O'Mara's bacon company, Limerick

Sources yet to be consulted:
- 100 years of O'Mara's, Limerick Leader, Sat 18 Feb 1939.
- "O'Maras of Limerick and their Overseas Businesses", by Morgan McCloskey, Old Limerick Journal, No.37, Summer 2001.

O'Mara's bacon factory, Roches St, Limerick. Photo 1978.

O'Mara's bacon company, the source of generations of O'Mara family wealth,
was founded as O'Meara's bacon company by James O'Meara in his house, Mungret St, Limerick, in 1839.
A dedicated factory was set up nr top of Roches St, centre of new town, Limerick.
James O'Meara changed the company name (and his name) to the more snappy O'Mara's bacon company.
James and his 2 eldest surviving sons Stephen O'Mara and Jack O'Mara built up the business over the 19th cent into a great success.
They set up Russian Bacon Company 1891,
and from 1891 to 1903 they imported bacon from Russian Bacon Company, Gryazi, Russia into London.

Jim O'Mara was agent for O'Mara's in London until he died 1893.
James O'Mara was agent for O'Mara's in London 1893-1914. He imported bacon from Romania.
Stephen O'Mara bought bacon factory in Palmerston, Ontario, Canada.
Joe O'Mara went out to run it.

Jack O'Mara was manager of O'Mara bacon factory before his death 1919.
Stephen O'Mara was Managing Director of O'Mara Ltd as at 1923.
He founded bacon factory in Claremorris, Co.Mayo, 1930.
He founded bacon factory in Letterkenny, Co.Donegal.
Marcus O'Sullivan managed the Limerick factory c. late 1930s.

In 1938 the family business went public.
Bacon Company of Ireland formed, with Jack O'Mara as Managing Director, and subsidiaries the 3 bacon factories:

O'Mara's bacon factory, Roches St, Limerick city.
Bacon factory, Claremorris, Co.Mayo.
Bacon factory, Letterkenny, Co.Donegal.

Marcus O'Sullivan was running the bacon factory in Claremorris, Co.Mayo, as at 1942.
Stephen O'Mara was Chairman of Bacon Company of Ireland at time of his death 1959.

In 1987 the Bacon Company of Ireland merged with other companies to form Irish Country Bacon.
Shortly afterwards the old O'Mara factory in Limerick finally closed, after 150 years.
In 1988/9 the O'Mara factory was demolished, and the site sold, became a car park.
The site is now the multi-storey car park on the entire block bounded by Roches St, Anne St and Roche's Row.

Location of O'Mara's bacon factory, Roches St, Limerick.
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From Google Maps.

Limerick's Life by Sharon Clancy
- The Bacon Factories
The Fry Model Railway Museum at Malahide Castle has a photo of a tram at Salthill, Co.Dublin, sometime post-1896, with an "O'Mara's Limerick Bacon" ad on the front. In the model railway itself, one of the miniature trams has this ad on it, and an ad for "Denny's Bacon".
See also Donnelly's bacon factory, Dublin.

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