T

he O' Dwyer family of Lismirrane, Bohola, are one of Mayo's most distinguished families.
Their link with Bohola goes back as far as Patrick O'Dwyer, who came from Tullylease on the Limerick-Cork border.
Patrick was headmaster of a three teacher school in Lismirrane, and he was secret organiser of the I.N.T.O. much to the annoyance of the clergy at the time. His wife, Bridget, also taught in the same school as an assistant teacher.
They built a thatched house on four acres of land in Lismirrane, and their first child, William, was born on July 11th, 1890. The O'Dwyers had nine more children, James (Jimmy), Kathleen (Kathy), Jack, Mary Rose (May), Josephine, Patrick Francis (Frank), Thomas (Tommy), Linda, and Paul. Sadly the eleventh child died in infancy. After having her first seven children, Bridget lost her job as a teacher, because the powers-that- were felt she was absent on too many occasions.