Editing Drogheda (section)

===20th century===
[[File:St Oliver Plunkett's head 2007-10-5.jpg|thumb|St Oliver Plunkett's Head]]
In 1921, the preserved severed head of [[Oliver Plunkett|Saint Oliver Plunkett]], who was executed in London in 1681, was put on display in [[St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Drogheda|St. Peter's (Catholic) Church]], where it remains today. The church is located on West Street, which is the main street in the town.

In 1979, [[Pope John Paul II]] visited Drogheda as part of his [[Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland|five-stop tour of Ireland]]. He arrived less than a month after the IRA assassination of [[Lord Mountbatten]], [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]]'s cousin, in [[Mullaghmore, County Sligo|Mullaghmore]]. On 29 September 1979, he arrived in Dublin, where he gave his first mass. He then addressed 300,000 people in Drogheda, where he appealed "on his knees" to paramilitaries to end the [[The Troubles|violence in Ireland]]:<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 September 2016 |title=Remembering Pope John Paul II's 1979 visit to Ireland (PHOTOS) |language=en |work=IrishCentral.com |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/remembering-pope-john-paul-ii-1979-visit-to-ireland-62563642-237662091 |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-date=2 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402163609/http://www.irishcentral.com/news/remembering-pope-john-paul-ii-1979-visit-to-ireland-62563642-237662091 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Doherty |first=Christine |date=6 January 2010 |title=Drogheda was safe place for Pope to visit |language=en |work=The Independent |url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/drogheda-was-safe-place-for-pope-to-visit-27141584.html |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-date=16 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116053459/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/drogheda-was-safe-place-for-pope-to-visit-27141584.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McGarry |first=Patsy |date=29 November 2016 |title=Pope's visit to Ireland will not draw the 1979 crowds of 2.7m |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/pope-s-visit-to-ireland-will-not-draw-the-1979-crowds-of-2-7m-1.2885724 |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130155950/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/pope-s-visit-to-ireland-will-not-draw-the-1979-crowds-of-2-7m-1.2885724 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<blockquote>"Now I wish to speak to all men and women engaged in violence. I appeal to you, in language of passionate pleading. On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace. You may claim to seek justice. I too believe in justice and seek justice. But violence only delays the day of justice. Violence destroys the work of justice. Further violence in Ireland will only drag down to ruin the land you claim to love and the values you claim to cherish."<ref>{{Cite news |title=29 September 1979: Mass in Drogheda – Dublin {{!}} John Paul II |work=Libreria Editrice Vaticana |publisher=Vatican |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1979/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19790929_irlanda-dublino-drogheda.html |access-date=17 June 2017 |archive-date=9 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209141246/https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1979/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19790929_irlanda-dublino-drogheda.html |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>