The Irish Martyrs Podcast

(From Bruodin’s PropugnacUlUm, p.456) HE was a native of Meath. Because he upheld the Catholic religion, he was hanged and quartered in Dublin. Wherefore, fighting bravely for Christ to the end, he obtained the martyr’s crown, and an increase of honour of his most illustrious family. He suffered May 6th 1588. This is probably the same person who is called by Copinger Sir Patrick of the Anally.[1] [1] Spic. Ossor., iii.42 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(from Broudin's Propugnaculum, p. 432) MAURICE GIBBON, a native of Munster, and Archbishop of Cashel, a prelate endowed with every kind of virtue, was confined in prison for many years[2] in Cork because he refused to take the oath of Supremacy, and endured therein endless misery. He ended his life very holily there[3],on May 6th, 1578. See also Sander, Bridgewater, Bozius, Rothe, Copinger, and Arsdeken. [1] Or Fitzgibbon. He is also called Maurice Reagh. See his Life in Renehans Collections, i.241. [2] In his letter to Pope Gregory XIII. He speaks of his creberrims vincula.’ Spic. Ossor., i.70 [3] Holing, however, says he died at Oporto. Ibid., p.83 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Bruodin’s Propugnaculum, p.443) He was a native of Wexford, and a pious and prudent priest. He was imprisoned in Dublin, and for three years in succession he had to endure the filth and other miseries of the place, with robbers for his constant companions, because he defended the Catholic faith strenuously. At last he was sentenced to die, and was sent to Wexford to be executed in the usual way. But he died in the prison before he was taken out to be executed in public, May 5th, 1581. See also Holing, Rothe, Copinger, Molanus, and Lynch. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Hartry’s Synopsis, p.278) Robert Shiel was born in lveagh, Co.Down. He joined the Cistercians,[1] and professed under the name Malachy. He went to the monastery of St. Mary of Newry, then without a pastor. He discharged his duty for 7 years with Br. Malachy O’Kea O. Cist. When he died, a secular priest, a relative, joined him. The Scots[2] had almost depopulated Ulster and advanced to Newry, where the ruins of the monastery[3] are still visible. F. Malachy laboured with his fellow priest, to encourage the Governor for the defence of the town and strong castle. The enemy captured the town gate. Fr. Malachy and the priest urged the captain to defend the strong castle. The fearful captain treacherously betrayed the castle. It's said he was promised quarter for himself, his soldiers, and the priests. But as soon as the enemy got possession of the place, they seized the priests, threw them into prison, and that night they were condemned to death. The following day, the feast of the Finding of the Cross,[4] in 1642, Fr. Malachy was hanged naked from the beams of a wooden bridge. The bodies of the martyrs were thrown into the river that flowed by. They were found on the bank and buried by the Catholics in clean winding-sheet. (a shroud) But that night the soldiers stripped the bodies, leaving them naked above ground. They were later buried in the cemetery of the monastery. When Br. Malachy was being led to his execution, he burst into a laugh and when asked why, he replied ‘I rejoice at the things that were said to me : we shall go into the house of the Lord!’ While engaged in joyous prayer, he received the prize of martyrdom. O’Mellan says Rory O’Shiel, a monk of the Order of St. Bernard, and a priest, was executed, and thrown from the bridge of Newry.’[5] A letter[6] of Monroe, May 15th, 1642, to Leslie. 'We entered into examination of the townsmen if all were papists and the indifferent being severed from the bad, whereof sixty with two priests were shot and hanged.’[7] Colonel Henry O’Neill: ‘Newry was surrendered upon the first summons by a fresh-water Governor upon mercy, which proved so merciless that a great many of the clergy and laity were hanged, killed, and drowned. [1] Thumphalia, p. 283 [2] Monroe came to Ireland in April, 1642 with 2500 Scotch. Leslie came in August. Scotch troops in Ulster amounted to 10000 men. [3] Founded for Cistercians about 1150 by Maurice Macloughlin, King of Ireland. See Triumphalia, Introd. Xiv. No trace remains. [4] May 4th [5] Irish MS., in library of the RI. Academy, 23. H.7 [6] Aphor. Disc., iii. 196 [7] Appendix to Aphor. Disc., i. 421 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

