[1] He was born in Knocknagree, County Cork (within the jurisdiction of Kerry diocese) in 1908 and studied at St. Brendan's College, Killarney.
Herlihy's time as bishop is now seen primarily through the lens of the Ferns Report into child sexual abuse in his diocese.
"[2] Toibin goes on to reflect on the gap between Herlihy's experience in Rome and his suitability as a bishop in rural Wexford; "His sermons in Enniscorthy Cathedral were lofty in tone and content.
"[3] As Bishop he came in for fierce criticism in the Ferns Report which said he repeatedly placed priests whom he knew to be paedophiles in parishes where access to young people was easily available.
One writer described Herlihy's manner in Wexford town as "regally unapproachable"[4] It is now known that in 1966, at the start of his episcopal ministry, Bishop Herlihy assessed allegations of sexual behaviour towards boys in a dormitory of St Peter's College, Wexford by Fr Donal Collins as a 'moral failure.'