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

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

during the eighteenth century. He was the son of Colonel

Oliver O'Gara 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's of Luighne Connacht. After the Reformation his family h ...

, a Jacobite exile who left Ireland for France following the surrender of forces loyal to James III under the

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

. 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 ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

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 * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

armies as the

Penal Laws Penal law refers to criminal law. It may also refer to: * Penal law (British), laws to uphold the establishment of the Church of England against Catholicism * Penal laws (Ireland) In Ireland, the penal laws () were a series of Disabilities (C ...

forbade

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

. 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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

. Two of his younger brothers also joined the Spanish Army, while another Charles O'Gara became a courtier at the Austrian court in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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 Year of birth missing Year of death unknown French people of Irish descent Irish soldiers in the Spanish Army French emigrants to Spain {{Ireland-bio-stub