As we drove into the town of Drogheda we heard the bells ringing and saw people going into the cathedral. I was just able to park and we walked in as the service was beginning. It turned out we were in St. Peter’s Roman Catholic’s Church. Laura said how much she felt as she had as a child when she went every Sunday to mass with her mother
Everything about this service was right. The priest was moving in his timely sermon commenting on the recent Tunisia terrorist attack but bringing his message home to the individual soul and our relationship with God. The music was inspiring. The interior of the church was simply beautiful.
Outside we found the statue of Saint Oliver Plunkett. Born in Loughcrew, County Meath, 1629, after study and service in Rome, he was appointed the Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland. He was known even by his enemies as a man of peace. He was falsely charged with treason in a time of religious persecution. He was taken to London and executed in what could best be described as a rigged monkey court, the last victim of the Popish Plot. He prayed for forgiveness of those responsible for his death, 1681. He was beatified in 1920 and canonized in 1975. He was the first new Irish saint for almost 700 years. The severed head of Plunkett rests in St. Peters.
After our time of prayer and communion we went for coffee and breakfast sandwiches across the street at a sweet little cafe. We then drove around this really quaint little town stopping to take pictures of the many sites, like the St. Lawrence Gate and the Magdalene Tower. The earliest monument is the motte-and-bailey castle, now know as the Millmount Fort. Richard the Lionheart gave the town it's charter.
The River Boyne runs through the town. The famous Protestant/Catholic Battle of the Boyne was our next stop. We also would go on to see the Cross of Muiredeach, at nearby Monasterboice.
I liked Laura’s picture of me under a hunting store sign. Apparently rabbit hunting is a popular hunting past time.
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