St. Lawrence O'Toole

St. Laurence O'Toole (Lorcán Ua Tuathail, c. 1128 – 14 November 1180) was born in Leinster, the son of an Irish chieftain, and as a boy was given as a hostage to the king of Leinster before being entrusted to the monastery of Glendalough, where he embraced the religious life and in time became abbot. Renowned for his austerity, prayer, and generous care for the poor and for pilgrims, he was chosen archbishop of Dublin in 1162, the first of Irish birth to hold that see.

As archbishop he reformed the clergy, introduced canons regular, and continued his own monastic discipline and charity, feeding great numbers of the hungry during famine. His episcopate coincided with the Norman invasion of Ireland; he labored to protect his people, mediate between the Irish kings and the English crown, and negotiate with King Henry II. On one such mission of peacemaking he fell ill and died at Eu in Normandy in 1180. He was canonized in 1225, the patron saint of Dublin.