[1] During his pastorate, he established himself as "a firm believer in total abstinence" and founded a boys' club to keep young men from "frequenting the saloons and other resorts.

[4] O'Reilly received his episcopal consecration on August 25, 1903, from Archbishop Alexander Christie, with Bishops Alphonse Glorieux and Edward O'Dea serving as co-consecrators.

[8] O'Reilly laid the cornerstone of Saint Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker in 1906, dedicating the building in 1908.

[4] As opposed to his arrival in Baker City, he received a comparatively warm welcome in Lincoln, Nebraska, with a reception attended by Governor Keith Neville.

[3] Early into his tenure at Lincoln, O'Reilly had to contend with the 1918 influenza pandemic, which claimed the lives of many priests and religious sisters.

[9] Already suffering from arteriosclerosis, O'Reilly fell in December 1922, leaving him confined to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Lincoln for the final two months of his life.