So You Want Freakish?

Wally made a comment that I was "like our very own history channel...but slightly more freakish." So I thought I would present you with freakish. A few weeks ago when I was touring around County Meath, I stopped at St. Peter's Cathedral in Drogheda. Why did I do this? Please see the accompanying picture.

That is the 300 year-old decapitated head of St. Oliver Plunkett. Where else are you going to see a shrine to a saint that includes his/her actual head? So I took a knee, said a prayer for Kiowa (who we put down the day before), bought the all-inclusive book on St. Oliver Plunkett, made the sign of the cross, then left. There weren't any signs keeping me from taking pictures, but I didn't feel comfortable doing it, so this picture is from the Archdiocese of Armagh website.

So who exactly is St. Oliver Plunkett? No he didn't play quarterback for the Oakland Raiders (that would be Jim Plunkett) St. Oliver was, in fact, the Archbishop of Armagh who went into hiding in 1673 due to religious persecution of Catholicism.

St. Oliver was eventually captured. Local courts failed to prosecute him of any crimes, so he was sent to London where perjured witnesses could be brought to testify against him. He wasn't given time to sail his witnesses from Ireland over to London and was thus convicted of treason. He maintained his innocence and refused to save his own life by perjuring himself against other priests.

He was hung, drawn and quartered (think of William Wallace's death sentence from Braveheart) on July 1, 1681. He was canonized as a Saint in 1975.

So though this shrine may seem freakish, it puts into perspective the freedoms that most of us enjoy. Thank the good Lord, or whatever deity you choose to believe in that you have the freedom to practice (or not practice) your religion of choice. Things were different in times past, in fact, they're different in times present in some countries.