Felix Doran

Felix Doran (1708–1776) was an Irish slave trader. He was responsible for at least 69 slave voyages. Doran moved to Liverpool in the 1740s and operated out of the Port of Liverpool. His first slave-ship was called Lively and his final one was called Essex.

Early life Doran was born in Ireland, baptised and brought up as a Catholic. He may have been born in County Down, where the surname Doran was common. His first recorded slave voyage was with the slave ship Lively in 1737. The captain, Brooke Richmond, bought captive people from Africa and sold them in the West Indies. Thereafter Patrick Dwyer was the captain of Lively for 5 more slave voyages. On these voyages Doran took enslaved people from Africa and sold them in Barbados. Doran also owned the slave ships Hazard, Pearl, Vestal, Forde, Kildare and Molly, amongst others. Numerous streets and localities in Liverpool are named after slave traders. Felix Doran has Dorans Lane named after him, although he lived on nearby Lord Street. Piers Dudgeon writes that Doran "seems to cling ghost-like to the area".