James O'Shaughnessy

James O'Shaughnessy (1865-1950) was the grandson of Irish emigrants John O'Shaughnessy and Ann Gallagher of Newhall, Kiltartan, Co. Galway.  The only documentary evidence of John is found in O'Donovan's Field Name Books (1839). 

John and Ann together with their sons John, Thomas and James emigrated to Chariton, Missouri, USA during the Great Famine. Their farm was named Newhall , in memory of their old townland. 

James (1838-1918)  married Catherine Mulholland (1843-1927) . He and his brothers worked hard  immigrants  to build  a secure future for their families in the USA.  At his death James was described as "a quiet man, very devoted to his family in the USA" . They made remarkable contributions to the society in which they found themselves.

James's eldest son, also called James  (1865-1950) was, perhaps, the best known of James (Snr's) five sons and three daughters. 

He began in journalism in Missouri in the 1890s and went on to be a star reporter in Chicago, before going into advertising. He toured Europe as publicity agent for Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show and even came to Galway. 

In 1912 James reviewed , for the Chicago Tribune  the Abbey Theatre's production of Synge's Playboy of the Western World . Lady Gregory toured with the Abbey Theatre. Of interest is the fact that her late husband, Sir William Gregory, was landlord of an estate which included Newhall, Kiltartan. James deemed the play "a harmless hoax"!

James was editor and publisher of the Catholic Tribune, St. Joseph, MO.

His greatest contribution to the advertising industry was in helping to organize the modern advertising agency system and its standards, practices and business methods. When he visited Dublin, the Publicity Club of Ireland presented him with a Claddagh gold ring. James simply broke down and wept. When he pulled himself together he simply said : " I want to tell you that not all of the money I have ever possessed could buy me anything I would value as highly as that ring". 

Thomas "Gus" O'Shaughnessy (1870-1956)  was a renowned artist who designed and installed the stained glass windows in Old Saint Patrick's Church in Chicago between 1912 and 1922. It is regarded as the greatest example of Celtic Revival architectural design in America. 

Two other brothers, John (1868-1948)  and Frank (1872-1930) were lawyers who practised together. Frank was the first graduate of the University of Notre Dame asked back to give its annual commencement address. 

The youngest brother, Martin (1876-1918)   and sisters Elizabeth Berney (1864-1894), Annie Cullen (1973-1945) and Sr. Mary Grace O'Shaughnessy b. in 1882 are not as well known.

O'Shaughnessy relatives live in Rinerush, about one mile distant from Newhall, Kiltartan. One of them, Mattie (1901-1979) emigrated in the 1920s to New York. He is now well-known as one of the construction workers photographed eating lunch on a girder high over Manhattan in 1932. 

The story of the O'Shaughnessys is told in an excellent book written by Colum Kenny whose father met James O'Shaughnessy in Dublin.

Kenny Colum, Irish American Odyssey: The Remarkable Rise of the O'Shaughnessy Brothers (Uni. of Missouri, 2014)