The 400th anniversary of the birth of the martyred Saint Oliver Plunkett was celebrated at a service of prayer, reflection and celebration in Saint Peter’s Jubilee Church, Drogheda, Co Louth, Archdiocese of Armagh, on 12 February. Those gathered included Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; Father Eugene Sweeney, Parish Priest of Saint Peter’s Church; Father Paul Clayton-Lea, editor of Intercom, who launched the ‘Saint Oliver Plunket 400’ commemorative booklet; local clergy; Councillor Paddy McQuillan Mayor/Cathaoirleach of Drogheda Borough District; Councillor Kevin Callan, Cathaoirleach, Louth County Council; members/councillors of LCC, Drogheda urban and rural; Joe McGuinness, Acting Chief Executive, LCC; David Conway, Chief Executive Designate, LCC; Colette Moss, Senior Executive Officer, LCC; Moya Hodgers, Acting Arts Officer, LCC, as well as staff and students from Saint Oliver’s National School, and from Saint Oliver’s Community College.
Father Sweeney said: “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.”
The following article was written by Archbishop Martin (pictured above during the 2019 unveiling and blessing of the bronze statue of Saint Oliver Plunkett in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh) and published in the Mail on Sunday on the preceding Sunday, 9 February:
It is providential that the 2025 Jubilee Year announced by Pope Francis with its theme, pilgrims of hope, should coincide this year with the 400th anniversary of the birth of Saint Oliver Plunkett, 92nd successor to Saint Patrick and martyred Archbishop of Armagh. For if
ever there was a pilgrim of Christian hope in extraordinary difficult circumstances it was Saint Oliver.
To mark this significant milestone, all are welcome this Wednesday at 11am to Saint Peter’s Jubilee Church, Drogheda, Co Louth for a special Saint Plunkett 400 celebration of the birth and faith or this pioneering martyr saint. The short ceremony will include prayer, scripture reading, and reflections on the life and ministry of Saint Oliver as well as the launch of a commemorative booklet.
Oliver Plunkett was born in Loughcrew Oldcastle, Co Meath, on November1, 1625 and was ordained to the Priesthood in Rome in 1654, having studied at the Irish College in the city. After undertaking higher studies in Rome, Pope Clement IX appointed Professor Oliver as Archbishop of Armagh and he arrived back in Ireland in March 1670 after a 23-year exile. Persecuted for a time, he travelled in disguise, dressed as Captain William Browne, ‘with my sword, my wig and my pistol’.
A Synod of bishops was held in Dublin and he also organized a provincial synod in Clones. He built a cross-denominational school Drogheda and brought in the Jesuits to staff it, with 150 students attending. Because of the political turmoil in Ireland, many of the priests were lacking in a proper formal education and Archbishop Oliver brought them together in groups of 25 for further training in Drogheda.
Archbishop Oliver travelled extensively to the many Mass rocks dotted across the province, writing that the old and the infirm would often be carried by the strong and the healthy.
Conscious that most districts would not have seen a bishop for at least a generation, he conducted regular confirmation ceremonies, writing that ‘there are bearded men of 60 who have not yet received the Sacrament’.
He brought peace and order to each diocese he visited by the settling of countless disputes stating that he ‘did not give repose to brain, pen or even horses these four years in a vast province of 11 diocese’. He went in person to the hideout if the Tories, or Raparees, who were carrying out a war of harassment against the Protestant settlers, and he successfully negotiated a peace agreement writing: ‘The province has not seen such peace in 30 years’. He ordained several hundred priests whom he ensured were well trained and who in turn helped the laity keep the faith during the strict Penal Laws which were already on the horizon. He disciplined and suspended wayward priests, a few of whom would later wreck their reverence at his trial. In 1673 the active persecution of Catholics returned and his school in Drogheda was demolished by the authorities.
Determined to stay with his flock and with a price on his head, Archbishop Oliver refused the easy option of exile and for the remaining five years of his ministry often had no proper bed to call his own. He wrote that he had already suffered much while hiding in the mountains, in huts or in caves and that he would readily gobble down a piece of oaten bread. He added that he would not be hireling by running away, but stay with his people and would never abandon the lambs or the sheep.
As part of the make-believe invented by Titus Oates in London, Archbishop Oliver was arrested in 1679 on a false charge if plotting a rebellion in Ireland and planning to bring in a French army through Carlingford.
After his trial fell through at Dundalk, he was transferred to London where many false witnesses came forward to condemn him. Denied time to bring over his own witnesses, he was expeditiously found guilty, and was hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, now Marble Arch, on July 1, 1681.
As the 23rd successor to Saint Oliver in the See of Armagh, I never fail to be inspired by his remarkable life and witness, his deep faith, and his great resilience and forgiveness. Living in a very hostile and dangerous environment, he never capitulated to the despair of hating those who despised, maltreated or betrayed him, but rather remained strong in love, hope and forgiveness to his dying breath.
Not surprisingly Saint Oliver, we do not forget that thousands of Christians are killed each year due to their faith, or that over 360 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination globally, equating to one in seven Christians worldwide, according to statistics in 2024 by the charity Aid to the church in Need, Ireland.
I encourage people in this Jubilee Year to come as Pilgrims of Hope to Saint Peter’s Church, Drogheda, National Shrine of Saint Oliver Plunkett, where Saint Oliver’s head and other relics are preserved and honoured, and also to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh, where a beautiful bronze statue to Saint Oliver has been erected in recent years, both Jubilee churches.
Hope and perseverance are central to the Christian discipline. Martyrs like Saint Oliver will lead the way.
ENDS
