Maurice Eustace
Encyclopedia
Maurice Eustace was an Irish soldier, secretly ordained a Roman Catholic priest, and hanged as a traitor.
, County Kildare
. He was sent to be educated at the Jesuit college at Bruges
in Flanders
. There, after the completion of his secular studies, he desired to enter the Society of Jesus. His father, however, wrote to the superiors of the college to send him home.
Maurice returned to Ireland. After a brief stay, during which he tried to dissuade his father from opposing his vocation, he went back to Flanders. His old masters, at the college of Bruges, advised him to return to Ireland and devote himself in the world to the service of religion.
Shortly after his arrival in Ireland he got an appointment as captain of horse. He never abandoned the idea of becoming a priest, and secretly took Holy Orders. His servant, who was aware of the fact, told his father, who had his son immediately arrested and imprisoned in Dublin. A younger brother, desiring to inherit the family estates, also reported Maurice to be a priest, a Jesuit, and a friend of the Queen's enemies.
As a consequence he was put on trial for high treason
. During his imprisonment Adam Loftus
, Archbishop of Dublin
, offered him his daughter in marriage, and a large dowry if he would accept the reformed religion
. Eustace was sentenced to public execution, and was hanged
.
Life
He was the eldest son of Sir John Eustace, CastlemartinCastlemartin
Castlemartin may refer to:*Castlemartin House and Estate, County Kildare, Ireland*Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire, a village in Wales*Castlemartin , a former administrative unit in Wales named after the village...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was sent to be educated at the Jesuit college at Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
. There, after the completion of his secular studies, he desired to enter the Society of Jesus. His father, however, wrote to the superiors of the college to send him home.
Maurice returned to Ireland. After a brief stay, during which he tried to dissuade his father from opposing his vocation, he went back to Flanders. His old masters, at the college of Bruges, advised him to return to Ireland and devote himself in the world to the service of religion.
Shortly after his arrival in Ireland he got an appointment as captain of horse. He never abandoned the idea of becoming a priest, and secretly took Holy Orders. His servant, who was aware of the fact, told his father, who had his son immediately arrested and imprisoned in Dublin. A younger brother, desiring to inherit the family estates, also reported Maurice to be a priest, a Jesuit, and a friend of the Queen's enemies.
As a consequence he was put on trial for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
. During his imprisonment Adam Loftus
Adam Loftus (Archbishop)
thumb|right|200px|Archbishop Adam LoftusAdam Loftus was Archbishop of Armagh, and later Dublin, and Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1581. He was also the first Provost of Trinity College, Dublin.-Early life:...
, Archbishop of Dublin
Archbishop of Dublin (Church of Ireland)
The Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the senior cleric who presides over the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough in the Church of Ireland...
, offered him his daughter in marriage, and a large dowry if he would accept the reformed religion
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
. Eustace was sentenced to public execution, and was hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
.