Ambassador Extraordinaire

This fascinating study explores the career of Ireland's first modern diplomat, Daniel O'Daly. Born in Kilsarkan, County Kerry, in 1595, he became a significant figure in seventeenth-century ecclesiastical and political life at a time when Ireland's relationship with Europe was both considerable and subtle. He was an historian, founder of an Irish college and a convent in Portugal, confessor and advisor to queens and kings, and a prime mover in both the Stuart Restoration of Charles II and the Portuguese Restoration. Shortly before he died in 1662, he was nominated as bishop elect of Coimbra, Portugal.