Fr Timothy Shanley (1781–1835) was an Irish

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

notable for his opposition to

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

authority, and to the

Protestant Ascendancy The ''Protestant Ascendancy'', known simply as the ''Ascendancy'', was the political, economic, and social domination of Ireland between the 17th century and the early 20th century by a minority of landowners, Protestant clergy, and members of th ...

, in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. He was active in the United Irish Rebellion of 1798.

Early life

Shanley was born in Lisdessin near the village of

Drumraney Drumraney (Irish: ''Droim Raithne'') is a village in the County Westmeath, Ireland, just off the R390 regional road between Athlone and Mullingar. It is part of a small parish with a population of approximately 240 which includes the nearby ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

in 1781. He was one of eighteen children. He was educated at a seminary in

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

after taking part in an

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactics, military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbru ...

near

Tyrrellspass Tyrrellspass (, IPA: �bʲaləxˈanˠˈtʲɪɾʲiəliː is a Georgian village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is from Dublin, in the south of the county on the R446 (formerly the N6) road. Tyrrellspass won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition i ...

during the 1798 Rebellion. Shanley was the only student in the class who did not sign the required

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

due to his belief in the Irish cause. Due to his beliefs, he was often targeted by British soldiers.

Priesthood

Fr Shanley was curate in

Milltownpass Milltownpass () is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located in the south of the county on the R446 regional road (formerly the N6 national primary route). The old route was replaced by a dual-carriageway from Kinnegad to Tyrre ...

and

Meedin Meedin (), also Meedian, is a village and townland in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located in the south of the county on the N52 road, to the north of Tyrrellspass and Rochfortbridge and to the south of Mullingar. The village contains a 1 ...

parish, he was then transferred to

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 census ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

for ten years, before being transferred back to Meedin. He remained there till his death in 1835. He is buried in Carrick, near

Dalystown Dalystown () is a village in Carrick, County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located in the south of the county on the N52 road, to the north of Tyrrellspass and Rochfortbridge. The village contains a National school, and a public house. Lough Enne ...

in County Westmeath. An annual

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

is held at his gravesite on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

References

1781 births 1835 deaths 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests People from County Westmeath United Irishmen Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth {{Ireland-RC-clergy-stub