Cathedral’s Restored Angelus Striker on Exhibit at Irish Consulate

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A timepiece from St. Patrick’s Cathedral that struck three times daily from 1901 to 1996 to call Catholics to pray the Angelus was recently restored and is currently on display at the Consulate General of Ireland on Park Avenue in Manhattan.

The Angelus striker, a state-of-the-art mechanism manufactured by E. Howard and Co., a world-renowned timepiece maker from the 18th and 19th centuries, was recently restored by Connecticut Timekeepers of Stratford, Conn.

From 1901 to 1996 the timepiece struck during the Angelus until it was disconnected and replaced by an automatic mechanism. Since then the striker has remained untouched in the south tower of the cathedral.

Cardinal Dolan recently viewed the Angelus striker as well as eight works from the Brian P. Burns Collection of Irish Art, which comprise a temporary display at the consulate.

The exhibition, “A Monumental Legacy: Archbishop John J. Hughes, the Building of St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” celebrates the current restoration of the cathedral and honors the prelate who was the driving force behind its construction.

Archbishop Hughes “wanted St. Patrick’s Cathedral to be a home for everybody and a soul for the city,” Cardinal Dolan said in remarks at the consulate March 6, the night before the exhibit’s official opening.

Consul General Noel Kilkenny hosted a preview exhibition for the cardinal and a number of other dignitaries, as well as benefactors and guests.

Although Archbishop Hughes, an Irish immigrant who became New York’s fourth bishop and first archbishop died before the cathedral was completed, it was under his leadership that construction began and the cathedral’s cornerstone was laid in 1858.

The exhibit also coincides with the sesquicentennial of Archbishop Hughes’ death on Jan. 3, 1864.

“This is just magnificent and extraordinarily uplifting,” Cardinal Dolan said. For the occasion, the cardinal wore a pectoral cross that belonged to Archbishop Hughes. He briefly donned a construction helmet to remind those assembled of the cathedral’s $177 million restoration project that began 22 months ago and is scheduled to be completed in December 2015.

The cardinal also expressed his gratitude for the generosity of all those present who are making the cathedral restoration a reality.

Kilkenny, who was born in Ireland, was clearly moved by the collection’s postcard of the cathedral that had apparently been sent from New York to Northern Ireland by an immigrant who attended Mass there. “This is where I go,” reads the handwritten inscription on the card postmarked April 28, 1909.

Also in attendance was Jean Kennedy Smith, a former U.S. ambassador to Ireland and the sole living sibling of the late President John F. Kennedy.

The paintings in the Burns’ collection, billed “from some of Ireland’s greatest masters,” depict Ireland of the 19th century. Offering a unique insight into Irish life at the time the Cathedral was constructed, the paintings are an historical record of the culture and identity of Ireland and artists, including Jack B. Yeats, Seán Keating, James Brenan, Erskine Nicol, Maurice MacGonigal, George William (AE) Russell and F.J. Davis.

The collection is meant to educate other Irish Americans about the artistic legacy of Ireland, Burns said in remarks at the exhibition preview. In essence, the exhibit is a reminder to Irish Americans “to be very proud of where we came from, who our people are and what they represent,” he added.

Such an exhibit would have been a dream of Archbishop Hughes, Cardinal Dolan said, “to remind the world that we’re just not about the lithe of our laughter, our songs, our fondness for dance, our enjoyment of a good pint. Ireland is about a lot more than that,” he said of art.

After the exhibit at the consulate concludes July 31, the Angelus striker will be temporarily stored at the archdiocesan archives at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie.

To schedule an appointment to visit the exhibition, contact the Consulate of Ireland at (212) 319-2555, ext. 0.