The Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 prompted a rush to express the piety of the people in stone. Many fine churches were erected throughout Ireland and soon St. Peter's began to look old fashioned and excessively modest for so important a parish. A series of improvements was undertaken, most notably in 1864 when the architect J.J. McCarthy (who recently completed St. Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh) was employed to remodel the church, adding a chancel, side chapels and the (surviving) sacristy building.

When Robert Murphy was appointed Archdeacon and Parish Priest of St. Peter's in 1879 her brought with him to Drogheda, a great deal of energy and deep devotion to the Martyr-Primate, Dr. Oliver Plunkett. For all the money and effort expended on the old church, it was clear that no amount of modification would achieve the desired effect. Monsignor Murphy conceived a plan that would have the dual benefit of providing St. Peter's Parish with a fitting church, while also creating a distinguished memorial to Archbishop Plunkett. Although this was an enormously ambitious project, Monsignor Murphy with the support of his parishioners set about it with enthusiasm.

 A public competition to design the new church attracted 25 entries, which were judged by the eminent architect George Ashlin. The chosen plan was that submitted by John O'Neill and William Byrne of Dublin. This subsequently adopted by Mgr. Murphy's committee. The foundation stone was laid with great pomp and ceremony on 10^th June 1881, the bi-centenary of the death of Oliver Plunkett.

The work was executed in two principal phases. The first phase, commenced in1884, involved the addition of the tower, porch, baptistery and two bays to the existing nave. The second phase which was begun in 1891 involved the removal of all of the old building and the addition of crossing, transepts and sanctuary. The builder who had contracted to carry out the work, John O'Hare of Newry, failed at an early stage in the work to fulfil his contract. Monsignor Murphy took over personal supervision of the work assisted by a Mr. Gibney, who acted as clerk of works.

Monsignor Robert Murphy(seen below) died on 25^th July 1900 aged 66. In addition to the fine church which he had built he had also established a new cemetery for the Parish. His church was by any standards a remarkable achievement. It's fine proportions and the elegant use of 13^th Century French Gothic style make it widely regarded as the piece de resistance of the O'Neill and Byrne partnership and one of the finest churches in Ireland. The church incorporated several relics of it's predecessor including the pulpit, the rose window (seen above) in the south transept which had been behind the old High Altar and the so called 'Salamanca Bell', a gift of the first Duke of Wellington. The holy water stoup in the porch is even older. It is a finely carved medieval baptismal font thought to be from the chapel of ease, which was located at that time at Killineer.

The next Pastor of St. Peter's, Mgr. Patrick Seagrave (seen below), was appointed on 8^th October 1900. The task of decorating the church fell to him. He appears to have been well suited to this duty - a man of exquisite taste. The painting of the church was executed in keeping with it's architectural style by the firm of Downes Brothers of Peter Street. The artwork was by Gustavius Linthout and Son, of Bruges, Belgium. It's most notable features were the sanctuary ceiling, the twelve apostles in the apse, the three large canvases depicting the Ascension, the Baptism of Christ and the Annunciation, and the large angels in the spandrels of the nave arcade. The decoration was nearing it's completion, when on 4^th August 1914 Germany invaded Belgium. The Belgian artists were called up as reservists. To this day a small section of wall behind the High Altar remains unpainted.

On the whole, St. Peter's survived the post Vatican II era relatively unscathed. Such changes as were required to accommodate the new liturgy were carried out with exceptional sympathy for the building's integrity. The one major blow came in 1964 when the church was painted throughout in plain colours. The painted ceiling was covered with acoustic tiles and sections of carved stonework were sheathed over. While this was in keeping with the fashion of the time it was nonetheless a violent assault on the aesthetic beauty of the building.

Over 30 years passed and the original decorative scheme of the church became a faint memory. By 1996, the church was in need of redecoration. It was obvious that the existing colour scheme could be greatly improved upon but it did not at first seem feasible to restore the original decoration. Research involving the examination of old photographs as well as the removal of several layers of paint from sections of the walls established quite a clear picture of what the sanctuary had been like. The sections of the wall showed rich patterns of stencilled decoration. It was possible to uncover enough to establish the complete pattern, and the colour scheme of five of the original nine patterns.

As a first tentative step, it was decided to proceed with the painted curtain behind the High Altar. The success of this trial showed the way for the rest of the project. With new stencils based on patterns which had been uncovered at the research stage and using the colours matched to the originals, the lower sections of the walls at the two side altars inside the sanctuary - the Immaculate Conception and Poor Souls Altars - were completely restored. The same was done with the other two altars outside the sanctuary. Originally the upper register of each of these walls was decorated with a different pattern, which has now been restored to cover the entire wall. One of these Altars is that next to the recently renovated Reliquary of St. Oliver Plunkett (seen below). Oliver was born in Loughcrew, Co. Meath on 1^st November 1625. He was consecrated Archbishop of Armagh in Ghent, Belgium on 1^st December 1669. After his arrest in Dublin on 6^th December 1679, he was martyred at Tyburn, London on July 1^st 1681. He was beatified on May 23^rd 1920, and Canonised 12^th October 1975. His feast day is celebrated on 1^st July.

To finish the detail of the Church; The ceiling of the nave had originally been plain. This was now redecorated using a Gothic design contemporary with the church building. Perhaps the crowning glory of the 1996 restoration is the ceiling in the sanctuary. This fine piece of work by Linthout, incorporating portraits of twenty-two saints had been covered over with acoustic tiles in 1964. No-one knew what condition the ceiling might be in underneath. It was a great boon to discover that the painted wooden ceiling, unseen in over 30 years was in extremely good condition. When the tiles were all removed, only cleaning, and repainting of the background was required. The restoration of St. Peter's Church was carried out under the supervision of Monsignor Archdeacon Francis Donnelly, PP, St. Peter's, at a cost of £140,000. Restored as it now is to it's former glory, St. Peter's Church is well worth a visit.

At the last census, the Statistics for the parish were;

The Most Rev. Sean Brady, DCL

The Most Rev. Gerard Clifford, DD (Auxiliary Bishop)

Tel:(041) 9838537 Fax: (041) 9838537

St. Peter's Presbytery, Fair Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth

The Presbytery, Hardman's Gardens, Drogheda, Co. Louth

Tel: (041) 9831899

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