HE was born in Kilmallock & died in Clonmel. He became confessor to Gerald, Earl of Desmond. He fell into the hands of a hired trafficker in soldiers. He was handed over to Sir John Norris, President of Munster & thrown into Clonmel prison. At Easter 1585, (21st April), Victor White, for a sum of money obtained that he pass a night in his house. But the spy sought to sell the pious host, the whole neighbourhood, and the priest to the President. He went and told the President that he allowed Maurice to to pass the night in Victor's house, and that all the neighbourhood Catholics had been told that Mass would be celebrated there the next day. The President got his soldiers ready. When Mass time was drawing near soldiers rushed in. The priest thrust himself into a heap of straw in the courtyard. Victor was cast into prison, and risked losing his life and property. Victor and Maurice, vied with each other, the one to conquer, the other to die. When Maurice heard that Victor was in peril; he returned to save him. Victor was set free, Maurice cast into prison. He could have prevented its execution and saved his life, if he abjured the true faith and took the oath asserting the Queen’s supremacy. But he finished his course, and kept the faith. Manuscript History of the Irish Martyrs says he was hanged, his head cut off and his body divided into four parts. Others that after his head was cut off, the Catholics, induced the executioner not to mangle the headless body any further or cut it in pieces. So Fr Robert Rochford, says in a letter about Maurice’s death. The difference may have arisen from the fact that some supposed the sentence had been carried out in the usual way, in accordance with the commonly received form of words, and spoke of the sentence rather as pronounced than as executed and therefore I should say that in the History of the Martyrs the sentence rather than its execution is spoken of. But since at times, some part of the usual form of the sentence is omitted, those who examined the matter thoroughly, describe it in greater detail, and it may be that this was done more carefully in the narrative of Fr Rochford than in the Brief History. Whether quartered or not, there is no doubt whatever but he was beheaded. His head exposed for several days to the view of the public. The crowd that gathered each day used to perceive, about ten o’clock, an outburst of ruddy colour & perspiration of the forehead and cheeks. Some remarked that this was the time when Maurice, used to celebrate Mass. Some perceived too, that his hands after his death formed the sign of the cross. When the soldiers who were on guard saw this, they strove to separate them and to straighten them, so that they should not be in the form of a cross, yet they returned to themselves to the same position; as the elements return naturally to their centre when the obstacle is removed, so the fingers of the martyr returned and formed a cross. In this way he went to his crucified Lord, April 30”, in the year of our Lord 1585. F. Mooney refers in the following notice: In the convent of Clonmel is interred the Rev. F. Maurice. His remains were buried behind the high altar.’ See also Holing, Copinger, Molanus, Q’Sullevan, Wadding, Lynch, and Bruodin. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Bruodin’s Propugnaculum, p. 427) FERGALL WARD, a native of Tyrconnell,[1] a member of the Seraphic Order of St. Francis, was a very eloquent preacher and most observant of poverty. He had laboured zealously for three years in the vineyard of the Lord, and was then promoted to be Guardian of the convent of Armagh about the year 1575. At this time the plague of heresy, introduced by Elizabeth, was raging through-out Ulster. Ward opposed it as a skilful physician. Wherefore he was seized by the Ministers of Elizabeth, and no regard being had for his great age or religious character, he was scourged cruelly and beaten. At length when the holy martyr, persevering in his good purpose, exhorted his executioners to return to a better life, by order of the ministers he was hanged with his own girdle on the 28th of April, 1575, as Father John Good[2] writes, or in 1565, as Wadding states in his work on the Martyrs of the Order. See also Ward, Wadding, and Hueber. [1] The present Co. Donegal [2] He came to Ireland with F. Edmund McDonaough, S.J., of whom more later. The title of this work is Theatre of Catholic and Protestant Religion ; Douay, 1620. There is not a copy of it in this country, so far as I can find. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

