John Esmonde was a physician from Sallins,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, and member of the United Irishmen, who was hanged in 1798 for having led the insurgents in the

Battle of Prosperous The Battle of Prosperous was a military engagement between British Crown forces and United Irishmen rebels during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in the town of Prosperous, County Kildare. Prosperous was founded by Sir Robert Brooke in 1780 as a v ...

, in Co. Kildare, during the risings of that year. John Esmonde was the son of Sir James Esmonde (7th Baronet) and Ellice White. He married Helen O'Callan, a daughter of Bartholomew O'Callan, and they had five sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Thomas (1786–1868), succeeded his uncle Sir Thomas Esmonde, as the 9th baronet and was MP for Wexford borough (1841–7). Their second son,

Bartholomew Esmonde Bartholomew Esmonde (1789–1862) was an Irish Jesuit priest, educator, and amateur architect. He was responsible for the design of Saint Francis Xavier Church, Dublin. He briefly served as superior to the Irish Society of Jesus in 1820. Life Bart ...

(1789–1862) became a Jesuit priest, while their third son James joined the Royal Navy, and their fourth son Laurence joined the French Army. Esmonde was a medical doctor and became a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ireland's first private university. It was established in 1784 ...

shortly after it was established. He attended the

Catholic Convention The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. As a lieutenant in the Clane Yeomanry,Battle of Prosperous
www.prosperousheritage.com he was court-martialed and deemed a deserter, and was executed by hanging (with his coat reversed to indicated he was a deserter) on 13 June 1798.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmonde, John 1798 deaths People from Sallins Esmonde family United Irishmen Irish surgeons Medical doctors from County Kildare 18th-century Irish medical doctors People executed by the Kingdom of Ireland by hanging Executed people from County Kildare