2. Robert and other brethren of the Trinitarian convent in Adare.

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Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com

1. John Travers

Chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral, John Travers is the earliest known Irish Catholic Martyr of the reign of Henry VIII.

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Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com

Introduction

Introduction: The reigns of Henry VIII, Edward and Mary. This episodes treats of the legal and political developments of the period between Henry's decision to put aside his wife and the death of Mary Tudor.

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Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com

Preface

Preface: Explaining what the word martyr means.

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Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com

The Author

Biographical note on the author.

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Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com

Finding the book

THE OLD Irish saying that “the ink lasts longer than a martyr’s blood” certainly resonated with me on that spring morning in 2007 when I received a call to remove waste from a house in Dublin.

I never realised how significant this phone-call would turn out to be.

As a contractor this type of request is standard practice.

An elderly lady passed away and as the home was to be sold, her brother wanted the house cleared of its contents.

I was in the midst of the clutter when I spotted three cardboard boxes with a hardback book lying on top of them.

I read the title “Our Martyrs’ decided to have a closer look at it later when I got a chance.

Later that evening I perused the book with great interest.

I realised very soon that I had discovered a  treasure that had nearly been lost to the rubbish heap.

As I read the book from cover to cover it dawned on me through much prayer that the message of these holy martyrs had to be re-told.

I began to speak with family and friends about the possibility of re-printing the book and was overwhelmed by the generous support that I received.

With the reprinting of this book the story of these holy men and women who died for their Catholic faith can be told to a new generation of people who may never have heard their story.

One Religious Brother sums up the bravery of these martyrs when he said at his execution:

“For this cause I would be willing to die not once but a thousand deaths”- Blessed Dominic Collins.

Between the years 1537 and 1714, in Ireland and England, the attempted extermination of Catholicism as a religion was witnessed.

This was to be brought about by the execution of clergy and lay people who would not denounce their faith.

These people were summarily beaten, tortured and executed in the cruelest way.

One, Bishop Dermot O’Hurley, had his legs boiled over a roaring fire in order to force him to denounce his beliefs.

When he refused they eventually hanged him.

Contained in this book is only a sample of the many brave and courageous people who gave their lives for a faith that they defended to the death.

The distinct Irish Catholic culture of the people was and still is worth dying for.

It became clear to me that there were two reasons that they were willing to lay down their lives;

they would not denounce the authority of the Catholic Church or the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, (body, blood, soul and divinity).

When you read the history of these brave martyrs it brings a sense of urgency to protect the treasure that we have in our faith.

Blessed Terence Albert O’Brien at his execution on 31st October 1651 said;

“Do not weep for me, but pray that being firm and unbroken in this torment of death, I may happily finish my course.”

I have three aspirations for everyone who reads this book about our martyrs, that they will keep alive the stories contained herein, that they will realise that our Catholic heritage is a tradition worth preserving and lastly that they will be motivated to ‘finish the course’ set before us.

With the help of this book I have learned not to be complacent about my faith and would encourage you to read and understand what past generations have suffered, to give us the freedom, to partake in the Holy Sacraments today.

-

Damien Richardson

Narator's Introduction

Our Martyrs

By Fr Dennis Murphy

Rescued & Re-printed by Damien Richardson

Read and Arranged for narration by Manus Mac Meanmain

Thank you for listening to this serialised audio presentation. Here are just a few notes before I begin.

The equipment used, is, for economic reasons, not up to the standard I would like to use for this purpose. Likewise, my own performance is nowhere near that of those podcasters I have come to admire and has tempered my opinion of those whom I had regarded as poor performers.

You would think it would be straightforward to read a book out loud,

but unfortunately the voice I record is not a patch on the voice that rehearses in my head.

However, it is my hope that the message and history in Fr Murphy’s words will overcome any limitations placed on them by my way failings, so that you, the listener, will reach a new understanding and appreciation of the sacrifice previous generations made to pass on the faith, a faith which contemporary Ireland is trying to turn its back on.

There are a few places where I have made changes, usually on the assumption that there has been a mis-print. Mostly this consisted of changing a letter, or at most a word. In other places I have added to the original, usually in circumstances where a modern listener would not know that which I presume was common knowledge to readers of Fr Murphy’s time. Elsewhere, where I deemed appropriate I have included what was in the footnotes as part of the normal narration. A reader could easily refer to the bottom of the page, but the listener cannot.

This audio serialisation does not follow exactly the order in which the material appears in the book. Fr Murphy deals with the political and legal situation in his early chapters, with the individual stories of martyrdom in the second part of the book. I have judged that if I were listening to, rather than reading Fr Murphy’s book, I would want to hear the stories of individual martyrs as soon as possible. Therefore I have submitted to the web the narration of individual stories immediately after the chapter concerning the reign in which the murders occurred. If you have come to this series after the final episode has been completed, you can of course listen to the episodes in accordance with the order in the book. To facilitate you I will be numbering the first part of the book alphabetically, and the second part numerically.

Finally, you will I’m sure, find that the episodes vary greatly in length. In some cases this is because the different stories of Martyrdom themselves vary in length. Some are little more than a few lines, whilst others, such as that of Primate Archbishop Richard Creagh are as long and detailed as a whole chapter of a book.

The first few episodes of this series, such as this one, deal not with Fr Murphy’s work but my introduction, the story of how the book was found, and the preface written when the book was first published.

Despite the flaws of both the narrator and his equipment, I hope you enjoy this presentation of this important work.

To order a copy of the book, or to make a contribution towards future re-prints, please contact Damien Richardson on O86-336 1392

Or e-mail Fr Michael Ross at rossmichaeljohn@gmail.com