The Church of St Anne is a Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 church located in the Shandon

Shandon, Cork

Shandon is a district in Cork city noted for The Bells of Shandon, a song celebrating the bells of the Church of St Anne written by Francis Sylvester Mahony under the pen name of "Father Prout".-People associated with Shandon:* John Arnott, 1st...

 district of Cork city

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

 in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is situated a top a hill overlooking the River Lee

River Lee (Ireland)

The Lee is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork City, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's city centre is built, and empties into the Celtic Sea at Cork Harbour on the...

.

History

The name Shandon comes from the Irish, Sean Dun, and means Old Fort. Shandon was one of 28 settlements in and around ancient Cork. A medieval Church dedicated to St. Mary existed on this site and is mentioned in the decretals of Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III

Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....

 in 1199 as "St. Mary on the Mountain" and this stood until the Williamite wars when the siege of Cork (1690) brought about its destruction. In 1693 this was replaced by a Church, also dedicated to St. Mary, and was located at the bottom of Mallow Lane, modern day Shandon Street. Due to population growth, it was decided to build anew on this ancient site and so in 1722 the present Church of St. Anne Shandon was constructed.
It is built with two types of stone, red sandstone from the original Shandon castle which stood nearby and limestone taken from the derelict Franciscan Abbey which stood on the North Mall. As you approach Shandon, from all directions, you will see both coloured stone of red/white and such is the affection that Shandon holds in the hearts of the citizens of Cork that they designated both colours to represent the City.
St. Anne Shandon had to wait until 1772 to attain full parochial status when Rev. Arthur Hyde was appointed its first Rector. Arthur was the great-great-grandfather of Dr. Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde

Douglas Hyde , known as An Craoibhín Aoibhinn , was an Irish scholar of the Irish language who served as the first President of Ireland from 1938 to 1945...

, pioneer of the Gaelic revival

Gaelic Revival

The Gaelic revival was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language and Irish Gaelic culture...

 and the first President of the Irish Free State

Irish Free State

The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...

.

Bells

The church is famous for its 8 bells due to the famous song "The Bells of Shandon" by Francis Sylvester Mahony

Francis Sylvester Mahony

Francis Sylvester Mahony , also known by the pen name Father Prout, was an Irish humorist. He was born in Cork, Ireland, to Martin Mahony and Mary Reynolds. He was educated at the Jesuit Clongowes Wood College, Kildare, and later in Saint Acheul, a similar school in Amiens, France and then at Rue...

. Each weigh 6 tons and were created by Rudhall of Gloucester

Rudhall of Gloucester

Rudhall of Gloucester was a family business of bell founders in the city of Gloucester, England, who between 1684 and 1835 produced over 5,000 bells. The business was founded by Abraham Rudhall and the earliest ring of bells he cast was for St Nicholas' Church, Oddington in 1684. He came to be...

. To reduce vibration, they were placed in a fixed position. They first rang on December 7 1752. They have been recast twice: both in 1865 and 1906. Today, visitors can climb to the first floor and ring the bells themselves.

The original inscriptions are retained on each bell:

- When us you ring we'll sweetly sing
- God preserve the Church and King
- Health and prosperity to all our benefactors
- Peace and good neighbourhood
- Prosperity to the city and trade thereof
- We were all cast at Gloucester in England by Abel Rudhall 1750
- Since generosity has opened our mouths our tongues shall sing aloud its praise
- I to the Church the living call and to the grave do summon all

The Tower

The walls of the building are 7 feet thick and the height to the tower is 120 feet and to this you can add another 50 feet for the pepper pot. The McOsterich family were involved with the design and erection of this tower and to this day a special privilege is afforded them. Whenever a member of the family marries, anywhere in the world, the bells ring out in their honour. On top of this pepper pot is a weather vane in the form of a salmon, representing the fishing of the River Lee. It is a very appropriate sign to have on top of a Church, as in the earliest Christian days a fish was used as a symbol for the name of the Lord.

Clock

The famous clock, known to Corkonians the world over as "The Four Faced Liar" on account of the time being slightly different on each face during the hour. The reason for this is, the numbers on the faces are made of wood and gilded, some of the wood is thicker than others and so some hands stick when they reach these numbers, but on the hour they all come together.

Font

The Christening Font, dated 1629, is a relic from the Church destroyed in the siege of Cork in 1690 and bears the inscription, "Walter Elinton and William Ring made this pant (the Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...

word for Font) at their charges". Within is a pewter bowl dated 1773.