St. Lawrence O’Toole
Feast Day: November 14
The son of an Irish chieftain, Lorcan Ua Tuathail was held hostage for two years by a rival family.
He later became a monk, then abbot, at Glendalough, where his rule was strict.
In 1161, Lawrence became archbishop of Dublin; his chief work there was clergy reform.
In 1170, English King Henry II sent Anglo-Norman nobles to Ireland to dispatch Irish leaders; thereafter, Lawrence was embroiled in politics, the beginning of “the troubles” with England.
He attended the Third Lateran Council in Rome in 1179 and was appointed papal legate in Ireland.
He died in Normandy, while trying to mediate Norman-Irish property disputes with Henry, and was canonized in 1225.
