Ofihely, Maurice

O'Fihely, Maurice, an Irish Roman Catholic prelate, studied at the University of Oxford, and joined the Franciscans. He afterwards studied philosophy and theology at Padua, where he graduated, and later taught. In 1480 he was corrector for the renowned printers Octavian Schott and Locatelle, of Venice, a position which learned men at that time did not look upon as beneath their dignity. Julius II made him archbishop of Tuam in 1506, but O'Fihely preferred to remain in Venice, where he devoted himself to scholastic philosophy and to literature. In 1512 he took part in the first two sessions of the Council of Lateran. Finally, in 1513, he made up his mind to go to Ireland, but died on landing at Galway, May 25. He wrote, Expositio in quaestione dialecticas Joannis Scoti in Isagogen Posphyrii (Fer. rara, 1499; Venice, 1512, fol.): — Concordantice et casti. gationes in metaphysicalia Doct. Subtilis (Venice, 1501, fol.): — Compendium veritatum iv libr. Sententiarum (ibid. 1505, 4to): — De rerum contingentia et divina prae destinatione (ibid. 1505, 4to): — Commentaria Doctoris Subtilis J. Scoti in xii lib. Metaphysicae Aristotelis (ibid 1507, fol.): — Enchiridion fidei (ibid. 1509, 4to): — Epithemata informalitatum opus de mente Doctoris Subtilis (ibid. 1514, fol.): — Dictionarium Sacrae Scripturae (ibid. 1603, fol.); the publication stopped at the word exstinguere, but there is said to exist a complete MS. copy in the Bodleian Library. See Wood, Athenae Oxon.; Possevin, Apparatus sacer; Jean de Saint-Antoine, Bibli. oth. Franciscaine, vol. ii; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, 38:548; Allibone, Dict. of Brit. and Amer. Authors, s.v. (J. N. P.)