John O'Mahony (1844–1912) was an Irish Catholic priest, antiquarian, writer and founder member of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society.[1]
Born near Enniskean in County Cork in 1844, O'Mahony was educated in Bandon and Cork before attending St Patrick's College, Maynooth.[1] He was ordained in 1870 and moved to Cork city where he was a curate in South (St. Finbar's) Parish.[1]
During the 1880s, he was a supporter of the Land League, Home Rule movement and of Charles Stewart Parnell's Irish Parliamentary Party.[1] This political position was at odds with that of the then Bishop of Cork,[2] William Delany, who transferred O'Mahony out of Cork city to a rural parish.[3] [4] Despite an appeal to Rome, this "demotion" was not overturned.[5] After Delany's death, O'Mahony returned to Cork to North (Cathedral) Parish.[1]
In later life, O'Mahony was a supporter of the Gaelic League and was president of the Maynooth Union.[1] Having "literary and antiquarian interests", he was a founder member of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, and contributed a number of articles to the society's journal.[1]
O'Mahony died at Crookstown, County Kildare on 4 January 1912. A statue of him, reputedly weighing 11 tons, was erected in the Catholic church in Cloghduv.[1]