Bernard Smith, 2025

Archbishop Oliver Plunkett continued his work throughout the diocese of Armagh and surrounding dioceses till the middle of October 1679. When he heard that his cousin Dr Patrick Plunkett, Bishop of Meath was dying. He travelled to Dublin to be with his relative and benefactor but fully aware of the risk of being captured. On 21 October, the English Privy Council instructed the Viceroy, Ormond to arrest the archbishop. Ormond the gave the job of tracking him down to Hans Hamilton-Privy Councillor of Carlingford. He found out where Oliver was through the innocent indiscretion of one of the priests in the diocese and passed the information on to Ormond.

On the 6th of December Oliver was arrested by the militia and imprisoned in Dublin Castle. At that time prisoners had to provide their own food, clothing, and pay rent for their cell at a cost of one pound per week. James McKenna, Oliver’s helper since his arrival in Ireland became a voluntary inmate of the prison and with the help of the archbishop’s relatives and friends supported him during the six weeks of his solitary confinement.

In London Lord Shaftsbury, through the Privy Council, pressed Ormond to bring the archbishop to trial. Ormond agreed to have him brought to trial in Dundalk. Shafterbury’s ‘witnesses for the prosecution wer ex Franciscan Friar  John MacMoyer and Edmund Murphy a former parish priest, both of whom Plunkett had suspended. James Mc Kenna assembled a large number of witnesses for the defence, who could easily discredit the evidence of Mc Moyer and Murphy. Neither of  the two appeared in court as they were wanted for criminal offences in Dundalk.

 According to the laws an accused would have to present himself at three consecutive criminal sessions, before he could be acquitted.  The next session was not to be held until March 1681. On legal advice Oliver was preparing a petition to have the trial transferred to Dublin and held before the Dundalk jury. However Mac Moyer and Murphy advised Shaftsbury to get the trial transferred to London because “No Irish jury would believe their story” Ormond objected to this because “It was against the law that anyone for an offence committed in Ireland should be tried in England” The obliging  English Privy Council provided Shaftsbury with a precedent, and Mac Moyer’s petition was granted.

Oliver was transferred to Newgate Prison in London. This was a cold, damp dirty rat infested prison with no sanitation. Prisoners had to wear heavy shackles on their legs, and epidemics of typhus occurred regularly.

The archbishop’s funds to support himself had run out at this stage, and he petitioned the Council to be maintained at the expense of the State. This meant that the keeper would receive ten shillings per week towards his maintenance. He also petitioned that his faithful all-round helper James McKenna be allowed to be with him, but this was rejected. He took some comfort from the fact that he was near at hand looking after his interests.

On further petitions being made, Oliver was allowed “as much freedom of the prison as the keeper thought fit “ and to receive such persons as “shall be necessary for his trial.” However, McKenna was not considered as such a person. A bill accusing the Primate of high treason was presented to the  Westminster Grand Jury in February 1681, but the witnesses for the prosecution contradicted each other to such an extent that the Protestant jury threw it out. The witnesses were drilled and coached further and an acceptable bill was found against Oliver at the end of April.

On the 3rd of May he was called before the Court of the Kings Bench in Westminster Hall. The customary long indictment was read, accusing him of high treason, planning the King’s death, to start a war in Ireland, to impose the Catholic religion on the country, and to introduce a foreign power.

Oliver questioned the jurisdiction of the court to try him on a charge for which he had already been tried, in Dundalk. The judges ruled that they had jurisdiction since he had not been tried, but only arraigned in Dundalk.

After pleading not guilty to the charge, Oliver asked that the trial be postponed till the September term, so that he would have time to bring witnesses and documents for his defence from Ireland. The judges would allow only five weeks, fixing the 8th of June as the trial date.                                              

 McKenna now had to go to Ireland and bring back to London the witnesses and documents that would discredit the informers and their evidence. He particularly required attested copies of the convictions of Mac Moyer and Murphy for criminal offences. John Plunkett, a relative of Oliver, would accompany him, to assist in the raising of money to cover the expenses of bringing witnesses to London.

