Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh
bishop, martyr
Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh (c. 1532 – 1 (O.S.)/11 (N.S.) February 1612; Conor O'Devany, Cornelius O'Devany) was an Irish Franciscan priest from Donegal Abbey and Roman Catholic bishop during the religious persecution of the Catholic Church in Ireland that began during the reign of Henry VIII and ended only with Catholic Emancipation in 1829. Similarly to St. Polycarp of Smyrna, Bishop Ó Duibheannaigh was in his eighties when he was hanged, drawn and quartered outside the walls of Dublin. In September 1992, he was formally beatified by Pope John Paul II as one of the 24 officially recognized Irish Catholic Martyrs. His feast day is on June 20.
Early life
Conor O'Devany was born at Malin Head in Inishowen, County Donegal, in Ulster. His family had their seat at Tulach Uí Dhuibheannaigh, near Raphoe in the Laggan district, and were the erenagh family responsible for administering local Church lands on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe. Conor O'Devany joined the Observant Franciscans at Donegal Abbey at an early age.
While in Rome, Ó Duibheannaigh was appointed Bishop of Down and Connor by Pope Gregory XIII on 27 April 1582, and consecrated by Cardinal Nicolas de Pellevé on 2 February 1583.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh” as bishop, martyr. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as bishop, martyr. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5162282. VIAF identifies the subject as 14639927. The Library of Congress control number is nr93008031. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1532, 1612, 1829 and 1992.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh primary sources, Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh archive and Concobhar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Concobhar Ó Duibheannaigh” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.