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He made his first appearance in public in 1810, when he spoke with eflfect at a meeting in favour of Emancipation, as- sembled at Kilmainham. The years be- tween 1 8 14 and 1823 were largely devoted to dramatic authorship. His plays of Adelaide, The Apostate, Bellamira, and Evadne, were remarkably successful, more from the acting of his countrywoman, Miss O'Neill, than from their intrinsic merit. Montoni was withdrawn after a few repre- sentations ; The Fatal Dowry somewhat retrieved his reputation; whilst the fail- ure of The Huguenot, which he considered his best play, contributed in no slight degree to divert him from a path he had found beset with disappointment, though not unrewarded by success. At this time he had married, and be- come a widower. In 1822 the first of his admirable Sketches of the Irish Bar appeared in the Neio Monthly Magazine. They were afterwards published in a col- lected form, and still afford the best sources for information concerning the leading Bar celebrities of the time in Ire- land. They were written in conjunction with William H. Curran, who was the author of some of the most important of them. Whilst not neglecting his profes- sion. Shell's life for many years was devoted to the struggle for Catholic Emancipation. His position as a public man daily became more recognized and defined, and his earliest dreams of oratoric fame gradually came to be realized. " At this time, and up to the termination of the great struggle in 1 829," wrote one who had himself shared in many of the hazards of the period, " Shell was in the most exposed position of any man in Ire- land, for he went further than all others to provoke the attacks of the Crown." In 1827 a prosecution was instituted against him for remarks publicly made iipon Theobald Wolfe Tone's career. The grand jury brought in a true bill against him, but further proceedings were abandoned in consequence of minis- terial changes. He showed no little moral courage in 1 828, when, hearing of a proposed meeting of freeholders and in- habitants of Kent to oppose any conces- sions to the Catholics, he purchased a small holding in the county, attended the great meeting on Pennington Heath, and raised his voice in protest against the resolutions. After the passing of the Emancipation Act he was called to the inner Bar. In July 1 830 he married Mrs. Power, a widowed lady of considerable means, with whom he lived in uninter- rupted happiness the rest of his life.

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This marriage made him independent of his profession, and enabled him to carry into effect a long-cherished desire of en- tering Parliament. Defeated in a contest for Louth, he was brought in by Lord Anglesea for Milborne Port, in Dorset- shire, in 1831, and occupied a seat in the House of Commons for the next eighteen years, most of the time for Tipperary, and latterly for Dungarvan. In 1832 he was enthusiastically welcomed on the plat- form of the Eepeal Society, by those who had been for so many years accustomed to hear his spirit-stirring harangues in favour of Emancipation. He took part in the Eepeal debate of April 1834, when the mo- tion was defeated by 523 to 38, and as a parliamentary question set at rest for many years. After the general election consequent on the death of William IV., and the friendly expressions of the Govern- ment towards Ireland, he accepted office as Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital. In 1839 he was appointed Vice-President of the Board of Trade. Although he was able to retain his seat, his acceptance of office was generally resented by his old friends in Ireland. That it had a con- siderable influence on his opinions can- not be doubted. He opposed the revival of the Repeal agitation ; and some years later he had the courage to declare upon the hustings at Dungarvan that he con- sidered Repeal to be a " splendid but un- attainable fancy"— justifying his change of opinion by reference to the altered atti- tude of the government of Great Britain towards Ireland. Yet he acted as one of John O'Connell's counsel at the State trials in 1844. In 1845 ^^ accompanied his wife and invalid son to Madeira, in the vain hope of benefiting the health of the latter, who died and was buried on the island. Mr. Shell was Master of the Mint from 1846 to 1850. During that period the new silver florin was put into circu- lation, those first coined being conspicuous by the omission of the initials of the legend : " Defensatrix Fidei : Dei gratia." The design was made by Mr. Wyon, chief engi-aver of the Mint, and approved by the Privy Council ; but a considerable turmoil was raised, the change being attributed to Mr. Shell being a Catholic. In reply to questions in the House, he accepted the responsibility of the omission of the words, avowed he had seen no objection to following the precedent which, was found in a portion of the silver coinage struck in her Majesty's name at Calcutta, and briefly and emphatically repudiated the imputation of sectarian motives. With the session of 1850 his

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