Sean na Sagart

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Sean na Sagart (meaning John of the Priests in Irish) (born c. 1690 - died 1726), was a notorious priest hunter during Penal Times in Ireland. Born John Mullowney in Derrew, near Ballyheane, County Mayo, na Sagart began his career as a horse thief but was arrested and sentenced to death in Castlebar in his youth. When the Grand Jury became aware of his low character, they cut a deal with him in which he agreed to turn priest hunter to escape the hangman's noose. A 1709 Penal Act demanded that Catholic priests take the Oath of Abjuration and recognise the Protestant Queen Anne as Queen of England, and therefore her authority over Ireland. Any cleric that refused was sentenced to death.

Sean was a talented rogue and excelled at the activity of hunting clergy. He received £100 for the capture of an Archbishop or Bishop, £20 for a priest, or £10 for the capture of a Catholic teacher; sizable amounts at the time. These men would then be executed by the English forces. na Sagart used the money to fund his heavy drinking and expensive tastes. A technique used by him was to pretend to be sick and close to death. He would then call for a priest to confess his numerous and colourful sins. When a priest would arrive, na Sagart would grab a knife hidden under the bedclothes, and attempt to capture or kill his confessor.

na Sagart was a deeply unpopular individual, and hated by all. He was murdered by a man known only as McCann in a wood near Partry and his body was thrown, post mortem, into a lake by locals. The parish priest forced them to retrieve it, and his corpse was eventually buried in non-consecrated ground, near Ballintubber Abbey, County Mayo. There is a tree with his name near the abbey, however it never blossomed, and as of 2007, all its branches droop down.