Stephen O'Mara (26 December 1844 – 26 July 1926) was an

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...

politician and businessman from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Personal life

O'Mara's father James O'Mara was an early supporter of

Isaac Butt Isaac Butt (6 September 1813 – 5 May 1879) was an Irish barrister, editor, politician, Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, economist and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist par ...

, and owned a bacon factory in Limerick. Stephen entered the family business. His brother Joseph O'Mara became an opera singer. Stephen married Ellen Pigott in 1867. They had 12 children, of whom the first three died of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacteria, bacterium ''Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild Course (medicine), clinical course, but in some outbreaks, the mortality rate approaches 10%. Signs a ...

in 1872. Sons James and Stephen, Jnr became prominent Irish republicans and radicalised their father's later political views. A daughter

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Elle ...

, was also a nationalist, and she and her husband started the most prolific Irish Silent film company, Film Company of Ireland.

Political career

O'Mara joined Limerick Corporation in 1881, becoming the first Nationalist

Mayor of Limerick The Mayor of Limerick is the head of the local government of the Limerick, City and County Limerick, County of Limerick. It is a directly elected office with a five-year term. Following the 2024 Limerick mayoral election, John Moran (Mayor of Li ...

in 1885. He served again the following year, and headed a campaign to raise funds for an organ for the Limerick Athenaeum. In a by-election in February 1886, he was returned unopposed as

Irish Parliamentary Party The Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP; commonly called the Irish Party or the Home Rule Party) was formed in 1874 by Isaac Butt, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nati ...

MP for Queen's County Ossory. He did not stand in the July 1886 general election. He was High Sheriff of Limerick city in 1888, 1913, and 1914. O'Mara took the Parnellite side when the

Irish National League The Irish National League (INL) was a nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded on 17 October 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell as the successor to the Irish National Land League after this was suppressed. Whereas the Land League ...

split in the 1890s. In 1908, he resigned as

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

of the Party's funds. In the 1918 general election, O'Mara supported

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

as it eclipsed the less radical Irish Parliamentary Party. His sons were active in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

; in the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

, Stephen Snr was pro-

Treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

, as was his MP son James O'Mara; Stephen Jnr was anti-Treaty, though relatively conciliatory. In the 1925 election to the Free State Seanad, O'Mara was elected on the 65th and final count. He died the following year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Omara, Stephen 1844 births 1926 deaths Mayors of Limerick (city) UK MPs 1885–1886 Irish Parliamentary Party MPs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Queen's County constituencies (1801–1922) Cumann na nGaedheal senators Members of the 1925 Seanad High sheriffs of Limerick City Businesspeople from Limerick (city)