Dermot O'Hurley

Dermot O'Hurley (c. 1530 – 19 or 20 June 1584)—also ''Dermod or Dermond O'Hurley'': ga, Diarmaid Ó hUrthuile—was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cashel in Ireland during the reign of Elizabeth I, who was put to death for treason. He is one of the most celebrated of the 24 formally recognized Irish Catholic Martyrs, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992.

Early life

O'Hurley was born into the Gaelic nobility of Ireland, either in or near Emly, County Tipperary, around the year 1530. His father, William, was the O'Hurley clan's Chief of the Name and steward to James FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond. Dermot's mother was Honora O'Brien, a descendant of the O'Brien dynasty. Both sides of the Archbishop's family claimed descent from the Dál gCais, one of the most powerful Irish clans in Munster's history. The future Archbishop had one sister named Honora O'Hurley. He also had much younger brother named Andrew O'Hurley, whom, as of 1642, was over 80 years old, blind, paralyzed, and living in Portugal.

The future Archbishop is believed to have received his early education at a Cathedral school overseen by his kinsman, Bishop Thomas O'Hurley, in the monastery founded by Saint Ailbe of Emly. The O'Hurley family later moved to Lickadoon Castle, Ballyneety, County Limerick, where O'Hurley was educated by tutors and then sent to Flemish Brabant to study at the University of Leuven. In 1551 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree, then a doctorate of Law and was appointed a professor of philosophy in one of that university's greater colleges, where he remained for 15 years. In 1574 he was appointed a professor of canon and civil law in the Faculty of Law of Reims University, at which he spent 4 years.

Fugitive archbishop

In 1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England in the papal bull '' Regnans in Excelsis''. This led to the Second Desmond Rebellion in 1579–83, which was still in progress when O'Hurley was required to travel to Ireland. On 11 September 1581, while still a layman, he was appointed Archbishop of Cashel by Pope Gregory XIII. He was ordained and consecrated and set out on his mission in 1583. Although it was later claimed by Lord Justices Adam Loftus and Henry Wallop in their letters to Sir Francis Walsingham that O'Hurley had been employed by the Roman Inquisition, this is not sustainable by other evidence. For example, a 33-line work of praise poetry in Renaissance Latin, which was composed to celebrate Dermot O'Hurley's promotion to the Episcopate, confirms that he had always been merely a theology professor.

O'Hurley's voyage was fraught with danger because of the state of war between the Pope and England, but he accepted the risks involved and arranged for a sea captain from Drogheda to smuggle him from the French port of Le Croisic into Ireland. Archbishop O'Hurley disembarked upon Holmpatrick Strand in what is now Skerries, County Dublin in the autumn of 1583 and was met by a priest named Fr. John Dillon, who accompanied him to Drogheda, where they lodged in a hostelry.

His letters, which had been sent via a different ship, were intercepted by English pirates, who handed the letters over to the Lord Justices in Dublin.

Through its elaborate spy system, the government in Dublin had knowledge of Dermot's appointment to the See of Cashel, and Elizabeth's spies were soon on his tracks.

After being advised by a resident of Drogheda that Lord Justices Loftus and Wallop already knew their location, Archbishop O'Hurley and Fr. Dillon decided to leave for Slane.

Archbishop O'Hurley lodged with Thomas Fleming, 10th Baron Slane, and from there he spread his activities through the territory of the Clan O'Reilly. While sheltering at Slane Castle, O'Hurley was recognised by the Baron's first cousin, Sir Robert Dillon, who immediately informed Dublin Castle. Baron Slane was immediately summoned by Lord Justices Loftus and Wallop and, under pain of severe penalties, agreed to arrest Archbishop Dermot O'Hurley.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop had already left Slane Castle and was staying with Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, a Protestant, referred to as "Black Thomas" ( ga, Tomás dubh) (lit. "Thomas the Black", fig. "Thomas the Puritan"), who was then the Lord Treasurer of Ireland. While a guest at the Earl's still extant Elizabethan Manor House at Carrick-on-Suir, the Archbishop was covertly seeking a meeting with Dr. Miler Magrath, a former Franciscan Friar who had become the Church of Ireland's Archbishop of Cashel. Then, however, O'Hurley was met there by Baron Slane in September 1583. The Baron explained the imminent danger to both himself and his family and in return, the Archbishop voluntarily agreed to travel with him and surrender at Dublin Castle. Edited by Patrick J. Cornish and Benignus Millet (2005), ''The Irish Martyrs'', Four Courts Press, Dublin. Page 69.

Meanwhile, despite his Protestantism, the Earl of Ormonde was greatly offended and distressed at the trickery used in the arrest of a guest in his house, and afterwards he did his best to rescue Archbishop O'Hurley from the executioners. On 8 October 1583 O'Hurley was imprisoned in Dublin Castle.

Martyrdom

O'Hurley was subjected to savage torture, including the boiling boot, in which his bare feet were imprisoned in iron boots, filled with water, that were slowly heated over a gentle fire until the water boiled and consumed both flesh and bone. Yet, O'Hurley refused to embrace Protestantism. According to surviving correspondence between Dublin and Whitehall, Elizabeth I was reluctant to dispense with a fair trial under English Law, but her mind was changed by Sir Francis Walsingham and she approved of a trial by military tribunal. O'Hurley was tried in a day and sentenced to death.

The Chancellor, learning that Butler was coming, by whose influence and power they feared O'Hurley would be saved, determined to put him to death as soon as possible. In the early morning of 19, or 20, June 1584, O'Hurley was taken outside the walls of Dublin and hanged at Hoggen Green. In his last speech, he proclaimed,

He was buried in St. Kevin's Church, Camden Row, Dublin. His gravesite remained a site of pilgrimage for many years.

Legacy

As word of his execution spread, O'Hurley was immediately revered as a martyr by Catholics throughout Europe. Several accounts of his life and death were printed and reached a wide audience.

Following Catholic Emancipation in 1829, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Ireland began an investigation into his life and death. One of the most valuable resources was found to be the documents and letters written by the men who tortured and executed him. In 1904, he was declared a Servant of God.

On 27 September 1992, O'Hurley was beatified by Pope John Paul II, alongside 16 other Irish martyrs.

See also

* Margaret Ball
* Francis Taylor (martyr)

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohurley, Dermot
1530s births
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Reims University (1548–1793)
Roman Catholic archbishops of Cashel
Executed Irish people
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Martyred Roman Catholic bishops
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