John Meahan was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-born shipbuilder and political figure in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. He represented Gloucester in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. It was established de jure when the colony was created in 1784, but only came in to session in 1786 following the first elections in late 1785. Until 1891, it was the lower house in a bicameral legislature when its upper house...

 from 1862 to 1870.

He was born in Omagh

Omagh

Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...

, County Tyrone

County Tyrone

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...

, the son of James Meahan and Sarah McTaggart, and came to New Brunswick in 1833. In 1841, he married Mary Donnelly. Meahan established a ship-building business in Bathurst

Bathurst, New Brunswick

Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....

 which built four ships, two barques, two brigs and two brigantines, which were among the largest ships built in Gloucester County

Gloucester County, New Brunswick

Gloucester County is located in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada. Fishing, mining and forestry are the major industries in the county...

. Meahan was opposed to New Brunswick becoming part of Canada. In 1867, he was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons.