The Archive

Thomas Hodges of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin

In 1801 William Hodges was recorded as a Brazier of Lower Sackville Street, Dublin. Subsequently he was described as a Tinplate Worker, Ironmonger, Smith, Brass Founder, and eventually also as a Bell-Founder. Bells by William Hodges were wide in comparison to their height and had flat crowns with canons, like bells cast by the Clarke family of Dublin. They had similar lettering to those cast by the Clarkes', suggesting that Hodges acquired the Clarke's patterns and lettering, probably in or about 1832, which is the date of the latest Clarke bell so far discovered.

In 1837 the name of Thomas Hodges appears as the operator of the foundry in Sackville Street. Fred Dukes suggests that he was probably a son of William Hodges. In 1848 Thomas moved his foundry to 99 Middle Abbey Street and ran it until he retired in 1865, when William Curtis began to operate the foundry.

Thomas Hodges cast many single bells and, in 1851, excelled himself by producing a ring of six bells for St Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny. The tenor is 49" in diameter at the mouth, is in Eb and is reputed to weigh 22 cwt. This, according to Jennings, is slightly heavier than Mears and Stainbank and of Warner bells of that size, but virtually the same as Taylor bells. Probably the reputed weight is only an estimate. The profiles of these and other bells by Thomas Hodges are, in Fred Dukes' opinion, "of the traditional pattern", unlike those of his father.

Hodges reproduced the inscriptions on the earlier Kilkenny bells on those that he cast in 1851, which indicates his competence as a founder. The bells hang in a timber frame and are separated from the ringing chamber only by the ceiling of that room. Having conducted a quarter peal in 1971 on these and the two extra trebles cast by Matthew O'Byrne of Dublin in 1892, the writer can attest to the very high sound level in the ringing chamber! The bells, however, sound perfectly acceptable when heard from outside and are testimony to the quality of Hodge's work. The central tower of the thirteenth century Gothic-style cathedral collapsed in 1332 and an eye-witness recorded that the cathedral "was an horrid and pitiful sight to the beholder". In 1354 Bishop de Ledrede had the damage repaired, but only a very low central tower replaced the earlier structure. There is little vertical space in this "new" tower for both bells and bell ringers.

At the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 Hodges was awarded First Prize for his entries in Class 22 and the adjudicators reported that his large bell was "Excellent". His brass bell was "Of remarkably fine tone and of great power". His four ship's bells were of "Good tone and powerful".

In 1853 Thomas Hodges cast a ring of six bells for St Mary's Church, Grassendale, Liverpool, with a tenor of just over 10 cwts. Unfortunately this was his last ring of bells. William Curtis, who took over the foundry in 1865 ( by then known as The Dublin Metal Works), cast a number of single bells as well as a chime that still exists at Killyman Parish Church in County Armagh. This chime was originally installed in Kilshane Church in County Tipperary. Since members of the Curtis family were ringers at Christ Church Cathedral, St Audeons, and at St George's in Dublin, it is surprising that there are no rings of bells cast by the family.

Matthew O'Byrne: The Fountain Head Bell Foundry

The best known of the Dublin bell founders was, undoubtedly, Matthew O'Byrne of The Fountain Head Bell Foundry. Catalogues of bells produced by this foundry were issued in 1915 and in 1962.

Matthew Byrne had been a Chief Engineer in The Royal Navy. In 1840 he established The Fountain Head Iron Foundry in James's Street, Dublin. His son, Matthew W., changed his surname to O'Byrne. During the 1960s the foundry relocated from James's Street to the Bluebell Industrial Estate, off the main road from Dublin to Naas, on the western side of the City. When the writer visited the business in the late 1960s he was told by C. W. Kinsella, who then ran the business, that bells could still be cast at the former premises. When the writer visited the Bluebell site in February 2001 he was told that no bells had been cast for a number of decades and that the strickles and patterns no longer existed. One of the older employees, who said he had been involved in bell founding, drew from memory profiles of bells of various sizes. He also gave the writer a copy of the profile of a bell of about 8 cwts. That was the only profile that apparently still existed.

The earliest bell listed in the Company's 1962 catalogue was cast in 1862 for The Very Rev. Patrick O'Neill, Parochial House, Newry, County Down. This was a bell of 23 cwts. It is unlikely that Byrne/O'Byrne began bell founding with such a large bell and it is probable that a considerable number of smaller bells were cast in previous years. No other bells cast in the 1860s are listed in Bell Catalogue 1962, and only one bell from the 1870s. That was a bell of 25 cwts, cast in 1876 for Newry in County Down.

In 1885 the bell-maker from John Murphy's foundry, James Gaskin, was persuaded to work for The Fountain Head Bell Foundry. Thereafter many bells are listed in the catalogue, such as a 25 cwt bell cast that year for Banbridge in County Down, bells for Church of Ireland customers in Old Leighlin and Templeshambo in 1886 and Ferns in 1887, and bells of up to 35 cwts in 1888.

By 1890 Matthew O'Byrne and his staff were confident enough to cast sets of up to eight bells. In that year they cast a chime of eight with a tenor of 10-2-0 for Mount Argus in Dublin. The following year they cast two trebles to augment the ring at St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, in Galway, to an octave. Sadly, these and the other bells at St Nicholas' were recast in 1935 by Gillett and Johnston and hung dead in the pitchpine frame of 1891. Perhaps The Irish Association should petition for the bells to be rehung as a ring!

