John Meahan was born in Omagh, County Tyrone (population of 19,659) and married Mary Donnelly in 1841, later he established a shipbuilding business.
He was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, the son of James Meahan and Sarah McTaggart, and came to New Brunswick in 1833. The town had a population of 19,659 at the 2011 Census, and the former district council, which was the largest in County Tyrone, had a population of 51,356. In 1841, he married Mary Donnelly. Meahan established in Bathurst a shipbuilding business which built four ships, two barques, two brigs and two brigantines, which were among the largest ships built in Gloucester County. 
