Drogheda is set to mark the 400th anniversary of the birth of Saint Oliver Plunkett this week, with a special celebration to take place on Wednesday at the National Shrine of Saint Oliver at St. Peter’s Church, Drogheda.
This year will see a number of celebtations and commemorations to mark 400 years since his birth, and also the golden jubilee of his canonisation. The official launch of the St Oliver 400 programme will take place on Wednesday, with Archbishop Eamon Martin in attendance. A Saint Oliver 400 Commemorative book 1625-2025 will also be launched on the day.
Who was Saint Oliver Plunkett?
St Oliver Plunkett, who was born in Loughcrew, County Meath, was the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, who became the first Irish saint in almost 700 years when he was canonised in 1975.
Having been admitted to the Irish College in Rome, he was ordained a priest in 1654. However, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland had defeated the Catholic cause, meaning that the public practise of Catholicism was banned, and Catholic clergy were executed. It was therefore not possible for Plunkett to return to Ireland, and he petitioned to stay in Rome, where he became a professor of theology.
In 1669, he was appointed Archbishop of Armagh, and eventually returned to Ireland in 1670. At that time, the English restoration of 1660 had begun on the basis of toleration. In 1670, he established a Jesuit College in Drogheda.
However, when the Stuart Restoration penal laws were enacted in 1679, the college was closed and demolished, and Plunkett went into hiding. He refused a government edict to register at a seaport to await passage into exile. Over the next few years, he was allowed to live largely in peace as the Dublin government preferred to leave the Catholic hierarchy alone. However, the so-called Popish Plot of 1678 sparked further anti-Catholic action, and led to the arrest of Archbishop Peter Talbot of Dublin. Plunkett went back into hiding, while the Privvy Council of England, at Westminster, was falsely told that Plunkett has plotted a French invasion.
Plunkett refused to leave his flock, despite having a price on his head and being on the run. At one point, he took recuse in a church seven miles outside of Drogheda, in Clogherhead in County Louth. He was however attested in December 1679 in Dublin, and imprisoned in Dublin castle, where he gave absolution to the dying Talbot.
He was tried at Dundalk on charges of conspiring against the State. While allegations that he had plotted to bring 20,000 French soldiers onto the country were unproven, it is believed that some within government circles were concerned about the possibility of a repeat of the Irish rebellion of 1641, which provided an excuse against Plunkett.
The Archbishop of Armagh was found guilty of high treason in June 1681 for “promoting the Roman faith,” and was condemned to death.
A verdict was returned by the jury within 15 minutes. The Chief Justice said: “You have done as much as you could to dishonour God in this case; for the bottom of your treason was your setting up your false religion, than which there is not any thing more displeasing to God, or more pernicious to mankind in the world”.
In response to the guilty verdict, Plunkett replied: “Deo Gratias” (Latin for “Thanks be to God”).
Plunkett was hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on July 1st 1681 at the age of 55. His head was brought to Rome, later to Armagh, and eventually to Drogheda where I’d had remained since 29 June 1921. The last Catholic martyr to die in England, he became the first of the Irish martyrs to be beatified. He was made a patron Saint of peace and reconciliation in Ireland in 1997.
Ahead of Wednesday’s celebration, Fr Eugene Sweeney said that the Saint “did not succumb to despair – and neither should we.”
“Oliver Plunkett lived at a remarkably difficult and chaotic time. His resilience, courage and constant efforts for peace and justice are truly inspiring, and therefore it is appropriate to honour his memory not just in Ireland but further afield.
“We warmly welcome all to the National Shrine of Saint Oliver at Saint Peter’s Church, Drogheda, in this special year to honour the martyred Archbishop. We urge pilgrims to pray for peace throughout the world through his intercession, to share with the Lord in the Saint’s presence all their hopes and joys, and leave to him their stresses and sufferings, trials and tribulations. We are honoured that Saint Peter’s Church has been designated a Jubilee Church in this Jubilee Year of Hope. Saint Oliver Plunkett did not succumb to despair, and neither should we 400 years later.”
Archbishop Eamon Martin wrote this week that the Saint is a “pilgrim of Christian hope in extraordinarily difficult circumstances,” and said that it was “providential” that the 400th Jubilee year should coincide with the 2025 Jubilee year announced by Pope Francis.
Meath TD Peadar Tóibín highlighted the life of the Saint this week, writing: “He was hung, drawn, and quartered for his beliefs.
“The extraordinary life of Saint Oliver Plunkett at a time when Ireland was being devastated militarily, culturally, and religiously by England.”
People will gather outside the Church at 11am on Wednesday, where a 45 minute service will follow in the same place where the Saint’s head and some bone-relics are preserved.
Throughout 2025, other events will be held to mark the special jubilee year, at Cavan, Oldcastle, Loughcrew, and Drogheda. St Peter’s Church of Ireland Hall will also hold a historical seminar on 3rd May, while a separate event is to take place at Mullaghbawn Mass rock in June. Loughcrew will also hold a family day honouring the Saint in June.