Terence Albert O'Brien

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Terence Albert O'Brien (1600 – October 31, 1651) was an Irish Roman Catholic bishop of Emly.

[edit] Biography

Born in Limerick, O'Brien joined the Dominicans and studied at Toledo and Limerick. He was consecrated bishop of Emly by Giovanni Battista Rinuccini. During the Irish Confederate Wars, like most Irish Catholics, he sided with Confederate Ireland. The bishop would treat the wounded and support Confederate soldiers throughout the conflict. O'Brien would sign the declaration against Inchiquin's truce in 1648, and the declaration against Ormond in 1650. In 1651 Limerick was invaded and O'Brien urged a resistance that infuriated the Ormondists and Parliamentarians. Following surrender he was denied quarter and protection. Major General Purcell, Father Wolf and O'Brien were brought before a court martial and ordered for execution by General Henry Ireton.^[1] On September 27, 1992, O'Brien and sixteen other Irish Catholic Martyrs, including Dermot O'Hurley, were beatified by Pope John Paul II.