21st of January 1570

JOHN O’LOCHRAN, EDUMND FITZSIMON, AND DONOGH O’ROARKE, O.S.F.

(From Ward’s Catalogue)

IN 1570 a certain Englishman named John Britton, or Brereton, accompanied by a body of soldiers, seized Brothers John O’Locran, Edmund Fitzsimon, and the Donogh O’Roarke, priests, in the convent of Down,[1] and after putting them to the torture repeatedly, hanged them near the place commonly called St. John’s Well, the spot where the angels appeared to St. Patrick.[2]

He hanged two more in the garden of the convent from a tree, though he had received a large sum of money from the townsmen to set them free.

It is said that the tree, which formerly bore fruit in abundance, soon became withered, and never after sent out a leaf.

Bruodin gives January 21st, 1575, as the date of their martyrdom.

The convent of Down was founded in 1240 by Hugh de Lacy the younger. The site is now occupied by the Protestant church. 

Duns Scotus, Styled the Subtle Doctor, is said to have been a monk of this house.

See also Wadding, Bruodin, and Hueber

[1] Founded in 1240 by Hugh de Lacy the younger. The site is now occupied by the Protestant church. Duns Scotus, Styled the Subtle Doctor, is said to have been a monk of this house. See OLaverty’s Diocese of Down and Connor, i.249
[2] See Colgan’s Trias Thaumaturga, p. 28
 

Please pray for final perseverance for all of us!
May the martyrs of old inspire us all.