HE was born of a noble family, was a priest, and vicar of the diocese of Kilialoe. This brave soldier and truly apostolic pastor did not fear to expose his life to danger when the wild beasts were laying the vineyard waste, opposing the heretics by word and deed. He was seized by the heretical soldiers in a certain part of Ormond which he was visiting as pastor, his hands were tied behind his back as if he were a robber, and he was led on foot to Dublin, in the midst of heretical soldiers who were as wicked as those who crucified Christ. It is easy to imagine what hardships he suffered on the way. I have often heard an account of them from my mother Margaret Mollony, who was a near relative of the martyr, but for shortness’ sake I omit them here. On reaching Dublin he was cast into prison in the Castle, and the different instruments, the boots, the iron gloves, the rack, with which the English executioners used to torture the confessors of Christ, were set before his eyes. He was asked by the supreme judge whether he was ready to subscribe to the Queen’s laws and decrees made about religion ? O’Mollony, full of the spirit of God, answered boldly, that he was willing to obey these laws so far as they were in accord with the laws of God and the decisions of Christ’s Vicar on earth. The judge, more unjust than Pilate, replied that the Queen in her own kingdom was the sole vicar of Christ and Head of the Church. ‘You must accept her supremacy or suffer death.’ Mollony answered, ‘Either Paul, the teacher of the Gentiles, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, xiv., and to Timothy, ii., and Jesus Christ himself in his Gospels have erred frequently, or the Queen is not Christ’s Vicar.’ ‘Then you do not admit,’ said the judge, ‘that the Queen has, next after Christ, supreme authority in things spiritual?’ O’Mollony replied ‘I cannot admit in any way the supremacy of a woman, for women are forbidden to speak in the Church. Moreover, in defence of the opposite doctrine I am ready to endure the greatest torments and to lay down my life.’ Very well,’ said the judge; we shall see whether your deeds correspond with your words.’ About nine o’clock the next day the executioners put the iron gloves on his hands and the boots on his feet, and squeezed them so that the blood burst out. And as this torture failed, for Donough very often prayed to God, while it lasted, that with the aid of divine grace he might be found worthy to suffer such tortures for Christ’s sake, he was placed on the rack for two hours, and drawn SO that he was one span longer. All this time he was either praying or exhorting those who stood by to hold fast to that faith which is the sole way of salvation, and for which he did not hesitate to shed his blood and sacrifice his life. The executioners, moved even to tears by the patience and pious exhortations of the noble soldier, took him back to prison half-dead, by order of the wicked judge, where he died very piously a few hours after, April 24th, 1601. See also Copinger Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Mooney’s Provincia Hibernia Description) ABOUT the beginning of the year 1569, though there seems to be some doubt as to the precise date, a certain brother, Daniel O’Duillian, of the convent of Youghal,[1] (Founded by Maurice Fitzgerald, 2nd baron of Offaly, in 1232) overcame the persecutors very bravely. For when one Captain Dudal and his troops were torturing him, by order of Lord Arthur Grey[2], (who later served as the Viceroy, from 1580 to 1582.) first they took him to the gate which is called Trinity Gate, and tied his hands behind his back, and having fastened heavy stones to his feet, thrice pulled him up with ropes from the ground to the top of the tower, and left him hanging there for some time. After many insults and tortures, he was hung with his head down and his feet in the air, at a mill near the monastery; and while hanging there, he never uttered an impatient word, but, like a good Christian, incessantly repeated prayers now aloud, now in a low voice. At length the soldiers were ordered to shoot at him, as though he were a target; but yet, that his sufferings might be longer and more cruel, they should not aim at his head or heart, but as much as they pleased at ay other part of his body. After he had received many balls, some one, with a cruel mercy, loaded his gun with two balls and shot him through the heart. F. Ward says in his Catalogue that he suffered death on April 22nd of this year.[3] 1569 See also Copinger and Ward [1] Founded by Maurice Fitzgerald, 2nd baron of Offaly, in 1232. He became a monk here later. See Earls of Kildare, p. 15 [2] He was Lord Deputy from 1580 to 1582. The Lord Deputy at this time was Sir Henry Sidney, who held that office three times between 1557 and 1578 [3] Copinger says, March 28”, 1580. Spic. Ossor., iii.41 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Ward’s Catalogue.) - April 13th, 1588 HE was Guardian of the convent of Donegal,[1] and a celebrated preacher. When the English soldiers came there[2] he sent away the rest of the brethren to a place of security, intending to follow them later; but he was prevented by the soldiers. He strove to gain them over by kindness, but he could not escape. As he was going out of the gate of the monastery, the first soldier who met him ran him through with a sword, and pierced his head to the brain with three mortal wounds. When he was slain in this way, and the soldiers had gone away with the plunder, the brethren returned and found F.Tadhg lying dead on the ground, his eyes piously raised to heaven, and his hands crossed on his breast, April 13th, 1588. See also Rothe, Wadding, Bruodin and Hueber. [1] Founded by Hugh Roe O’Donnell, chief of his tribe, for Franciscans, in 1474. See Meehan’s Franciscan Monasteries, p.4. [2] The English who had taken possession of this monastery were driven from it by the young chief Hugh Roe O’Donnell, after his escape from Dublin Castle. See his Life by O’Clery, p.356 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

