THE VENERABLE BISHOP O'HEA OF ROSS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IV, Issue 206, 16 March 1877, Page 5

THE VENERABLE BISHOP O'HEA OF ROSS.

The Dublin correspondent of the ' London Tablet ' pays the following deserved tribute to the well-known Bishop O'Hea of Ross, lately deceased : — " The venerated and beloved Bishop of Ross, one of the most esteemed members of the Irish Episcopacy, has just been struck down, at a ripe age, amid the deep regret of his devoted clergy and flock, and to the sorrow of the whole Irish race wheresoever dispersed. Tne ancient See of Boss (Carbery), where stood one of the most famous of the ancient great schools of Ireland, was united with that of Cloyne many centuries ago, although the diocese of Cork was in closer proximity. The effect of which union was that Cloyne and Ross formed a circle encompassing Cork on three sides, sweeping a curve from Youghal toßantry, or the whole expanse of the largest county in Ireland. As the population increased, the difficulties of episcopal visitation and other circumBtances led to the dissolution, and the re-establishment of the See of Ross as a distinct diocese in 1851, when Dr. Keane was consecrated its first Bishop after the separation. On the translation of Dr. Keane to the See of Cloyne in 1857, Dr. O'Hea was appointed his successor in the diocese of Ross, and consecrated Bishop 7th February, 1858, so that the late Prelate governed the See for close on nineteen years. The diccese is a small one containing only eleven parishes, of which two are Mensal, but includes two good towns, Skibbereen and Clanakilty, and also Cape Clear Island. Dr. O'Hea was a natiye of the diocese, and descended from a noble old Sept. During his missionary labors he eerved in several parishes in both Cloyne and Ross, and was always remarkable for high efficiency as a faithful and devoted priest and an effective preacher. Another prominent feature in his life was the promotion of Catholic education. But eminent as were his learning, his piety, and his episcopal zeal, the ardent patriotism of the late warm-hearted Bishop contributed considerably to intensify popular affection for him at home and abroad. With but slender income to sustain the rank or meet the calls inseperable from the episcopal office, his open-handed generosity would never permit him to let a single call of church, charity, or country pass without contributing to meet it. Mourned in Ross, regretted in Munster, and respected throughout Ireland, the venerated Bishop sunk at his post amid the sorrow of the people, and leaves his memory in benediction amongst his faithful flock in ancient Ros3, to which he was devotedly attached. Death has been active lately amongst the Bishops in the province of Cashel, vacancies having occurred, within a few years, in the archiepiscopal See, and in the dioceses of Waterford and Lismore, Cloyne and Ross.