Church Bells - repetitive nuisance

melvinudall

Hi all,
(i have also posted this in the Religion & Spirituality section to try and get as much advice about this as i can)

I hope that there is someone here that can help me. I live in Ringsend (Dublin 2) very near to the St Patricks church. My issue stems from repetition of the loud bells from the church. Usually I have no issue with this sort of activity.. once its conducted at a reasonable time and frequency. The church in question begins its chymings at 8am every morning and finishes these chymings at 10pm that night, 7 days a week. The bells chyme on the hour and on the half hour and in many instances at the quarter to mark. In some cases at the Hour, 1/4 past, half and 1/4 to mark... all in the same hour!

On the weekends (and B. Holidays) from what i can tell the chymings actually increase in repetition to as much as 4 times per hour, as stated above.

If they are even chymed only twice an hour this is still 24 times in one day! at 3 times an hour this is 36 times in one day.

This means that you are woken up on a sat and sunday at 8am... for good! and you cant have a lie down at any one period during the day because of the frequency of the bells.

As you can imagine this is extremely irritating and frustrating, and i naturally feel indignant at the incredible lack of courtesy that the local church is paying to its residents.

Is this normal for a church??
i have a lived a few places in close proximity to churches and never experienced anything like this!

Does anyone live near this church? has anyone had the same issue? do you know what i should do? I have already contacted the EPA, Local Councilors, the police, and tried to contact the church!!

Can someone please give me some advice!

MagicMarker

Steal the bell?

I don't know what to tell you tbh, but that is taking the piss!!

seamus

Definitely not typical for a church. Most usually only do the angelus or at most on the hour.

Afaik, 8am is too early, 9am is the earliest start for making loud noise in public. I could be wrong though.

mikhail

It's not the most neighbourly of behaviour. First off, I'd suggest speaking with the parish priest. (Be reasonable, keep your cool.) If he's a decent sort, he may look into reducing the volume and/or frequency of the ringings.

If he's not, you could try a litigious route. You'll get better advice on that from a professional, but I wouldn't imagine you're certain to win, and it'd likely be expensive and possibly even attract some attention from Catholic neighbours. (Most people would be reasonable, but there's always a few...)

mikhail

seamus wrote: »

Afaik, 8am is too early, 9am is the earliest start for making loud noise in public. I could be wrong though.

Worth exploring.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/noise_regulations.html

wonderfulname

You would be expected to contact the church first and attempt to come to a mutual agreement before contacting anyone else. I don't understand how you have failed to do so, can you not just turn up on the priests doorstep?

If you fail to come to an agreement then contact your local authority and make a complaint. Personally I wouldn't be inclined to go to the councillors, its not a situation anyone political would want to get caught up in, also, its not their job. Contact the Environmental Health Officer - but only when you are sure you can't get anywhere with the church!

seamus

mikhail wrote: »

Worth exploring.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/environment/environmental_protection/noise_regulations.html

It's also important to note:

While the law does not specifically mention an exact level or standard of noise that is illegal, it is clear that if neighbourhood noise is affecting the quality of life of a citizen, then you have a right to complain.

While things like roadworks are "allowed" during the day, this is because they are temporary. Permanent, repetitive loud noise (like a dog barking) is a nuisance and you could legally challenge them to stop it during the day.

I agree that going to the church to find a mutually agreeable solution is the first thing to do. Make it clear that you are not a member of their congregation.

condra

I don't condone vandalism or violence, but that is what I would do:

Burn it down. Burn it all down.
(presuming assaulting the priest in the local pub toilet didn't work)

Standman

When I saw the thread title I immediately thought of St.Patricks in Dublin! Used to live near it, it really is ridiculous how often they ring those fecking bells.

magicbastarder

i'd suggest that the first action to take would be to approach the PP and ask if the current regime of bell ringing is temporary or if it has no scheduled end.

did it increase in frequency recently?

Dave!

Stand outside the church with your own bell, that'll learn them

ShooterSF

Aww Christians are 3 times as helpful as us :pac:

sponsoredwalk

It's quite simple, do not talk to the priest first. Your best bet is to draw
up a petition & go around your entire area & get as many signatures as
possible in order to convince the church that this is causing not just one
person but the entire community a lot of distress. If you go up & quietly
ask them to stop they may reduce the frequency, maybe, but they will
not cut it down to what it should be, like 6pm once a day ffs...

Call me cynical but I don't think they will stop ringing the bell they feel
the need to incessantly return to ringing just because one person went
up & said they didn't like it, they are obviously dead set on doing this
completely idiotic, stupid, fcuking useless thing to pass away the day
so I think they will need community pressure to cut it out.

