
St Peter's Church may be elevated to a basilica
Visitors from all over the globe regularly call into the distinguished church to see the head and shrine of St Oliver Plunkett.
Now the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, and Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin wants to see the historic building elevated to a Basilica
This is a special honour that can only be bestowed upon a famous church by a ruling Pope.
But the Archbishop seems very hopeful and confident it can happen if the people of St Peter's Parish and his fellow Irish Bishops get behind the move.
He also believes making St Peter's a Basilica will transform it into a church for the international community.
In an interview with Ken Murray on LMFM he said; "In Knock we have the Basilica of Our Lady of Knock which is also an international Marian and Eucharistic Shrine. It's more than simply a parish church or a parish place.
"So I would want to be sure in my heart that this is what the people in the parish would like.. And if so, we can always apply for it to Rome, to the Holy See and I would certainly support that. I would imagine we would also have the support from the various Bishops of Ireland.
"In many ways to do such a thing would be to mark a church which is very dear to the people of Ireland and especially to the people in our Archdiocese and in Louth.
"I think it is something that we could apply for. One of the things we would need would be for the people of the parish to be clear that that is what they would like.
'I suppose in some ways there is something beautiful about St Peter's Church is that its also a parish church. It's very much an alive parish congregation who are there.
ADVERTISEMENT
"A Basilica will bring demands on a place to be open very much nationally and internationally but that's something that certainly you know.
"I've spoken to the Parish Priest about this and it is certainly something I would support."
All year round buses pull up with tourists at St Peter's so they can see the church and St Oliver.
The town around the country and globally is known as much for St Oliver's relic as much as the Battle of the Boyne.
The move to a Basilica would give a much needed boost to the town centre which has been struggling to retain footfall lately.
St Peter RC Church was designed by John O'Neill and William Henry Byrne,built in a French Gothic Style of local limestone ashlar and opened its doors in 1884.
It is renowned for its tall west gable rose window. The church is 222 feet high.
St Oliver Plunkett was hung, drawn and quartered in Tyburn, London in 1681.
His national shrine in St Peter's contains his preserved head, his shoulder blade and other bones as relics along with the cell door of Newgate Prison where he was detained before his execution for his faith.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Thank god Eavan Boland came up!' – Kerry students and teachers give thumbs up to Leaving Cert
A week into the Leaving Cert exams and it's a case of so far so good for both students and teachers as they finished up the last of the three core subjects – English, Maths and Irish – this week and the long awaited finish line finally began to come into view.


Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
‘Thank god Eavan Boland came up!' – Kerry students and teachers give thumbs up to Leaving Cert
A week into the Leaving Cert exams and it's a case of so far so good for both students and teachers as they finished up the last of the three core subjects – English, Maths and Irish – this week and the long awaited finish line finally began to come into view. So far, there seems to have no major controversies surrounding this year's Leaving Cert exams while on the Junior Cycle side, the only issue seems to have been in the higher-level English exam where a question about short stories has been criticised by both students and teachers alike.


Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Families offered €2k to send kids to class to keep teacher at Gaeltacht school
A school is offering €2,000 to attract pupils to stop the Government taking one of its teachers due to falling student numbers. The €2,000 is provided as a bursary, which is a non-repayable financial aid for attending school, to bolster the number of pupils on the register. Without new students, Scoil Naomh Pádraig in the beautiful Galway gaeltacht will lose one of its two teachers in September. Its acting principal claimed the €2,000, which is to be paid in two instalments over two years, is needed as securing a second teacher is "critically important". Linda Ní Dhroighneáin said: "It isn't just a luxury; it's a necessity for delivering equitable, effective and sustainable education. It strengthens academic outcomes, supports teacher wellbeing and fosters a more inclusive and dynamic learning environment." The Irish language school near Corrib Lough in Connemara is set to lose a teacher because three of its seven pupils are leaving this month. Scoil Naomh Pádraig was established in the 1890s, was expanded in 1965, and has been attended by generations of children, including local dad Paddy Curran. Parent and committee member Paddy explained that the school needs 11 pupils to retain the second teacher so seven more enrolments are needed by September. As part of this, the parents' committee helped to raise €14,000 for the €2,000 bursaries for seven families who send their children to the school. Paddy, who attended the school in 1989 when there were 36 pupils, said: "There is loads of interest in this. We had a similar initiative in 2022. We're very confident that this is going to work. "The irony now is that there are lots of babies and toddlers in the area. There are about 14 who will start in the school in the next few years. So what is the point in losing a teacher?" He added: "During Covid, and even afterwards, families moved back here, which definitely was very positive for the school and community." He claimed that if the school loses a teacher for the coming year, the Department of Education will have to find a new one in a few years' time. The Irish Mirror asked the department for a response. Ireland has 1,271 schools with four teachers or less and these account for 39 per cent of all primary schools in the country but educate just under 13 per cent of all students. There are nine schools with just one teacher, there are 490 schools with two teachers, 363 with three and 409 with four.