Family tree - O'Meara - Dr. Frank O'Mara |
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Dr. Frank O'Mara, bapt 18th Sept 1862, Limerick,
mar [think 14] Nov 1894,
Church of Our Lady of Refuge, Rathmines, Co.Dublin
[GROI]
to Mary Plunkett [Cis, family of Co.Meath,
though
[Census, 1901]
says she was born Co.Dublin, 1867,
[GROI]
says
dau of James Plunkett, merchant],
she is listed as living 3 Le Bas Terrace, Rathmines, at mar,
her brother was
Alderman
Ambrose Plunkett, solicitor in Dublin,
he sp bapt of Susan 1898,
think he left Mary a lot of money,
older children born Limerick,
then moved to Ennis, Co.Clare, c.1899,
younger children born Co.Clare,
he was head of the District Lunatic Asylum, Ennis, Co.Clare
(founded 1868, later Our Lady’s Hospital, Ennis,
closed 2002,
see history),
he was RMS (Regional Medical Superintendent),
head doctor, and also ran the place,
they actually lived in the Asylum,
living quarters were in middle of the building,
apartment just inside hall door on LHS,
they also had a large domestic staff - composed of the more competent inmates,
asylum had its own garden/farm,
lot of food grown there,
Dr. Harry Counihan (junior)
says he hadn't large salary, but they "lived like Dukes",
registered his father's
death 1899, listed as living at Ennis Asylum
[GROI],
though probate of his father's will granted to
"Frank O'Mara of Mulgrave St, Limerick, MD" 1899
[NAI],
see entry for his family
at the Asylum
in
[Census, 31 Mar 1901],
he is described as "Resident Medical Superintendant-Physician-Surgeon",
her widowed mother living (or at least staying) with them,
they seem to have 3 domestic servants,
[Pat Lavelle]
says that once in their living quarters at the Asylum:
"The nurse in charge of the children was feeding the baby its bottle
when she observed with horror a maniacal lunatic under the bed with a knife in her hand.
The silly girl flung the baby on the bed and ran out shrieking to find Aunt Cis,
and it was she who walked back to the bedroom and picked up her baby as if nothing had disturbed her
and quietly turned the key in the door as she went out",
their family was very Establishment,
they were
Catholic, would have voted Home Rule,
but no time for militant Nationalists,
their daus married members of British Army in Ireland,
[Pat Lavelle]
says:
"Politically, Dad"
[his nephew James O'Mara]
"and he were as the poles apart. Uncle Frank's outlook was frankly
a West Briton one",
he was oldest RMO (Regional Medical Officer) in Ireland when retired 1930s,
when retired, he built house in Ennis,
called it "Toomyvara",
Mary died many years before he did,
despite their political differences
he was good friends with his nephew James O'Mara,
in old age he used go fishing in Connemara
during summer with James,
he died 1949, age 87 yrs,
had issue:
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