In addition to highlighting the bell, the remarkable story of Cornelius Heeney, an Irish philanthropist and famine survivor who helped establish Catholic charities in New York City, deserves acknowledgment. The original St Peter’s Church on Barclay Street in New York was the first Catholic church built in the city and state. Erected in 1786 to serve Irish immigrants, the bell that rang out for prayer from 1806 still endures today.
Plans are underway to display the bell inside the modern St Peter’s, offering a link between today’s worshippers and their ancestors. In the early 1800s the County Cork born priest John Power became a familiar sight in New York, rowing across the East River to celebrate Mass before the Brooklyn Bridge existed. A graduate of St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Power ministered at St Peter’s, which was completed in 1786 and later damaged when part of the roof collapsed in 1836. He is believed to have secured funding for the massive bell.
Today only the bell remains from that church, a beacon for more than three decades drawing Catholics in the area to prayer. The inscriptions on the bell name Rev William O’Brien and Rev Matthew O’Brien, pastors of the church, along with benefactors Thomas Stoughton, John Sullivan, Michael Roth, Francis Cooper, John Byrne, Andrew Morris, and Cornelius Heeney.
Present-day St. Peter’s Church and the original St. Peter’s Church are depicted here by Danny Leavy.
Made under Charles Sherry’s supervision at Nantes on 30 June 1806, the bell has endured through the many trials the building faced. It lay tucked in the attic of the rebuilt St Peter’s after the 1836 disaster, remaining there until a researcher began tracing the career of one of the church’s benefactors. Cornelius Heeney (1754-1848) emerged as a leading Catholic figure in early nineteenth-century New York. Born in Ireland, Heeney emigrated to the United States at thirty, surviving a shipwreck before amassing wealth that he generously donated to religious and charitable causes. The Brooklyn Benevolent Society, established with his help in 1845, still serves the community today. A memorial to Heeney near the New York State Supreme Court building at Montague and Court Streets notes his contribution as an Irish immigrant, American patriot, exemplary Catholic, philanthropist, and friend to orphans, widows, and the poor of Brooklyn.
In researching Heeney’s life, Leavy joined with Dr. Ciarán Reilly, an Irish historian at Maynooth University who has pursued Heeney for years. They hope to publish a book about Heeney that will illuminate his impact in both the United States and Ireland. Meanwhile, plans call for the Old St Peter’s Bell to be removed from the attic and displayed publicly outside the church. Leavy emphasizes the bell as a significant artifact of Irish Catholic history and a symbol of faith for the Irish American community. The current pastor of St Peters, Fr. Jarlath Quinn, has supported the project in recent months.
Nearly two decades ago the roof of St Peter’s suffered severe damage during the 9/11 attacks. Today that repair area remains visible on the church roof. As the twentieth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, the bell’s survival through wars, famine, and depressions stands as a symbol of religious freedom, tolerance, and hope in America. When the bell tolled, it united people in prayer, a powerful image that endured even after the tragedy of 9/11.
Source citations accompany this article to acknowledge the research and historical interpretation that bring Heeney’s story to life. [Citation: ScreenMachine TV collection and related archival materials].