John Patrick O'Gara was a French-born soldier of Irish descent who served in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

during the eighteenth century. He was the son of Colonel Oliver O'Gara, a Jacobite exile who left Ireland for France following the surrender of forces loyal to James III under the

Treaty of Limerick }), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland, a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War. It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a Frenc ...

. Colonel O'Gara settled in Saint-Germain where James' exiled court was in residence. The Colonel married Mary Fleming, daughter of Randall Fleming, 21st Baron Slane, and had five children with her of whom John Patrick was the eldest, being

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

on 25 October 1692.The Jacobite Peerage p.135 Like many other sons of the Wild Geese, he sought a career in one of the

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (al ...

armies as the Penal Laws forbade

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

s from serving in either the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...

. O'Gara's career was fairly successful, rising to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

. Two of his younger brothers also joined the Spanish Army, while another

Charles O'Gara Charles O'Gara (born 1699 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain, d. 1777) was a French-born courtier of Irish parentage who rose to prominence in the service of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine and later his son Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. Like the ...

became a courtier at the Austrian court in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

References

Bibliography

* Melville Henry Massue Ruvigny Et Raineval. ''The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Grants of Honour''. Genealogical Publishing, 2003. Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers French soldiers 1692 births Year of death unknown French people of Irish descent Irish soldiers in the Spanish Army {{Ireland-bio-stub