Brady, Richard (d. 1607), catholic bishop of Ardagh and of Kilmore, was a member of the family of the Mac Bradaigh chiefs of Cuil Bhrighde, in Co. Cavan. He entered the Franciscan monastery in Cavan and eventually became the Franciscan provincial in Ireland (1573–6). On 23 January 1576 he was provided to the see of Ardagh by Pope Gregory XIII. In 1580 he was transferred to his native diocese of Kilmore, being provided on 14 March. In 1585 John Garvey (qv) was appointed by Queen Elizabeth to this see, but Brady continued as the catholic bishop. He was three times arrested by the English authorities, the second time in October 1601 when the Franciscan monastery at Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath, was raided. Brady and the friars within were captured, Brady later being ransomed for his liberty. This Franciscan, who was renowned for his simple lifestyle and who spent much of his life at Multyfarnham, died in September 1607, and was buried in the monastery's cemetery.
Sources
W. M. Brady, The episcopal succession in England, Scotland, and Ireland, i (Rome, 1876–7); J. J. MacNamee, The history of the diocese of Ardagh (1954); NHI, ix; P. O'Connell, The diocese of Kilmore (1937), 386–92; F. J. MacKiernan, Diocese of Kilmore: bishops and priests 1136–1988 (1989)