The clock in the tower of Christ Church

IN mid-1996 intruders entered the historic Christ Church in Castlebar and caused severe damage to the tower clock, writes Tom Gillespie.

After the event I recall seeing an iron bar protruding from the wooden shuttering high up on the tower at Mountain View.

At that time the multi-talented Ivan Browne had been, and still is, maintaining the clock and was called in to examine the damage.

Following his inspection, a representative, Oliver Stack, from clockmakers Smith of Derby, who installed the original clock, submitted a report to Trevor Ardill of Christ Church on August 5, 1996.

It was compiled by Keith Cotton, sales engineer, who reported that the clock was originally made by his company in 1905 and takes the form for a quarter ting-tang hour striking movement driving the two dials through a pin wheel dead beat escapement.

He said: "The clock is generally in a poor condition having received no professional attention for many years and needs to be dismantled and cleaned and all working surfaces polished to remove the old oil, dust and grime. The weight cables and pulleys are in good order and only need lubrication.

"The three hammers which operation the bells are in a very rusty condition and need to be dismantled, cleaned and wire brushed to remove all the old rust, and one of the hammers needs to be secured into position.

"These would then be painted with two coats of protective paint to prevent them from further deterioration.

"The hammers would then be rewired back to the clock mechanism using a galvanised steel wire and set up to operate correctly on the bells.

"The one dial centre at some time has been replaced and is now in a poor condition and this now needs to be replaced with an 050 opal acrylic along with the other four hour sections. These would be sealed into position using a silicon sealant."

He also reported: "The two dials which consist of a cast iron frame work infilled with glass are designed for internal illumination, but several sections are now broken.

"We feel that these would benefit from a complete dial restoration which would involve removing all the old glass and putty, wire brushing the framework, apply one coat of undercoating and one coat of black durable enamel gloss, new sections would then be cut from an 050 opal acrylic and sealed into position using a silicon mastic sealant.

"Following this work we would recommend that fluorescent lights be fitted at the rear of the dial controlled by a time-switch to enable the clock to become a feature during the hours of darkness."

The engineer said he understood that due to insurance cover it may be difficult for the council to provide a regular winder.

"Therefore you may wish to consider converting the clock to an automatic operation by fitting a synchronous movement to the time side which would be controlled by one of our auto restart units which has been designed to avoid having to reset the hands of any self-starting synchronous electric clock after a power failure.

"Following a mains failure lasting more than 12 seconds the unit cuts off the power to the clock for precisely 12 hours less 12 seconds. The clock is them automatically restarted without any need for adjustment of the hands. Alterations between summer and winter also occur automatically and the unit is fitted with a rechargeable battery system."

Thankfully, restoration work was then carried out and the clock again holds pride of place, towering, as it does, over the county town.

The Anglican Church which houses the clock is one of the oldest buildings in the town. The foundation stone, situated inside the main gate, was laid in 1739. The church was renovated in 1828.

The churchyard contains the gravestone of the Fraziers Fencibles, a Scottish Regiment killed in action in the 1798 Races of Castlebar. This is the only authentic remnant of the 1798 period left in the town.

Also situated at the church is a memorial to Major General George O’Malley, who resided at Ballinvilla and who served with the British Army in North America, Egypt and around the Mediterranean. He was also wounded twice in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He died in 1847 and is buried in the family burial plot in Murrisk Abbey.

I have to confess that as a teenager, I and a couple of school friends twice climbed to the top of the church tower.

The first time we played a game of poker up there. I know it was a silly thing to do. But we climbed spider-like up the rickety ladders to the bell tower and out onto the turreted roof where we had a panoramic view of the tree-lined Mall and the entire town.

However, on the second occasion we had just reached the top when a passing young, observant garda spotted our heads bobbing up between the parapets and ordered us down to earth. After a proper dressing down and an undertaking never to attempt such a stunt again, he let us go with our heads hung low.

The clock is a feature of every day life in Castlebar and its reassuring chimes are welcome on the hour, half hour and quarter hour.

At night, Christ Church is illuminated and is an historical landmark with a proud history.

But don’t even think of going up that tower now as it is completely out of bounds to unauthorised personnel, and rightly so.