O'REGAN, Anthony, R. C. bishop, b. in Kil- tullagh, Ireland, early in the 19th century; d. in London. England, 13 Nov.. 1866. He emigrated to the United States, was appointed viear-general of the diocese of St. Louis, and was also president of the college of Carondelet, and professor of theology and sacred scriptures. In 1853 he was nominated bishop of Chicago. He declined the appointment, but a rescript from the pope was sent to him in 1854, that ordered him to accept the post, and he was consecrated the same year. The diocese was in a very disorganized condition ; there was considerable opposition to the adminis- trative methods of the new bishop, and he found it a difficult task to restore order. Although he was partially successful, many complaints were made to the pope of his harshness, and he went to Rome to obtain pei-mission to resign. He was finally successful and was transferred to the titular see of Dora in 1858. He did not return to the United States, but left large sums for the training of ecclesiastical students for the diocese of Chicago, and the erection of a hospital in that city.
O'REILLY, Count Alexander, Spanish soldier,
b. in Ireland about 1730 ; d. in Chinchilla, Murcia,
in 1794. He entered the Spanish service, became
sub-lieutenant in the Hibernian regiment, and rose
rapidly. He became in 1764 second in command
at Havana with the rank of major-general. After
restoring and strengthening the fortifications of
the city he returned to Spain. He was in 1767 ap-
pointed governor of Louisiana, which province had
opposed its annexation to Spain and had resisted
the first governor, UUoa. The rigorous measures
that he adopted to force the inhabitants to acqui-
esce in Spanish rule made him many enemies, and
in 1769 he was recalled to Spain. He led an expe-
dition against Algiers in 1775, and was appointed
to command the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees
shortly before his death.
O'REILLY, Bernard, R. C. bishop, b. in County
Longford, Ireland, in 1803 ; d. at sea in 1856.
After receiving as good an education as was possi-
ble in the condition of his country at the time, he
embarked for the United States on 17 Jan., 1825,
with the intention of studying for the priesthood.
Soon after his arrival he went to Canada and en-
tered the ecclesiastical seminary of Montreal. He
finished his theological studies in St. Mary's col-
lege, Baltimore, and was promoted to the priest-
hood in 1831. His first mission was at St. James's
church, Brooklyn, N. Y. In the cholera epidemic
of 1832 his services won the admiration of the
whole community. He was twice prostrated by
the disease. In December of the same year he was
transferred to St. Patrick's church, Rochester,
N. Y., where he had charge of all the missions west
of Auburn and east of Niagara Falls. The prog-
ress that his church made in this district was
mainly due to his exertions. In 1847 he removed
to Buffalo and was made vicar-general of the
diocese and president of the seminary, having also
in charge the hospital of the Sisters of Charity. In
1850 he was consecrated bishop of Hartford. The
Roman Catholic population grew rapidly in num-
bers during the few years of his administration,
but he met with considerable opposition in his at-
tempt to introduce religious orders. In 1855 the
House of Mercy in Providence, R. I., was sur-
rounded by a mob, which threatened the inmates
with death. He addressed the rioters fearlessly,
declaring that he would protect the sisters while he
had life, and his courage awed the riotei's, who dis-
persed without doing harm. He embarked for
Europe on 5 Dec, 1855, with the object of secur-
ing religious teachers for his schools. The " Pacific,"'
on which he sailed from Liverpool for the United
States, in January, 1856, was never heard from.
O'REILLY. Bernard, clergyman, b. in Done-
gal, Ireland, in 1823. He came to Canada at an
early age, entered the Seminary of Quebec, and,
after finishing his studies, was ordained a priest.
He was for several years on the Canadian mission,
devoting himself particularly to the interests of
those of his countrymen that were forced to emi-
grate by the famine of 1848, and was also engaged in
a plan for promoting Irish colonization, which was
only partially successful. He was professor of
rhetoric in St. John's college. Fordham, for some
time after 1851, and, after studying abroad, was-
attached to the church of St. Francis Xavier, New
York. He afterward travelled extensively through
Europe, at the same time devoting himself with
success to literary pursuits. His intercourse with
Pius IX. and Leo XIII. has been confidential, and
the latter pontiff selected him to write the official
" Life of Leo XIII." He was raised to the dignity
of domestic prelate of the papal throne in 1887.
His principal works are " Mirror of True Woman-
hood" (New York, 1876): "Life of Pius IX."
(1877): "True Men" (1878): "Key of Heaven"'
(1878) : " The Two Brides," a novel (1879) ; and
"Life of Leo XIII." (1887).
O'REILLY, Henry, journalist, b. in Carrick-
macross, Ireland, 6 Feb., 1806 ; d. in Rochester,,
N. Y., 17 Aug., 1886. He came to this country
with his father in 1816, and learned the printer's
trade in New Y'ork. In 1826 he went to Roches-
ter, N. Y.. and there established the " Advertiser,"
the first daily newspaper that was published west
of Albany, which he edited for four years. It was
notable for its opposition to Thurlow Weed. After
the invention of the telegraph Mr. O'Reilly entered
upon the work of extending the lines to the west,
but became involved in lawsuits which almost
ruined him financially. I^e had also been promi-
nent in advocating the enlargement of the Erie
canal and improvement of the public-school system.
In 18 he was postmaster of Rochester, and sub-
sequently he was connected with various journals.
He published "Sketchesof Rochester, with Notices of
Western New York" (Rochester, 1838) and "Amer-
ican Political Anti-Masonry " (New York, 1879).
O'REILLY, James, R. C. bishop, b. in County
Cavan, Ireland, about 1850 ; d. in Wichita, Kansas,
26 July, 1887. He emigrated to the United States in
his boyhood, and soon afterward entered the Catho-
lic ecclesiastical seminary at Milwaukee, where he
followed a course of theology and philosophy. He-
was ordained priest in 1874, and appointed a few
months afterward pastor of Irish Creek, Kan. He
was next transferred to the cathedral of Leaven-
worth, whei'e he acted as assistant, and also attended
Fort Leavenworth and Kickapoo. He was then for
several months pastor of the cathedral. In 1881
his labors began to affect his health and he went
to Europe, visiting Ireland. Italy, and other parts
of the continent. After his return, in March,
1882, he was made pastor of Topeka, where he ad-
vanced the interests of his church materially. He
made purchases of property in North and South
Topeka, began a church for colored people, and
spent large sums in other improvements. He was
nominated first bishop of Wichita, and appointed
by the pope on 6 July, 1887, but died before the
bulls of consecration reached him.
O'REILLY, John, clergyman, b. in Ireland in 1797; d. in St. Louis, Mo., 4 March, 1862. He emigrated to the United States, entered Mount St. Mary's college, Emmettsburg, Md., and was or-