THESE religious were natives of Kerry, and born of respectable Catholic parents. They were priests, and for more than thirty years had preached the word of God throughout different parts of Ireland, not without great profit to souls. When the rest of the brethren fled from the heretics who were coming to seize them, these could not accompany them, owing to old age and loss of sight; the youngest of them was over seventy years of age. They took refuge in church of their monastery in the town of Lislachtin, near the village of Ballylongford.[2] They were seized and dragged before the high altar, and there beaten with sticks, and run through with the sword. The date of their death is 6th April, 1580. Rothe gives it as 1582. See also Holing, Rothe, Fitzsimon, Copinger, O’Sullevan, Molanus, Ward, Wadding, and Hueber. [1] Perhaps O’Shea Copinger calls him 0’Lee [2] Founded in 12470 by OConor Kerry. See Annals F.M., iv. 1071. Lislachtin is near the village of Ballylongford. Hueber says they were put to death at Ardfert. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From O’DaIy’s Relatio, p. 335) HE was Prior of Naas,1 a famous preacher of the word of God. He was seized by the heretics and brought before the Viceroy in Dublin, as teaching doctrine opposed to the Anglican creed and leading the people astray. He was cast into prison. When nothing could be proved that would deserve capital punishment, he was told he would be set free and amply rewarded if he would enter the Protestant sect. On the morning he was led to the scaffold, a messenger came from the Viceroy and these terms were again offered to him. But he answered fearlessly. ‘I am about to be led to the scaffold; and everyone knows well that human nature is unwilling to face death; nor am I so weary of life as to wish to hasten my death, did not necessity oblige me. The Viceroy has deigned to send me a promise written out by his own hand, which gives me complete and unhindered choice between life and death, so that if through love of life I should abandon my religion, the presence of death would in some measure excuse me from blame.’ The Viceroy signed the promise and the paper was handed to the Father as he was about to mount the first step of the ladder. He took it in his hand with a smile; and when he had reached the top, he held out the letter signed by the Viceroy, and from his own writing proved the judge guilty of passing an unjust sentence. Then he addressed the Catholics standing round: ‘Dearest brethren, member of the holy Roman Catholic Church, ever since I fell into the cruel hands of these heretics who are here, I have endured hunger, insult, and imprisonment in dark and noisome places. I knew not why I should suffer such penalties; and I was in doubt whether I should obtain the martyr’s crown. For it is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyrs. But Almighty God who protects the innocent, disposing all sweetly, has brought things about so that, accused as a seducer and arraigned for certain crimes made such by the laws of this kingdom, the sole reason why I am condemned to death to-day is that I profess the Catholic religion. Here is the authentic proof of my innocence, the autograph letter of the Viceroy, offering to me very rich rewards and my life if I abandon the Catholic religion. I call God and man to witness that I firmly and unhesitatingly reject these offers, and that willingly and gladly I enter into this conflict Professing that faith.’ He then threw the paper to a friend of his, and bade the executioner do his duty. After he was cast off, his hanging body was frequently shaken by the executioner, and he sent forth a deep sigh, ‘Deo gratias.’ Having thus Confounded the hopes of the heretics, he died.2 See also Bruodin. 1 The Dominican priory was founded in 1356 by one of the Eustace family; hence it was dedicated to St. Eustachius, a Roman martyr, whose feast is on December 20. See Hib. Dom., p. 293 2 De Burgo gives 1641 as the year of his death, on the authority of the General Chapter of 1656. Probably he follows the old style. 3 Life of James Duke of Ormonde, .278 4 This is, of course, a mistake. He was a Dominican. