Galway Courthouse, where Rev. W J Burke was on trial in 1844

When William john Burke was summoned to court he learned that some of his former friends and neighbors were chief witness against him. It came as no surprise as there was a huge hate campaign against the Reverend and his wife since he changed religion. They used anything they possibly could to defame his character;

“The group of “witnesses swore that on Saturday, the 11th day of May last, the Rev. William John Burke. The midwife, apothecary [chemist], and the local doctor were called as witnesses. The midwife was called first as she delivered the baby, was asked to keep the birth of the baby, who sadly did not survive a secret. Which she did. She was not required to take an oath by Rev Burke. The local doctor was the next to give evidence:

” I recollect that on the 8th of May he [Rev Burke] called on me to attended to his wife; I did so and bled her; nothing more occurred on that day, but on the following morning I found her unwell with inflammation of the stomach; she was pregnant; before I went into her room Mr Burke brought me into an adjoining room, and said that as an old acquaintance he would rely on anything I would promise, but that Mrs. Burke would not be satisfied unless I swore to conceal that situation she was in. I told her as a medical man I would of course, keep professional secrets without taking an oath.”

The doctor and midwife’s evidence favored Revered Burke’s case, however, the Apothecary’s was a bit more incriminating, as he admitted that he had no feeling of vengeance towards the Reverend, but considered his [Rev Burke’s] “conduct improper”, that was in reference to his changing religion. All the Apothecary could say against him was that he produced a ‘book’ not necessarily a Bible and said “now take your oath”. That was all.

In effect Rev William John Burke did not commit the felony he was accused of as no oath was sworn. The case was a farce to begin with, as his defense Baron Lefroy put to the judge;

“As the prisoner did not actually tender the oath after producing the book, the offense, in law cannot be sustained and I must direct a verdict of acquittal.”

Sources

Freeman’s Journal 03 August 1844. p3

Image reproduced by kind permission of James Hardiman Library

The secret so heavily guarded by Rev William John Burke, was that Mrs Burke was pregnant. It would have appeared that in May 1844 she gave birth shortly after their marriage. This was true however, the couple were married for the first time the previous year, in another church.

He and his wife kept the pregnancy a secret especially after the violent suffered by Rev Burke when he renounced his faith a few weeks previously. It is impossible to keep a secret in a small town and word go out about the condition of Mrs Burke. When his wife took ill in the late stages of pregnancy Rev Burke sent for medical help. He tried to swear the doctor, apothecary and midwife, all of who attended his wife to secrecy. Of course the word got out..Very soon Rev Burke found himself in the dock at the Galway Assizes.

Sources

Limerick Reporter 11 June 1844. P 3

Sometime between August 1843 and April 1844 Fr William John Burke converted from a Catholic to the Protestant faith. It was not uncommon at the time. There were quite a few church missions across the country such as those set up by Alexander Dallas and Edward Nagle.

Many organisations were established in the early nineteenth century to convert Irish Catholics to Scriptural Protestantism. some, such as the Irish Society (1818) and the Achill Mission (1834) were run by members of the Church of Ireland while others were undertaken by Protestant mission of other denominations… The Irish Society was also active in north Mayo…

The Mission spread to some areas in Co. Galway and this is possibly where William John Burke converted. Whether he sought them out or it was the other way round in April 1844 he was back in his home parish of Kinvara renouncing Catholicism from the altar.

…On 22 April 1844 he renounced the Catholic Church and became a minister of the Church of Ireland. The scene of this extraordinary occurrence was the little Protestant Church that once stood across the street from the present Community Centre…

The street in Kinvara where the church that William John Burke renounced his former faith. (Photo by Ciaran Parkes)

The paper carried the following report of the incidence.

We learn that the Rev. William John Burke, who for the last thirteen years has been a Romish priest, publicly red his recantation, and conformed to the united Church of England and Ireland, in St. John’s Church, Kinvarra, in the county Clare, on Sunday last. During the return of the Rev. Mr Burke, from Church, in the carriage with the two clergymen, the Rev. Mr. Moran and the Rev. Mr. Nason, who had been present at the ceremony, a mob of nearly two thousand persons, we are informed, assembled with shouting as the party passed, and threw several stones at the carriage. One of them struck the carriage, but the party being well armed, and defended by a body of police, escaped serious consequences. Such is the genius of Popery. – Dublin Statesman

The churchyard, now a green area where the church once stood. (Photo by Ciaran Parkes)

This incident alone was enough to discredit the William John Burke in the eyes of his enemies but, another event was about to unfold. Although he did his best to keep it quiet his secret got out and his enemies found out. It did not take long for William John Burke to be arrested and tried at the Galway Assizes accused of a felony, which carried the sentence of transportation to Australia.

Thanks to:

Ciaran Parkes for photographs

Sources

Moffitt, Miriam. Soupers & Jumpers: The Protestant Missions in Connemara, 1848-1937. Dublin: Nonsuch, 2008. P 10

O’Connell, J. W., Thomas Quinn, and Gerardine Quinn. St. Colman’s Church: Its Place in the History of the Parish of Kinvara. [Kinvara]: O’Connell-Quinn, 1988. P 54

 Kentish Gazette Tuesday 07 May 1844