Experts put its date as the tenth cen
tury. It is thus at the least nearly a
thousand years old, and it has a well
authenticated history covering many
centuries. It stands about live inches
high and is of bronze, with silver
plates on three of its four faces. The
design engraved upon it shows two
dragons surrounded by serpents in
terlaced in the characteristic Celtic
pattern.
St. Senan belonged to the ninth cen
tury, the period when Ireland was the
centre of sanctity and learning for all
western Europe. Like so many oth
ers he chose an isolated spot for a
hermitage, but as the fame of his
learning and piety grew disciples
flocked to him and he found himself
the head of a monastery. Senan's
choice for his retreat was Scattery, a
little island in the Shannon opposite
Kilrush and about a mile and a half
from the Clare shore. It still has one
of the most remarkable collections of
ecclesiastical ruins that Ireland can
show, including six primitive orator
ies, a round tower and a holy wall, to
which pilgrims still resort.
The famous bell of St. Ronan, an
early Irish bishop-hermit, is preserv
ed in Locronan church in Brittany.
This bell is believed to have been im
ported from Ireland.
The uses for which these curious
bells were cast is lost in the passing
of time. Their diminutive size (5 to
13 inches), precludes the suggestion
that they were designed for the pur
pose of assemblies from any distance.
