Father Mogue Kearns (Irish: Mo Aodh Óg Ó Céirín; died 12 July 1798), sometimes called Moses Kearns, was an Irish Roman Catholic priest and United Irishman executed by the British on 12 July 1798, after leading 2,000 rebel troops in Wexford.
According to a story current in 1798, Kearns was a student in Paris at the height of the French Revolution and was hanged from a lamp post by the mob.
He was not long in the parish when dismissed by the Bishop for associating with the secret tenant-farmer society, the Defenders, then entering into an alliance with the United Irishmen.
From the camp at Vinegar Hill, Kearns led a detachment of 2,000 poorly armed insurgents northwards to attack the garrison at Bunclody.
[2] When first taken by the militia, he was reportedly tied on his horse and roped to a tree, but while his captors repaired for refreshment was rescued by a young woman.