Fears that 2003 would not be welcomed in the traditional manner in Dublin have been allayed, after Christ Church Cathedral succeeded in replacing the "clapper" of its great tenor bell.
The new clapper, 5 feet long and weighing 30 kg, was hoisted into place last night, two months after its predecessor broke and following a delay which had - in a very real sense - threatened to lower the tone of the New Year celebrations.
This is the third time in two decades that the operation has had to be performed at Christ Church, where the phrase "going like the clappers" has taken on renewed relevance. In 1979, the recasting of the tenor bell required the replacement of the existing wrought-iron clapper, which was more than a century old and still going strong.
The replacements - made from "spheroidal graphite" - have not proved so durable, tending to snap while ringing. "We can't get wrought-iron clappers anymore," lamented ringing master Mr Leslie Taylor last night, as a team led by the cathedral's "steeple keeper" prepared to move the new one into position. The graphite clappers have to be brought from Nottingham and a problem with specifications left the cathedral without a functioning tenor bell until last night, less than a fortnight before New Year.
"We made it by the skin of our teeth," Mr Taylor said.
At 2¼ tons, the tenor is the biggest of Christ Church's 19 bells, which give the cathedral the world's largest bell-ringing operation of its kind.
