THE BELLS OF ST. NICHOLAS
by Tom Kenny
There are ten bells in St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, cast at seven different dates from 1590 to 1898. They were hung for ringing by Mr. H.S. Persse when he gave two new bells in 1891. After some time it was seen that the vibration was putting a great stress on the old tower and ‘chiming’ was substituted for ‘ringing’. Unfortunately the method of chiming was not satisfactory and one after another the bells cracked, until, in 1930, only three of the bells could be used. The Clock Bell being only used for the hour’s strike and the “Clifton” bell being out of tune.
The Vestry decided, in 1934, to have the bells recast into a chime of ten bells, spending as much available money as possible in order to have as heavy a chime as the old bells. They signed a contract with Messrs. Gillett & Johnston in Croydon for the recasting and with Thomas McDonogh & Co. for the removal, transit and replacing the bells in the steeple.
In 1590 "Master James Linche" was the mayor and he did a considerable amount of work in raising the tower and in having the "great bell" cast, the oldest bell in the church which dates from this time. The "French" bell is next in order of age, dated 1631 but we do not know when it was hung in the church. John Clifton's bell was dated 1638, but was not rung for over 100 years because it was out of tune. Col. Theodore Russell was the mayor from 1674-1685 during which time he had the next two bells cast and also had the steeple built on the tower.
In 1726, two more bells were added. Charles Gerry was the mayor. The name Tobias Covey is given as the name of the foundry and as the name Covey is found twice on the list of Sherriffs in Galway shortly after 1726, it would seem that these bells were cast here by local craftsmen. In 1890, Henry S. Persse gave two bells in memory of his wife and at the same time, rehung all the bells in a new pitchpine frame. The last of the bells, the Clock Bell, was given in 1898 by Bishop O'Sullivan. The town clock formed part of the Bishop's gift and it has kept excellent time since.
The recasting of the bells in 1934 renewed their youth, in most cases, after hundreds of years of service. Originally the ringing of the bells meant pulling a long rope which caused the heavy bell to sway from side to side which, as we said above, put great stress on the structure of the tower. So the system was changed to chimes in which a much shorter rope is connected to a paddle, the operation of which causes a hammer to hit the bell and create the sound without causing stress to the tower.
The chiming of the bells of St. Nicholas' is a joyful sound which can be heard all over town. One of the great Galway traditions is the celebratory concert played on these massive musical instruments every New Year's Eve which rings in the New Year and causes many of us to consider our spiritual needs, hopes and aspirations.
Our first photograph shows the bells lined up for collection outside the church in 1934. Our second image, taken by Dean Kelly, shows the hand-operated paddle system which currently operates the chiming of the bells. This can usually be done by one person thumping the paddles in the proper order. Long may they keep chiming!
