Ivy Day was celebrated in Parnell's ancestral home at the weekend in the company of his grandniece. Ms Mary Pat Butterfield, who lives in Sussex, is descended from Parnell's youngest sister, Theodosia.
Dr Eamon Duffy, reader in church history and fellow of Magdalene College, and author of a history of the popes, described Parnell as a pugnacious undergraduate at Cambridge.
After a drunken brawl while a student at Magdalene in 1869, he was rusticated for the remainder of term. He never reappeared. His Cambridge experience may have helped to shape his view of English society as something alien to him.
The Irish branch of the Cambridge Society hosted a lunch on Sunday in Avondale, Co Wicklow. Its chairman, Mr Charles Lysaght, a former president of the Cambridge Union, described Parnell as the most significant statesman in modern Irish history.
Between 1880, when Parnell became a leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and 1886, when Gladstone embraced Home Rule, the Irish State was effectively born.
Dr Maurice Craig spoke about Samuel Hayes, the builder and possible architect of Avondale House. Parnell intended that his beloved Katharine would inherit Avondale. She never visited Ireland. Parnell died in her arms in Brighton on October 6th, 1891, aged 45.
The attendance also included Sir John Esmonde; Mr Frank Callanan, barrister and author; Prof Patrick Lynch; Prof Ronan Fanning; Mr James Maguire; and members of the Parnell Society.