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From De Burgo’s Hib. Dom., p. 561) HE was a member of the Dublin Community. When the war was begun by the Catholics for their faith and country,2 he was seized by the heretics and cast into a prison, where he endured much from the hardships of the place and want of food. Yet no one made a charge against him, nay rather, many heretics by word of mouth and writing declared he was innocent of any crime. While in prison he made his confession three times to his prior, who by disguising himself contrived to obtain admittance to him. He declared publicly that he was innocent of any crime, and he openly professed his adhesion to the Catholic faith. His constancy in the midst of his sufferings, and the joy shown on his face, moved many of the heretics to tears ; others were still more maddened thereby, so that not only did they expose his dead body to insult, but they would not allow it to be buried within the city; and when it was passing outside the gate, they broke the skull with a blow of the butt of a gun. He was hanged on March 23rd, 1642. 1 De Burgo shows he was a different person from Peter O’Higgin. The one was Prior, the other held no such office, as is shown by the fact that his Prior is spoke of above. In the Acts of the Chapter of the Order, held in 1644 and 1656 they are spoken of as different persons. 2 The motto of the Confederate Catholics was Pro Deo, rege, et patria Hiberni unanimes See Gilbert’s History of the Confederation ii.85 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Lynch’s De Prœsulibus Hib., ii. 495) HE belonged to a respectable family. His extensive knowledge of theology and Canon Law, as well as his great virtue, caused him to be much esteemed. On the 24th of January, 1567, he was appointed Bishop of Emly. He was one of those sent over in 1568 to the King of Spain and the Pope by the Earl of Desmond and his confederates in Munster, to implore their aid in saving this country and the Catholic religion from oppression. On the 26th March, 1578, Drury, president of Munster, wrote from Waterford to Walsingham, to inform him that a Liverpool vessel had brought from Calais some papistical vestments belonging to Morrough O’Brien the pretended Bishop of Emly, who had landed at Galway.1 In 1584 he was imprisoned in Dublin Castle, resolved to allow his limbs to waste away in the most foul den rather than deny his faith. O’Mulrian, Bishop of Killaloe, writing to Cardinal DeComo, October 29th, 1584, after speaking of the sufferings and heroism of Dermot O’Hurley, says: The Bishop of Emly, who is equally constant in the faith, is at present confined in the Dublin dungeons. They are now preparing for him too the leaden boots, and mean to apply the fiery ordeal, as they did with the Archbishop,2 that thus, if possible, they may compel him to abandon his religion. He died in prison in Dublin, March 17th, 1586. The Processus presented to the Consistory for the appointment of his successor says: The See of Emly is vacant owing to the death of Morrough O’Brien, its last bishop, who died several years ago in the Dublin prisons for the faith.’3 There is some doubt about the precise year of his death.4 We give above that set down by most writers. See also Holing, Rothe, Copinger, Molanus, Mooney, and Bruodin. 1 Brady’s Episc. Succession, ii.35 2 ‘i.e., Dermot O’Hurley. See P. 138, antea. 3 Brady, Epis. Succ., ii.37 4 Perrott, the Lord Deputy, in 1586, gave a list of the pledges then in the Castle of Dublin. Among them is ‘Mortagh McBrian, Bishop of Emly, for usurpation from Rome, committed to prison by Myler M’Grath, Archbishop of Cashel.’ C.S.RI. (1586—1588), p. 230 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

Bruodin gives March 16th, 1575, as the date of his death. WHEN Elizabeth was striving to root out the Catholic faith, Christ’s Vicar on earth, Pope Gregory XIII., thought fit to send some members of the Society of Jesus into England and Ireland to succour the faithful who were then sorely tried. The first were Robert Parsons & Edmund Campion[1], who left Rome in June, 1580. The Pope sent thither missioners of the same Society. F.Edmund M’Donnell, or M’Donough, was the 1st of them to proclaim the truth of the faith by the shedding of his blood. He was a native of Limerick, and by Papal order had returned to his native country to comfort the persecuted Catholics, with FF. Thomas Good,[2] an Englishman, & David Wolfe,[3] later Apostolic Legate. He was employed in teaching youth Christian doctrine and profane literature. He was seized by order of Sir John Perrott, President of Munster, and kept in a Limerick prison. The ministers made him all kinds of promises if he would join in the treachery of the Reformers, and when unmoved, he was taken to Cork to be questioned still further. During the whole 40 mile journey his hands were tied behind his back. He was thrust into the common prison, and tortured at different times his firmness