Devotion to St. Martin in Ireland has its origin in Holy Cross Dominican Church in Tralee in the early 1940s where it was begun by Fr. Stephen Glendon OP.
Fr. Glendon, Prior of Holy Cross 1941 - 1947, returned from preaching in the United States with an inspiration to spread devotion to Blessed Martin.
It was in Tralee that the first image of Blessed Martin was publicly venerated and where, to this day, his painting still hangs at the entrance to St. Anne’s Chapel.
Fr. Glendon moved to Cork and another shrine was built due to the increase in devotion and interest in the Dominican Blessed.
In 1947 the Dominican Provincial, Fr. Geelan OP formally established the Blessed Martin Apostolate and decided that its headquarters should be homed at the principal church of the Order in Ireland, St. Saviour’s in Dominick Street, Dublin 1.
The Apostolate was placed under the spiritual directorship of Fr. Louis Coffey OP. His zeal and devotion to Blessed Martin was outstanding, and his chief aim was to promote devotion to Blessed Martin and to obtain prayers for his canonisation. Later the Apostolate would develop into the central office for fundraising for the Irish Dominican Missions, and the publication of the Blessed Martin Magazine in 1952.
Fr. Coffey’s work came to fruition with the Canonisation of St. Martin in Rome by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1962. While far from retiring, in 1964 Fr. Coffey began fundraising for a National Shrine for the new saint and this was opened in St. Saviour’s Church in 1966.
In 2024 with the 800th Anniversary of the arrival of the Dominican Friars in Dublin, it was decided to renovate the 58-year-old National Shrine in St. Saviour’s.
Thank you to St Martin Apostolate & The Moving Crib for providing the above information.