John Weever of a religious tone, "The Mirror of Martyrs" and "An Agnus Dei". "The Mirror of Martyrs or The Life and Death of ... Sir John Oldcastle" may have been part of a backlash. In his preface Weever calls it the "first trew Oldcastle", perhaps on account of the fact that Shakespeare's character Falstaff first appeared as "Sir John Oldcastle". Weever's work is influenced by John Bale's 1544 biography of Oldcastle, which presents him as a proto-Protestant martyr. In the fourth stanza of this long poem, in which Sir John is his own panegyrist, occurs a reminiscence of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"
Oldcastle, County Meath was arrested and tried for treason which was a hanging offence. However, the charges were dropped. He returned to Oldcastle and treated like a hero by the locals. Two inmates were killed at Oldcastle during the years 1914–1918. One on 17 September 1917 during an escape with another inmate. August Bockmeyer was shot when he refused to stop. Although he survived the shooting he later succumbed to his injuries. There was an enquiry and it was declared that ‘Private Tiernan’s actions to be “quite justified” in the “discharge” of his duty.’ As stated by the article by John Smyth. The