Sir Oliver Óge French (died 1666) was an Irish merchant and mayor of Galway. French was a member of the Tribes of Galway. During the 1640s he held a number of civic appointments in the town (burgess, councilor, sheriff). He was an agent for the

Irish Confederation The Irish Confederation was an Irish nationalist independence movement, established on 13 January 1847 by members of the Young Ireland movement who had seceded from Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Association. Historian T. W. Moody described it as "th ...

to the United Provinces in May 1648, making a speech to the states general in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. His speech outlined the reasons for the war in Ireland, the justness of the Irish cause and their many disadvantages. That October, he petitioned Prince Charles (later Charles II) to intercede with

James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...

in an effort to retain his lands. Because of his loyalty, Charles recommended his case to Ormond. While Mayor of Galway (1650–51), French was knighted by

Ulick Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde Ulick MacRichard Burke, 1st Marquess of Clanricarde, 5th Earl of Clanricarde, 2nd Earl of St Albans (; ; ; ; 1604, in London – July 1657, in Kent), was an Anglo-Irish nobleman who was involved in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Catholic Ro ...

. The town was just recovering from an outbreak of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

, and warfare was endemic in the county. He sought terms for the town's surrender from

Henry Ireton Henry Ireton ((baptised) 3 November 1611 – 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and the son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 16 ...

. His property was seized after the surrender in 1652 and he was transplanted to Mayo. French was married twice. His first wife's name appears to be unknown, but his second was Eveline Brown, whom he married after 1648. She was the widow of Robert French of

Monivea Monivea () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. Monivea is known for its forest, Monivea Cas ...

References

* ''History of Galway'',

James Hardiman James Hardiman (1782–1855), also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. Hardiman is best remembered for his '' History of the Town and County of Galway'' (1820) and '' Irish Minstrelsy'' (1831), one of the f ...

, 1820 * ''Old Galway'',

Maureen Donovan O'Sullivan Mary Josephine Donovan O'Sullivan was Professor of History at Queens College, Galway (now NUI Galway) from 1914 to 1957. Biography One of ten children, four of whom survived infancy, Donovan was born at Fair Hill Road in Galway on 24 November ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, 1942 * ''Galway:History and Society'', pp. 340–41, 1996 * ''Role of Honour:The Mayors of Galway City 1485-2001'', by William Henry, Galway, 2002. * ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'', p. 1106, Cambridge, 2010 1666 deaths Mayors of Galway Politicians from County Mayo Politicians from County Galway People of the Irish Confederate Wars Year of birth unknown {{Ireland-mayor-stub