Nicholas Sheehy
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Sheehy was an 18th century Irish
Roman Catholic priest
who was executed on charge of accessory to murder. Father Sheehy was a prominent opponent of the British Penal Laws
, which persecuted Catholics in Ireland
.
, Ireland, near Clonmel
and grew up near Newcastle on the Tipperary
and Waterford
border.
His father was Francis, son of John of Drumcollogher.
Nicholas Sheehy had a sister, Catherine (married as Catherine Burke), who later erected his gravestone. He also had a brother, William of Baunefoune, who died in 1775.
Nicholas had a cousin (Edmund Buck), who was hanged in 1775 after appearing at Nicholas' trial.
and became the parish priest for Clogheen
.
During this time, famine
caused much suffering and death in Ireland
. It is estimated that over 400,000 perished from malnutrition.
Adding to the social unrest was a rumour that the Catholic French
would invade Ireland. Part of this concern stemmed from the emigration of Irish soldiers who had left for France after the Treaty of Limerick
known as the Flight of the Wild Geese
. The concern was that these Irish would lobby the French monarch to support the Catholics in Ireland. This led to new persecutions of Catholic Irish and their priests.
Sheehy spoke out against the Penal Laws, the eviction
of poor tenants by landlords, the elimination of common land
by enclosure, and tithe
s. These tithes resembled tax
es, only they were due to the established (Protestant) church and/or its representatives rather than to the state proper or its branches, and they were sometimes payments in kind. Father Sheehy believed tithes were unjust since they were levied on the poorest residents (Catholics) to benefit the wealthiest (typically Protestants, including Protestant ministers). Furthermore, Father Sheehy was opposed to the British occupation of Irish lands.
Sadly for Sheehy, the Holy See
started to support the Hanoverian dynasty from January 1766, which led to gradual reforms of the Penal Laws over the next 60 years.
riot that destroyed a wall that prevented access to common land
near Clogheen). After a fair trial the accused were acquitted.
Father Sheehy went into hiding at this time.
and offered to surrender only if he would be tried in Dublin. The offer was accepted and the trial took place on 10 February 1766, when he was acquitted of High Treason
.
Immediately after his acquittal, Sheehy was charged with murder
.
for being an accessory
in the murder of John Bridge. The judge Richard Clayton (Irish judge)
had the reputation of an honest and humane man, but he had arrived in Ireland only the previous year and seems to have been quite unaware of the political background to the trial.
Many of the witnesses who had previously testified against Sheehy also testified in this trial, in addition to Mrs. Mary Brady (Moll Dunlea), an "abandoned character". The evidence was widely considered as fabricated by local landlords and the Rector
of Clogheen in south County Tipperary.
Evidence was presented in favour of Sheehy, that he was "a respectable man and a man of property" by a Mr Keating, who said that Father Sheehy was in his house at the time of the murder. Mr Keating's testimony was dismissed in court by a Protestant clergyman (Mr Hewitson), who declared Keating was unreliable. Mr Keating was then arrested and sent to Kilkenny Gaol based on Mr Hewitson's allegations to frustrate his giving evidence. Although the judge was later much criticised for his conduct of the trial, it has been argued that his summing up was actually favourable to the accused.
Sheehy was convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
. He asserted his innocence before his death of all the charges made against him. He said in his final speech, after sentenced to death, that he was being put to death for a crime which had never been committed; the murder victim (John Bridge) was alleged to be in Cork
after the date of the "crime" and it is thought that he emigrated to Newfoundland.
Sheehy's attorney, on hearing the sentence of death, said to the judge, magistrates and jurors, "If there is any justice in heaven, you will die roaring.".
on 15 March 1766.
Others accused were also convicted for the murder of John Bridge and executed (3 May 1766), including Edmond Sheehy, cousin to the priest.
Father Sheehy was hanged on a scaffold in Clonmel opposite St. Peters and Paul's Church, where there was a plaque to commemorate his death. His head was severed and stuck on a spike over Clonmel Gaol as a warning against agrarian violence. His head remained above the porch at Clonmel jail for ten or twenty years.
His sister Catherine regularly visited the jail and was eventually given the head. She took it home in a bag under her arm and had it buried with the rest of his body beside the ruins of the old church of Shanrahan.
His trial and execution inflamed and polarized nationalist opinion, and had a great effect on his cousin Edmund Burke
.
People visited his grave at Shanrahan cemetery near Clogheen to take clay, because it was rumoured to have healing powers. It is claimed that out of respect, birds didn't peck his head for the twenty years it was left on the spike.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
Roman Catholic priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
who was executed on charge of accessory to murder. Father Sheehy was a prominent opponent of the British Penal Laws
Penal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
, which persecuted Catholics in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
Family
Nicholas Sheehy was born in FethardFethard
-Constituencies:*Fethard *Fethard...
, Ireland, near Clonmel
Clonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
and grew up near Newcastle on the Tipperary
Tipperary
Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....
and Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
border.
His father was Francis, son of John of Drumcollogher.
Nicholas Sheehy had a sister, Catherine (married as Catherine Burke), who later erected his gravestone. He also had a brother, William of Baunefoune, who died in 1775.
Nicholas had a cousin (Edmund Buck), who was hanged in 1775 after appearing at Nicholas' trial.
Education, career and opposition to Penal Laws
Nicholas Sheehy was educated in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and became the parish priest for Clogheen
Clogheen
Clogheen is the name of several places in Ireland*Clogheen, County Tipperary*Clogheen, County Waterford*Clogheen, County Cork...
.
During this time, famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
caused much suffering and death in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It is estimated that over 400,000 perished from malnutrition.
