Thomas O'Dea,

Bishop of Clonfert The Bishop of Clonfert () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Clonfert in County Galway, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title; but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with oth ...

and Bishop of Galway (7 January 1858 – 9 April 1923) was born in Carron, Kilfenora,

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, and educated in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

and

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

. He was ordained on 25 June 1882 for the

Diocese of Galway The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Tuam. The deanery of Kilf ...

. He was a member of staff at

, from the date of his ordination; and served as vice-president from 1894. He was named

on 16 June 1903, replacing Dr. Healy. He became Bishop of Galway on 29 April 1909. His plans to build a new

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

for the town were interrupted by

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was a fluent Irish speaker and a supporter of the

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

. He was firstly buried in St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral of Galway, but later re-interred in the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

of the new

Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, Galway The Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas (Irish language: ''Ard-Eaglais Mhaighdean na Deastógála agus Naomh Nioclás''), commonly known as Galway Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ire ...

References

Sources

* ''Lickmolassy by the Shannon'', p. 200, John Joe Conwell, 1998. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Thomas 1858 births 1923 deaths Christian clergy from County Clare Christian clergy from County Galway Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Roman Catholic bishops of Clonfert Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Place of death missing