Blessed Patrick Kavanagh was a sailor who was hanged, drawn and quartered at Wexford town in 1581 AD for refusing to deny his Catholic beliefs. He was put to death alongside the sailors Robert Meyler and Edward Cheevers as well as the baker Matthew Lambert. Sadly little else is known about him. He courageously helped Catholic priests and laymen escape persecution by hiding them on his ship and escorted them to safety abroad. Moreover he refused to take the Oath of Supremacy which acknowledged Queen Elizabeth I as head of the Catholic Church instead of the pope. Kavanagh is a common surname in the Wexford area.