Colm O'Reilly

Who is Colm O'Reilly?

Colm O'Reilly is an Irish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise from 1983 to 2013.

The youngest of seven children, O'Reilly was born to John and Alicia O'Reilly in Colmcille, County Longford. His eldest brother, Peter, was superior general of St. Patrick's Missionary Society for sixteen years, and another brother, Brendan, was a member of the Divine Word Missionaries. He studied at St. Mel's College in Longford, and was ordained a priest on 19 June 1960.

He spent his priesthood in parishes in the Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise; he ministered for nine years in Granard and until 1983 he was curate and later administrator at St. Mel's Cathedral.

On 24 February 1983, O'Reilly was appointed Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 10 April 1983 from Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, with Archbishop Gaetano Alibrandi and Bishop Cahal Daly as co-consecrators.

Within the Irish Bishops Conference, he is Chairman 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, and Trócaire.