On Sunday 6th February, the tercentenary, 300 years, of the present day Saint Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork’s iconic church, with its famous Shandon Bells, was  inaugurated by the Bishop, the Right Reverend Dr Paul Colton, who visited the parish to preside at the Sunday Service.  

The year will be inaugurated by a parish initiative called ‘The Shandon Mystery’ and an appeal to Cork people everywhere, Irish people and everyone anywhere, to help the parish to try to discover the exact dates of the building and the date of the consecration (opening) of the Church. 

Bishop Colton explains:
The problem is that the parish records were lost in the fire in the Public Records Office one hundred years ago in June 1922. We need help.
We have looked at all sorts of records, spoken with parishioners, some local people, and spoken to some archivists and historians.  We have checked dates on parish silver, on plaques and on the font in the Church.  There appears to be no foundation stone and no memorial stone commemorating the consecration.  We would like to know these dates and that is what we mean by ‘The Shandon Mystery’.
As Church of Ireland Bishop and as a local Church of Ireland community we are very conscious that Saint Anne’s, Shandon, to the people of Cork and for Irish people, this Church is much more than a parish church.  It is a potent, evocative and emotive symbol of Cork around which the people of Cork rally, unite and identify.  So, we are appealing to everyone to help us to solve our ‘Shandon Mystery’.  It just may be that someone has an original source in an archive that we do not know about, or information from a secondary source in a book or diary for example,  that we are not aware of.  We are going to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shandon starting later this year, regardless, but it would also, as part of that, be great to solve our ‘Shandon Mystery’. Indeed, someone out there may readily have an easy answer for us.


The Parish and Diocese are in the process of developing a full Tercentenary programme in partnership with the City of Cork, the local community, history groups, and many interested parties, including the Church of Ireland nationally.

We know our bells are currently quiet, but if you have ever wondered why visitors can ring the Church bells so easily, it’s because they are on what’s called an Ellacombe Chiming Method.
 
 An Ellacombe apparatus is a device that enables one person to ring all the bells of a church. It’s said that Revd. Ellacombe devised the mechanism so that all the bells could be rung by one trusted person without involving a band of unruly and perhaps drunken ringers!  So apologies to Revd. Ellacombe, but we have a lot of fun on the system he created to say ‘down with that sort of thing!’
 
  Saturday 26th June 2021, a worldwide celebration is planned for the 200th anniversary of Rev Henry Thomas Ellacombe’s invention of ringing chimes, focused on St Mary’s Church Bitton, England where the ‘Ellacombe Chiming Apparatus’ was invented and first installed.
 
 Bells throughout the world will be ringing at noon local time, starting in New Zealand. They will make their way to Bitton, and then across the Americas, finishing in Vancouver, Canada, 17 hours after they first started. We will be ringing the Shandon bells at noon tomorrow to mark the event.
More Info below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiDdiiQ5s9w&t=4s


http://www.bittonhistory.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Chimes-Leaflet-FINAL1.pdf

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Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, we are unable to hold services in the Church itself.  Instead, we are bringing the service to you through our YouTube channel.  The Sunday service will be published every week throughout the crisis. The Order of Service will be downloadable before hand from our social media pages on Facebook and Twitter and also on this website on 'St Anne's Church' page.
Link to YouTube Channel below.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWQDca4JBD9c2lno3ldbkg

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THE CLERKS CHORAL OF ST. MARY’S COLLEGIATE CHURCH, YOUGHAL sings
THE OFFICE OF COMPLINE in plainsong
Sunday 22nd April, 6pm
Church of St. Anne Shandon
Admission: Free of charge


The College of Clerks Choral in Youghal is an ancient institution, founded in 1464 by Thomas Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.  The College originally consisted of eight fellows and eight singing clerks – a choral foundation which was dissolved and reinstated a number of times over the centuries. The present choir represents the latest revival initiated by Ian Sexton in 2005.
Although the Clerks Choral, now directed by Colin Nicholls, remains informally associated with the magnificent Collegiate Church in Youghal, the group is most active in venues throughout Munster, singing for services, weddings and concerts.  They have also performed in England and their rendition of Compline in St. Anne’s Church, Shandon, has become a regular feature of the Cork International Choral Festival.
Compline is the last monastic service of the day. It is a contemplative office with an emphasis on peace. In essence a plainsong service, a Faux Bourdon setting of Nunc Dimittis (Carolus Andreas)  and Henry Purcell’s motet, Remember not, Lord, our offences, provide moments of contrasting harmony.


http://www.corkchoral.ie/portfolio/the-office-of-compline-4/