Hi Christopher,
Don't know the background to the setting up of the O'Hara Bakery Chain. But there was a branch at Cliftonville Circus, at the top of Westland Road. My mother, who did her messages daily in those far off days, always came home with something from the Bakery. Favourites were treacle scones, of course potato and soda bread, and a selection of the marvellous pastries and small cakes. For many, many years after I moved to England, Belfast friends would send me an O'Hara fruit loaf for Christmas. There was none to beat it.
In our supermarkets over here in England you can buy Paul Rankin's various breads and a fruit loaf from Irwin's. But the mention of O'Hara's made me quite hungry for an Irish afternoon tea with all the trimmings. Do they still provide such a thing in the cafes in Belfast? Will look out for them on my next trip over.
Maypole