John Carey
Irish Roman Catholic martyr
Feast: 4 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
John (or Terence) Carey, a native of Dublin, was a servant at Chideock Castle in Dorset, where the priest John Cornelius was chaplain. He was arrested with Cornelius in April 1594 and condemned at Dorchester for helping a man he knew to be a priest, though he was told his life would be spared if he became a Protestant.
He was the first of the four to go up to the scaffold at Dorchester on 4 July 1594; he kissed the rope, calling it a precious collar, made a solemn profession of faith and died bravely.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
An Irish servant put to death at Dorchester in 1594 for helping a priest.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- John Cornelius Blessed“John (or Terence) Carey was an Irish layman, born in Dublin, and servant of Thomas Bosgrave and was put to death with Thomas Bosgrave, John Cornelius (a priest, born of Irish parents in Bodmin in Cornwall), and Patrick Salmon, another lay helper also of Dublin birth, at Dorchester in Dorset in 1594.” — Wikipedia
- Patryk Salmon Blessed“He was put to death for his faith at Dorchester, England, on 4 July 1594, on the same day as the Jesuit John Cornelius and the laymen Thomas Bosgrave and John Carey.” — this site's research
- Thomas Bosgrave Blessed“John (or Terence) Carey was an Irish layman, born in Dublin, and servant of Thomas Bosgrave and was put to death with Thomas Bosgrave, John Cornelius (a priest, born of Irish parents in Bodmin in Cornwall), and Patrick Salmon, another lay helper also of Dublin birth, at Dorchester in Dorset in 1594.” — Wikipedia
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Ven. John Cornelius and Companions
- Roman Martyrology, 4 July (Italian Bishops' Conference, Santo del giorno)
- Wikidata Q6225127 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — John Carey (martyr) (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.