Maurice O'Donnell
de Tyrconnell (German: Moritz Graf O'Donnell von Tyrconnell; 1780–1843) was an Austro-Irish count, born in Vienna
.
Family
He was a descendant of the Irish noble dynasty of
Franz Josef I of Austria in 1853; and Maurice Jr, Moritz O'Donnell
.
Career
He was raised in the Austro-Hungarian Academy of Engineers, and appointed as a sub-lieutenant at the age of sixteen. In 1799 he was promoted to the rank of captain in the 54th Infantry Regiment, guarding the Wallachian-
Madame de Staël during five days in Venice
. It was the beginning of a long relationship with Europe's leading socialite that lasted many years, with an intense correspondence with Madame de Staël, who at one time beseeched him to marry her.
On 11 April 1813, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and took part in campaigns in France, where he distinguished himself at the siege of
Gratz
, where he was demobilized on 8 May 1834 with a pension on 500 florins. However, he was again promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general of a division ad honorem.
He died in Dresden on 30 November 1843, and his wife the Countess Titine survived him until 1867.
References
- Seventy Year Young, Memories of Elizabeth, Countess of Fingal, by Elizabeth Burke-Plunkett, first published by Collins of London, 1937, and later by the *Lilliput Press, Dublin, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2005 ISBN 0 946640 74 2.
- Revue de Paris, 1925, which contains a collection of unedited letters of Mme. de Stael to Comte O'Donnell.
- Madame de Staël et Maurice O'Donnell (1805–1817), d'apres des letters inedites, by Jean Mistler, published by Calmann-Levy, Editeurs, 3 rue Auber, Paris, 1926.
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