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O'Hara is a phonetic
anglicisation of Ó hEaġra (Ó hEaghra). The family clan
descent from Eoghra, lord of Luighne (the modern Leyney) in Co Sligo,
who died in 976 and who was himself, in the traditional genealogies, of
the family of Oiloll Ollum, king of Munster. The O'Haras remain strongly
associated with Co Sligo, where they were chiefs in two areas, O hEaghra
Buidhe ('fair') around Collooney, and O hEaghra Riabhach ('grey') at
Ballyharry, more properly 'Ballyhara'. In the fourteenth century a
branch of the family migrated north to the Glens of Antrim and
established themselves in the area around the modern town of Ballymena.
There they intermarried with powerful local families and acquired great
prominence themselves. Apart from Dublin, Sligo and Antrim are
still the two regions where the surname is most concentrated." |
