Thomas O'Doherty (21 November 1877 – 15 December 1936) was

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 Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

successively from November 1919 to July 1936.

Early life and education

O'Doherty was born at Loughglynn,

Ballaghaderreen Ballaghaderreen () is a town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It was part of County Mayo prior to 1898. It is in the north-west of the county, near the borders with counties Mayo and Sligo, just off the N5 road. The population was 2,387 in the 2 ...

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

, on 21 November 1877 and educated in

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

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 priest on 22 June 1902 for service in the

Diocese of Elphin The Diocese of Elphin () was established following the Synod of Rathbreasail in the year 1118. In that year the see for east Connacht was moved from Roscommon. Elphin was the traditional site of a monastic house established by St Patrick , althou ...

, and his first pastoral appointment was to the staff of Summerhill College, Sligo, from 1902 to 1910. He was then appointed to the staff of

Maynooth College St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland. The college and national seminary on its grounds are often referred to as Maynooth College. The college was of ...

, where he served as a dean for nearly a decade before he was appointed Bishop of Clonfert on 3 July 1919.

Episcopal ministry

Clonfert

He served in the East Galway diocese for three years before he was moved to the larger diocese of Galway. These early years as a bishop coincided with the turbulent events of the Anglo-Irish war and the Civil War. O'Doherty has been assessed by historians as pro-Treaty bishop but more measured in his tone than his episcopal colleagues in other parts of Galway.

Galway

In July 1923 he was moved to Galway succeeding the man he had succeeded as bishop in Clonfert,

Thomas O'Dea Thomas O'Dea, Bishop of Clonfert and Bishop of Galway (7 January 1858 – 9 April 1923) was born in Carron, Kilfenora, County Clare, and educated in Ennis and Maynooth. He was ordained on 25 June 1882 for the Diocese of Galway. He was a membe ...

. He is remembered as a "disciplinarian" which would be consistent with his previous posting in Maynooth responsible for the formation of students. In July 1935, along with many other Irish bishops he opined on the evils of the dance-halls which were "practically on all occasions dangerous to morals." He used the same occasion to denounce "the evils of mixed bathing." He died at his residence aged 59 in Galway on 15 December 1936 and is buried in the crypt of the new Cathedral.

References

* ''Lickmolassy by the Shannon'', p. 201, John Joe Conwell, 1998, .

External links

* People from Ballaghaderreen Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Roman Catholic bishops of Clonfert Roman Catholic bishops of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora 1877 births 1936 deaths Christian clergy from County Roscommon Academics of St Patrick's College, Maynooth {{Ireland-RC-bishop-stub