Philip O'Reilly (1599-1655) was an Irish Confederate leader and the MP for County Cavan from 1639 to 1641.
Biography[]
Philip O'Reilly was born in County Cavan, Ireland in 1599, and he served in the Spanish Army as a young man before returning to Ireland and becoming Commissioner of the Peace in 1625, High Sheriff of Cavan in 1629, and MP for County Cavan in 1639. In 1640, Rory O'Moore enlisted O'Reilly's help with starting a rebellion against English rule. He was elected chief of the O'Reilly clan after the rebellion in 1641, and he was attained for treason in 1642 and again in 1652. After the collapse of the Irish Catholic Confederation in 1652, he surrendered to Oliver Cromwell and retired with his brigade into Spain. After serving in the Spanish Army for two more years, he died in 1655.