Oliver O'Gara was an Irish politician and soldier of the 17th and 18th centuries who was closely identified with the Jacobite cause.

Family background

He was descended from the

Ó Gadhra Ó Gadhra or O'Gara is an Ireland, Irish surname which originated in the kingdom of Luighne Connacht. Variants include Garry (surname), Garry, Geary (surname), Geary, Gerry, and Guiry (disambiguation), Guiry. Irish Names and Surnames', pp. 100. Pa ...

's of

Luighne Connacht Luighne Connacht was a territory located in north-central Connacht, on the borders of what is now County Mayo and County Sligo, Ireland. Origin The Luighne were a people, originally found in Brega, south of Kells in what is now County Meath ...

. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

his family had remained

Roman Catholics 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 ...

. The O'Garas remained prominent figures in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

. Oliver was the son Captain John O'Gara and Mary O'Conor. His paternal grandparents were

Fearghal Ó Gadhra Fearghal Ó Gadhra (c. 1597 – after 1660), sometimes referred to as Farrell O'Gara, was lord of Coolavin, and patron of the ''Annals of the Four Masters''. Family background Ó Gadhra was the son of Tadhg mac Oilill Ó Gadhra of Coolavin, loc ...

(Farell O'Gara) and Isobel Taaffe. Isobel Taaffe was a sister of John Taaffe, 1st Viscount Taaffe of Corren. His maternal grandparents were Cathal O'Conor of Bellanagare Castle and Anne O'Molloy daughter of William 'Mor' O'Molloy, The O'Molloy. Cathal O'Conor was the third son of Sir Hugh O'Conor, O'Conor Don of Ballintober Castle in

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

and Mary O'Rourke daughter of Sir Brian O'Rourke. Therefore, Oliver was a first cousin to the father of

Charles O'Conor Charles O'Conor may refer to: * Charles O'Conor (historian) (1710–1791), Irish writer, historian, and antiquarian * Charles O'Conor (priest) (1764–1828), Irish priest and historian, grandson of the above * Charles O'Conor (American politician) ( ...

Life

In 1689 O'Gara was a member of the

Patriot Parliament Patriot Parliament is the name commonly used for the Irish Parliament session called by King James II during the Williamite War in Ireland which lasted from 1688 to 1691. The first since 1666, it held only one session, which lasted from 7 May 16 ...

where he represented the constituency of

. During the

War of the Two Kings The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called the ...

he was given command of a newly raised infantry regiment in the

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 ...

which took part in an expedition led by

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

to capture the Protestant-held town of

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. In 1690 O'Gara commanded the Jacobite garrison at Jamestown in

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...

, repulsing an advance by a much larger force of Williamite troops under James Douglas. In 1696 O'Gara became the proprietor of O'Gara's Dragoons. O'Gara served with his regiment at the decisive

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim ( ga, Cath Eachroma) was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Jacobite army loyal to James II and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 (old style, equivalent ...

, which ended in Jacobite defeat. Following 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 ...

, O'Gara acted as a hostage until it was clear the terms had been honoured. He then went into exile as a Wild Geese, joining the Irish Brigade of the French Army. He was an influential figure at the Jacobite court-in-exile at Saint-Germain. In 1727 the exiled James III awarded him a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and he was styled by the Jacobites as Sir Oliver O'Gara, but this was never recognised by the

Irish government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Marriage and issue

O'Gara married Mary Fleming, daughter of Randall Fleming, 21st Baron Slane a leading

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

family of

The Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

. She was the widow of Richard Fleming Esq of

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

and had a daughter named Bridget by that union. Bridget later married Randell Plunkett, 10th Baron Dunsany. He had five children with her, all of them born in France. The three eldest of his four sons became military men, joining the armies of various

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 ...

nations. His eldest son

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

rose 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 ...

in the Spanish service. The youngest

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 ...

rose to become a senior 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 ...

.The Jacobite Peerage p.135-36

References

Bibliography

* Wauchope, Piers. ''Patrick Sarsfield and the Williamite War''. Irish Academic Press, 1992. * Melville Henry Massue Ruvigny Et Raineval. ''The Jacobite Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Grants of Honour''. Genealogical Publishing, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:OGara, Oliver Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 17th-century Irish military personnel 18th-century Irish military personnel Politicians from County Sligo Baronets in the Jacobite peerage Wild Geese (soldiers) Irish Jacobites Irish MPs 1689 Irish emigrants to France Military personnel from County Sligo Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Sligo constituencies