NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish Pubs Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > News > Irreplaceable historic 300lb bell stolen from County Kerry church

Irreplaceable historic 300lb bell stolen from County Kerry church

Management fears the bell may be melted down for scrap metal

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Thursday, August 2, 2012, 5:36 AM

Updated Thursday, August 2, 2012, 5:36 AM

Larger Text

E-mail

6 Comments

Priceless bronze bell from the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre in Castleisland, Co Kerry, in the south of Ireland

Photo by PA

A historic 300lb church bell was stolen from Ivy Leaf Arts Centre in Castleisland, County Kerry in the early hours of Thursday morning. The bell, which dates back to 1776, is feared to have been melted down for scrap metal.

The Irish Independent reports on the theft of the historic artifact. Jerome Stack, manager at the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre in Kerry, said that he believes a group of thieves must have carried out the robbery of the heavy bell, which measures in 26 inches diameter.

The bell was housed in the Ivy Leaf Arts Centre about four meters above the ground in an alcove. The thieves entered the centre late Wednesday early Thursday through the front door, possibly with a key, and left behind a broken shelf and tiles.

Stack said “I imagine on one hand some would say it only has scrap value, but on the other hand it is priceless.”

The artifact was cast by bell founder Thomas Rudhall in Gloucestershire, England in 1776 and was one of only 16 worldwide, making it all the more valuable. It was originally housed at St. Stephen’s Church of Ireland before it found a new home at Ivy Leaf Arts Centre around thirty years ago.

"I was so disappointed when it was taken. It was a focal point in the centre, now there's a big gaping hole there,” said Stack.

Stack said that he has reached out to local dealers to see if they had any information about the whereabouts of the “priceless” bell, and has appealed to locals to contact gardai with any information.

Nster.com

E-mail

6 Comments

See all comments

IrelandNorth | Aug 03, 2012, 08:14 AM EDT

Garda Síochána have detained a hunchbacked Franco-Irish national named Quasi Mc Modo on his way to catch the Rosslare - Le Havre Car Ferry. On searching records, his face rang a bell with detectives of the Campano-Heist Squad (CHS). Was sent for psychiatric evaluation, but shrink diagnosed him as a bit of a ding dong. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for Dúchas: The Heritage Service.

Report abuse

kinvara7 | Aug 03, 2012, 07:14 AM EDT

Laurence

Report abuse

kinvara7 | Aug 03, 2012, 07:11 AM EDT

@WoundedKnee: It was the heart, not the head, of St. Lawrence O’Toole that was stolen.

Report abuse

merefalow | Aug 02, 2012, 08:02 PM EDT

chopping hands off these lowlfes,it works for the arabs,why not us.

Report abuse

hermitTalker | Aug 02, 2012, 10:48 AM EDT

WoundedKnee is so correct. Why these precious artifacts have not been provided with 24/7 security since the first theft. Two reasons, the copper/metal contents for greed; and then the desire for something precious to hoard privately. No one can ever see them except the thieves, and most likely he person who paid for the item. Someone will spill out the story in a pub some night one hopes!

Report abuse

WoundedKnee | Aug 02, 2012, 07:17 AM EDT

There has been a string of incidents of theft and vandalism in Ireland. The head of St Laurence O'Toole, which had lain undisturbed for eight centuries, was stolen from the Dublin cathedral and has not been recovered. Out in Mayo, a statue of the great poet O Raiftire was stolen. Sculptures on the highways are removed, presumably to be melted down. The fact is that Ireland is now a failed state. UNESCO or some other world cultural organization should be brought in to tell the Irish that their cultural heritage is also the world's heritage, and that the rest of the world takes a dim view of their incompetent stewardship.

Report abuse