BURKE, JOHN, SIR

Martyr, married, Lord of Brittas Castle, member of the Dominican Third Order; d. 1606 (some sources say 1610). As son of the baron of Limerick's Castle Connell, Sir John was born into the Irish nobility. During the reign of elizabeth i of England, he ran an underground safety net for refuge priests. Upon the ascension of james i, Burke reorganized the Catholics scattered under the previous monarch and openly professed his Catholic faith. Upon the arrival of Lord Montjoy in Limerick, Burke was arrested on a charge of treason and imprisoned in Dublin, where he continued to loudly proclaim his faith and to pray openly.

During a plague, he was released from prison, returned to Brittas Castle, joined the Third Order of St. Dominic, and continued to perfect his network of safety houses for priests. The castle was attacked by Montjoy's forces as a Mass was being celebrated there. Two of the three Dominican celebrants escaped; one remained in the besieged castle with Sir John.

Rather than surrendering to the English, he arranged for the priest to be secreted out of the castle. Sir John himself attacked his way out, taking with him the sacred vessels and church valuables to hide. The English continued to chase Burke, while the bounty for his capture was doubled. Two female tertieries who sheltered Burke were burned to death for refusing to disclose his location.

He was eventually betrayed, captured, and condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. During his imprisonment, he steadfastly prayed and exhorted others to remain faithful. Because he wished to bequeath something to the Dominicans although his property had been confiscated, from the scaffold he dedicated his unborn child to the Order. Following his execution, he was buried in the Church of St. John, Limerick. The then-unborn daughter later entered a Portuguese Dominican convent.

See Also: irish confessors and martyrs.

Bibliography: d. murphy, Our Martyrs (Dublin 1896). m. j. dorcy, Saint Dominic's Family (Dubuque, Iowa 1963), 357–60.

[k. i. rabenstein]