Author and Drogheda born priest of the Archdiocese of Armagh, Father Paul Clayton-Lea, had some glowing words of praise for the contributors to a new book about Saint Oliver Plunkett which he launched at Wednesday’s celebrations of the 400^th Anniversary of the saint’s birth.

“I want to thank the St Oliver400 committee for inviting me to launch their important new publication today commemorating the 400^th anniversary of St. Oliver’s birth” Fr. Clayton Lea said.

“Having been baptized in this church and had recourse to visiting the shrine at different times on matters great and small over the past 70 years brings a very personal dimension to this occasion.

“Someone once said that what’s written without effort is read without interest. If that’s true then this extraordinarily rich, book of essays, photographs and memorabilia including the saint’s family tree, in honour of St. Oliver is a very interesting and indeed unique collection because so much effort has gone into its preparation.

With its lavish illustration sand photographs it’s not so much a book as a tapestry because as well as retelling St. Oliver’s story it weaves together a host of people and sources whose lives and imaginations St. Oliver  has touched and continues to impact, even after four centuries.

Many of the book's contributors come from this locality which is fitting as Drogheda was such a vital part of St. Oliver’s plan for education and reform to revitalize the church of his time.

In his early reports to Rome as Archbishop, Oliver described Drogheda as ‘the second city in the kingdom’ and many of his important letters were written from here. One of those letters also reveals something of his ready wit and sense of humour.  When he was writing to Rome as he frequently did, looking for funds to train and educate priests and people he was already paying out of his own resources - to the extent he said that he had even bought the frying pan for the house the Jesuits lived in. 

He wrote of the need for this educational investment saying; “He who sows thistles will have difficulty in harvesting melons.”  Of course his reforms of the clergy and religious houses also brought him trouble but again in his witty, humorous way writing to Rome he described the situation that he found in some religious houses painting a comical picture saying comically; ‘ Certain friars do nothing in the convent all day but scratch their tummies.’  I’m sure that he’s happy to know that his clergy today have very little time to scratch anything!

Many people in Drogheda, some of whose faces we also see in this book, have their own warm memories of the community celebrations of St Oliver down the years; the countless number of visitors to his shrine who have and continue to bring colour and vibrancy to the streets and also have helped the local economy.

“There have been the great processions and of course that unforgettable occasion when the relic of St Oliver was brought to Killineer over 40 years ago where Pope St John Paul 2 in the presence of this relic prayed for peace and justice in the company of almost a quarter of a million people many of whom came from the north and who were suffering intensely at the time.  

"All of us praying on that day that through St. Oliver’s intercession as one who had painfully worked for peace in his time, that hatred and bitterness would be banished from Irish hearts. And that miracle of peace and justice, however imperfect did come to pass thanks to those prayers and to the tireless efforts of so many people on earth and in heaven.

Pope John Paul said on that day “ Let history record that at a difficult moment in the experience of the people of Ireland the bishop of Rome set foot in your land, that he was with you.” We celebrate today the fact that then and now for 400 years St Oliver has always stood with us. 

I congratulate Tomas and all who have laboured to produce this commemorative publication. I have no doubt that this engaging book and its expert contributors will enlighten and indeed inspire many readers to reflect upon and explore even more deeply the life and remarkable legacy of St. Oliver who is held in such affection still by so many people hundreds of years after his death- and especially those people like myself who have been born in Drogheda and have grown up with the saint and his relics and the shrine which we are so blessed to have on our doorstep. 

The book can be bought in the St Peter's Church Shop and the Augustinian Shop.