Round Tower — Monasterboice

This Round Tower, despite its ruined upper portion, is one of the tallest in Ireland, its present height being c. 30.5m. It is built of roughly coursed slabs and blocks of greywacke. This is a fine example of a typically Irish early medieval free-standing bell tower probably dating from the eleventh century. As is normally the case the doorway here is above ground level but the upper floor, where the bell or bells would have hung, is lacking and has been since at least the eighteenth century. These towers had wooden floors connected by ladders and it appears that books and treasures associated with the church were sometimes stored in them. This was certainly the case here in AD 1097, when the annals state that this tower was burned, whether accidentally or on purpose is not recorded, ‘with its books and many treasures’. Its round-headed doorway at the E side, c. 2m above the present ground level, is constructed with moulded and carved sandstone blocks with a single large rounded arch stone. This is a National Monument, in state ownership: No. 94. See the attached view from ESE. The above description is derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Con Manning Date of revision: 11 May 2016