Monthly Mass in Honour of St Oliver Plunkett, Drogheda

What to Expect

The Archdiocese of Armagh states that a Mass in honour of St Oliver Plunkett is held in St Peter’s Church on the last Friday of each month at 7:30pm. It takes place in the church that holds the national shrine to the saint, so this is the monthly gathering of the people who come to Drogheda specifically for him rather than a general parish devotion. The next one falls on Friday 28 August 2026.

Oliver Plunkett was born at Loughcrew in Co. Meath in 1625, became Archbishop of Armagh in 1669, and was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn in London on 1 July 1681 on fabricated charges during the Popish Plot. He was the last Catholic martyr to die in England. His head was rescued from the fire that followed the execution and now sits in a purpose-built reliquary at St Peter’s, designed by the architect Jeffrey Johnson. The rest of his remains are at Downside Abbey in England. He was canonised in 1975, the first new Irish saint in almost seven hundred years. The shrine also holds the door of his cell at Newgate Prison. The church itself is one of the better French Gothic Revival buildings in Ireland, completed in 1884, and the shrine chapel is open to visitors outside service times. The saint’s feast day is 1 July, marked each year with a procession of the relic from Our Lady of Lourdes Church at Hardman’s Gardens to St Peter’s on West Street.

Good to Know

• Last Friday of every month at 7:30pm; next occurrence Friday 28 August 2026
• Venue: St Peter’s Church, West Street, Drogheda, home of the National Shrine of St Oliver Plunkett
• Free, no booking required
• The shrine and reliquary can be visited at other times when the church is open
• Eucharistic Adoration runs at the church on weekday afternoons, and the parish streams its Masses by webcam
• Confirm the time with the parish office on 041 983 8537 if you are travelling a distance
• The annual feast day is 1 July, with a relic procession from Our Lady of Lourdes Church

Getting There

St Peter’s is on West Street in the middle of Drogheda. The bus station on Donore Road is a few minutes’ walk, and Drogheda MacBride station on the Dublin to Belfast line is about fifteen minutes on foot. From the M1, take the Drogheda exits and follow the town centre signs. Scotch Hall car park and the surface car parks around Laurence Street are the easiest options for an evening Mass, when on-street metering has usually ended.