John Murphy (priest)
| John Murphy | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1753 Tincurry, Co. Wexford |
| Died | 2 July 1798 (aged 44–45) Tullow, County Carlow |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation | Catholic priest |
John Murphy (1753 – c. 2 July 1798) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in Wexford who was executed by British soldiers.
He was born at Tincurry in the Parish of Ferns, County Wexford in 1753, the youngest son of Thomas and Johanna Murphy. He sailed for Spain in early 1772 and studied for the priesthood in Seville, Spain where many of the clergy in Ireland received their education due to the persecution of Catholics.
Fr. Murphy was initially against rebellion and actively encouraged his parishioners to give up their arms and sign an oath of allegiance to the British Crown. On 26 May 1798, a group of men gathered under Fr. Murphy to decide what to do for safety against the regular yeomanry patrols at a townland called the Harrow. At about eight o'clock that evening, a patrol of some twenty Camolin cavalry spotted the group and approached them, demanding to know their business. They left after a brief confrontation, having burned the cabin of a missing suspected rebel whom they had been tasked to arrest. As the patrol returned they passed by Fr. Murphy's group who were by now angry at the sight of the burning cabin. As the cavalry passed by the men an argument developed, followed by stones being thrown and then an all out fight between the men and the troops. Most of the cavalry quickly fled, but two of the yeomen, including the lieutenant in command, Thomas Bookey, were killed. The Wexford Rebellion had begun and Fr. Murphy acted quickly; he sent word around the county that the rebellion had started and organised raids for arms on loyalist strongholds.
Parties of mounted yeomen responded by killing suspects and burning homes, causing a wave of panic. The countryside was soon filled with masses of people fleeing the terror and heading for high ground for safety in numbers. One group gathered on Kilthomas Hill but was attacked and destroyed by Crown forces on the morning of 28 May. At Oulart Hill, a crowd numbering upwards of four thousand combatants had gathered, plus many women and children. Spotting an approaching North Cork Militia party of 110 rank and file, Fr. Murphy and the other local United Irishmen leaders such as Edward Roche, Morgan Byrne, Thomas Donovan, George Sparks, and Fr. Michael Murphy organised their forces and speedily massacred the entire detachment.
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