Denis Eugene Hurley (9 November 1915 – 13 February 2004) was Roman Catholic Vicar Apostolic of Natal and Bishop, and later Archbishop, of Durban from 1946 until 1992.

He was born in Cape Town to Irish parents, spending his early years on Robben Island, where his father was the lighthouse keeper. He joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) in 1931 and in the following year was sent to Ireland for his novitiate.


Hurley was an outspoken opponent of apartheid and in 1984 was charged with contravening the South African police act by publishing information which the government alleged to be untrue about atrocities committed in Namibia by the South African military unit known as Koevoet. The state withdrew the charges later and settled a claim by the Archbishop for damages out of court, paying him R 25,000. Due to his commitment to social justice, the Denis Hurley Peace Initiative, an associate body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, was named in his honour.