That said, this is just what I think, the next best thing would be to say
it to the priest before getting people to sign some petition but I would
think their urge to bang this fcuking bell was a way to relieve sexual
frustration so I think they'll need to be forced off the children bell or
they'll never stop.

sensibleken

Ringsend is Dublin 4 and miles away from St Patricks

magicbastarder

there's more than one st. patrick's.

Mantel

seamus wrote: »

Definitely not typical for a church. Most usually only do the angelus or at most on the hour.

Afaik, 8am is too early, 9am is the earliest start for making loud noise in public. I could be wrong though.

My local church (in fairview) has bells at 7.45 am. Can't say I remember hearing the bells at a different times becuase I don't really notice them, the 7.45 ringing is my "**** I'll be late if I don't get up now" mark.

sensibleken

magicbastarder wrote: »

there's more than one st. patrick's.

so there is. I was confused by the fact he said dublin 2, which is where the cathedral is. I lived beside both and the cathedral ones are deafening but i have to admit I never heard the ringsend ones. Maybe its a new thing as i moved from there 5 years ago.

OP have you considered running into the church and vandalising them shouting 'wheres your might god now wahahaha!!!'

Dades

Talk to the priest first. Keep cool calm and reasonable. Continue with this tone in all your communications about this.

Because if the wrong person gets wind of this you will be just another New Atheist Dawkins' Spawn Jesus-Hating Catholic-Oppressing View-Pusher.

MagicMarker

Dades wrote: »

Talk to the priest first. Keep cool calm and reasonable. Continue with this tone in all your communications about this.

Because if the wrong person gets wind of this you will be just another New Atheist Dawkins' Spawn Jesus-Hating Catholic-Oppressing View-Pusher.

Not a view pusher!! :eek:

They're the worst kind of the New Atheist Dawkins' Spawn Jesus-Hating Catholic-Oppressors!!

Hivemind187

I give it about a day of blasting Marylon Manson at about 160 decibels at arbitrary 8 minute long intervals before Quasimodo is round to your house complaining about the noise interfering with his "right to express his religious beliefs".

I sympathise with the OP wholeheartedly. I lived for a year about a street's width from a church. Sunday mornings were a total nightmare. I'm about a mile and a half from their now and it still wakes me up.

Truley

Hi OP I can definitely empathize. I live right across the road from a Catholic Cathedral, and right next door to that, a Protestant Cathedral! The Protestant one doesn't seem to make a sound apart the odd ding on special occasions, funerals etc. The Catholic one rings every fifteen minutes from 6am to midnight.. every. single. day. Then on special occasions, Sunday's and the Angelus it can play for minutes at a time. I actually don't mind it too much, but it certainly is invasive. No other commercial or residential premises would get away with blasting noise at the public at such a volume. And as you well know, it is Loud!

liah

Ugh. I feel your pain. The cathedral in Mullingar starts up at 7 am and goes until midnight, ringing every 15 minutes. Lived right across the road from it - no escape.

The most maddening thing wasn't even the repetition.. it was the fact that the song the bells played was missing notes, so the song would come out all garbled and just wrong-sounding.

The only thing I did to fix it was move, though, so I can't give much advice there..

krankykitty

I get about a full HALF HOUR of ringing on a Sunday morning from the COI church beside me. Enough to get you out of the bed in the mornings anyway!

I don't know why the bells need to be rung - if you're going to a service I'm sure you could figure out or find out what times they are scheduled for.

liah

krankykitty wrote: »

I don't know why the bells need to be rung - if you're going to a service I'm sure you could figure out or find out what times they are scheduled for.

'Tradition.'

Dan133269

If you can't find a solution to the problem OP, I would suggest finding out where the parish priests live, and standing outside with an air horn making noise at regular intervals. Then if he complains, just say it's your religion's tradition

Then again, probably won't have much of an impact on priests seeing as they don't have to get up for work in the morning or anything like that.

mikhail

liah wrote: »

'Tradition.'

Ah, nostalgia combined with nonsense.

mikom

melvinudall wrote: »

I hope that there is someone here that can help me. I live in Ringsend (Dublin 2) very near to the St Patricks church. My issue stems from repetition of the loud bells from the church.

This just started when you moved in did it?

aidan24326

Be thankful for small mercies OP. I live close to St.Patrick's Cathedral, and on Sundays the bells can be going off almost constantly (playing silly little tuneless chimes loudly) for hours on end. You'd be talking 9 or 10am until maybe 2 or 3pm. Quite alot on Saturdays aswell. It also chimes on the hour every hour, 24/7. The Sunday morning thing is just ridiculous though, people who've stayed over can't believe the ongoing racket, and are even more surprised when I tell them that no it isn't any special occasion, this happens every weekend.

Mistress 69

Dades wrote: »

Talk to the priest first. Keep cool calm and reasonable. Continue with this tone in all your communications about this.

