The Bell of St Patrick and its Shrine

The Bell of St. Patrick and its Shrine dates respectively from the 8th-9th century AD and circa AD 1100.

This bell is reputed to have belonged to St. Patrick. It is made of two sheets of iron which are riveted together and coated with bronze. This bell is frequently mentioned in written sources as one of the principal relics of Ireland.

An inscription on its surface indicates that the shrine for the bell was made around AD 1100. It is trapezoidal in shape, echoing the shape of the bell it was made to cover. Formed of a series of bronze plates joined at the edges by tubular bindings, the shrine is topped by a curved crest which covers the handle of the bell. The front of the shrine is covered with a silver-gilt frame that originally held thirty gold filigree panels. These are arranged in the shape of a ringed cross.

The sides of the shrine are adorned with openwork panels depicting elongated beasts intertwined with ribbon-bodied snakes. The back of the shrine is plainer and flatter, and is decorated with an openwork silver plate featuring interlocking crosses.

The inscription along the edge of the backplate records the name of the craftsman and his sons who made the shrine, and Domhnall Ua Lochlainn, King of Ireland between AD 1094 and 1121, who commissioned the shrine; Cathalan Ua Maelchallain, the keeper of the bell, is also mentioned. Remarkably, the shrine remained in the possession of this family until the beginning of the 19th century.