Thomas O'Dea, Bishop of Clonfert and Bishop of Galway, 7 January 1858 - 9 April 1923.

O'Dea was born in Carron, Kilfenora

Kilfenora

Kilfenora is a small village in County Clare in Ireland, just south of The Burren. The village is noted for being the home to the Kilfenora Ceili Band and the location for much of the filming of the sitcom Father Ted.-Places of interest:...

, County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, and educated in Ennis

Ennis

Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....

 and Maynooth

Maynooth

Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...

. He was ordained on 25 June 18982 for the Diocese of Galway. He was a member of staff at St. Patrick's, Maynooth, from the date of his ordination; he served as Vice-President from 1894.

O'Dea became Bishop of Clonfert on 16 June 1903, replacing Dr. Healy. He became Bishop of Galway on 29 April 1909. His plans to build a new cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 for the town were interrupted by World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He was a fluent Irish speaker and a supporter of the G.A.A..

He was firstly buried in St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral of Galway, but later re-interred in the crypt

Crypt

In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....

of the new Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas, Galway.