James Lalor- origins?

I have written before on this blog about my maternal great-grandfather, James Lalor. And I also blogged a little info about him that I discovered in the parliamentary journal New Zealand Free Lance in 1901.

More recently I found an obituary for him that gave more facts about his life that I hadn't known before. He had come to Melbourne at quite a young age, and was a butcher there, soon managing Mr Pettie's large butchery shop. He then sailed in the ship Lightning for New Zealand. He followed the early rushes at Addison's Flat but met with little success.

He was appointed a messenger at Parliament, and filled that position for fourteen years, receiving an address and letter from Sir Joseph Ward when he retired. He was a keen follower of the trotting world, and owned a couple of horses.

His obituary states that he came from Kilkenny, and that was 79 years old at his death in 1916. I know only a few other things about his origins. His father was John Lalor, and his mother was "Mary" but I don't know her maiden name. From the Free Lance article I learned that he was a distant cousin of Peter Lalor of Eureka Stockade fame, and a 'full cousin' of the famous orator Richard Lalor Shiel. It seems clear from various newspaper entries that James Lalor was a clever speaker himself, both literate and educated.

The old Lalor homestead at South Beach, Greymouth, on the West Coast.

 

Photo

 taken 1992

Emboldened by recent success in working out where exactly my Riordan ancestors came from in Co Limerick, I feel I should now put some effort into working out where exactly James Lalor came from. However, for Patrick Riordan, I knew the surnames of both his parents, and I had a townland, Curraheen. I also knew whereabouts in Co Limerick some of his cousins hailed from.
I expect that a search for James Lalor's origins will be more difficult, and since he was possibly born around 1837, his birth is likely not included in parish records. His full cousin Richard Lalor Shiel seemed to be more based in Waterford, which would indicate our James' family was perhaps based more in the south of the county of Kilkenny. But then I think that Peter Lalor, his 'distant' cousin was from Abbyleix, just over the northern border of Co Kilkenny in Co Laois. I will spend some time searching, but this might be a 'brick wall'. Will blog again if one day I learn more.