Kieran Andrew O'Reilly SMA KC*HS (born 8 August 1952) is an Irish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who has served as

Archbishop of Cashel and Emly 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 archdio ...

since 2015.

Early life and education

O'Reilly was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

on 8 August 1952, the first of five children to Seán and Theresa O'Reilly. He attended primary school in Scoil Chríost Rí and secondary school in

Coláiste Chríost Rí Coláiste Chríost Rí () is a Catholic secondary school for boys based on Capwell Road in Turners Cross, Cork, Ireland. The school, which is under the trusteeship of the Presentation Brothers Schools Trust, had an enrollment of 513 students as ...

, before entering the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of the

Society of African Missions The Society of African Missions (; ), also known as the SMA Fathers, is a Catholic religious society of apostolic life of pontifical right for men founded by Melchior de Marion Brésillac in 1856. They serve the people of Africa and those of ...

in Wilton, Cork in 1970. O'Reilly subsequently attended courses in philosophy and theology at

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth (), is a pontifical Catholic university in the town of Maynooth near Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mou ...

, being awarded

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

s in literature in 1974 and theology in 1977. He was later awarded a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in missionary studies in 1978. O'Reilly became a permanent member of the Society of African Missions by professing

perpetual vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of re ...

on 10 April 1977, and was ordained a priest on 17 June 1978.

Presbyteral ministry

Following his ordination, O'Reilly served for two years in pastoral ministry in the Archdiocese of Monrovia,

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

, before he was recalled two years later to undertake studies in

sacred scripture The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, from where he was awarded a licentiate in 1984. He was then appointed Professor of Biblical Studies at the

major seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of Saints Peter and Paul in

Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, where he taught until 1988. O'Reilly was elected to the Provincial Council of the

by members of the Society's Irish province in 1989, and subsequently appointed

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Society in 1995. He was elected

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Society on 5 May 2001, the fourth Irishman to serve in this post, and re-elected in 2007.

Episcopal ministry

Bishop of Killaloe

O'Reilly was appointed Bishop-elect of Killaloe by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on 18 May 2010. He was consecrated by the Archbishop of Cashel-Emly,

Dermot Clifford Dermot Clifford, (born 25 January 1939), was the Catholic Archbishop of Cashel and Emly in Ireland from 1988 to 2014. From 7 March 2009 to 27 January 2013, he also served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Cloyne. He was a foundi ...

, on 29 August in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul,

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 ...

. He was a popular and accessible bishop with one only public controversy in August 2014, when men were invited to apply for a restoration of the

Permanent Diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Catholi ...

in the diocese. Women, "who do the majority of the work in the parishes", had been "hurt and greatly disappointed" by O'Reilly's male-only invitation, forcing him to decide to "not now proceed with the introduction of the permanent diaconate at this time".

Archbishop of Cashel and Emly

O'Reilly was appointed Archbishop-elect of Cashel and Apostolic Administrator-elect of

Emly Emly or Emlybeg () is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical Barony (Ireland), barony of Clanwilliam (County Tipperary), Clanwilliam. It is also an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on 22 November 2014. Following the formal union of the metropolitan see of Cashel with the diocese of Emly to form the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly on 26 January 2015, he was installed as the first archbishop of the new archdiocese on 8 February, in the Cathedral of the Assumption,

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

References

External links

Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oreilly, Kieran Living people 1952 births 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Cork Roman Catholic bishops of Killaloe Roman Catholic archbishops of Cashel Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni Expatriates in Liberia Irish expatriates in Nigeria Irish Roman Catholic archbishops Society of African Missions Bishops appointed by Pope Benedict XVI