Dublin (St. Paul's R.C.)

St Paul's, Arran Quay, Dublin, has the only Sheridan ring of bells in Ireland. The tower is of square proportions over the main entrance porch on the south side of the building. It reduces in size at lantern level, and is surmounted with a copper dome. The bells all have canons removed and they were originally hung for ringing by "resident" teams of bell-ringers. In the 1920s ringing ceased because they were considered to be in an unsafe condition. Eventually in 1950, they were converted to a chime by M.O'Byrne of the Fountain Head Bell Foundry, James Street Dublin. They now all hang dead except the Tenor, which was given a Byrne Patent headstock for swing chiming. This bell has a pit to itself below the front seven bells. Correspondence and a tablet in the ringing room indicated that the bells were originally provided in 1843, but the dates on the bells themselves belie that claim, unless Sheridan installed bells earlier and replaced them with the present ones.