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
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
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
Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for dying for their Catholic faith between 1537 and 1681 in Ireland. The canonisation of Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the others ...
, and was
beatified by
Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992.
Early life
O'Hurley was born into the
Gaelic nobility of Ireland
This article concerns the Gaelic nobility of Ireland from ancient to modern times. It only partly overlaps with Chiefs of the Name because it excludes Scotland and other discussion. It is one of three groups of Irish nobility, the others being ...
, either in or near
Emly,
County Tipperary, around the year 1530. His father, William, was the
O'Hurley clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
's
Chief of the Name
The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland.
In Ireland
In Eliza ...
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
The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent fr ...
, one of the most powerful
Irish clans in
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 ...
'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
Flemish Brabant ( nl, Vlaams-Brabant ; french: Brabant flamand ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Haina ...
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
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...
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
Renaissance Latin is a name given to the distinctive form of Literary Latin style developed during the European Renaissance of the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, particularly by the Renaissance humanism movement.
Ad fontes
''Ad fontes' ...
, 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
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state announces existing or impending war activity against another. The declaration is a performative speech act (or the signing of a document) by an authorized party of a national government, in ...
between the Pope and England, but he accepted the risks involved and arranged for a sea captain from
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
to smuggle him from the French port of
Le Croisic into
Ireland. Archbishop O'Hurley disembarked upon Holmpatrick Strand in what is now
Skerries
A skerry is a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation.
Skerry, skerries, or The Skerries may also refer to:
Geography
Northern Ireland
* Skerries, County Armagh, a townland in County Armagh
* Skerry, County Antrim, a ...
,
County Dublin in the autumn of 1583 and was met by a priest named Fr. John Dillon, who accompanied him to
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
, 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
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
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
The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695.
After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...
. 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
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures.
Principal elements of English law
Although the common law has, historically, be ...
, 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
"Servant of God" is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint.
Terminology
The expression "servant of God" appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in th ...
.
On 27 September 1992, O'Hurley was beatified by Pope John Paul II, alongside 16 other Irish martyrs
Irish Catholic Martyrs () were 24 Irish men and women who have been beatified or canonized for dying for their Catholic faith between 1537 and 1681 in Ireland. The canonisation of Oliver Plunkett in 1975 brought an awareness of the others ...
.
See also
* Margaret Ball
* Francis Taylor (martyr)
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohurley, Dermot
1530s births
1584 deaths
Gaels
People from County Tipperary
Clergy from County Limerick
16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland
Old University of Leuven alumni
Academic staff of the Old University of Leuven
Reims University (1548–1793)
Roman Catholic archbishops of Cashel
Executed Irish people
People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland by hanging
Martyred Roman Catholic bishops
People executed under Elizabeth I as Queen of Ireland
People executed for treason against Ireland
Beatifications by Pope John Paul II
Irish beatified people
16th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
16th-century venerated Christians
Post-Reformation Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland
People of Elizabethan Ireland
People of the Second Desmond Rebellion
24 Irish Catholic Martyrs
People educated by school in County Tipperary