Daniel O'Daly (1595 – 30 June 1662), also known as Dominic Ó Dálaigh and Dominic de Rosario, was an Irish Dominican priest, diplomat and historian. He established the College of Corpo Santo in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

for Irish students wishing to study for the priesthood.

Biography

Daniel O'Daly was born in Kerry, Ireland; on his mother's side he belonged to the Desmond branch of the

Geraldines The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

, of which branch his paternal ancestors, the Ó'Dálys, were the hereditary chroniclers or

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

s. He became a Dominican in

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

, in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

; took his vows in

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

, studied at

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

(both in Spain), where he assumed the name Dominic de Rosario, gained his doctorate of theology in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

and returned as priest to Tralee. Walsh, Reginald. "Daniel O'Daly." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 16 March 2020

College of Corpo Santo

In 1627 he was sent to teach theology, and serve as rector, in the newly established College for Irish Dominicans at Louvain University in Flanders. In 1629 he went to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

on business connected with this college and, seeing that king

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

favoured the project, he established, assisted by three of his Irish brethren, the Irish Dominican College in

(Portugal) of which he became the first

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

. They were given the property which included the Chapel of Corpo Santo, dedicated to St. Elmo, patron of mariners. The friars at Corpo Santo ministered to Portuguese parishioners as well as to English speakers. The church and convent were destroyed in the

1755 Lisbon earthquake The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon earthquake, impacted Portugal, the Iberian Peninsula, and Northwest Africa on the morning of Saturday, 1 November, Feast of All Saints, at around 09:40 local time. In combination with ...

, but by 1770 were rebuilt in a different location.

Convent of Our Lady of Bom Successo

O'Daly also conceived the project of erecting, near Lisbon, a convent of Irish Dominican nuns, for Irish girls who wished to follow the religious life.History
Irish Dominicans in Portugal. Philip granted permission to do so on condition that he should raise a body of Irish soldiers for Spanish service in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

. O'Daly set sail for

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

and got the men. On his return to Madrid in 1639,

Santa Maria de Belém Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

on the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...

, four miles below Lisbon, was selected as a site and, with the assistance of the Countess of Atalaya, the convent of Our Lady of Bom Successo was built.

Diplomatic career

In December 1641 the

Portuguese Restoration War The Portuguese Restoration War ( pt, Guerra da Restauração) was the war between History of Portugal (1640–1777), Portugal and Habsburg Spain, Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon (1668), ...

started with a coup against the Spanish Vicereine Margaret. The Duke of Braganza was proclaimed King

John IV of Portugal John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from H ...

, at a time when other revolts were under way in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

. While the war lasted into the 1660s, the immediate problem was securing

international recognition Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral declarative political act of a state that acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state (may be also a recognized state). Recognition can be accord ...

for the new kingdom at the time of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. Father O'Daly was a senior diplomat in this effort that took many years to complete. King John made him diplomatic

envoy Envoy or Envoys may refer to: Diplomacy * Diplomacy, in general * Envoy (title) * Special envoy, a type of diplomatic rank Brands *Airspeed Envoy, a 1930s British light transport aircraft *Envoy (automobile), an automobile brand used to sell Bri ...

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

(helped by the

Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) The Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659) was fought between France and Spain, with the participation of a changing list of allies through the war. The first phase, beginning in May 1635 and ending with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, is considered ...

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

, to the exiled Charles II Stuart and to

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in January ...

(1650). Queen Luisa also sent him as envoy to

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII ( it, Alessandro VII; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, an ...

. In the year 1655 he was sent as envoy to the French queen Anne of Austria and king

to conclude a treaty between Portugal and France. Here as elsewhere, success attended him; but while negotiations abroad and matters of government at home afforded opportunities of serving the Portuguese royal

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Ame ...

, he would not accept any honour in return. His acquaintances praise his straightforwardness, honesty, tact and disinterestedness. He refused the

Archbishopric of Braga The region around the city of Braga, in modern Portugal, was an important centre for the spreading of Christendom in the Iberian Peninsula. This is reflected in the number of religious personalities associated with the region and the fact that man ...

, the Primacy of Goa and the Bishopric of Coimbra; nor would he accept the titles of

Privy Councillor A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

or Queen's

Confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

; but before the papal Bull arrived he died at Lisbon in 1662. His remains reposed in the cloister of Corpo Santo until the

; the inscription on his tomb recorded that he was "In varus Regum legationibus felix, ... Vir Prudentia, Litteris, and Religione conspicuus" ("Successful in embassies for kings ... A man distinguished for prudence, knowledge and virtue".) A few years after the catastrophe, on the same spot, with the same name and object, a new college and church arose.

Works

In 1665, soon after his death, was published his ''Initium, Incrementum, et Exitus Familiæ Geraldinorum, etc.'',O'Daly O.P., Dominic. ''The rise, increase, and exit of the Geraldines, earls of Desmond, and persecution after their fall'', (C.P.Meehan, trans.) 2nd ed., Dublin. James Duffy and Sons, 1878
/ref> on the

Earls of Desmond Earl of Desmond is a title in the peerage of Ireland () created four times. When the powerful Earl of Desmond took arms against Queen Elizabeth Tudor, around 1578, along with the King of Spain and the Pope, he was confiscated from his estates, ...

, for which he availed himself of the traditional knowledge of his ancestors. In the first part he describes the origin of the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

Geraldines, their varying fortunes and their end in the heroic struggle for faith and fatherland. The second part treats of the cruelties inflicted on the Irish Catholics, and of the martyrdom of twenty Dominicans, many of whom had been with him in Lisbon. The book was translated into English and edited by the Irish historian Father CP Meehan and published in 1849 and 1878.

References

External links

* http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/DominicdeRosarioODaly.php {{DEFAULTSORT:Odaly, Daniel Irish expatriates in Spain 17th-century Irish people 1595 births 1662 deaths 17th-century Irish historians Irish diplomats Irish Dominicans Christian clergy from County Kerry Irish expatriates in Belgium Irish expatriates in Portugal Academic staff of the Old University of Leuven