They were held up for ten days at Holyhead due to bad weather. Through the collusion of the two Privy Councils (Dublin and London) the documents could not be procured. Only five witnesses could be persuaded to come to London to give evidence. They refused to travel until passes of safe conduct to London and back were obtained. The granting of these passes was deliberately delayed until the 6th of June, when the witnesses could not possibly be on time for the trial.

 Without any witnesses or documents, all Oliver could do was to insist in the Court that there was not one word of truth in what the witnesses alleged, that he would have been ready to stand trial in Ireland before any jury, without witnesses because everyone in Ireland would see the whole story as a ridiculous fabrication.                                                                                                                                            

The prisoner was accused of high treason, of planning war, of subverting the government of Ireland, of plotting the death of the King, of destroying Protestantism and introducing Popery, and to accomplish the above the defendant planned to raise great sums of money in the Kingdom of Ireland.

Sir Francis Pemberton: Lord Chief Justice. presided over the trial, withtwo other judges. In those days a defendant was not told the charges against him till the day of the trial, he was not told who the witnesses were, or the nature of the evidence against him, neither was he allowed counsel for the defence.

Once the jury was sworn in Oliver pleaded not guilty. The nine witnesses who would give evidence for the Crown were called. They consisted of a suspended priest, three suspended Franciscan Friars and a number of others who had been induced to give evidence in return for favours..

The clerk of the court called out: “Oliver Plunkett, hold up thy hand”. The prisoner stood with his hand upright during the reading of the long indictment. Those present saw in the dock a man of light build and medium height, his stooped shoulders covered with long white straggling locks, his white beard intensified the grey pallor of his sunken cheeks and emaciated face. He appeared a very old man yet he was only fifty-five.

Oliver again questioned the jurisdiction of the court. He complained he had insufficient time to bring witnesses, and protested at the withholding of documents so important for his defence. He pleaded for more time saying:  “I beseech your Lordship that I may have time to bring my records and witnesses and then I will defy all that is on the earth and under the earth to say anything against me”. His appeal fell on deaf ears. The three judges from the start acted as prosecutors, and were hostile, rude and insolent to the accused, their bias against the accused was obvious. They favoured the Crown witnesses and distorted answers to the prisoners disadvantage. When Oliver asked John Mac Moyer if he had he been convicted for dealing with the Tories and supplying them with arms and ammunition, Pemberton the Chief Justice jumped to the defence of the witness saying ” He is not bound to answer such a question. Look you Mr Plunkett don’t misspend your own time, for the more you trifle with these things the less time you will have for your defence”

When Edmund Murphy, touched by remorse was reluctant to give the evidence the judges wanted, he was arrested and brought to Newgate on contempt of court. Worst of all the  Attorney-General gave to the court “evidence” which he said  “Murphy should have given.” When two other witnesses gave damaging evidence of their having been bribed, they were chased out of the witness box.

  The Jury

Two of the jury, including foreman Sir John Roberts had been members of the jury that had sent five Jesuits to their deaths at Tyburn three years earlier. The Archbishop raised this matter before they were sworn in, only to have it brushed aside by Chief Justice Pemberton.

Pemberton’s summing up was an outrageous performance, he kept harping on about the motives of all that Oliver was accused off – the setting up of the Popish religion, saying to the jury “It is pretty strong evidence, if you believe it you must find him guilty” All authorities are agreed that in the Popish Plot trials, the English legal practice had reached the lowest of the low. The trial of Oliver Plunkett was the most blatantly unjust of the lot.   By the custom of the time a week elapsed between the trial ending and the passing of the sentence. The penalty for high treason was death, and this was the penalty that Oliver faced, unless he was granted a reprieve.   

King Charles II had the power to grant it, but he never had the courage to grant it for any of the Popish Plot victims, though he was fully aware of their innocence. There was little chance that he would intervene now, even though he was being subjected to unusual pressure.

The outcome of the Archbishops trial caused horror across Europe. The French ambassador reported that Charles had said, that he was more sorry than he could possibly express, to see an innocent man condemned, but he was afraid to grant a reprieve in the circumstances of the time.

