Hugh Brady (bishop)
Hugh Brady, a native of Dunboyne, was Bishop of Meath from 21 October 1563 until his death on 13 February 1585.Biography
His parentage is uncertain, as are most of the details of his early life. He was said to have graduated from the University of Oxford and to have been a professor of divinity, but this cannot be confirmed.
He was appointed Bishop of Meath in 1563 when he was in England. He returned to Ireland, was consecrated bishop and made a member of the Privy Council of Ireland. He was always diligent in attendance at Council meetings. He was vigorous in beating off raids on his diocese by Shane O'Neill, the effective ruler of Ulster. He enjoyed the friendship of Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, who praised his sound judgment, hospitality and blameless private life. His good qualities led Sidney and Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Armagh, to propose Brady as Archbishop of Dublin, after they had lobbied successfully for the recall of Archbishop Hugh Curwen . Shortly after however Brady and Loftus quarreled, and Loftus blocked Brady's nomination in order to obtain the See of Dublin for himself.
He married Alice, daughter of Robert Weston, Lord Chancellor of Ireland and his first wife Alice Jenyngs. They had numerous children including Luke, their eldest son. After Brady's death, his widow remarried Sir Geoffrey Fenton and had further issue. The poet Nicholas Brady was the bishop's great-grandson. Maziere Brady, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was a nineteenth-century descendant of the bishop.
