass on loan from sculptor Andrew Edwards also will be displayed in the law school’s lobby.