Irish Catholic Martyrs - Causes

Causes

Religious persecution of Catholics in Ireland began under King Henry VIII (then Lord of Ireland) after his excommunication in 1533. The Irish Parliament adopted the Acts of Supremacy, establishing the king’s supremacy over the Church. Some priests, bishops, and those who continued to pray for the pope were tortured and killed. Other acts caused any act of allegiance to the pope to be considered treason. Many were imprisoned on this basis.

Relations improved after the accession of the Catholic Queen Mary in 1553-58, and in the early years of the reign of her sister Queen Elizabeth I. However, Elizabeth did not submit herself to the church as desired, and was then excommunicated by the papal bull "Regnans in Excelsis" in 1570. This was a part of a new round of conflicts, in which Roman Catholics were obliged to repudiate Elizabeth's laws and the status of her officials, or to overthrow them if possible. In Ireland the First Desmond Rebellion was launched in 1569, at almost the same time as the Northern Rebellion in England.

From the Peace of Augsburg (1555) the doctrine Cuius regio, eius religio was adopted, whereby people had to take their ruler's religion. This was acceptable to Queen Mary and the Papacy, at the time, but not following Elizabeth's enactments.

The trial of the Wexford Martyrs at the time of the Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–83) was held as much for political as religious reasons, given the part played by Viscount Baltinglass in the English defeat at the Battle of Glenmalure. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641 most of the Irish Catholic hierarchy proclaimed a Holy War at Kells, County Meath on 22 March 1642, giving a religious aspect to the political struggle.