Background
Barry was born in County Clare, Ireland, one of 18 children of Michael and Catherine (née Dixon) Barry.
Barry was born in County Clare, Ireland, one of 18 children of Michael and Catherine (née Dixon) Barry.
After attending national school, he enrolled at Mungret College in Limerick in 1887, taking exams in the Royal University of Ireland from which he graduated.
He served as Bishop of Saint Augustine from 1922 until his death in 1940. In 1890, he began his studies for the priesthood at Saint Patrick"s College in Carlow. As a seminarian, he was recruited to serve the missions in Florida in the United States.
Barry was ordained a priest June 9, 1895.
He soon after came to the Diocese of Saint Augustine, where he served as a curate at Immaculate Conception Church in Jacksonville. He worked as a chaplain during the Spanish–American War.
He was pastor of Saint Monica"s Church in Palatka (1903-1913), and rector of Saint Augustine"s Cathedral and vicar general of the diocese (1917-1921). On February 22, 1922, Barry was appointed the fifth Bishop of Saint Augustine by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 3 from Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley, with Bishops John Jay Monaghan and William Turner serving as co-consecrators.
In June 1932 he sailed with New York’s Cardinal Patrick Hayes to attend the World Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Ireland.
He died from a heart ailment at Saint Vincent"s Hospital in Jacksonville, at age 71.