Colm O'Reilly | |
|---|---|
| Bishop-emeritus of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Armagh |
| Diocese | Ardagh and Clonmacnoise |
| Appointed | 10 April 1983 |
| Term ended | 17 July 2013 |
| Predecessor | Cahal Daly |
| Successor | Francis Duffy |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 19 June 1960 (priest) |
| Consecration | 10 April 1983 (bishop) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1935-01-11)11 January 1935 (age 90) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Parents | John and Alicia O'Reilly |
Colm O'Reilly (born 11 January 1935) is anIrishprelate of theCatholic Church. He served as theBishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise from 1983 to 2013.
The youngest of seven children, O'Reilly was born to John and Alicia O'Reilly inColmcille,County Longford.[1]
His eldest brother, Peter (died 1988), wassuperior general ofSt. Patrick's Missionary Society for sixteen years, and another brother, Brendan (died 2000), was a member of theDivine Word Missionaries.[1] He studied atSt. Mel's College inLongford, and wasordained apriest on 19 June 1960.[2] in Maynooth.
He spent his priesthood inparishes in theDiocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, ministering first inGranard for nine years.[3] In 1969 he was appointedcurate and later administrator atSt. Mel's Cathedral.[1]
On 24 February 1983, O'Reilly was appointedBishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise byPope John Paul II. He received hisepiscopal consecration on the following 10 April 1983 from CardinalTomás Ó Fiaich, with ArchbishopGaetano Alibrandi and BishopCahal Daly asco-consecrators.
Widely seen as pastorally sensitive and displaying an empathy for people given his parish as opposed to academic experience he generally adopted a low-profile approach to his episcopal ministry but did some wider work within theIrish Bishops Conference.[4]He wasChairman of the Commission for the Missions and of the Liaison Committee for Child Protection; and a member of the Conference Department of Social Issues and International Affairs, Committee for Family and Children, Commission for Justice and Social Affairs, andTrócaire.[5]
In 2009 he was greatly shocked by the fire atSt Mel's Cathedral with which he had sigh a long association and O'Reilly spearhead the campaign to rebuild and restore the fire ravaged building.[6]
A 2011 investigation into the handling of child sex abuse allegations stated that Bishop O'Reilly "displays a gentle caring approach but with great wisdom and honesty," and further that he along with the diocese's designated person in the area of child safeguarding, "ensures that allegations are addressed in full."[7]
On 17 July 2013, Bishop O'Reilly's resignation from thepastoral government of the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise was accepted byPope Francis, in accordance with the1983Code of Canon Law.[8]
In 2018, it was alleged by Richard McDonnell, former boyfriend ofAnn Lovett, that, following Lovett's death, O'Reilly had a local priest bring McDonnell to Longford for a meeting.[9] Once there, O'Reilly allegedly made McDonnell tell him everything that he had told the local police, before making him kiss his ring and swear to never to tell the story again.[9] O'Reilly denied the allegations.[9]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise 1983 – 2013 | Succeeded by |