The 17 Irish Martyrs

Historically, Ireland’s shores have been no stranger to bloodshed for faith. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, this tension was especially palpable. As people heard Mass in secret hideaways and travelled for miles to meet with fugitive priests, they were also fighting a government who wanted to force the Protestant state religion upon them. From this time of suffering and sacrifice, nearly 460 individuals were put forth as dying for the faith. Yet of that number, only 17 were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1992, begging the question, in a time of intertwined religious and political upheaval, how do we define a martyr?