Silent for 80 years the bells of St Audoen's Church in The Liberties may ring out over Dublin again.
One of the oldest buildings in Ireland St Audoen's in The Liberties is the only medieval parish church remaining in Dublin. Of its six bells, three date to 1423. Two others are from 1658 and one of these is described as,
Sounded like a cow mooing.
The bells of St Audoen's first pealed over Dublin 70 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas. From the time of 1423 the bells rang out,
To announce the times of curfew, the election of Dublin's lord mayors and various other matters of importance to the parishioners of St Audeon's.
Ringing the bells at St Audeon's ceased in 1898 as it was feared that using them would damage the bell tower.
Alex Donovan, a trustee of St Audeon's for over 40 years, is an advocate for the bells being restored to their former glory. An architect is putting together a report to see if the tower structure is strong enough to withstand the pressure of the bell ringing. If the report is positive, Dublin may once again have of one of the oldest sets of workable bells in either Ireland or Britain.
Alex Donovan reckons restoration work will cost well over £1,000 but,
The bellringers of St Patrick's and Christchurch cathedral promised to come along and they'll take their coats off and do a lot of work under the supervision of Mr Brown the architect.
St Audoen’s is persecuted with vandalism and the bells have not escaped unscathed,
The tongue was stolen out of the bell known as the old cow.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 December 1970. The reporter is Eddie Barrett.
