Bell-ringers are “badly needed” in church towers right around the country.

There are more than 35 church towers in Ireland with bells that are manually operated every week and people are being encouraged to come forward and learn how it's done.

There are five manual towers in Dublin alone and on Lunchtime Live this afternoon, Michael Ryan from Taney Parish in Dundrum said bell-ringers are “badly needed” right around the country.

“We are looking for bell-ringers in Taney and all around the country would you believe,” he said.

“It is an artform that is dying really around the country. We don’t have many bell-ringers and we are trying to recruit as many people as we can.”

Bell-ringers at St Patrick's Cathedral. Image: St Patrick's Cathedral

He said bell-ringing is a “great hobby” to get involved in.

“Most people think if you are ringing bells you are sort of flying up and down the ropes but it is far from it,” he said.

“It is not musical. It is basically following numbers really. In Taney, we have eight bells and we start off with 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and so on but you can change the sequence.

“By changing that you get into different tunes and that is the simple way of starting off. Bell-ringers call the tunes methods but basically, they are just tunes and you can go on from there and learn a lot as you go along.”

Bell-ringers at St Patrick's Cathedral. Image: St Patrick's Cathedral

Meanwhile, caller Helen told the show she has been bell-ringing for three years since answering an ad in the paper.

She said bellringing is a fun way to get to know new people – even if it is “a little bit of a workout” at times.

“We do kind of joke that the Taney Gym is open when we are down there for a practice because it is a workout,” she said. “But I don’t think it’s as difficult as people think it is. We are not actually going up and down with the ropes.

“The first bell is the lightest one and they get heavier and heavier right up until Bell Eight but […] when you are pulling the rope, you are just keeping that motion of the bell going so it is not as hard as people think it is.”

"Great fun"

She said the practices are “great fun” for all involved.

“You are learning new things and there is a great bunch of people down there,” she said.

“We actually get to go and visit other towers too. We have been on day trips to Kilkenny, Waterford and Limerick and we went away on a weekend a couple of years ago to Sussex and we rang about five towers over there so it is good fun.”

Manual bell-ringing is not taking place during COVID-19 lockdown but will return when restrictions are eased later in the year.

You can learn more about getting involved in Taney Parish by emailing Taneybellringers@gmail.com and you can find out more about the country’s other towers at Bellringingireland.org.