The Irish warlord solemnly vowed to “employ myself to the utmost of my power for the extirpation of heresy, the planting of the Catholic religion and the delivery of our country.” It was a plan that was neatly summed up in his motto “Pro Fide et Patria,” for faith and fatherland. The Anglican regime panicked.
It was a seminal moment in the story of the Irish Church.
Margaret's hopes to restore her son to the Faith would cost her dearly.
Above: Doonagore Castle (“fort of the goats”), Doolin, Co. Clare, Ireland. Photo by Jesse Gardner on Unsplash In the English speaking world, the story of Catholicism during and after the Reformation is dominated by the experience of England. The sad tale of an ancient Catholic kingdom subjected to the yoke of Protestantism, of a systematic…
I popped into my parish church today. I haven’t been there in quite some time; nearly a decade in fact. The church has a specific meaning to me; it’s where my family are buried, it’s where I was baptized and received the sacraments. Above the door stands a stone commemorating my great, great, great grandfather…
