The Church of Ireland parish church in Ballinode, Co Monaghan, rang in the new year with its clock in the tower newly restored.
The clock, made by Chancellor and Son of Dublin, was donated to the church in 1880 by the widow of the Rev WH Wood-Wright and is inscribed in memory of him. It had been out of action for 20 years. Its restoration, funded by the Heritage Council, was carried out by Raymond Farrelly, who said working church clocks were "now a rarity in Ireland". He also found that people were "genuinely interested in this subject as it serves to remind us of the ingenuity and art that once routinely went into the making of practical objects".
According to Mr Farrelly, the fact that the Ballinode church clock was made in Dublin is quite unusual because most Irish clocks dating from the late 19h century were made in England.
The church was consecrated in 1755, though the building was not completed until 1804. The Wood-Wrights were among the leading Protestant families in north Monaghan, having settled there in Cromwellian times. Their family home, Golagh House (1742), was burned in 1921.
Others associated with Ballinode church, in the parish of Tedavnet, included the Richardsons of Poplar Vale, the Lucas family from Raconnell, the Forsters of Tullaghan and the Jacksons of Slacksgrove.
