A humble single bell is ours, like so many in Irish churches. Not a majestic
peal as in some. Nevertheless, the story of its origin is, perhaps, worth
recounting. It was originally thought to have been the bell installed circa
1824, at the time of the consecration of St. Philip and St. James. Further
research has yielded new information.
In 1896 Booterstown Select Vestry met and decided unanimously to commemorate
a special event scheduled for 1897. This was to be the diamond jubilee of
the accession to the British throne of Queen Victoria. A bell fund was set
up in the church and heavily subscribed, both parochially and elsewhere.
Casting the Bell
It was decided to cast a heavier bell than the older one of 1824. Instead of
placing the order with the great bell foundries of Loughborough (in
Leicestershire) or London's Whitechapel, as was often the case, an Irish
firm was chosen. It was Michael Byrne of the Fountain Foundry, James Street,
Dublin – near the Guinness Brewery. The bell was to be of 21 hundredweight
compared to the 4 hundredweight of its 1824 predecessor.
The Consecration
The new arrival was dedicated and consecrated at a special service, both
inside and outside the church, on 26th November 1897 – attended by a huge
congregation, it was recorded. Officiating was the Archbishop of Dublin,
Most Reverend Joseph Ferguson Peacocke. It was then hoisted to its ringing
position in the belfry.
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Inscribed on the bell are these words:
"To the Glory of God. Erected by the parishioners of Booterstown 1897.
Blessed is the people that knows the joyful sound."
Normally hand rung
for decades, it was converted to strike electrically in due
course.
And so, "through all the changing scenes of life" our bell has
called people to worship over the past 107 years – its predecessor
73 years before that.
Edward Caswall, the great hymn writer (1814 – 1878) in one of his
most charming works "When morning gilds the skies" (Irish Church
Hymnal number 344) puts the role of a church bell in perspective:
"When 'eer the sweet church bell
Peals over hill and dell
May Jesus Christ be praised:
O, hark to what it sings
As joyously it rings
May Jesus Christ be praised."
Our bell in St. Philip and St. James sounds, not over hill and
dale, but over busy suburban Cross Avenue. The sentiment
enunciated by Edward Caswall remains the same.
Robert Knaggs.
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