John O'Reily (born John O'Reilly, 19 November 1846 – 6 July 1915) was an Australian Roman Catholic clergyman, the first Bishop of Port Augusta, and the second Archbishop of Adelaide. Born in Kilkenny, Ireland, O'Reily studied for the priesthood in Dublin. Upon his ordination in 1869, he migrated to Western Australia, serving as a parish priest in Fremantle, and founding a Catholic newspaper there. When the Diocese of Port Augusta was established in 1887, Pope Leo XIII named O'Reily as its first bishop. Concerned about the financial position of the diocese (which had inherited significant debt from the Diocese of Adelaide), he accepted the posting reluctantly. As bishop, he greatly improved the financial position of the new diocese, reducing its debt by half and earning a reputation as a competent administrator.
In 1894, O'Reily was appointed to replace the deceased Christopher Reynolds as Archbishop of Adelaide. The archdiocese he inherited was burdened with substantial debt, again left over from the old Diocese of Adelaide. Through the sale of church assets and a fundraising campaign, O'Reily was able to eliminate most of the Archdiocese's liabilities while still investing in church infrastructure. He also actively participated in public discussions relating to education policy at a time when the role of the state in supporting religious education was topical. O'Reily publicly advocated government assistance for religious schools, stating that it was unfair Catholics paid taxes to support state schools, but received no funding for their own. In the later years of his life, poor health forced him to spend less time attending to his episcopal duties, and from 1905, he largely retreated from public life. At his request, Robert Spence was appointed as his coadjutor and successor in 1914, and on 6 July 1915, he died at his house in Adelaide. O'Reily was highly regarded by many in South Australian society, with Adelaide's daily newspapers praising his character, administrative ability and positive relations with non-Catholics.
Early life
O'Reily was born John O'Reilly on 19 November 1846, in Kilkenny, Ireland, the son of Michael, a military officer, and Anne, née Gallagher. He completed his primary education at the parochial school of St. John's Parish, and spent six and a half years at St Kieran's College. Due to poor health, he decided against pursuing a military career, and in 1864 he entered All Hallows College in Dublin to study for the priesthood. He learnt Irish, and studied mental philosophy, mathematics and ecclesiastical studies, achieving first prize in each of his classes. After being ordained on 21 June 1869, he left Ireland for Western Australia in October, arriving in January 1870. Having served briefly in Newcastle (present day Toodyay) and Northam, he became a parish priest in Fremantle, establishing the West Australian Catholic Record in 1874 and serving as its publisher, editor and printer from 1883.
Bishop of Port Augusta
Following a recommendation from the first plenary council of Australia and New Zealand in 1885, in May 1887 Pope Leo XIII elevated the Diocese of Adelaide to an Archdiocese and metropolitan see. As a suffragan diocese to Adelaide, the Pope established the rural Diocese of Port Pirie, naming O'Reilly as its inaugural bishop. Upon his appointment, O'Reilly travelled to Adelaide, where he met with the Archbishop of Adelaide Christopher Reynolds and the Cardinal of Sydney Patrick Moran to discuss the formation of the new diocese. The poor financial state of the Archdiocese made the discussions contentious, with O'Reilly concerned about the amount of debt Port Augusta would inherit from Adelaide. To ensure a sufficiently large population for the new diocese, Moran suggested that its boundaries be altered from those drawn up by the Pope, but Reynolds opposed this plan. Dissatisfied with the outcome of the discussions, O'Reilly decided to travel to Sydney to deliberate further with the Cardinal, prompting Reynolds to write to Moran: