You may have heard it ringing in the past week. If you thought you did, then you weren’t imagining things. The Bell rings once more, calling us to pray. The Bell rings at midday and 6pm, inviting us to a moment of prayer at the Angelus times. It will be rung before Masses, to invite you to Church, and to invite those who aren’t joining us physically to unite in spirit with the congregation
For centuries, church bells have played a prominent role in the history of countries, communities, and places of worship throughout the world. Historically, church bells have served as timekeepers, used to mark the hour for work, prayer, and community gatherings.
Our bell was cast by Grahams of Waterford in 1837 – that is stamped on the bell. Our current Parish Church was opened only in 1867, so the bell connects us to the people who prayed in the earlier parish Church, on the site of the old St. Mary’s Cemetery. The only remaining feature of that Church is the Belfry, which houses the bell. Rung manually for over a century, literature in our sacristy indicates that in 1986 a Dublin firm called Quastor installed an automatic bell unit, inserting an electro-magnetic hammer to strike the bell. That striker unit was not working, so for several years we had no bell ringing.
Michael Lennon kindly stepped forward to repair the bell, a task which took far more effort than was realised at it’s beginning. To replace the unit Michael tracked down similar units, with the hope of replacing the electro-magnetic striker unit. The best replacement was in Maryland in the US. Other possibilities were the Netherlands and UK. Because of the cost of transport, he opted for one in Dublin, which he had to work on, and hence more time. A big thank you to Michael. In many places bells are named. Let’s think of Michael calling us to pray when we hear the peals.