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John's lane Church pictured from Thomas Street. Alamy Stock Photo
bells are back in town
After decades of near-silence, a church in Dublin's Liberties wants volunteers to keep its bells ringing
Michael Ryan, who first rang the bells 50 years ago, is now leading efforts to bring them back to life.
FOR AROUND 20 years, the bells at one of Dublin’s most recognisable churches have been largely silent.
But on Sunday morning, the sound of 10 church bells will once again ring out regularly over Thomas Street, thanks to a small group of volunteers determined to bring an old tradition back to life.
And for the man leading the effort, it’s something of a homecoming.
Michael Ryan first climbed the spiral staircase at St Augustine and St John’s Church, better known as John’s Lane, around 50 years ago, when he was an altar boy.
Now he’s back at the Liberties site as ‘ringing master’, having spent the past few months helping to get the bells ready for their return.
Speaking to The Journal, Ryan said regular ringing at the church stopped around two decades ago.
“Somebody might go up and ring now and again,” he explained, but there had been no regular ringing for decades.
That will change tomorrow, when the bells are due to ring for Mass between 10.30am and 11.30am.
Ryan and a group of around eight ringers, drawn from other Dublin towers, have been busy cleaning out the tower and preparing its bells.
There was quite a bit of clearing out to do.
“I brought down about 50 [rubbish] bags from the tower,” Ryan said.
An English specialist company was also brought over to service the bells, while new ropes are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.
The group held its first practice on Thursday, and Ryan said the friars at the church have been hugely supportive.
One even sent him a text after hearing the bells, telling him they sounded well.
“Little things like that give you a great boost,” Ryan said.
A return to where it all began
The bells have been part of life on Thomas Street for more than 150 years.
The original eight were cast by Dublin bellfounder John Murphy, whose foundry stood opposite the church, and were first rung on St Patrick’s Day in 1873.
Two more bells, made by Charles Carr of Smethwick in England, were added in 1898, bringing the total to 10.
The church itself opened in 1874, with its spire rising more than 200 feet above the Liberties.
Ryan said the bells’ local origins make them particularly special.
“They’re sort of unique in a sense of being Murphy bells, and unique that they were made in the same street as well,” he said.
But it was the mysterious staircase at the back of the church, rather than the bells themselves, that first caught Ryan’s attention as a young altar boy.
He remembered watching men disappear up the stairs and wondering what was going on above.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of him. He followed them up, discovered the ringing chamber and was hooked.
Ryan spent several years ringing at John’s Lane before moving to Taney Church in Dundrum, where he also served as ringing master.
Now, half a century later, he’s back where it all started.
And despite the rather grand-sounding job title, Ryan insists there’s nothing particularly mysterious about being a ringing master.
“Basically that’s just a person in charge,” he explained.
New ringers wanted
The group now hopes to recruit more people to keep the bells ringing.
There are 10 bells in the tower, but only around eight people currently involved, so Ryan is eager to hear from anyone who might fancy trying something different.
“It’s a great hobby. You make great friends, and it’s a great social life,” he said.
Bell ringing has also taken him around the world, with enthusiasts often welcomed into churches and cathedrals abroad.
And he insists that learning isn’t as daunting as it might seem.
“As you can guess, the rope goes up, and the rope comes down,” Ryan joked, explaining that beginners first learn how to start, stop and control a bell.
“It just takes a bit of practice. It’s like riding a bicycle.”
The group plans to practise on Thursday evenings and ring for Sunday Mass.
Ryan is also keen to show prospective recruits around the tower, which offers sweeping views across Dublin.
“It’s a stunning view, and a stunning church,” he said.
Anyone interested in joining the John’s Lane bell ringers can contact the group at johnslanebellringers@gmail.com
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