Doirí Beaga (anglicised as Derrybeg, meaning 'small oak trees'), is a

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

in the parish of

Gweedore Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo and Bloody For ...

(''Gaoth Dobhair'') in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It includes

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the inter ...

regional studios, a

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

, club and a

golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...

. According to the 2016 census 53.4% of the population spoke Irish on a daily basis outside the education system. The

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

of Tim Healy the famous

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

History

During the

Land War The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...

of the 1880s, the people of Derrybeg were led by Canon James McFadden (), "The Fighting Priest of Donegal", who urged his parishioners to support the

Land League The Irish National Land League ( Irish: ''Conradh na Talún''), also known as the Land League, was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its prima ...

and the

Plan of Campaign The Plan of Campaign was a strategy, stratagem adopted in Ireland between 1886 and 1891, co-ordinated by Irish politicians for the benefit of tenant farmers, against mainly absentee landlord, absentee and rack-rent landlords. It was launched to ...

. After a series of anti-landlord sermons, the

resident magistrate A resident magistrate is a title for magistrates used in certain parts of the world, that were, or are, governed by the British. Sometimes abbreviated as RM, it refers to suitably qualified personnel—notably well versed in the law—brought int ...

ordered McFadden's arrest. On Sunday 3 February 1889,

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

district inspector William Limbrick Martin (locally known as ''An Mháirtínigh'') arrived at Derrybeg's Roman Catholic church, ''Teach Phobail Mhuire'' with the intention of arresting McFadden immediately after

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

. As McFadden left the church interior, he was still dressed in his vestments and was carrying the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

in the ciborium. Upon seeing McFadden, Martin drew his sword and charged the priest with the blade upraised. Horrified, McFadden's parishioners cried that Martin was attacking the priest with a sword and attacked the policeman. Martin was severely beaten and died upon the spot. McFadden and his parishioners were arrested and tried for

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. A

change of venue A change of venue is the legal term for moving a trial (law), trial to a new location. In high-profile matters, a change of venue may occur to move a jury trial away from a location where a fair and impartial jury may not be possible due to wides ...

was granted to Crown prosecutors, who were also allowed to pack the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

with

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s. In his 1928 memoirs, Tim Healy, who defended McFadden and his parishioners, described how he had argued the case at trial. Healy reminded the court that, under

English law English law is the common law list of national legal systems, legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly English criminal law, criminal law and Civil law (common law), civil law, each branch having its own Courts of England and Wales, ...

, it was a death penalty offense to strike a judge in his robes. He explained that, to the Catholics of Donegal, it was even more horrendous of a crime to assault a priest in his vestments. In response to Healy's statements, the Crown prosecutors offered a

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

which spared all defendants the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. McFadden was sentenced to time served and his parishioners received prison sentences of varying degrees.History of Gweedore, Chapter One
/ref> William Martin was buried in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

cemetery in

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

, under an inscription which described him as having been, "cruelly murdered while nobly doing his duty at Derrybeg." Following his death from Ewing's sarcoma in 1994, the

Requiem Mass A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is u ...

for '' Altan'' flutist

Frankie Kennedy Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was a flute and tin whistle player born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was also the co-founder of the band Altan, formed with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. The popular '' Frankie ...

took place at the Roman Catholic Church in Derrybeg.

References

External links

{{County Donegal Gaeltacht places in County Donegal Gaeltacht towns and villages Geography of Gweedore