remained unbroken. He was accused of high treason. The public reasons for inflicting this punishment, were such as prove that he well deserves the proud title of martyr, viz., that he stubbornly continued to profess the Catholic faith, proscribed by Elizabeth under the penalty of high treason, that he had come to gain over and confirm his fellow citizens both by word and deed, that he impiously refused to the Queen the title of Head of the Church, and that he had brought letters from Pope Gregory XIII. to James Fitzmaurice,[4]then at the head of the Irish Catholics in defence of the Catholic faith. Indeed, Gregory XIII., in his letter of 13-5-1580, mentions letters in preceding years, exhorting them ‘to recover their liberty and to defend it against the heretics, and to aid James Geraldine, who was desirous of delivering them from the hard yoke of slavery imposed on them by the English, who had abandoned the holy Roman Church.’ Fr Edmund M’Donnell listened to this glorious sentence decreeing him a triumph, and humbly bowing to the judges, he thanked them. He was then led away to the usual place of execution. He was hanged, and while he was still alive, the rope was cut and he fell to the ground. The executioner cut open his body, tore out his heart, showed it to the people. Then he cast it into the fire. The rest of the body was quartered and set on stakes at different places until it fell to pieces, in order that the sight might inspire those who beheld it with fidelity to the Queen and wiser thoughts. This famous man suffered death at Cork in the year 1580. Bruodin gives March 16th, 1575, as the date of his death. See also Holing, Fitzsimon, Rothe, Copinger, O’Sullevan, Alegambe, and Jouvency. [1] See his life in Challoners Memoirs, i. 30 [2] His Christian name was William. He came to this country in 1564, and passed 5 years here. He was a man of great virtue, and held in the highest esteem by Cardinal Allen. He died at Naples in 1586. Records of the English Province S.J., iv. 477 [3] A native of Limerick. Pope Pius IV. Appointed him Commissary-General for all Ireland. He was a prisoner in the Castle of Dublin for four+ years. See Moran’s Archbishops of Dublin, p. 77. and Hogan’s Distinguished Irishmen, p.1. [4] See O’Sullevan’s Hist. Cath., p.121 Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

HE was a native of Ulster and Bishop of Connor.[1] (This is a mistake. He was appointed Bishop of Killala in 1545 and transferred to Derry in 1569. ) He was attacked at night in his own house by some English soldiers of the garrison of Lough Foyle, and with three other priests cruelly put to death. He was in his 90th year and in the 60th of his episcopate. A State Paper, dated July 28th, 1592, says: In Ulster is one Redmundus O’Gallagher, bishop of Derry, legate to the Pope and Custos Armaghnen, being one of the three Irish Bishops that were in the Council of Trent.[2] (The three Bishops were Donald McCongail of Raphoe, Thomas O’Herlihy of Ross and Eugene O’Hart of Achonry.) This Bishop used all manner of spiritual jurisdiction throughout all Ulster, consecrating churches, ordaining priests, confirming children, and giving all manner of dispensations riding with pomp and company from place to place, as it was accustomed in Queen Mary’s days.’[3] (He received a faculty from the Pope to exercise a certain jurisdiction in Armagh during the Primate’s absence.) The Annals of the Four Masters under the date 1601, says Redmund O’Gallagher, bishop of Derry, was killed in Oireacht Ui Chathain.’[4] (O’Kane’s territory, which included the present baronies of Tirkeeran, Keenaght, and Dungiven, in Co. Derry) He was put to death on March 15th. The spot where he was slain is on the high road nearly midway between O’Kane’s Castle and Dungiven. See also Sander, Rothe, Copinger, O’Sullivan, Ward, Porter, and [1] This is a mistake. He was appointed Bishop of Killala in 1545 and transferred to Derry in 1569. See Brady’s Epis. Succ., li.173 [2] The three Bishops were Donald McCongail of Raphoe, Thomas O’Herlihy of Ross and Eugene O’Hart of Achonry. [3] He received a faculty from the Pope to exercise a certain jurisdiction in Armagh during the Primate’s absence. Ibid. [4] O’Kane’s territory, which included the present baronies of Tirkeeran, Keenaght, and Dungiven, in Co. Derry Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Bruodin’s Propugnaculum, p. 465) HE was a native of LeinSter, a priest, and a zealous preacher. He was taken by the heretics and sent to Dublin, where he obtained a glorious victory for Christ. He was thrown into prison by order of the chief judge, and iron chain was bound round his body, his hands and feet were tied to a beam, and he was forced to stand for forty hours without sleep. He was flogged, and salt and vinegar were rubbed into his wounds by the executioners. Being then asked whether he would take the oath of Supremacy, he answered with great firmness, that he would rather die than swear that a woman, who St. Paul says should be silent in the church, was the Head of the Church. The fierce and blood-thirsty judge, Walter Raleigh by name, angry at this answer, ordered Fernan to be put to the torture of the rack. The executioners had not been long engaged in drawing asunder the limbs of this confessor of Christ, when he exclaimed, Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit,’ and gave up his soul to his Creator March 12th 1597. