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Fr. Pat Noise plaque

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Coordinates: 53°20′50″N 6°15′34″W / 53.34722°N 6.25944°W / 53.34722; -6.25944
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Plaque purportedly in memory of Father Pat Noise

The Fr. Pat Noise plaque is a hoax commemorative plaque installed by two brothers on the balustrade of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland.[1] It is about a fictitious Roman Catholic priest named Father Pat Noise.

The full text of the plaque reads:

THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES
FR. PAT NOISE
ADVISOR TO PEADAR CLANCEY.
HE DIED UNDER SUSPICIOUS
CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN HIS
CARRIAGE PLUNGED INTO THE
LIFFEY ON AUGUST 10TH 1919.

ERECTED BY THE HSTI

The plaque is on the top of the balustrade on the west side of O'Connell Bridge

The bronze plaque had been professionally sand cast using materials and techniques estimated at a value of about €1,000 ($US1256) to produce. Only a few foundries in the Dublin area had the equipment and skill necessary to produce such an artefact.[2]

Two men who claimed to be the hoaxers said they installed it in 2004, and owned up in May 2006 after the plaque was brought to the attention of Dublin City Council by a journalist for the Sunday Tribune.[3] They provided video footage that appeared to show them installing it in April 2004.[4][5] They claimed the work was a tribute to their father, and that the name 'Father Pat Noise' is a word play on pater noster, Latin for "our father".[6] The 'HSTI' is also fictitious, and could be an anagram of the word "shit".[2] Peadar Clancy (misspelled on the plaque) was a genuine Irish Republican Army officer killed on the evening of Bloody Sunday, 1920.[7] The men did not reveal their exact identities, instead communicating only by anonymous correspondence.

The plaque was laid in a depression left by the removal of the control box for the "Millennium Countdown" clock, installed in the waters of the River Liffey in March 1996 as a countdown to the year 2000.[4] The clock and control box were removed in December 1996 after persistent technical and visibility problems.[8] Dublin City Council stated when the story broke that the Pat Noise plaque would be removed, as it was unauthorised.[9] Several ironic tributes of flowers and messages were left at the plaque.[10] A meeting of the South East Area Committee of the Council in December 2006 supported leaving it in place.[11] However, the plaque was removed in March 2007 during restoration work on the Bridge.[12] A second plaque was installed, again surreptitiously, some time later.[12] On 22 May 2007, Dublin City Council engineers intended to remove the plaque, but were stopped by City Councillor Dermot Lacey, who insisted the Council's order not to remove it should apply to the new plaque.[5]

Eoin Dillon's 2011 album The Golden Mean includes "Lament for Fr. Pat Noise".[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rice, Eoghan (2 July 2006). "Fr Noise to be removed from O'Connell Bridge". The Sunday Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2011.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ a b Boland, Rosita (13 May 2006). "What's the crack with the plaque?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. ^ Rice, Eoghan (7 May 2006). "Is mystery plaque on O'Connell Bridge a hoax?". The Sunday Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2011.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ a b Heffernan, Breda Monday (15 May 2006). "Hoaxers inspire contest for memorial". Irish Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  5. ^ a b Healy, Alison (24 May 2007). "Hoax Plaque on Bridge Will Now be Left in Place". The Irish Times. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
  6. ^ "Mystery plaque to be removed from O'Connell Bridge". Irish Examiner. 10 May 2006. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  7. ^ "In Memory of Father Noise". Museum of Hoaxes. 9 May 2006. Retrieved 23 March 2007.
  8. ^ Egan, Rory (2 April 2006). "The Millennium Clock". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  9. ^ Kelly, Olivia (9 May 2006). "Mystery plaque to be taken down at O'Connell Bridge". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  10. ^ Photographs of plaque and tributes Flickr.com. Retrieved: 24 March 2011.
  11. ^ "South East Area Committee Meeting – 8th January 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2011. Motion from Councillor Dermot Lacey: This Committee agrees to discuss and supports the case for leaving the 'Fr Noise' Plaque in situ on O'Connell Bridge. Order: Leave plaque in place or provide further report to Committee.
  12. ^ a b Healy, Alison (22 May 2006). "Plaque to fictitious 'Fr Noise' to be taken off bridge again". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  13. ^ Long, Siobhán (14 May 2010). "Review: Eoin Long, The Golden Mean; Kila Records". The Irish Times. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
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53°20′50″N 6°15′34″W / 53.34722°N 6.25944°W / 53.34722; -6.25944

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