Dr. Martin Lyden will discuss the implications of the Reformation for Ireland, as various monarchs from Henry VIII to Queen Anne enacted more rigid, anti-Catholic laws, culminating in the Penal Laws. Priests were driven underground and hunted, as the faithful were hampered from practicing their religion. He will tell us the story of the infamous priest assassins, the Priest Hunters, who were paid a bounty for every cleric they murdered. He will also discuss the growing Catholic Emancipation movement.
