Thomas O'Reilly
Irish-born missionary priest
About Thomas O'Reilly
Lived 1831 – 1872 (aged 40–41).
Thomas O'Reilly (1831–1872) was an Irish-born missionary priest who served in the southern states of America. He is famous for negotiating with the Union forces not to destroy churches (of all denominations) and hospitals in Atlanta during the American Civil War.
Biography O’Reilly was born in Drumgora, County Cavan, Ireland in 1831, he studied to be a missionary priest at All Hallows College in Dublin. In 1857 he was sent to the American South as a missionary priest. In 1861 Fr. O’Reilly was appointed pastor of Atlanta’s first Catholic church, prior to that Catholics held masses in private homes.
O'Reilly, then serving at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Atlanta, pleaded with Major General William Tecumseh Sherman not burn the city's churches or hospitals.
Fr O'Reilly died in a Virginia sanitarium at the age of 41 in 1872.
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Important facts
People in Thomas O'Reilly's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Thomas O'Reilly?
irish-born missionary priest
When was Thomas O'Reilly born?
Thomas O'Reilly was born in 1831.
When did Thomas O'Reilly die?
Thomas O'Reilly died in 1872.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Thomas O'Reilly (priest)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Thomas O'Reilly. https://biography.guide/thomas-o-reilly-1831/
MLA: "Thomas O'Reilly." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/thomas-o-reilly-1831/.
Chicago: "Thomas O'Reilly." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/thomas-o-reilly-1831/.
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