Joseph O'Lawlor

Joseph O’Lawlor (sometimes O’Lalor; 11 July 1768 – 19 October 1850) was an Irish-born Spanish general who fought under the Duke of Wellington during the Napoleonic Wars and later served as Governor of Granada.

He was born on 11 July 1768 at Clonaheen in the parish of Rosenallis, County Laois, Ireland, to Peter Lalor and Elizabeth Brenan. Because Rosenallis is part of the Catholic diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, O’Lawlor’s birthplace is sometimes incorrectly given as Kildare. A member of the O'Lawlor clan, he was a cousin of Patrick "Patt" Lalor (1781–1856), one time nationalist MP for Queen’s County and father of Peter Lalor, the Australian revolutionary and politician, and also of Alice Lalor (1769–1846), founder of the Order of Visitation Nuns in the United States. According to his entry in the Spanish Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada, O’Lawlor was "first born of one of the most noble families of Ireland, he was obligated to leave his homeland due to the persecution suffered, his goods having been confiscated and the members of his family dispersed to the continent [Europe] or America." Orphaned at an early age, he and his younger brother James (1770–1808) went to Spain around 1785 in the care of a cleric attached to the Irish Brigade, and joined the Spanish military service in the College of Artillery.

He fought under General Ricardos in the Campaign of Roussillon against the French Republic. When the Duke of Wellington took command of the English and Spanish troops, he was attached to Wellington’s staff together with General Alava. He was mentioned several times in the Duke’s despatches in his campaign in Spain against Napoleon:

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