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From the Barberini Archives, Rome.) ON March 9th, 1642, the Most Rev. Dr. Comerford, Bishop of Waterford, wrote to a friend resident in Paris Last week, the President of Ulster, having received reinforcements, once more took the field, together with the Earl of Cork, the Earl of Barrymore, Lord Broghill, and Sir John Browne. Marching to Dungarvan and seizing on the Castle, they set fire to the town and put to death F. Edmund Hore and F. John Clancy, both priests, together with others of the principal citizens. They then sacked the place, and retired leaving a strong garrison in the Castle.’ Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Hueber’s Martyrologium, p. 644) WHEN the English soldiers rushed madly into the convent of Kilcrea,[1] on the river Bride, in Muskerry, they seized one of the brethren, Matthew O’Leyne, an aged priest, as he was striving to escape from them across the river, and cruelly pierced him through with their spears, March 6th, 1590. See also Wadding and Ward. [1] Founded by Cormac Laidher McCarthy, lord of Muskerry, in 1465. The castle of that branch of the McCarthys is close by. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

(From Lopez’ Noticias Hisforicas, p. 150) The convent of Adare was the first house of the Order in this country.[1] The church is now the catholic parochial Church. Some parts of the convent are still standing. It was founded in 1230 by Thomas FitzGerald, third son of the second Baron of Offaly,[2] at the suggestion of the Earl of March, a Scotch nobleman, who was a patron of the Order. The Minister[3] of this convent in 1539 was Brother Robert. It was at this time that the impious decrees of the King were published, and officials sent to put them into execution. Having read the decrees and mastered their contents, Robert Summoned the Community, which then consisted of forty-two members, told them what the new doctrines were, and declared that the King was a heretic, and, moreover, that he sought to make them share in this crime. Such was the impression which he made on these hearers that all declared they were ready to lay down their lives in defence of the Catholic faith and of the Pope’s supremacy; and knowing that the convent would be plundered immediately, they set to work at once to distribute among the poor all the provisions and clothing they had. They hid away the sacred vessels and ornaments of the altar in various places, so that when the agents of the Government arrived, they could not find even a wooden crucifix on which to vent their impious rage. Three times summoned before the magistrate, Father Robert was immovable in rejecting the honours offered to him by the Court, and in declaring his devoted attachment to the Catholic faith. None, he said, had ever sought to propagate their religious tenets by the sword except the pagan Emperors in the early ages and Mahomet in later times. As for himself and the community, they were determined that no violence should move them from the principles of truth. They recognised no Head of the Catholic Church save the Vicar of Christ; and as for the King of England, they regarded him not even as a member of that holy Church, but as the Head of the synagogue of Satan. When the venerable Father had uttered these words, a heretical officer drew his sword, and with one blow severed the holy man’s head from his body. The other agents of the Court were at once let loose against the unoffending Community. As the public prison was full of other victims, the religious were confined in private houses. There many died of the injuries and maltreatment which they received. Some too were murdered secretly, whilst others were publicly hanged in the market-place. It was on the 12th and 13th of February, 1539, that these happy Fathers obtained their eternal crown. [1] La casa capital de la isla,’ says Lopez, p.19. The church is now the catholic parochial Church. Some parts of the convent are still standing. See Lord Dunravens Memorials of Adare, p. 36. Adare is 9 miles S.W. of Limerick. [2] 3Lopez, p. 18 and the Earls of Kildare, by the Marquis of Kildare, p.19 [3] This is the name of the Superior of a convent of this Order Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.

