Maguire, Conor Joseph O'Loughlin (1861–1944), physician and folklorist, was born in Carraroe, Co. Galway, the only son of the two children of Edward Maguire, also a physician, and his first wife, whose maiden name was O'Loughlin. His father later married a second time and had another son, Edward Maguire, who became editor of the Irish Independent. As a child, Conor spoke only Irish. His father, who was originally from Co. Fermanagh, graduated from QCG (1854) and was appointed district medical officer (DMO) at the dispensaries in Carraroe and later in Cong and Clonbur. The family eventually settled in Claremorris after Lord Ardilaun (qv) evicted them from their lodgings at Clonbur because of their strong nationalist associations. Conor followed in his father's footsteps and studied medicine at QCG, graduating MB, M.Ch. (1882) and MAO (1892), and later obtaining a DPH from the RCPI (1905).
Like his father before him, Maguire served as dispensary doctor in Cong, Co. Mayo (1882–90). He left Cong for Claremorris when he was appointed DMO there, which post he held until his retirement in 1939. During this time he was the coroner for South Mayo for a period of twenty years up until his death. He was a member of the governing body of his alma mater, UCG, and, as a member of the Mayo branch of the Irish Medical Association, he supported a motion in 1904 to appoint Irish-speaking doctors in Gaelteacht areas.
However, although he was actively involved in the organisation of the medical profession in Ireland, Maguire is remembered as much for his contribution to the Gaelic revival in Ireland as for his medical achievements. He was a close friend of Douglas Hyde (qv) and an associate of Patrick Pearse (qv) and worked with them to revive interest in Irish culture. He was a member of the national executive of Conradh na Gaeilge from 1906. His leadership qualities were always in evidence, and he was president of the Mayo executive of Conradh na Gaeilge (1907) and chairman of the Connacht assembly (1927). In 1909 he opposed the assertion of John Healy (qv), archbishop of Tuam, that he alone could appoint the principal in schools in Partry, Co. Mayo, where the schools were built on church lands. Maguire was a founder member of the first Mayo feis, held in Ballyhaunis (1903), winning a prize for his translation into Irish of a song by William Rooney (qv) entitled ‘The men of the west’. Interested in folklore, he collected songs and stories from Mayo and passed them on to, among others, Hyde and Eibhlín Uí Choisdealbh (qv). Hyde included such material in his publications Love songs of Connacht (1893) and Religious songs of Connacht (1906), while Uí Choisdeailbh included it in her book Amhráin mhaighe seola (1919). Maguire was a frequent contributor to the New Ireland Review (1894–1911), and Studies: an Irish quarterly review, published by the Jesuits (from 1912), where many of his stories, gathered from native Irish speakers in the Claremorris area, were published. His translation of Shelley's poem ‘The Cloud’ was published in An Claidheamh Soluis in October 1909. He was a founder member of the Irish summer colleges at Tourmakeady (c.1905) and Spiddal (1910); one of the early students at Tourmakeady was Éamon de Valera (qv).
A tall man with a stately presence, Maguire was respected by his peers, both for his sincerity and straightforwardness and for the fact that he never spoke ill of anyone. He was a courteous and kindly man who placed a high value on professional ethics. When the newly established Medical Association of Ireland came to choose a leader, he was unanimously elected its first president, in January 1936. His colleagues felt that the fledgling organisation enjoyed a trouble-free beginning largely due to his tact, influence, and ability to get on well with people. His practice at Claremorris was one of the biggest in the west, probably because of the kindness he showed his patients as much as for his natural medical ability. In his spare time he was a keen botanist and ornithologist, and he published several articles on the flora and fauna of the Cong area, including a list of the Irish names for many wild flowers.
Maguire married Florence O'Neill, and they had six sons, two of whom died in infancy. Her brother was the Jesuit poet George O'Neill, professor of English at UCD (retired 1923). She wrote several religious novels under the name of Mrs Conor Maguire. He died 23 February 1944, aged eighty-three, at his home in the Square, Claremorris, with his wife and three sons at his side. He was buried at Crossboyne, Co. Mayo. Of their four sons who survived infancy, Hugh died fighting as a second lieutenant with the Connaught Rangers in France during the First World War (September 1916). The three surviving sons entered the professions of law and medicine. Conor Alexander Maguire (qv) was a TD and ultimately chief justice, and Gerald Maguire was a solicitor. George Charles Maguire (1889–1975), Conor's twin brother, graduated in medicine from UCG (1914) and succeeded his father as DMO in Claremorris on the latter's retirement in 1939, thus becoming the third generation of the one family to serve in that position.