Parish Office – Page 104 – Enniskeane & Desertserges Parish

Cork Examiner, 1878, records pipe organ’s arrival in Clonakilty

August 22, 2012

NEW ORGAN IN CLONAKILTY CONVENT.

An organ, erected by Bryceson Brothers and Ellis, of London, builders of the organ in Ss. Peter and Paul’s, was formally opened on Tuesday, 20th inst., by Mr. T. J. Sullivan, St. Mary’s, Cork, who designed it.

There was a profession of three nuns on the same day. His lordship the Right Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald, of Ross, officiating.

The organ consists of 2 rows of keys, 14 stops, 2½ octaves of pedals (Bourdon through), and 4 composition pedals. The action is reversed, the player facing the altar.

Organ played for first time at Mass in Enniskeane.

August 20, 2012

The ‘new’ pipe organ in Enniskeane Church was played at Mass for the first time on Aug 20th, 2012, to mark the 134th anniversary of when it was first played in Clonakilty in 1878. It was played by Padraig O’Donovan, who is also responsible for the fitting of the organ.

Click to listen to the audio of the organ as parishioners sang “Hail Queen of Heaven”.

Organ will be played to mark its 134th anniversary

August 18, 2012

The Pipe Organ being installed in Enniskeane is at a point where it can now be played — though not all the pipes are connected up yet.

Monday August 20th, 2012 is the 134th anniversary of when the organ was first played at Mass in the Mercy Convent, Clonakilty, in 1878. To mark the anniversary, the organ will be played during the 10am Mass in Enniskeane Church on Monday August 20th. Everyone is welcome.

Renewed thanks to all who have sponsored a pipe in the organ. At this point, 347 of the pipes have been dedicated to named individuals and families. These, too, will be remembered in a special way at the Mass on Monday 20th.

Organ pedal board and one keyboard. — The organ has three sets of keys — two manuals and one pedal board. This photo (reverse angle) shows one of the manuals in place and the pedal board, ready for wiring.

323 pipes dedicated: wiring progressing

August 9, 2012

August 9th and 323 of the pipes of the pipe organ have been dedicated and sponsored. Many thanks.

Current task in hand: to complete the wiring inside the organ. Air is pumped around the organ by a large bellows to be available to each pipe. At the base of each pipe, there’s an electric magnet which opens and closes the mouth of the pipe and controls whether it gets air to play or not. This magnet is wired back to the keyboard. There’s a magnet for each pipe! A lot of wires!

Electric magnets and wiring inside the organ — A look at some of the special magnets and wiring.

Where’s your sponsorship going?

July 31, 2012

Fair question:

In time, a full account of the costs involved in the Pipe Organ installation will be available. The larger part of the cost arises from the strengthening and re-flooring of the gallery. This has required very careful attention to detail to preserve the integrity and appearance of the gallery because it is part of our heritage, too. However, we are also required to ensure that people who use the church and the gallery are safe. The additional weight of the organ also meant that steel reinforcing needed to be inserted into the gallery between the ceiling and the floor above it. Thankfully, there was adequate space there to enable this to be done. The new floor will also be tiered to safe levels for the choir.

Some of the costs incurred to date are:-

Reinforced Steel supports €10,550
Engineering fees €4,000
Timber flooring €4,800
Rebuild and re-leather the main organ bellows €4,278
Cost of other components which had to be replaced, including all electrical parts €9.082

July 31: And 287 of the pipes have been dedicated and sponsored

Many, many thanks. We are getting close to the half-way mark! 287 of the pipes of the Pipe Organ for Enniskeane’s parish church have been dedicated and sponsored.

The majority of the dedications have come from parishioners. Many have also come from outside the parish and several from abroad. Many of the pipes have been dedicated to loved ones who have died; many are dedicated to the living as well.

The task of installing the organ is proceeding on schedule. We hope to have it playing by August 20th, which is the 134th anniversary of when it was first played in the Convent in Clonakilty as three young Mercy Sisters took their final solemn vows as religious.