Adding to the social unrest was a rumour that the Catholic French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
would invade Ireland. Part of this concern stemmed from the emigration of Irish soldiers who had left for France after the Treaty of Limerick
Treaty of Limerick
The Treaty of Limerick ended the Williamite war in Ireland between the Jacobites and the supporters of William of Orange. It concluded the Siege of Limerick. The treaty really consisted of two treaties which were signed on 3 October 1691. Reputedly they were signed on the Treaty Stone, an...
known as the Flight of the Wild Geese
Flight of the Wild Geese
The Flight of the Wild Geese refers to the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on October 3, 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland...
. The concern was that these Irish would lobby the French monarch to support the Catholics in Ireland. This led to new persecutions of Catholic Irish and their priests.
Sheehy spoke out against the Penal Laws, the eviction
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
of poor tenants by landlords, the elimination of common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
by enclosure, and tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s. These tithes resembled tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
es, only they were due to the established (Protestant) church and/or its representatives rather than to the state proper or its branches, and they were sometimes payments in kind. Father Sheehy believed tithes were unjust since they were levied on the poorest residents (Catholics) to benefit the wealthiest (typically Protestants, including Protestant ministers). Furthermore, Father Sheehy was opposed to the British occupation of Irish lands.
Sadly for Sheehy, the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
started to support the Hanoverian dynasty from January 1766, which led to gradual reforms of the Penal Laws over the next 60 years.
First trial (conspiracy against the State)
Sheehy's beliefs led him into conflict with local Protestant leaders around Clonmel. In time, he was accused of conspiracy against the State (for involvement in a WhiteboysWhiteboys
The Whiteboys were a secret Irish agrarian organization in 18th-century Ireland which used violent tactics to defend tenant farmer land rights for subsistence farming...
riot that destroyed a wall that prevented access to common land
Common land
Common land is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel...
near Clogheen). After a fair trial the accused were acquitted.
New allegations
Following his acquittal, Sheehy was accused of involvement in the disappearance or murder of an informer. A reward of £50 was offered by the government for allegations that led to conviction in this case.Father Sheehy went into hiding at this time.
Second trial (High Treason)
In 1764, the government issued a Proclamation and offered £300 reward for the capture of Sheehy. When he read the Proclamation, Sheehy wrote from one of his hiding places to Thomas Waite (Under-Secretary for Ireland)Thomas Waite (Under-Secretary for Ireland)
Thomas Waite , was an Irish civil servant.Waite was Under-Secretary for Ireland to the Chief Secretary for Ireland between 1747 and 1777. He was also Secretary to the Lords Justices of Ireland during the long absences from Ireland of the Lord Lieutenant and Chief Secretary for Ireland in the period...
and offered to surrender only if he would be tried in Dublin. The offer was accepted and the trial took place on 10 February 1766, when he was acquitted of High Treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
.
Immediately after his acquittal, Sheehy was charged with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.
Third trial (murder) and death sentence
On 12 March 1766, Sheehy was tried at ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
for being an accessory
Accessory (legal term)
An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal...
in the murder of John Bridge. The judge Richard Clayton (Irish judge)
Richard Clayton (Irish judge)
Richard Clayton was an English born politician and judge who held the office of Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. His reputation was seriously damaged by the trial and execution of Father Nicholas Sheehy, which is still regarded as a notable miscarriage of justice.- Biography :He was the...
had the reputation of an honest and humane man, but he had arrived in Ireland only the previous year and seems to have been quite unaware of the political background to the trial.
Many of the witnesses who had previously testified against Sheehy also testified in this trial, in addition to Mrs. Mary Brady (Moll Dunlea), an "abandoned character". The evidence was widely considered as fabricated by local landlords and the Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Clogheen in south County Tipperary.
Evidence was presented in favour of Sheehy, that he was "a respectable man and a man of property" by a Mr Keating, who said that Father Sheehy was in his house at the time of the murder. Mr Keating's testimony was dismissed in court by a Protestant clergyman (Mr Hewitson), who declared Keating was unreliable. Mr Keating was then arrested and sent to Kilkenny Gaol based on Mr Hewitson's allegations to frustrate his giving evidence. Although the judge was later much criticised for his conduct of the trial, it has been argued that his summing up was actually favourable to the accused.
Sheehy was convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered
Hanged, drawn and quartered
To be hanged, drawn and quartered was from 1351 a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded during the reigns of King Henry III and his successor, Edward I...
. He asserted his innocence before his death of all the charges made against him. He said in his final speech, after sentenced to death, that he was being put to death for a crime which had never been committed; the murder victim (John Bridge) was alleged to be in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
after the date of the "crime" and it is thought that he emigrated to Newfoundland.
Sheehy's attorney, on hearing the sentence of death, said to the judge, magistrates and jurors, "If there is any justice in heaven, you will die roaring.".
Execution
In 1766, Father Sheehy was hanged, drawn and quartered at ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
on 15 March 1766.
Others accused were also convicted for the murder of John Bridge and executed (3 May 1766), including Edmond Sheehy, cousin to the priest.
Father Sheehy was hanged on a scaffold in Clonmel opposite St. Peters and Paul's Church, where there was a plaque to commemorate his death. His head was severed and stuck on a spike over Clonmel Gaol as a warning against agrarian violence. His head remained above the porch at Clonmel jail for ten or twenty years.
His sister Catherine regularly visited the jail and was eventually given the head. She took it home in a bag under her arm and had it buried with the rest of his body beside the ruins of the old church of Shanrahan.
Legacy
To this day, Father Sheehy is regarded as a martyr. In the late 19th century and early 20th century there was an effort to have him canonised.His trial and execution inflamed and polarized nationalist opinion, and had a great effect on his cousin Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
.
People visited his grave at Shanrahan cemetery near Clogheen to take clay, because it was rumoured to have healing powers. It is claimed that out of respect, birds didn't peck his head for the twenty years it was left on the spike.