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 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]
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The River Liffey is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water and supports a range of recreational activities.
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O'Connell Bridge is a road bridge spanning the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland, which joins O'Connell Street to D'Olier Street, Westmoreland Street and the south quays.
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The Liffey Swim, currently titled the Jones Engineering Dublin City Liffey Swim, is an annual race in Dublin's main river, the Liffey, and is one of Ireland's most famous traditional sporting events. The race is managed by a voluntary not-for-profit organisation, Leinster Open Sea. The 100th Liffey Swim over a 2.2 km course took place on Saturday 3 August 2019, starting at the Rory O’More Bridge beside the Guinness Brewery and finishing at North Wall Quay in front of the Customs House.
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Liffey Wanderers F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Ringsend, Dublin. Their senior team play in the Leinster Senior League Senior Division. They also regularly compete in the FAI Cup, the FAI Intermediate Cup, the FAI Junior Cup and the Leinster Senior Cup.
The Millennium Clock was a six-ton installation designed by Grainne Hassett and Vincent Ducatez to celebrate the passing of the millennium, sponsored by the National Lottery. It took the form of a digital seven-segment display counting down the number of seconds to the year 2000 submerged under the surface of the River Liffey on the west side of O'Connell Bridge in Dublin city centre. It was turned on in March 1996 but suffered from technical problems, including becoming obscured by mud and algae. It was ultimately removed in December of the same year. These issues resulted in the clock being referred to as the "Time in the Slime" or the "Chime in the Slime".
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.