| Archbishop Name: | Seamus Ó hÉilidhe |
| Dipstyle: | The Most Reverend |
| Offstyle: | Your Grace or Archbishop |
Seamus Ó hÉilidhe (anglicised James O'Hely, latinised Jacobus Helius;[1] died) was an Irish clergyman and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Tuam. He is known for his role in acquiring Spanish forces to assist the Irish in the Nine Years' War, though his mission was unsuccessful and he ultimately drowned in a shipwreck off Biscay.
Ó hÉilidhe was ordained in Antwerp, and appointed Archbishop of Tuam by the Holy See on 20 March 1591.[2]
In 1593, as the Nine Years' War loomed, Ó hÉilidhe was dispatched to Spain by noblemen Red Hugh O'Donnell and Hugh Maguire, with the aim of obtaining military assistance from the Spanish. According to historian Hiram Morgan, the bishops "regarded Ó hÉilidhe as their main hope".[3] He carried letters from O'Donnell, Maguire, Brian Oge O'Rourke and Archbishop Edmund MacGuaran, Primate of Ireland.[4] [5] Ó hÉilidhe arrived in Spain sometime between May and September.
He met with councillor Don Juan de Idiáquez, the royal secretary, who supervised King Philip II's dealings in the British Isles. At the Escorial, Ó hÉilidhe presented the Council of War "with a complete account of the warlike potential and strategic possibilities of the confederate Irish". He described the forces controlled by O'Donnell (3,000 men plus his maternal family's Redshank mercenaries), Maguire (2,000 men), O'Rourke (1,000 men) and the Burke family (1,000 men).
The archbishop emphasised to Idiáquez the persecution the Irish were suffering as fellow Catholics. He urgently requested between 8,000 to 10,000 Spanish soldiers to supplement Irish forces.[6] Ó hÉilidhe was supported by émigré Maurice Fitzgerald and Lisbon exile Cornelius O'Mulrian, Bishop of Killaloe.
Philip II thought these demands were heavy, but ultimately felt pity for the plight of Irish Catholics. Idiáquez was instructed to give the Irish "the very smallest aid that will be needed. If it be so small that we can give it, we will help them." Idiáquez arranged for a ship to take Ó hÉilidhe, Spanish experts and Irish émigrés back to Ireland to gather intelligence and assist in the rebellion. The ship would be commanded by the highly-regarded Captain Merida, a "Spanish mulatto". Accompanying Ó hÉilidhe were Irishmen Thomas FitzGerald ("Don Tomás Geraldino") and Lacey ("Don Juan de Lacey"), who had served in the Spanish navy.[7] According to a second-hand report in the Calendar of State Papers, 100 soldiers were also onboard.
The ship set sail in March 1594, probably from Ferrol, but was shipwrecked in a sandbar off the coast of Santander, Cantabria, which halted any further lobbying.
According to Philip O'Sullivan Beare, Merida docked the ship at Santander and, while waiting for a storm to subside, killed a man in a quarrel. He ordered Ó hÉilidhe and the crew to quickly depart so he could avoid arrest, but the ship was destroyed in the storm and all on board died.[8] Historian Micheline Walsh has raised doubts on the trustworthiness of this account. Nevertheless, in a 1610 letter to Philip III, Lacey's son mentions that the crew were "lost on the bar of Santander". Morgan believes that Ó hÉilidhe indeed died in a shipwreck on the bay of Biscay.
In the confusion, a Spanish barque was sent to Ireland to find Merida and Ó hÉilidhe. In October 1594, their fates were still unclear to the Spanish administration, causing great concern in Spain.
The Calendar of State Papers mentions a ship from Waterford which was sent to find the missing crew. It travelled to Cádiz and arrived back in Ballyshannon on 2 January 1595, with no news.
Most sources give Seamus Ó hÉilidhe's death date as 25 September 1595.[9] It is possible that this is simply the date that Ó hÉilidhe's death at sea was confirmed by authorities. Indeed, on this date O'Neill and O'Donnell wrote to the King of Spain referencing the failure of Ó hÉilidhe's mission: "By the timidity or negligence of the messengers our former letters have not reached you".[10]