In 1892 O'Byrne's cast two trebles to augment the Hodges bells of St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny, to an octave. These bells, thankfully, are still in regular use (along with the Hodges bells) as a ring.

In 1894 O'Byrne cast a chime of eight bells with a tenor of 20 cwts for Drogheda. An octave for the Church of St Francis of Assisi, Holbeck, Leeds, with a tenor of 11-0-25, followed in 1895. In 1896 the chiming octave for St Flannan's Cathedral, Killaloe, was cast with a tenor of 11-0-14. The clock chime for Rathmines Town Hall, Dublin, followed in 1895 with a 20 cwt tenor. In 1898 the fine twelve for Dundalk (tenor 20-3-11) was cast. These were followed by a twelve for Letterkenny in 1901 (tenor 41-0-0), an octave for Dundee in 1902 (tenor 22-1-8) which are now hung for ringing and whose tenor now weighs 19-2-10 in E; a twelve in 1908 for Lismore in New South Wales, Australia (tenor 42-1-12); twelve for Longford in 1909 (tenor 42-0-8); Hannahstown, Belfast in 1910 (8, 23-0-11); and five for Ringsend in Dublin in 1916 (23-1-21).

After the end of the First World War, between 1920 and 1932, O'Byrne's cast six sets of bells ending, in 1932, with a magnificent octave with a tenor of 23-0-24 for St Mary's (R. C.) Church in Westport in County Mayo. The writer well remembers hearing these chimed one evening and being very impressed with their beauty. The other sets were Agherton, County Antrim (4, 4-1-23, 1920); St Mary's Church, Highfield Street, Liverpool (8, 11-1-6, 1920); St James's Church, Marsh Lane, Bootle, Liverpool (8, 23-1-0, 1924); Kilkea Church, County Kildare (8, 11-0-0, 1925); and St Brigid's Church, Tullamore, County Offaly (4,16-2-21, 1929).

The economic depression of the 1930s brought to an end the production by The Fountain Head Bell Foundry of sets of bells. Thereafter the foundry produced just single bells or, occasionally, two bells for customers. The date of the octave (tenor 26-3-24) supplied to St John's Cathedral in Newfoundland, Canada. Is not known to the writer.

By the time that the economic boom of The Celtic Tiger took place in the 1990s, Matthew O'Byrne's foundry was no longer in operation and there was no foundry producing ringing bells in Ireland. The new bells cast for Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin as a millennium project were therefore cast by an English founder in England.

Bells by Matthew O'Byrne were cast and, where necessary, tuned in the foundry before being fitted with headstocks and other fittings. In 1887 the "M Byrne Patent Rotary Mounting" was patented. This was a cast-iron headstock with a tapered hole through which a tapered boss on the crown of the bell was inserted and bolted in place using the crown staple bolt: "we claim that [this] is the best in existence; in fact, it has no rivals….By slacking the nuts, the bell can be rotated…in a few moments, thus presenting a new striking face to the tongue to strike. This increases the life of the Bell beyond measure".

Matthew O'Byrne bells may not appeal to those used to Simpson tuned bells, but, at weights of up to 53 cwts, they are worth listening to. Testimonials published in O'Byrne's Bell Catalogue speak highly of O'Byrne bells. That written by Thomas Mahon, P. P., V. F., of St Joseph's, Boyle, County Roscommon, on 8 June 1957, is typical: "May I take this opportunity of thanking your firm…for the beautiful 25 cwt Bell…. It is not only a credit to your Firm, it is a credit to Ireland".

With cessation of bell founding by The Fountain Head Bell Foundry (Matthew O'Byrne, The Bell Foundry) in the 1960s, an important part of the industrial and campanological heritage of Ireland came to an end. Nevertheless bells cast by Murphy's Bell Foundry, Thomas Hodges, and by Matthew O'Byrne, are still rung regularly in various parts of the world, from Australia to Scotland and, of course, Ireland.

How wonderful it would be if James Sheridan's bells at St Paul's, Arran Quay in Dublin, could be rescued from oblivion and restored as a ring. Perhaps it is not too much to hope that Murphy's rings will also be restored and that at least some of the magnificent chimes cast by Matthew O'Byrne may yet be hung for ringing. Perhaps this is a matter for the Irish Heritage Council, which is based in Kilkenny where a complete ring of bells by an Irish founder (Hodges, with trebles by O'Byrne) still exists. Perhaps The Irish Association of Church Bell Ringers could consider these matters at its future meetings and take relevant action? Bells have rung in Ireland for many centuries and their sound is part of the heritage of the Emerald Isle.

Acknowledgements

This article is based mainly on the researches of the late Fred Dukes, with whom the writer had many discussions, and on the following published material: Dukes, F.E., 1994, Campanology in Ireland, Samton Ltd, Dublin; Dove, R. H., 1956, A bellringer's guide to the church bells of Britain, Viggers, Aldershot; Baldwin, J. and Johnston, R. (compilers), 2000, Dove's Guide for church bell ringers to the ringing bells of Britain and of the world, CCCBr, Guildford; Bleby, E., 2001, Their sound has gone forth. A history of change ringing in Australia and New Zealand, ANZAB, Millswood, Australia; Matthew O'Byrne, Bell