Hi Jack,
I would say we are connected somehow. Our James McLoughlins were both born in the same generation, in Ferbane area. Say a man named James McL had five sons. Each of those sons would have very likely named their first son James, following naming traditions. So our James McLoughlins were likely cousins.
As far as spelling - my family used McLaughlin. I used the spelling from the newspaper article in my post. And in looking through old parish records, there was one priest who spelled it Maglafflin! Most people weren't literate, things were written down phonetically, and no one was going to correct the priest or other official!
As far as research, I knew my gg grandfather was John McLaughlin who married Kate O'Brien in Worcester, MA. I found him on censuses in America with parents and siblings, so built out my tree to include all of them. Then I found arrival records in Massachusetts. I think I got the Rahan, Kings County from a Naturalization record. On rootsireland (pay site) I found baptisms for John and his siblings (with many variations of mother Julia Cash's name). But those records put them in the Rahan area. Then I found the marriage of James McLaughlin & Julia Cash in the parish records on the Catholic parish website. (https://registers.nli.ie/) And I got their parents' names from their death records.
I am on a lot of Facebook genealogy pages and recently had someone post that article about Andrew being murdered. It all fit! It is very difficult to find records in Ireland much before early 1800s. Civil records didn't start until 1864. Catholic religion was technically outlawed into the early 1800s, but by late 1790s many parishes were keeping records. There are some gaps, especially during Famine years. But many simply don't exist. The first complete census was 1901. There's a partial in 1821, but not helpful in Offaly. It's a matter of luck sometimes. Just when I thought I'd never find out more about my McLaughlins, along came that article.
I have done DNA at both Ancestry and Family Tree. (I don't see a match on Ancestry, but I find it hard to use.) If you are looking for DNA matches, be sure to upload (free) to Gedmatch. They give you a kit number and that's what is used in all genealogy groups for comparison. If you'd like to email me I'm at: irishgenealogyquest@gmail.com
(The McLaughlins are only one of 27 surnames over 12 counties that I am researching, so believe me, know the frustration!)