Terence O'Brien (bishop)


Terence Albert O Brien

Bishop of Emly
DioceseEmly
Appointed30 October 1651
Term ended1 (O.S.)/11 (N.S.) February 1612
PredecessorMaurice Hurley (bishop)
SuccessorSee vacant to William Burgat in 1657
Orders
Consecrationby Nicolas de Pellevé
Personal details
Bornc. 1600
Died30 October 1651
Limerick
NationalityIrish
DenominationRoman Catholic
Sainthood
Feast day
Venerated in6 July 1991
Beatified27 September 1992
Rome
by Pope John Paul II

Terence Albert O'Brien (Irish: Muiris Ó Briain Aradh) (1600 30 October 1651) was an Irish priest of the Dominican Order and Roman Catholic Bishop of Emly. During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, he was captured by the New Model Army following the Siege of Limerick. After a drumhead court-martial, he was hanged by order of General Henry Ireton at Gallows Green, officially for advising against the surrender of the city, but in reality as part of the religious persecution of the Catholic Church in Ireland that began under Henry VIII and ended only with Catholic Emancipation in 1829. Bishop O'Brien was beatified as one of 17 Irish Catholic Martyrs by Pope John Paul II on 27 September 1992.