Actress Lindsay Lohan has Rossie roots

A County Galway man who has been studying genealogy for over 20 years has revealed that actress Lindsay Lohan has County Roscommon roots – Strokestown roots in fact.

A recent breakthrough in research by David Lohan has allowed him to convincingly connect the actress to her Irish roots.

The American actress, singer, and businesswoman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island.

She was signed to Ford Models at age three. Her breakthrough in the acting world came in the 1998 Walt Disney Pictures film The Parent Trap. The film's success led to appearances in subsequent Disney projects; the television films. Her early work won her childhood stardom, while the teen comedy Mean Girls (2004) affirmed her status as a teen idol and established her as a leading Hollywood actress.

For 20 years, David Lohan, an engineer, researcher and author who now lives in County Cork has been fascinated by what his research into his family tree has uncovered. He is especially interested in unravelling the story of the Lohans.

About a thousand years ago, the Lohans (Ó Leocháin in Irish) were situated in the baronies of Morgallion and Lune in County Meath. Eventually, they were ousted and moved westwards. By the early 1900s most were living in the parts of County Galway around Ballygar and Creggs. Some have made notable contributions, and there are interesting stories.

In 1822, a Mathew Gurley sought a few shillings from Richard Wellesley, eldest brother to the Duke of Wellington (who defeated Napoleon), for providing information about one Lohan who was wanted by authorities. Years later, Lawrence Lohan of Trihill near Newbridge came from the Lohan heartland of Galway. His name changed from Lohan to Logan in the United States, and Boston’s Logan International Airport is named after his son General Edward Lawrence Logan, who was a political and military leader. Also with Galway connections, brothers Brian and Frank Lohan, along with their nephew Daragh Lohan, have left an indelible mark on hurling.

The late British television personality Paul O’Grady OBE had Lohan ancestry. The late Bridie Lohan was matriarch of the Kitt political dynasty.

Now, according to David Lohan’s extensive research, the time has now come for County Roscommon to claim a prominent Lohan as one of its own.

A recent breakthrough has allowed David Lohan to convincingly connect the actress Lindsay Lohan to her Irish roots.

Lindsay’s grandfather was Richard E Lohan. He was born in New York in 1936. His parents were John Patrick Lohan and Ellen Mulgrew, Lindsay’s great grandparents. John was born in New York in March 1905. He worked as a telephone installer for a telephone company. His parents were Francis Lohan and Catherine Byrnes. Francis was Lindsay Lohan’s great great grandfather, and he was born in Ireland on May 12th, 1875. Specifically, Francis was born in the townland of Moher a short distance from Strokestown in. Francis was the youngest of a family of eight children. Like most of his siblings, Francis moved to New York. He is listed on two US censuses as working as a motorman. It seems that he worked on the street railway in New York during this time.

US marriage and death records for Francis Lohan list his parents as Jeremiah “Darby” Lohan and Jane Gilleran. These were Lindsay Lohan’s great great great grandparents. Most of the Lohans in New York today who have Irish American ancestry are apparently descendants of Darby Lohan and Jane Gilleran. Consequently, most of these Lohans are also cousins of Lindsay Lohan.

Records about the passing of Darby Lohan have yet to be located, if they exist. What is known however is that Jane Gilleran died in Moher during June of 1893. Her age is given as 62 years. She is listed as being a widow, so her husband Darby passed some time before. It is certain the couple had been living in Moher for years before as a Darby Loughan (a variation of the Lohan spelling) is listed on the mid-1800s entry for Moher on Griffith’s Valuation.

“There are lessons to be learned from this tale. Each of us has a family history and each of these histories comes packed with stories to be discovered and shared. Ongoing developments in making information available, not only here in Ireland but also in the United States and other countries, make it possible to undertake research that would have been scarcely possible years ago. Additionally, developments in DNA make it possible to establish connections, even when no records exist. Like Lindsay Lohan, each of us can reclaim the story of our family’s heritage even when faced with the passage of time. Those who have such an interest should consider writing down what they know about their family’s connections and its many stories. This is such a simple, and yet such a valuable, step that it is often overlooked.

“There are some great resources online too, including genealogy groups on Facebook. For those who have links to Roscommon there is the County Roscommon, Ireland Genealogy group. For Galway there is the East Galway Genealogy & DNA group. For those with Lohan ancestry there is the Lohan, Logan and Allied Families private group,” said David Lohan.

If you have Lohan ancestry, please contact David Lohan on dave.lohan@gmail.com. “Above all, take heart and let the journey of discovering your family’s story begin,” concluded David.