Daniel Delany

Who was Daniel Delany?

Daniel Delany DD was the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. He was born on the first of two sons into a farming family in January 1747. His father and younger brother died when Daniel was still young, and his mother, Elizabeth Delany sent him to her sisters to be cared for and to develop an education. Daniel received his early education at a Hedge School, near his home.

In 1763 at the age of 16 Delany went to Paris to study for his priesthood at the Irish College, Paris and was ordained a priest in 1771 at the age of 24. For the next six years Delany taught theology at Saint-Omer in France, but returned to Ireland in 1776.

When back in Ireland Delany took up the position of assistant priest in Tullow in 1777.

Catholic education in Ireland had been denied to the people of Ireland since the sixteenth century, in consequence many of the population suffered from poverty, hunger and drunkenness. Delany tried hard to bring back the traditional Catholic education to the community. He started by the establishment of Sunday schools, which targeted to educate the youth. Also to target the youth Delany formed a band to help teach his students hymns.