Edward Tyrrell (died May 28, 1713) was a
priest-hunter based in
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 ...
. He travelled the country from 1710 onwards looking for Catholic priests and bishops.
Tyrrell was working to enforce the ''Act to prevent the further Growth of Popery'', commonly known as the
Popery Act or the Gavelkind Act, which was an
Act of parliament of the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...
passed in 1703 and amended in 1709, one of a series of penal laws against
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
.
He was convicted of bigamy and executed on May 28, 1713, having been reprieved for fifteen days after his original execution date.
See also
*
Gavelkind in Ireland
Under Brehon law, gavelkind, a form of partible inheritance, was the system of land inheritance. The Normans called the Irish inheritance law the name ''gavelkind'' because of its apparent similarity to Jute inheritance in Kent.
The law
Upon the ...
References and sources
;Notes
;Sources
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1713 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Anti-Catholicism in Ireland
Priest hunters
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