Conor O'Devany

The Blessed Conor O'Devany, O.F.M.
Bishop of Down and Connor
Diocese	Down and Connor
Appointed	27 April 1582
Term ended	1 (O.S.)/11 (N.S.) February 1612
Predecessor	Donat O'Gallagher (bishop)
Successor	Patrick Hanratty (vicar apostolic)
Orders
Consecration	2 February 1583 by Nicolas de Pellevé
Personal details
Birth name	Cornelius O'Devany
Born	c. 1532 Drumkeen, Raphoe, County Donegal
Died	1 (O.S.)/11 (N.S.) February 1612 (aged c. 80) Dublin
Nationality	Irish
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Sainthood
Feast day	20 June
Venerated in	6 July 1991
Beatified	27 September 1992 Rome by Pope John Paul II

Blessed Conor O'Devany (c. 1532 – 1 (O.S.)/11 (N.S.) February 1612; Cornelius O'Devany, Irish: Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh) was an Irish Roman Catholic bishop and martyr. Born in Drumkeen, Raphoe, County Donegal, he was educated at the Franciscan convent in Donegal Town. While in Rome, he was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor by Pope Gregory XIII on 27 April 1582, and consecrated by Cardinal Nicolas de Pellevé on 2 February 1583.

In 1588, O'Devany was committed to Dublin Castle. Failing to convict him of any crime punishable by death, Lord Deputy William Fitzwilliam sought authority from William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley to "be rid of such an obstinate enemy of God and so rank a traitor to Her Majesty as no doubt he is". He lay in prison until November 1590, being then released ostensibly on his own petition but doubtless through policy. He was protected by Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone until 1607 (see the Flight of the Earls), and escaped arrest until the middle of 1611, when, almost eighty years old, he was taken while administering Confirmation and again committed to Dublin Castle. His execution was at the personal wish of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Arthur Chichester, who was vehemently anti-Catholic, and seems to have been rather against the wishes of the Government as a whole.

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