O'Connell, second son of Daniel O'Connell, was born at 30 Merrion Square, Dublin, 31 October 1804. In 1819, self-styled General came to Dublin to enlist military aid for Simón Bolívar's army to liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule. He succeeded in forming an Irish Legion, to be part of Bolivar's British Legions; and O'Connell, encouraged by his father, was one of the officers who purchased a commission in it even though only 15 years old. The enterprise was mismanaged; there was no commissariat organisation on board the ships, and a part of the force died on the voyage. The remainder were disembarked on the Spanish Main at Margarita Island, where many deaths took place from starvation eight days after the Irish mutineers left for Jamaica. Bolivar, who had noted his pleasure at the departure of "these vile mercenaries", was too astute a diplomat to offend the son of his Irish counterpart. Morgan was accorded the appropriate privileges of his rank, and toasts were drunk to the health of his father, the ""most enlightened man in all Europe"". A portion of the expedition, under Francis O' Connor, effected an alliance with Bolivar, and to the energy of these allies the republican successes were chiefly due.