He first became
distinguished as a lawyer; soon after being called, he distanced those
of his own standing, and in time, his legal opinion was regarded as
oracular. Crown lawyers, and even judges feared him, as well they might,
for he never spared them when they were wrong. In the early part of his
career, his admiring countrymen loved to call him, "the counsellor," and
it was their highest delight to hear him cross-examine a witness.
Anecdotes of his wit, humour, and keen penetration whilst so engaged,
are very numerous, very amusing, and full of character. As a
cross-examiner he had no rival at all; lawyers of his time there were,
who might dispute the palm with him for profound knowledge of the laws
and constitution of the country, yet some how or other it came to be
admitted, openly or tacitly, that no other lawyer could see so far into
an Act of Parliament as Dan, nor drive a coach and six through it so
triumphantly.
But it was in the political arena he made his enduring fame. When he
entered public life, the Catholics of Ireland were a despised, enslaved
race: not only were they enslaved, but through custom, or by tradition,
they thought, and spoke, and acted, like slaves.
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