O'Healy, Patrick (d. 1579), catholic bishop of Mayo and martyr, appears to have been born c.1543–6. He may have been a native of Co. Leitrim, and may have received his early education at the Franciscan friary at Creevelea, near Dromahair, Co. Leitrim. Having apparently already made his noviciate, O'Healy was sent to Rome in 1562 to further his religious instruction and education. From there Francisco Zamora, the minister general of the Observant Franciscans, sent him to Spain, to the Franciscan province of Cartagena. He studied grammar at the friary at Molina de Aragon for two years, and studied philosophy for four years at the friary at San Clemente, where he was incorporated into the province of Cartagena. He then studied theology at the friary at Cuenca, before completing his education at the university in Alcalá de Henares.
While in Spain he came into contact with Irish catholic exiles, possibly including Maurice Fitzgibbon (qv), archbishop of Cashel, who were attempting, under the leadership of the adventurer James fitz Maurice Fitzgerald (qv), to raise military assistance from Spain and the Vatican for their plans to restore the Roman catholic faith in Ireland and to make Don Juan of Austria king of Ireland. On 16 June 1575 O'Healy arrived in Rome, where he had meetings with Pope Gregory XIII and other high-ranking Vatican officials seeking their support for the scheme. In summer 1575 or 1576 he attended a conference of papal officials and Irish and English clergy to discuss proposals for invading England and Ireland. To O'Healy's annoyance, a planned papal expedition to England was given precedence over a similar scheme for Ireland. Despite this setback, he was made bishop of Mayo on 4 July 1576 and by the autumn the pope was showing more interest in fitz Maurice's designs. In October O'Healy was sent back to Spain to seek aid for fitz Maurice from Philip II. The mission proved fruitless and by November 1577 he had joined fitz Maurice in Lisbon, where they managed to scrape together enough money to hire a ship, a few men, and some supplies.
Setting sail for Ireland on 18 November 1577, they captured an English ship; O'Healy managed to dissuade fitz Maurice from killing the captured crew. Bad weather then forced them into the port of Monuiero, near La Coruña, Spain, where the Breton crew mutinied and on 6 January 1578 stole the ship while O'Healy and the others were at mass for the feast of the Epiphany. Determined to regain possession of the ship, fitz Maurice went to St Malo, while O'Healy journeyed to Paris, where on 7 April 1578 he received a royal warrant directing the local authorities in Brittany to ensure the return of the stolen goods. He also wrote a strongly worded letter to Rome complaining at the lack of support for fitz Maurice and stressing the harsh persecution suffered by Irish catholics.
For the rest of 1578 O'Healy appears to have remained in Paris, during which time he resided at the Franciscan friary there and engaged in academic debates. After appealing in vain for French support for fitz Maurice's plans, he had more success with the pope, who granted O'Healy and fitz Maurice financial assistance in their renewed efforts to lead an expeditionary force to Ireland. While in Paris, O'Healy became friendly with an English priest, Thomas Bourchier, who later wrote a martyrology of him. Bourchier stated that O'Healy travelled to Ireland from Brittany in 1579 and happened to land at Dingle very shortly before fitz Maurice did the same with a small invasion force on 18 July. However, it seems more likely that he went to Galicia in summer 1579 and sailed to Ireland in fitz Maurice's company. Bourchier disapproved of armed intervention on behalf of the catholic faith in Ireland and may have deliberately tried to downplay O'Healy's participation in fitz Maurice's plans. Eager to have O'Healy recognized as a religious martyr, many catholic historians have continued to promote Bourchier's version of events. An eyewitness at Smerwick harbour on 18 July stated that an unknown bishop was with fitz Maurice's force; this must have been O'Healy.
Accompanied by a Franciscan friar, Conn O'Rourke (qv), O'Healy went immediately to meet Gerald fitz James Fitzgerald (qv), 15th earl of Desmond, possibly at Askeaton, Co. Limerick. After being hospitably entertained for three days by Desmond's countess, Eleanor Butler (qv), they set off for Limerick city. However, either Eleanor or Desmond, in an attempt to demonstrate loyalty to Queen Elizabeth, alerted the authorities to their presence in Munster and O'Healy and his companion were arrested. They were imprisoned at Limerick before being transported to Kimallock, Co. Limerick.
During his imprisonment O'Healy was interrogated and tortured by Sir William Drury (qv), lord justice of Ireland, having spikes driven through his fingers, some of which he lost. O'Healy refused to betray fitz Maurice's plans or to accept royal supremacy, though he was offered the inducement of being appointed Church of Ireland bishop of Mayo. Faced with such recalcitrance, Drury sentenced O'Healy and O'Rourke to death under martial law. The executions took place at Kilmallock between 10 and 22 August 1579; O'Healy is believed to have given a short sermon to the onlookers before being hanged alongside his companion. Their corpses remained hanging for about a week before they were taken down and buried on 27 August at Clonmel, co. Tipperary; in 1647 the bodies were transferred to the Franciscan house at Askeaton. Bishop O'Healy, the first catholic prelate to be put to death in Ireland since Henry VIII's break with Rome, together with Conn'O'Rourke, was among the seventeen Irish martyrs beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome on 27 September 1992.