St. Anne's Church
Shandon
St. Anne's in Shandon is without a doubt Cork's most famous attraction, but known
more for its bells than the structure that houses them. The church was built in
1726 on the site of an earlier church, which had been destroyed during the 1690
attack on the city. The church's fame is due primarily to the famous
song, The Bells of Shandon written by Francis
Sylvester Mahony (a.k.a Father Prout). Fr. Prout was born in 1804 and wrote the
song while studing at the Jesuit College in Rome. He died in Paris in 1866 and
within earshot of The Bells.
The tower is unusual in that two of its sides are white and two red. Like most
Cork's buildings it is build of limestone and sandstone. The receeding stages on
top of the tower, the final stage with a dome, give the church its distinctive
appearance. The weather vane on top is in the form of a gold fish.
But it is the bells that bring visitors to Shandon. One of the eight bells bears
the inscription 'We were all cast at Glouscester in England. Abel Rdhall,
1750'. Although the narrow streets sometimes make Shandon hard to find,
visitors can reward themselves by playing
the bells or by climbing to the first stage of the tower to experience the
wonderful view it commands of the city.
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Note: This website was first published well over ten years ago when the web was quite new. Some of the buildings have changed since then. However this site has been left unchanged for old time's sake. Back then web pages were simpler affairs than they are now.