This limestone bust of the Venerable Oliver Plunkett (1625–1681), Archbishop of Armagh and the last Catholic martyr to die for the faith in England, was carved by Albert Power in 1921 for St Peter’s Church, Drogheda, Co. Louth — the church which has held Plunkett’s preserved head as a relic since the early eighteenth century.
This is Power’s earliest known treatment of the Plunkett subject, predating by over two decades the second bust he made in 1942, which concentrated specifically on the moment of the saint’s martyrdom — head severed, eyes closed, expression of peace. Where the later work is a dramatic, narrative treatment of Plunkett’s execution, this 1921 limestone bust is a more conventional devotional portrait, weathered now by a century of exposure on the church grounds.
Plunkett was canonised in 1975, more than three decades after Power’s death — meaning Power’s two busts were both made while Plunkett held only the status of “Venerable,” the stage before beatification and canonisation in the Catholic Church’s process. The Drogheda shrine remains one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites in Ireland.