Hymn | St Audoen’s Dublin | 26 August 2026

O God, whose praise in Audoen’s rings

1.
O God, whose praise in Audoen’s rings
through centuries of stone,
receive the song your people bring
and claim us as your own.

2.
For saints who walked your ancient ways
and taught your truth with grace,
we bless you for Audoen’s days
and all who filled this place.

3.
For bells that called a city near
six hundred years and more,
let every peal proclaim you here
as Lord whom we adore.

4.
In Dublin’s heart your church stands fast,
a shelter, tried and true;
as generations come and pass,
its strength is found in you.

5.
So guide us now, O Christ our light,
to walk where saints have trod;
and make our lives, in love and right,
a witness to our God.

Written earlier in 2026 as a thanksgiving for the life and ministry of the Revd Mark Gardner, Rector of St Audoen’s Church, Dublin.

Hymn information

First line: O God, whose praise in Audoen’s rings
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: CM
Tune: St Columba
Theme: St Audoen (26 August)

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026. 
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.

Through Centuries of Stone

St Audoen, the seventh-century Bishop of Rouen, could scarcely have imagined that his name would one day be carried across the sea and given to a church in the heart of Dublin. Yet the church dedicated to him has stood on High Street for more than eight centuries, holding the prayers and memories of countless generations.

Among its treasures are three bells cast in 1423. More than six hundred years later, all three still ring. As a member of the St Audoen’s Society of Bellringers, I have the privilege of sharing in that continuing tradition. When we ring, their sound passes once more across a city transformed beyond recognition, joining the present moment to all who have heard them before.

A church, however, is sustained by more than ancient stone and historic bells. Its witness continues through those who pray there, care for it and faithfully serve its community. In the ministry of the Revd Mark Gardner, St Audoen’s has been blessed by a priest who has kept sounding that call: inviting people towards prayer, belonging and the grace of God.

The bells endure because successive generations have cherished them and kept them ringing. Faithful ministry is much the same. It receives what has been entrusted to it, sounds the Gospel clearly in its own time, and passes that living witness onwards.

May St Audoen’s bells continue to ring across Dublin, and may God bless Mark and all whose faithful service fills this ancient place with living praise.