St. Patrick's Church

St Patrick’s Church stands on Castle Street in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. It belongs to the Church of Ireland and serves as the main parish church for the Anglican parishes of Kirkinriola and Ballyclug. The present building replaced an earlier 18th-century church on Church Street, which had its own tower and graveyard. Completed in 1855, the new church was destroyed by fire in December 1879. The original builder restored it to the same design, and it reopened in 1881. The church is recognised for housing the only peal of twelve bells in Northern Ireland and the only such peal in an Irish parish church. A bell from the old parish church survives in the car park and can still be rung. In 1866 a new bell was cast in Dublin for the church, later moved to Lambeg in 1895. That year a ring of eight bells was installed in memory of Dean Murray, who served as rector from 1865 to 1883. The current ring of twelve bells, recast in 1987, is rung twice each Sunday and practised on Friday evenings. Inside, the church retains its Victorian layout and furnishings from the 1881 restoration. The tower houses the twelve bells, rung by a dedicated team of ringers. The car park contains the historic bell from the earlier church, accessible to visitors. The graveyard beside the old site on Church Street adds to the town’s heritage. The building remains a civic landmark and a place of worship in Ballymena.