Nicholas Sheehy

Father Nicholas Sheehy (1728–1766) was an 18th-century Irish Roman Catholic priest who was executed on charge of accessory to murder. Father Sheehy was a prominent and vocal opponent of the Penal Laws, which disenfranchised and persecuted Catholics in Ireland. His conviction is widely regarded as an act of judicial murder amongst supporters of Irish rebellion.

His birthplace is the subject of debate but there a belief that Nicholas Sheehy was born in Fethard, Ireland, near Clonmel and grew up in a house 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 sister, Mrs Green. Nicholas had a cousin (Edmund Buck), who was hanged in 1776 at Clogheen on the same charges.

Nicholas Sheehy was possibly educated in France. His training for the priesthood was at the Irish College in Salamanca. and, following a time as curate at Newcastle, County Tipperary, became the parish priest for Shanrahan, Ballysheehan, and Templetenny, County Tipperary.

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 Anglo-Irish landlords, the elimination of common land by enclosure, and compulsory tithes. These tithes were due to the Protestant Church of Ireland and its clergy. To anyone who would not or could not pay, the tithes were often seized by force and given to the local Protestant minister. Father Sheehy believed that this practice was unjust since they were levied on impoverished Catholics to benefit the wealthiest.

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