Sir Dominick Daly (11 August 1798 – 19 February 1868) was the Governor of Prince Edward Island from 11 July 1854 to 25 May 1859 and later

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

from 4 March 1862 until his death on 19 February 1868. He was born in Ardfry,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1798, the son of Dominic Daly senior and third son of Joanna Harriet Blake, sister of Joseph Blake, 1st Baron Wallscourt and widow of Richard Burke of Glinsk. He was the half-brother of Sir John Ignatius Burke, 10th Baronet and

Sir Joseph Burke, 11th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

of the Burke baronets. He studied at St Mary's College, Oscott in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

In Canada

In 1823, he came to

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec ...

as secretary to Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis Nathaniel Burton. In 1827, he was appointed provincial secretary for Lower Canada. He was a member of the Special Council of Lower Canada from 1840 to 1841. After the Act of Union in 1840, it became a prerequisite for his post that he be elected and he ran successfully in the

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new c ...

riding of Megantick in 1841. In 1841, he was appointed provincial secretary of Canada East and a member of the Executive Council. When the council resigned en masse in November 1843 in a dispute with Governor Sir Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, Daly chose to remain, which was viewed as a betrayal by Reformers. This left Daly as acting head of government for several weeks. In 1844, he became provincial secretary for both Canada East and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

. In March 1845, he was challenged to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

by Reformer Thomas Cushing Aylwin; shots were fired but no one was injured. His tenacity in holding office earned him the nickname "the perpetual secretary", but he was nonetheless a popular and convivial character. Daly was removed from the Executive Council in 1848 when

Robert Baldwin Robert Baldwin (May 12, 1804 – December 9, 1858) was an Upper Canadian lawyer and politician who with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine of Lower Canada, led the first responsible government ministry in the Province of Canada. " ...

and

Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Sir Louis-Hippolyte Ménard ''dit'' La Fontaine, 1st Baronet, KCMG (October 4, 1807 – February 26, 1864) was a Canadian politician who served as the first Premier of the United Province of Canada and the first head of a responsible governmen ...

came to power; he returned to England and served on a commission of inquiry.

Tobago and Prince Edward Island

In 1852, Daly was appointed lieutenant-governor of

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offici ...

; he was next appointed to the same post in Prince Edward Island. In 1858, he announced his resignation from the latter post and departed the following year. He was knighted in 1856.

In Australia

In October 1861, he was appointed the

, becoming the first Catholic governor ever in Australia, notably in a colony with a smaller proportion of Catholics amongst its population than any other of the Australian provinces. Presumably, on account of his religion, he was not given an official reception when he and his wife and daughters arrived. Nonetheless, as in Canada, he quickly earned the respect and affection of the public, due to his charm, good nature and integrity. He died in office just after noon on 19 February 1868 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

after unexpectedly falling ill on the morning of the same day. He was reported as suffering from failing health prior to his sudden illness. Despite the intense heat, large crowds turned out to watch the funeral cortege pass, a tribute to the affection with which he was held.

Family

He married Caroline Maria Gore, second daughter of Ralph Gore of Barrowmount, Goresbridge,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the ...

. Despite suffering a stroke which left her

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in ...

, she outlived her husband by four years. They had five children, including the artist Caroline Louisa Daly (1832-1893), whose paintings have only very recently been recognized as her own work.

Geography

The town of Daly Waters was named after the new Governor of South Australia by

John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...

in 1862 on his third attempt to find a path from south to north across the centre of Australia. The Daly River further north was named after him in 1865 by surveyor Boyle Travers Finniss.

References

External links

* *

Political summary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, Dominick 1798 births 1868 deaths Governors of South Australia Governors of the Colony of South Australia Knights Bachelor Lieutenant Governors of the Colony of Prince Edward Island Politicians from County Galway Premiers of the Province of Canada Members of the Special Council of Lower Canada Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Canadian duellists Governors of British Tobago British colonial governors and administrators in Oceania