From Rothe’s Analecta, p. 456 and O’Sullevan’s Cath. Hist., p. 298 CORNELIUS O’DEVANY was born in 1533. He entered the Order of St. Francis. He went to Rome & on the 18th, of April, 1582, he was appointed to the united Sees of Down and Connor. He returned soon after. He discharged the duties of his office as a good pastor should. He was one of the prelates who in 1587 solemnly promulgated the Council of Trent. 5 years after, he was imprisoned in the Dublin Castle. He was set free after an imprisonment that lasted three years, Only a short time elapsed when the Queen’s ministers repented of what they had done, and tried every art and means to get him again into their power. He was seized in June, 1611. The priest Patrick was seized the same month in Cork, having returned from Belgium. He confessed that he had been the companion to those exiled lords, whom fear for their own safety or their love of religion had made to fly from their lordships and wide domains. They were taken to Dublin. O’Devany was brought to trial on the 28th of January. The charge was that in the last war, he had joined the side of the Earl of Tyrone, and was consequently guilty of high treason and all the more because he had aided the Earl by his advice and help when he fled. He answered, that he was consecrated bishop & as his See lay in that part of Ulster which Earl Hugh ruled over, it was his office, to direct all people in the way of salvation. The true reason which was in the minds of the judge and jury was, that he was a Catholic, a religious, a Bishop, that he had administered the sacraments, preached the word of God, worn the religious habit which was hateful to them. They offered him his life if he would abandon the Catholic religion and pass over to their sect. When he heard this, he called the whole Christian world to bear witness that he wished to die in the Catholic faith and for its defence; that he would be unjust towards himself and deny God, if for such a trifling reward he abandoned the true faith. The crowd of people, closely packed together, filled the field in the northern part of the city. The moment the Bishop mounted the first step of the ladder, a great shout and a cry of lamentation was raised by the faithful. When he was thrown off the ladder the whole crowd gave one great shout of anguish, and then the place became as silent as if there were not a man there. The executioners took him down very soon. Then they cut off his head, opened his body, burned his bowels, and divided him into four quarters. One seized the head as soon as it was cut off, and rushed into the crowd; he was never found.The field was covered with men, women, and children, all wishing to be as near as possible that they might see and hear, and each strove and struggled to carry away some of his relics, a piece of his clothes or shoes, a portion of his hair, a fragment of bone or skin. The same day Patrick O’Loghran suffered death. The bodies of the martyrs were left on the scaffold during the night and were guarded by the Catholics. The next day the city was emptied of people who went to see them and commend themselves to them, to the rage of the heretics, and the Viceroy ordered them to be buried at the place of execution. The following night twelve Catholic youths disinterred and brought them to a decent place, where they were buried with other martyrs. The bodies of these holy men were buried in St. James church. See also Fitzimon, Copinger, O’Sullevan, Molanus, Ward, Wadding, O’Daiy, Lynch, Arsdeken, Porter, and Hueber. Please pray for final perseverance for all of us! May the martyrs of old inspire us all.