Maurice Joseph O'Reilly (1866-1933), Catholic priest, was born on 15 July 1866 at Roches Row, Queenstown, Cork, Ireland, eldest of five children of Thomas O'Reilly, shopkeeper and later stevedore, and his wife Mary Anne, née Garde. He was educated at St Colman's College, Fermoy, becoming a medallist in French and Italian, then studied philosophy and theology at St Patrick's College, Maynooth. Entering the community of Vincentian priests in 1887, he was ordained on 6 January 1890 and worked at Sheffield, England, until he volunteered in 1892 to join the members of his community in Australia.