Eugene Sheehy (priest)

Father Eugene Sheehy
Born	Eugene Sheehy 25 December 1841 Broadford, County Limerick
Died	July 1917 Dublin
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	Priest
Known for	Irish National Land League

Father Eugene Sheehy, (25 December 1841 – July 1917). He was a priest, president of the local branch of the Irish National Land League at Kilmallock and founder member of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was known as the "Land League priest", and his activities landed him in prison. He educated Éamon de Valera who went on to be president of Ireland.

Eugene Sheehy was born in Broadford, County Limerick, Ireland, son of Richard Sheehy and Johanna Shea, brother of Mary Sheehy and David Sheehy. He was the uncle of Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and Eugene Sheehy. He was educated at Mungret College, Limerick, and later studied for the priesthood at the Irish College in Paris. He was a distant cousin of John Fitzgerald Kennedy through Kennedy's maternal Grandmother Mary Assumpta Hickey, who was descended from a member of the Sheehy family.

Sheehy was a forceful and patriotic individual whose involvement in the Land League put him in contention with the local magistrate, Clifford Lloyd. He was arrested on 20 May 1881 for his speeches and put in prison until September.

Clifford Lloyd, described the scene in his book 'Ireland under the Land League':

I shall never forget the scene as he proceeded up the street. The people fell upon their knees as he passed and seized his hands and the skirts of his clothes, while begging his blessing before he left them.

He was said to have been a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and was certainly in the confidence of the leaders. He may have been on the executive.

He was interned first in Naas Jail and later transferred to Kilmainham Gaol, where he joined Parnell, Davitt, Dillon and the other 'suspects'.

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