Francis Taylor

Francis Taylor (Irish: Proinnsias Táiliúr; Beannaithe, Swords, c. 1550 – Dublin, 29 January 1621) was a Mayor of Dublin, Ireland, who was incarcerated because of his Catholicism. He has been declared a martyr for his faith and beatified by the Catholic Church.

Life Born in Swords, County Dublin, Francis Taylor was the second son of wealthy merchant Robert Taylor and his wife Elizabeth Golding. Taylor moved to the City of Dublin and married Gennet Shelton, daughter of a prominent family, being the granddaughter of a Mayor of Dublin. He himself was elected Dublin's mayor in 1595.

In 1613 Taylor was elected an MP elected for Dublin, but the election was rescheduled to allow Protestants to take the seats. He was imprisoned for his Catholic faith around 1614, and died in Dublin Castle on 29 January 1621,

A statue of Taylor and of his wife's grandmother, the Blessed Margaret Ball, who had died in that same prison for her faith in 1584, stands outside the main entrance of St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral in Dublin.