|
|
The Bell Over one hundred Fitzpatricks from around the world attended the first Fitzpatrick gathering in the Killeshin Hotel in Portlaoise in 2000. Such a number presented a challenge when it came to calling their attention when departing either the hotel or some historic site. It was important that nobody was left behind anywhere. Using a whistle was my first thought. Then I thought that the hotel might have a gong that I could bash to attract peoples’ attention. “Sorry,” said the hotel receptionist, “No gong, but this might help,” and she handed me a brass handbell from under her desk. I tried it to the amusement of all within earshot and for the remained of the weekend the bell could be heard in the hotel lobby and as we travelled from site to site. While settling the account with the hotel manager on the Monday morning I asked if I could keep the bell as a souvenir. “Sorry, you can’t have that, but I suppose you could have this one,” he said, and he handed me an ‘old’ retired bell that I have used at each gathering since. I remember thinking that this one was a better bell than the first. And so it is that since then at Fitzpatrick gatherings, attention is attracted by the call of the bell.
The bell consists of four parts – bell, screwed connecting dowel, handle and clapper. Except for the connecting dowel, which is steel, all parts are made of brass. The bell is 3½ inches in diameter and 2¼ inches deep with a ½ inch high spigot on top. This spigot is threaded to receive a ¾inch screwed dowel to which a 3¾inch handle is connected. When assembled the bell stands 6¾ inches high. The clapper is a small brass ball with two connection loops on opposite sides. Ornamentation is simple. There are three turned rims on the bell – one at the bottom and two at the top - three at the base of the handle and a turned knob at its top. The handle is finished with enamel-like decoration in an abstract pattern.
At our fourth gathering in 2007, it was suggested that the bell should be engraved with the Fitzpatrick crest and arms. |
|
Home | Fitzpatrick 2007 | Call to Gather | Weekend schedule | Presentations | Posters | Ancestral Search | Map | Mailing list | Full Report Site content copyright © 1996 to 2007 Ronan Fitzpatrick. |
|
This page was last updated 26 July 2007 |
