Richard O'Reilly (1746–1818) was an Irish

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 ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

from 1787 to 1818., ''The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, volume 1'', p. 231., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 416.

Biography

After his education at the Propaganda College in

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, he was the

Parish Priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Kilcock Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 8,674, making it the eighth largest town in County Kildare and 61st largest in Ireland. ...

and

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 Kildare and Leighlin. He was appointed the

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Oropus'' and

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

of Kildare and Leighlin on 20 June 1781. The following year, he was appointed the

and

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of the Metropolitan see of Armagh on 26 February 1782. On the death of Archbishop Anthony Blake of Armagh on 11 November 1787, O'Reilly automatically succeeded as archbishop and primate. He died in office on 31 January 1818, aged 72, and was buried in

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OReilly, Richard 1746 births 1818 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh