Henry Hamilton O'Hara "Mad O'hara"
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Henry Hamilton O'Hara, also known as "Mad O'Hara" or "The Mad Squire of Craigbilly" or "Crebilly" (b. 1820 - d. 1875) was the last squire of Craigbilly Castle in County Antrim, Ireland. The O'Hara family was, for over 600 years, the landed gentry of Ballymena and surrounding areas.
Henry Hamilton O'Hara is the subject of a many local legend. He was a gambler and bigamist with a ferocious temper. Most famously, one day on returning from gaming he entered the house with several friends, and his wife would not stand to greet them. He is said to have shoveled hot coals onto her lap with the words, "Now will you rise?" It was for such actions that he was labeled "Mad O'Hara". These stories stand in contrast to some of the primary evidence of the time. For example, he was considered a good landlord as evidenced by the inscriptions on his tombstone:
- He Was A Most Kind and Liberal
- Landlord And This Monument
- Is Erected By The Tenants On His
- Estates In Grateful Remembrance
and
- Blessed Are The Merciful
- For They Shall Obtain
- Mercy
- MATH VC = C7
It is believed that O'Hara's unique grave marker is the source of the "Headless Horseman" ghost story. It is still visible in the local graveyard, and consists of a pillar, jaggedly shorn at the top: this "headless" tomb was expanded into the headless horseman tale. However, the unusual marker was actually created to represent a shattered and broken life: O'Hara gambled away the family fortune, and died a broken man.
There is a section devoted to the story of "Mad O'hara" and the legend of the headless horseman in a local museum.
[edit] References
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/antrim/squire_ohara_simpson.shtml
- Belfast Newsletter
- "The Last Squire of Craigbilly:A Christmas Eve Ghost Story" by Dr Robert Simpson
- Ballymena's "Headless Horseman" Sianeen kelly - St Mary's Primary School, Ballymena
