Augustinian archbishop of Dublin, Ireland. He was born at Leinster, the Son of Murtagh, chief of the Murrays, in Castledermot, Kildare. Taken hostage by King Dermot McMurrogh of Leinster in a raid, Lawrence was surrendered to the bishop of Glendalough. Lawrence became a monk, and in 1161 was named archbishop of Dublin.
In 1171 he traveled to Canterbury, England on diocesan business. While preparing for Mass there he was attacked by a lunatic who wanted to make Lawrence another Saint Thomas Beckett. Everyone in the church thought Lawrence had been killed by the severe blow to the head. Instead he asked for water, blessed it, and washed the wound; the bleeding stopped, and the archbishop celebrated Mass.
He was involved in negotiating with the English following their invasion of Ireland, and in 1172 convened a synod at Cashel. He also negotiated the 1175 Treaty of Windsor which made upstart Rory O'Connor the Irish king and vassal of king Henry II of England, but ended combat. He also attended the General Lateran Council in Rome in 1179, and was named papal legate to Ireland.
Lawrence later traveled on a mission with King Henry II of England, a trip taken as a peacemaker and on behalf of Rory O'Conner. It resulted in his imprisonment and ill-treatment by the king who decided he had had his fill of meddling priests. Lawrence died at Eu, Normandy, France on November 14, 1180. He was canonized in 1225.
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