St Peter's Church - Drogheda Co Louth Ireland
Posted by: 
Windsocker
N 53° 42.901 W 006° 21.145
29U E 674712 N 5955069
St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in West Street is world famous for housing the shrine of St Oliver Plunkett.
Waymark Code: WM32KG
Location: Leinster, Ireland
Date Posted: 01/30/2008
Views: 129
The first Church on the site was built in 1791 to a design by Francis Johnston and the present church incorporates part of that buiding and which was opened in 1884. The facade is an imposing structure in the Gothic style, built of local limestone.
St. Oliver Plunkett, was born at Loughcrew near Oldcastle , Co Meath and trained for the priesthood abroad , being ordained in 1654 and becoming Archbishop Of Armagh in 1669. He spent a lot of time in Drogheda and is credited with bringing the Jesuits to town and opening a number of schools .Because of the Penal Laws , Catholics were not allowed practice their religion openly but Plunkett managed to defy them for a period but later he had to go into hiding, travelling only in disguise. . He was arrested in Dublin in 1679 and found guilty of high treason and on 11th July 1681, and having spent some time in Newgate Prison he was taken to Tyburn ( now Marble Arch) and hanged , drawn and quartered . He was declared a saint by Pope Paul VI in 1973. His preserved head forms the cenrtre piece of the shrine in St Peters Church.
Many schools,churches and other building in Ireland and overseas are dedicated to the Saint.
Type of Church: Church
Status of Building: Actively in use for worship
Date of building construction: 06/06/1791
Dominant Architectural Style: French Gothic
Associated Shrines, Art, etc.: St. Oliver Plunkett
Archdiocese: Archdiocese of Armagh
Diocese: Meath
Address/Location:
West street
Drogheda, Co Louth Ireland
n/a
Relvant Web Site: [Web Link]
Date of organization: Not listed
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