The 4 Blessed Wexford Martyrs | |
|---|---|
| Born | unknown |
| Died | 5 July 1581 AD Wexford town |
| Cause of death | martyrdom (hanged, drawn and quartered) |
| Beatified | 1992 by Saint Pope John Paul II |
| Feast | 20 June |
| Patronage | Wexford town, sailors |
TheWexford Martyrs wereMatthew Lambert,Robert Meyler,Edward Cheevers andPatrick Cavanagh. In 1581, they were convicted ofhigh treason for aiding in the escape ofJames Eustace, 3rd Viscount Baltinglass; for similarly conveying aJesuit and other Catholic priests and laymen out of Ireland; and for refusing to take theOath of Supremacy which declaredElizabeth I of England to be theSupreme Head of the Church within her dominions. On 5 July 1581, they werehanged, drawn and quartered inWexford,Ireland. They werebeatified in 1992 byPope John Paul II.[1]
In thePale the predominant religion was Catholic, and the Catholics saw a growing threat from the Protestant-dominated government, a perception supported by their marked decline in participation within the kingdom's government. English-born Protestants increasingly occupied positions of authority. The people of the Pale resented taxes on their property for the government's military policy against theGaelic nobility of Ireland and rebelliousHiberno-Normans. Troops were also billeted upon their lands. James Eustace's father,Rowland Eustace, 2nd Viscount Baltinglass, had been imprisoned inDublin Castle by the Elizabethan administration for his opposition.[2]
During the summer of 1580,James Eustace, 3rd Viscount Baltinglass, apparently prompted almost entirely by religious motives, raised an army inCounty Wicklow, in support ofSecond Desmond Rebellion inMunster. The Viscount's allies included the coalition ofIrish clans led byFiach McHugh O'Byrne,Chief of the Name ofClann Uí Bhroin (Clan O'Byrne) andLord ofRanelagh. At first the uprising was successful, but Baltinglass did not coordinate his efforts with those of Desmond and could not sustain the conflict. He and his followers were outlawed. Forty-five were hanged in Dublin. James Eustace escaped to Munster, where Desmond was still in revolt. After the Rebel Earl of Desmond was killed, Baltinglass sought to flee for Spain.[2]
Pursued by Crown forces after the defeat of the Second Desmond Rebellion, James Eustace and hisJesuitmilitary chaplain, Father Robert Rochford, eventually found refuge with Matthew Lambert, a Wexford baker.[3]
Lambert fed them and arranged with five sailor acquaintances for safe passage by ship for them toCatholic Europe. Lambert was betrayed, along with sailors Patrick Cavanagh, Edward Cheevers, Robert Myler, John O'Lahy, and one other. They were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured, before being executed in Wexford on 5 July 1581.[1][4]: 181
The authorities heard of the plan beforehand and Matthew was arrested together with his five sailor friends. Thrown into prison, they were questioned about politics and religion. Lambert's reply was: "I am not a learned man. I am unable to debate with you, but I can tell you this, I am a Catholic and I believe whatever our Holy Mother the Catholic Church believes." They were found guilty of treason and hanged, drawn, and quartered in Wexford on 5 July 1581.[5] Lambert was bound to a horse's tail and dragged through the streets of Wexford to the gallows where he and the five sailors were executed.[6]
There were apparently six martyrs but only four of them were beatified in 1992, perhaps due to a lack of sufficient evidence for the existence of the other two martyrs. One of them was believed to have been calledJohn O' Lahy and the other was an anonymous individual. Nothing is known about these two men. Their names are usually excluded from the group of 17Irish martyrs whomJohn Paul II named among the blessed.[7][8]