St Oliver drawn in 2025 by Fintan Treacy
The Quatercentenary of St Oliver's birth, 1st Nov 1625 at Loughcrew.
Plunkett Family Gathering
Friday 4th July 2025 at
Loughcrew House & Gardens,
Oldcastle,
Co Meath.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Plunkett Family Tree can be accessed and can be enlarged:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Handout for the family day can be accessed on:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Directions - Eircode A82 X4Y1
Loughcrew Estate & Coffee Shop is on the L2800 the road that is
between both the R154 and R195 roads that approach Oldcastle.
Click on Map
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Somewhere to stay
Millbrook House, 2km from Loughcrew House and Gardens
Contact Claire on 085-8786488
or via the link:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
§ As part of the St. Oliver 400 celebrations 2025, a Plunkett Family Gathering will take place at the birthplace of St. Oliver.
¨ The celebration will commence at 12 noon with a reception in the Garden Coffee Shop.
© A guided tour of the church area will be given including the location of St. Oliver's boyhood home along with an inter-church prayer service in the old church.
ª A light lunch will be provided in Loughcrew House.
· Followed by talks and introductions of those present, family tree discussion, afternoon coffee and entertainment.
ª Suggested donation €10 per person.
§ To assist with catering requirements, please email or phone your intention to attend to:
¨ saintoliverplunkett@gmail.com
or
¨ 086 2377256
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The medieval church adjoins the birthplace of St Oliver. During the 1650s there was a change in the landownership when the Plunketts of Loughcrew like many of the Catholic landowners were dispossessed. By this stage, Oliver was studying in Rome where he was ordained in 1654.
The Naper family then settled at Loughcrew. For the past number of years, Emily Naper has made Loughcrew Estate, House and Gardens what it is today. On this the 400th year since the birth of St Oliver, she has kindly agreed to facilitate our gathering on 4th of July.
For details on Loughcrew House and Gardens see:
Some present day relatives of St Oliver have been very supportive and will attend the Plunkett Gathering on 4th of July.
Details on some other events and items follow:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1. The Life and Times of St Oliver
A recording of a recent talk given by Tommy Burns at Dundalk on 10th April entitled: The Life and Times of St Oliver can be viewed on YouTube at:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2. Did a family member attend St Oliver's Canonization?
St Oliver's canonization took place in Rome on Sunday 12th October 1975.
Canonization Photograph 12th October 1975, Seoirse Plunkett greets Pope Paul VI, beside the Pope is Monsignor John Hanly, the lady behind the photographer may have been Giovanni Martiriggiano, the lady who was cured in 1958 at Milan Hospital, who attended the canonization in Rome.
(Photo is courtesy of Seoirse Plunkett)
Jimmy Bellew from Dundalk who was once stationed in Oldcastle, as a train driver, went to Rome along with his wife Theresa for the beatification of St Oliver
Let us know if family attended the canonization in 1975 or send us a photo
email: secretaryclahs@gmail.com
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3. Quatercentenary Article
A recent article for the quatercentenary on St Oliver and his local connections can be read at:
or the pdf can be downloaded from:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
4. St Oliver E-Booklet
The St Oliver E-Booklet can be downloaded from:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
5. St Oliver 400 Exhibtion
The St Oliver Exhibition takes place in Drogheda until 6th July 2025.
Open Monday - Friday 10am to 4pm at Fair Street, Drogheda, no booking needed.
Further information see:
Further information see:e seventeenth-century items displayed, please see:
Drogheda Life - The Launch on Monday 9th June
10 minute video on the history of the items displayed
The following link contains an article about the reliquary that contained St Oliver's head from 1682 to 1921. The reliquary is on loan to the exhibition from the Dominican Monastery of St Catherine of Siena, Drogheda.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
6. Artwork at Loughcrew
The artwork at Loughcrew is the work of Michael Dillon who has worked in Mount Juliet and other Irish Houses.
Michael grew up near Termonfeckin, Co Louth and is son of the late Michael Eric Dillon Viscount of Costello, Gallen, Co Mayo (d.1979) and Irene du Plessis (d. 2008). Michael's family would be related to St Oliver. Lucas Dillon the second Viscount was a second cousin of St Oliver. Michael while not descended from the second Viscount, is also related to St Oliver. Michael descends from Arthur Dillon who married Christina, daughter of Ralph Sheldon. His relatives Ralph, Edward and Elizabeth Sheldon were all signatories and witness to the 1682 testament that accompanies St Oliver's Head.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
7. Detail on other Events
The reader is referred to the St Oliver Website for details of the other events.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
8. Detailed Plunkett Family Tree
The tree can be accessed at the following and can be enlarged:
Or you can simply view it here.
A smaller tree
shows how St Oliver was related to the Killeen and Dunsany families.
Friday 4th July 2025.
No comments:
Post a Comment