What’s it all about?
Bell-ringing is an ancient English exercise whereby
a number of bells, which are tuned to a normal scale, are rung in sequence. The
order in which the bells are rung are changed in order to provide different
‘tunes’ or methods as they are known.
Bells are rung for church services; for weddings; for special occasions;
purely for pleasure. Bell ringers come from all walks of life and are young and
old, men and women, boys and girls, non-musical and musical, Church-goers and
non Church-goers.
All bell ringers share a fascinating hobby and a commitment to their team.
It takes a few weeks to learn, and at all times teaching takes place on a one
to one basis.
Do come along to see what it is all about. Call Diana Pitcher on 028 38483 to
arrange a suitable time.
Ringing times
Practices: These tend to be on a Tuesday evening at 6pm. However, as we
are a small band this tends to vary to suit the ringers. So, you are more than
welcome to join us but please telephone Diana Pitcher on 028 38483 to check on
times.
Sunday ringing: Winter:11.00 till 11.30; Summer:10.30 till 11.00.
What we ring: Rounds, call changes, bob double, bob minos.
Tower Secretary: Diana Pitcher, 028 38483
History of the bells
The idea of having a ring of bells in Skibbereen arose a few years ago when
eight bells were removed from St Nicholas Church in Cork City, prior to the
church being de-consecrated. In 2001 the bells were offered to Skibbereen with
the proviso that all eight were kept together.
These eight bells had been cast by the Warners Foundry in Dublin in the 1860s,
the ring being one of only a handful of Warner peals still in existence.
Unfortunately, these bells proved too big to fit into the Skibbereen tower. The
bells also needed to be sent to the UK for re-tuning, and there was no guarantee
as to what they would sound like on their return. The decision was made in 2002
to cast and install a ring of entirely new bells. As ringing is a totally new
concept in Skibbereen it was also felt it would be easier to recruit and train a
new band on light, purpose-built bells.
Until then, there had been only two bells in Skibbereen. A cracked bell in the
tower above the town hall and another cracked bell on the roof of the protestant
church. The Catholic Church did at one time have a bell in a small housing
above the door. Unfortunately the housing and bell crashed to the floor a few
years ago, both were damaged irreparably and were replaced by a tape recording
of bells.
Planning permission for the new ring was discussed with the local council. The
planners decided permission would not be required. It took a while to persuade
the council that the bells would make a noise and therefore planning permission
should be an issue. An application was quickly granted with the provision that
the bells could be rung for just five minutes a day. Further negotiations
quickly followed and permission was granted for ringing for a weekly practice,
Sunday service, other special services, and six peal attempts a year on
Saturdays.
With this in the bag and the blessing of an enthusiastic Rector and Vestry,
fund raising began in earnest. A major benefactor and donations from the
English and Irish bell ringing associations made the whole project possible.
Donations from local businesses completed the fund raising. There are no Irish
bell-hangers or foundries so the contract was given to Matthew Higby who has his
business south of Bristol.
He made his initial visit to Skibbereen in the summer of 2001 and the bells were
cast by the Whitechapel Foundry in London on 19 July 2002. It was decided to
inscribe each bell with the opening line or lines from a hymn, the main
benefactors being allowed to choose their hymns.
A fair bit of work had to be done in the tower to accommodate the frame and
bells. The local builder, Martine Harte, was most bemused by the whole project
and only having experienced the two cracked Skibbereen bells could not fathom
the concept. However, he did a magnificent job putting in two floors,
soundproofed trap doors, new access to the tower, and making a ringing chamber.
The bells arrived in Skibbereen on Friday 1 November 2002, Irish Ferries having
generously donated the return ferry crossings for the lorry carrying the bells
and the bell hangers and their vans. The bell hangers arrived on 4 November and
the bells were hung and ready for ringing in 4 days. A quarter peal was rung on
Friday 8 November 2002.
It was time to start recruiting and training a band. Normally one would do this
in advance by using a tower close by. However, the nearest tower to Skibbereen
is in Bandon - a round trip of nearly 100 miles. Also the Bandon bells are hard
work and heavy, the ringing chamber is not very welcoming due to ongoing work on
the church roof, and access to the tower is dire. We were worried that this
might put potential ringers off.
A short note in the parish monthly newsletter and an article on the local radio
produced five learners. Word of mouth encouraged an ex-ringer who, aged 11
learnt to ring in Chislehurst, Kent but kept up ringing for only two years.
This lady, who is now in her late 30s, turned up for a practice and within two
minutes had remembered everything she had learnt all those years ago.
We currently have a very active band of about 10 ringers, of all ages. We have
a practice on a Tuesday night from 7.30pm and ring for Sunday service.
Details of the inscriptions on the bells and the names of the people whose
generous donations financed the project are below.
The Abbeystrewry Bells
were cast by the Whitechapel Foundry, London. They first rang out from this
tower on 7 November 2002.
BE NOT AFRAID, I GO BEFORE
YOU ALWAYS
The Treble Bell was given by Diana Pitcher
in thanks for the pleasure that bell ringing gives
BE THOU MY VISION, O LORD OF MY HEART
The 2nd Bell was given by Shane O’Neill
LOVE DIVINE, ALL LOVES EXCELLING
The 3rd Bell was donated in memory of the
loving spirit of James S Filhol, died Baltimore 2002, aged 33 years
O HEAR US WHEN WE CRY TO THEE
The 4th Bell was given by Chris Boon who
died on Christmas Eve 2003
GUIDE ME, O THOUGH GREAT JEHOVAH
The 5th Bell commemorates the birth of
Meadhbh Ni Cheallaigh on 1 December 2001
O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL
The Tenor Bell was donated by The Irish
Association of Change Ringers
The Select Vestry of Abbeystrewry Church wish to thank
the following for their generous donations;
Irish Ferries
Val Duffy
Mr and Mrs Jackie Roycroft
Bank of Ireland
Pierce Hickey and family
Patrick McCarthy Solicitors
John Cross and family of Baltimore
Brendan and Eithne McCarthy, Poundlick
Wolfe & Co, Solicitors
The Shannon Family, Lissanuhig
John Collins, Chartered Surveyor
Bernie Daly
June Collins
Mr and Mrs Paddy Walsh
ACC Bank
Skibbereen Credit Union
Drinagh Co-operative
The Ferguson Family, Gubbeen