Sir John Bourke of Brittas (1550 – 20 December 1607), commonly called "Captain of Clanwilliam", was born about the middle of the 16th century. His father, Sir Richard Bourke, was brother of Sir William Bourke, 1st Baron of Castleconnell, and his mother was Honor, daughter of Conor O'Mulryan, Chief of Owney. Before marrying Bourke, Honor had been married to De Lacy of Bruff, and was the mother of that famous soldier of the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the Fitzmaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines and ...

, Sir Piers de Lacy. Sir John was married to Grace, the daughter of George Thornton, who received some of the confiscated Desmond property in County Limerick. He therefore, kept aloof during the

, but during Sir George Carew's victorious march through Limerick after he had taken the Castle of Lough Gur, he was called upon to submit to Queen Elizabeth. He replied stating he considered "it was sinful and damnable personally to submit to Her Majestie", and

Sir George Carew ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English language, English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist i ...

thereupon laid waste his lands. On submission he was reproved for his "rebellious obstinacies", but through the good offices of Sir George Thornton, was pardoned and restored to his estate. He did not feel happy under the "protection" of the Queen and applied for leave to travel to Spain on a "pilgrimage to St. Iago", but this was refused him and he was compelled to remain with his family at Brittas.

Religious persecution

When the religious persecutions which followed the suppression of the Fitzgeralds began, Bourke incurred the enmity of the government by his open avowal of the

Catholic Faith 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 p ...

and by his protection of the persecuted and hunted clergy. During the short lull in the persecutions he openly attended Divine Service at St. Mary's Cathedral, temporarily restored to the Catholics, and was received together with his family and retainers, into the Dominican Confraternity of the Holy Rosary. On the renewal of the persecutions, Sir John was summoned to answer a charge of recusancy and was put into prison. Again the good offices of Sir George Thornton obtained his release, but although restored to his estates and fortune, he continued to harbour the hunted priests and was acknowledged "protector of the Catholics".

Arrest

In October 1607, while Mass was being celebrated in

Brittas Castle Brittas may refer to: Places in the Republic of Ireland *Brittas, County Cork, two separate townlands in the Barony of Ibane and Barryroe *Brittas, County Cork, a townland in the Barony of Duhallow *Brittas, County Dublin, a village and townland ...

, he was betrayed by his kinsmen, Theobald Bourke of Castleconnell and Sir Edmond Walsh of Abington. A detachment of horse soldiers arrived to arrest the priests and on Sir John's refusing to give them up or open the castle to the soldiers he was outlawed and Brittas Castle besieged. Sir John "with his casque on his head, his shield on his left arm and his sword in his right hand, burst out and made good his escape". He arrived at

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

on his way to Spain, but was here betrayed, arrested and sent back to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

for trial. He refused to renounce the

or to conform to the new state religion, stating "he could acknowledge no king or

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

against the King of

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

and

Queen of Heaven Queen of Heaven ( la, Regina Caeli) is a title given to the Virgin Mary, by Christians mainly of the Catholic Church and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Catholic teaching on this subject is expresse ...

...whoever would act otherwise was not a

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

of God but a slave of the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

", and was sentenced to be hanged, beheaded, and quartered.

Execution

He was hung on Gallows Green, 20 December 1607, but owing to his influence and popularity the latter part of the sentence was remitted. His body was returned to his relatives and buried in St. John's Churchyard, where no trace of it now remains.

Legacy

Sir John left nine children behind him, but his estates were confiscated and granted to Theobald Bourke, his betrayer, who was created 1st Baron of Brittas in 1618. The statue of "Our Lady of Limerick" given in reparation by a descendant of the Sharsfield who condemned Bourke to death. He is the grandfather of John Bourke, Mayor of Limerick, who was the great-grandfather of

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke, John 1550 births 1607 deaths Executed Irish people People executed by Ireland by hanging, drawing and quartering 16th-century Irish people 17th-century Irish people People of Elizabethan Ireland Irish Roman Catholics 16th-century Roman Catholics 17th-century Roman Catholics 17th-century executions by Ireland