Because if the wrong person gets wind of this you will be just another New Atheist Dawkins' Spawn Jesus-Hating Catholic-Oppressing View-Pusher.

Mmmmn ! I'll buy that line for a dollar:P

GO_Bear

I live on Patrick street, across the road from the church. ... .. with a road side bed room window ... with single glazed windows on the fourth floor almost within reaching distance of the bell tower ....

Just so you know its not always that church , Christ church lets tourists in on Sundays and Thursdays to ring the bells ..... The same ****ty tune they have them play every single f**king hung over sunday morning for an hour straight .... Ding Dong Dong Ding , Ding Ding Ding Dong , Da Dong Da Dong Da Dong over and over and over ..... How can they mess it up !!!!

On a serious note I am used to it now after a year .. I can sleep through traffic or anything but in the beginning getting used to it was tough ! I can't fall asleep anymore without the sound of a Garda Siren wizzing past

Sarky

Every time I hear church bells start ringing I unwittingly think "Ooh, Altair nabbed another Templar". I live right next to the Shandon belltower in Cork, so it happens rather a lot.

They're generally just background noise to me, like sirens or the occasional hilarious drunken domestic dispute.

Quo Vadis

If this is the only thing you have to bother you in life, lucky you

condra

Quo Vadis wrote: »

If this is the only thing you have to bother you in life, lucky you

The OP didn't say it was the only thing that bothered him.

Dades

Quo Vadis wrote: »

If this is the only thing you have to bother you in life, lucky you

Is the relocation of a statue the only thing you have to bother you in life? Lucky you.

professore

It always amazes me how something like this is generally accepted in Ireland but any new development or change of any description will inevitably be objected to and protested against. Why is this? Why are the people who are so opposed to changes not equally motivated to sort out existing issues?

The OP has a very valid point - but I bet he will find staunch opposition if anyone in the locality finds out. Let's hope the priest is a reasonable guy.

Quo Vadis

Dades wrote: »

Is the relocation of a statue the only thing you have to bother you in life? Lucky you.

Ah yes, if all else fails . . . .

sensibleken

Quo Vadis wrote: »

Ah yes, if all else fails . . . .

move a statue?

ShooterSF

Quo Vadis wrote: »

Ah yes, if all else fails . . . .

Point out the person making a snide comment is being hypocritical?

Quo Vadis

ShooterSF wrote: »

Point out the person making a snide comment is being hypocritical?

If it's not really about the OP or the bells, what is it about then ?

sponsoredwalk

Wow...

Dades

Quo Vadis wrote: »

If it's not really about the OP or the bells, what is it about then ?

Um, it is just about the loud repetitive bells. There isn't another agenda here.

petebricquette

It shouldn't be a problem for the church to reduce the noise output from the bells, OP. A lot of them are actually recordings rather than the actual bells in the church. It's cheaper than trying to maintain the bells themselves.

It should be a matter of just having a chat with the priest and seeing if you can get something done. If not then, like others have suggested, get a petition going and see if you can browbeat him into turning it down a bit.

Robert ninja

Quo Vadis is onto us! Has figured out atheists are alergic to church bells. Quick, retreat to the atheist cave!

I suggest we blue tack the clapper to the bell. They'll never figure it out.

MagicMarker

Quo Vadis wrote: »

If it's not really about the OP or the bells, what is it about then ?

Keep digging, it's hilarious.

Quo Vadis

MagicMarker wrote: »

Keep digging, it's hilarious.

Keep making it about me ? looks like your the ones doing the digging . . .

liamw

Quo Vadis wrote: »

Keep making it about me ? looks like your the ones doing the digging . . .

Quo Vadis

Still about me ? cool

Dades

Well at least we're all seeing the funny side.

housetypeb

If the bells belonged to a factory there would be no problem in seeing that its ringing was a needless noise to everyone, including its workers, who should know(given the evolution of alarm clocks-ever better, bad alarm clocks get bypassed at point of sale) what time their shift starts anyway.
But somehow when it's a church making the noise we're all supposed to shut up and endure because it's tradition and somehow 'holy' to make a noise when you call the faithful to prayer and a snack of the invisible 1/3 of god.
Ffs people complain if you play your music too loudy- look at the accommodation forum, where they're always complaining about the noise from their neighbors - the same rules should govern church bells.

ps I live in the countryside -i can blast my music as loudly as i like,and i do!(doing it right now,) nobody hears.`

Quo Vadis

housetypeb wrote: »

it's tradition and somehow 'holy' to make a noise when you call the faithful to prayer and a snack of the invisible 1/3 of god.

Dades wrote: »

Um, it is just about the loud repetitive bells. There isn't another agenda here.

:rolleyes:

housetypeb

Quo Vadis wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Noise is noise,i guess, unless it comes from church bells-is that your point?