Ó hEaghra

Rev Patrick Woulfe

Irish Names and Surnames

1923

Ó hEAGHRA—I—O'Hara, O'Harra, Hara; 'descendant of Eaghra'; also written Ó hEadhra. The O'Haras, who are of the same stock as the O'Garas (see Ó Gadhra), derive their name and descent from Eaghra, lord of Luighne, who died in the year 926, and were for many centuries lords of Luighne, now the barony of Leyney, in Co. Sligo. Since the 14th century, they were divided into two branches, the heads of which were known respectively as Ó hEaghra Buidhe and Ó hEaghra Riabhach, i.e., the yellow O'Hara and the speckled or brindled O'Hara. A branch of the family settled early in the Route, Co. Antrim, where they rose to importance and are still well known. The O'Haras of Leyney were all dispossessed at the Cromwellian period, except one family which threw in its lot with the Cromwellians.

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