Individual Details
Laurence O'HARA
(Abt 1772 - Aft 2 Nov 1839)
Laurence ran a farm in Cootehall, Co. Roscommon, although it is believed that his original occupation was a hatter. He was born in Co. Sligo and research carried out by the late Kevin Kelly from Dublin suggests that Laurence was from the Kilmactranny/Riverstown/Ballintogher area of Sligo. The book 'Ancestral Quest, Tracing my Ancestors in Ireland' [published in 2008], written by Patrick Lavin, a descendant of Lawrence above, tells us that Kevin had been told that "Laurence and Mary often went back to visit their families in Sligo. Those visits were usually for a short period, possibly only a day or two. When Laurence went alone, he went on horseback; when Mary accompanied him, they traveled by horse-drawn vehicle of some kind. The direction he took was along the Ballintogher road. According to Kevin Kelly, that would seem to suggest that the destination was some place between the line Lough Arrow/Riverstown and the Leitrim border. Kelly suggests that the length of the visit, mode of transport and the poor quality of secondary roads at the time would have their destination at not more than 15-20 miles away. Therefore, it can be accepted, with some degree of certainty, that the area in County Sligo where Laurence and Mary came from was somewhere within the Kilmactranny-Riverstown-Ballintogher triangle".
Kevin's research also suggests that Laurence may have had three brothers: Roger who got the family farm in Sligo and became a Protestant, another whose name may have been Patrick and another who moved to Belfast but no proof of this has been discovered.
There lived in Cootehall in the mid-19th century a man by the name of Paddy O'Hara, more commonly known as 'Paddy from Cootehall'. Paddy was a noted raparee (a bandit supportive of the struggle for Irish independence) who operated in the Cootehall area in early Fenian times. He was arrested following a raid for arms on the Hill of Leitrim and died of typhus in Roscommon jail about 1862. It is possible that Paddy was a descendant of Laurence above but we have no evidence whatsoever of any connection.
Another possible relative of Laurence is a Roger O'Hara, with two children under 14 years of age and two over 14, who is listed in the Elphin Diocesan Census of 1749 as a papist farmer in the townland of Knockroe in the parish of Kilmacallan in Co. Sligo. Given that Kilmacallen is not too far from Riverstown and that Roger is a traditional name in our O'Hara family, it is possible that Roger was connected to Laurence. Could he have been Laurence's grandfather?
Notes:
1. Besides information on the O'Hara family, Patrick Lavin's 'Ancestral Quest, Tracing my Ancestors in Ireland' contains the family history of Patrick's other Roscommon ancestors: the Lavin family of Kilmore, the Callery family of Elphin and the Flynn family of Kilbride.
2. The O'Hara surname is a phonetic anglicisation of 'Ó hEaghra', a family that originated in Co. Sligo.
Kevin's research also suggests that Laurence may have had three brothers: Roger who got the family farm in Sligo and became a Protestant, another whose name may have been Patrick and another who moved to Belfast but no proof of this has been discovered.
There lived in Cootehall in the mid-19th century a man by the name of Paddy O'Hara, more commonly known as 'Paddy from Cootehall'. Paddy was a noted raparee (a bandit supportive of the struggle for Irish independence) who operated in the Cootehall area in early Fenian times. He was arrested following a raid for arms on the Hill of Leitrim and died of typhus in Roscommon jail about 1862. It is possible that Paddy was a descendant of Laurence above but we have no evidence whatsoever of any connection.
Another possible relative of Laurence is a Roger O'Hara, with two children under 14 years of age and two over 14, who is listed in the Elphin Diocesan Census of 1749 as a papist farmer in the townland of Knockroe in the parish of Kilmacallan in Co. Sligo. Given that Kilmacallen is not too far from Riverstown and that Roger is a traditional name in our O'Hara family, it is possible that Roger was connected to Laurence. Could he have been Laurence's grandfather?
Notes:
1. Besides information on the O'Hara family, Patrick Lavin's 'Ancestral Quest, Tracing my Ancestors in Ireland' contains the family history of Patrick's other Roscommon ancestors: the Lavin family of Kilmore, the Callery family of Elphin and the Flynn family of Kilbride.
2. The O'Hara surname is a phonetic anglicisation of 'Ó hEaghra', a family that originated in Co. Sligo.
Events
| Birth | Abt 1772 | probably Riverstown area, Co. Sligo | |||
| Marriage | Abt 1796 | Mary MCDONAGH | |||
| Death | Aft 2 Nov 1839 | probably Cootehall, Co. Roscommon | |||
| Burial | Ardcarne Cemetery, Cootehall, Co. Roscommon |
Families
| Spouse | Mary MCDONAGH (1778 - 1839) |
| Child | William O'HARA (1797 - 1872) |
| Child | Johanna (Jane) O'HARA (caution: not verified) (1800 - ) |
| Child | Roger O'HARA (1800 - 1865) |
| Child | Patrick O'HARA (1808 - 1886) |
| Child | Laurence O'HARA (1815 - 1885) |