School: Killallon (roll number 5207)

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   “During the Cromwellian regime in Ireland, Cromwell and his brutal soldiers did their best to put an end to the celebration of Mass.”

   

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   During the Cromwellian regime in Ireland, Cromwell and his brutal soldiers did their best to put an end to the celbration of Mass. Being sure that the one and only way to bring this about was to extripate the Irish priesthood, a proclaimation was issued commanding all priests to quit the country within twenty days and if the disobeyed this mandate any soldiers that found them were at liberty to drag them before the nearest magistrate on a charge of "treason", and have them sentened to be, "hanged, cut down while still alive, beheaded, quartered, embowelled, and burned, the head to be set on a spike and exposed in public." The better to enforce this, and army of "priest-catchers" was collected and well paid to spy out priests and report to the soldiers, whose delight it was to hunt them down and raid houses suspected of harbouring them and exate from the house holders the penalty lf their guile. Any person who sheltered a priest or had Mass said in his

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mollie Cahill

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Firpark, Co. Meath

   Informant

   Mrs Cahill

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Firpark, Co. Meath