St Anne’s Shandon, Cork ~ Views of Cork and Ring the Famous Bells!

Find us on the Worth a Visit – Tourist Map

  • Ring our world famous Shandon Bells from the first floor.
  • View the internal workings of our clocks, the ‘Four Faced Liar’ and see our 18th Century bells.
  • Enjoy the spectacular 360° views of Cork City and beyond from the balcony of the Shandon Bells Tower.
  • Unwind and be at peace in our beautiful church.

St. Anne’s was completed in 1722 as a ‘chapel of ease’ to the former St. Mary’s Shandon on Mallow Lane (Shandon Street), and was financed by public subscription. The original St. Mary’s church occupied the site of the present St. Anne’s but was severely damaged during the siege of Cork in 1690.

By the early 1770s the church had become a parish in its own right, The Rev’d Arthur Hyde was appointed as its first rector in 1772 (Great-great grandfather of the first President of Ireland Douglas Hyde).

DSCF1524

The Baptismal 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 (which was the Anglo-Saxon word for Font) at their charges”. Within is a pewter bowl dated 1773.

Architecturally, the design of the building is very simple. It consists of a square tower surmounted by a lantern; on top of the lantern is a copper dome with a gilded weather vane in the shape of a salmon. The famous bells in the tower were cast at Gloucester by Abel Rudhall in 1750 but were not installed until 1752.

Some of the bells have been recast over the years but still bear their original inscriptions. The bells were immortalised by the poet and writer Francis Sylvester Mahony, better known by his pen-name of Father Prout, in his famous poem ‘The Bells of Shandon’. Appropriately, Mahony is buried in the graveyard of the church.

The four-faced clock, made by James Mangan of Cork, was erected by Cork Corporation in 1847. On a part of the clock’s mechanism is the grim aphorism: ‘Passenger measure your Time, for Time is the Measure of your Being’.

Rates 2013

Adults:   €5.00

Seniors:   €4.00 (over 65 years of age)

Students:    €4.00 (anyone holding a valid student card)

Children:   €2.50 ( five to sixteen years of age, under fives go up for free)

Family:   €12.00 (based on two adults and up to four children under 16yrs)

Entrance to the Church is free.

Photography is permitted within the church except during services.
Under 18s are to be accompanied by an adult

Opening Hours:  Last Entrance to the tower is 30 minutes before closing

June, July, August and September

Monday – Saturday 10.00am-5.00pm.  Sunday  11.30am-4.30pm

March, April, May, and October

Monday – Saturday 10.00am-4.00pm.   Sunday  11.30am-4.00pm

November, December, January, and February

Monday – Saturday 11.00am-3.00pm.
Sunday 11.30am-3.00pm

Bank Holiday opening times same as Sundays

For Group rates contact us on 021 4505906 or info@shandonbells.ie

Other Places to Visit