Blessed Dermot O'Hurley

Dermot O'Hurley (c. 1530 – 19 or 20 June 1584)—also Dermod or Dermond O'Hurley: Irish: 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 was one of the most celebrated of the Irish Catholic Martyrs, and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992. O'Hurley was born in Lickadoon Castle, Ballyneety, County Limerick, 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. The O'Hurley clan claims descent from the Dál gCais, one of the more powerful Irish clans in Munster's history. 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. 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. 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 into Ireland. He disembarked on Holmpatrick Strand in County Dublin in the autumn of 1583. His letters, which had been sent via a different ship, were intercepted by priest hunters.