The Earl of Essex the former Irish Viceroy went to Charles to assure him of Oliver’s innocence and ask for a pardon. The King lost his temper saying” Why did you not attest this at his trial?  It would have done him some good then, I dare not pardon anyone, his blood is upon your head, not mine.”

There was only one other way that Oliver could escape the gallows and that was to confess to being guilty. Shaftsbury himself had gone to Newgate to offer him his life and fortune in exchange for a confession (to implicate other people) but the offer was rejected by Oliver. It was in no spirit of benevolence that Shaftsbury had made the offer. For many thoughtful people in England and abroad, the Plunkett trial had been the last straw. The sordid and cynical farce had convinced them of the Archbishops innocence, and that of all the other victims of the Popish Plot. Oliver was brought before the Court of the Kings bench on the 15th of June to receive the sentence.

Justice Pemberton addressed Oliver Plunkett as follows:       

 “Look you Mr Plunkett, you have been here indicted of a very great and heinous crime, the greatest and most heinous of all crime’s, and that is high treason, and truly yours is treason of the highest nature, it is a treason in truth against God and your king, and the country where you lived.

You have done as much as you could do to dishonour our God in this case, in setting up your false religion, a religion that is ten times worse than all the heathenish superstitions, the most dishonourable and derogatory to God, and his glory of all religions, or pretended religions whatsoever, for it undertakes to dispense with God’s laws and pardon the breach of them”.

Archbishop Plunkett’s reply.

“May it please your lordship to give me leave to speak one word. If I were a man that had no care of my conscience in this matter, and  did not think of God Almighty, or conscience, or heaven or hell I might have saved my life, for I was offered it by people here, so I would but confess my own guilt and accuse others. But my Lord  I would rather die ten thousand deaths than wrongfully take one farthing of any man’s goods, one day of his liberty, or one minute of his life”                                                                       

Lord Chief Justice Pemberton then read out the terrible death that Oliver Plunkett was to endure at Tyburn.

During the last few days, Oliver had the company of James McKenna, who, besides attending to him also carried letters between him and fellow prisoner Father Corker, In one of his letters, Oliver refers to James McKenna as ”my most faithful servant who served me these past eleven years”.

These letters from Oliver to Father Corker tell a lot about how he felt in his final days.    Oliver had more freedom, he had the comfort of having James McKenna with him all of the time and he also had visitors from many of the Catholics of London. Writing to Michael Plunkett  he wrote “ The English Catholics here were most charitable to me”

 Father Corker met Oliver face to face only once. Fr Corker later wrote” I clearly perceived the spirit of God in him, and those lovely fruits of the Holy Ghost: charity, joy, peace, patience, transparent in his soul”.

Fr Corker used a bit of influence with the gaoler to allow Oliver celebrate Mass in his cell each day during the last week, with McKenna serving. Later, the gaoler allowed Fr Corker an unofficial visit to Oliver’s cell for a short while, where they heard each other’s confessions, gave and received absolution, and promised each other the support of their prayers.

Oliver spent his last days praying and fasting. A great peacefulness came over him and writing to Michael Plunkett he said “ I have considered that Christ by His fears and passion, has merited me to be without fear” To Fr Corker he writes” I desire that you would be pleased to tell all my benefactors, that for all eternity I will be mindful  of them, and pray for them till they come to where I hope to come soon, and then I will thank them in the presence of our Supreme Lord”

Oliver Plunkett was the last victim to suffer death because of the Popish Plot. If he had been given the extra few days that he had requested, it is almost certain that he would have escaped death. The tide was turning against his accusers even as he mounted the gallows. On the very next day Shaftsbury was imprisoned in the Tower of London, Essex was arrested  In 1685 Titus Oates the originator of the Popish Plot was imprisoned for perjury.

References:

The life of Blessed Oliver Plunkett  by R Rev John F  Stokes.

The life of Saint Oliver Plunkett by Cardinal Thomas O’Fiaich and  Fr Des Forrestal.

The trial of Oliver Plunkett by  Alice Curtayne.

Letters of Saint Oliver Plunkett  edited by Monsignor John Hanly.