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Round towers of about 18 feet in external diameter, and varying in height from 60 to about 110 feet, are frequently found in connection with the earlier monastic establishments of Ireland. The question of their origin and uses long occupied much antiquarian attention. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries they had been regarded by archæologists as the work of the Danes; but towards the close of the latter century General Vallancey propounded various theories, which assumed them to be of Phœnician or Indo-Scythian origin, and to have contained the sacred fire from whence all the fires in the kingdom were annually rekindled. By those who affirmed their Christian origin they were successively declared to be anchorite towers in imitation of that of St. Simon Stylites, and penitential prisons, and thus theories were multiplied until they became almost as numerous as the towers themselves. Each succeeding writer, instead of elucidating, appeared to involve the subject in deeper mystery than ever​—​a mystery that was proverbial until dispelled by George Petrie in his great work on The Origin and Uses of the Round Towers of Ireland, which was received, with good cause for the effusion, as ‘the most learned, the most exact, and the most important ever published upon the antiquities of the ancient Irish nation.’

That the general conclusions embodied in this work were arrived at after a long and patient investigation, not only of the architectural peculiarities of the numerous round towers, but also of the ecclesiastical structures usually found in connection with them, is sufficiently shown by the many references to, and illustrations of, examples scattered over the whole country. But Petrie also, with the assistance of the best Celtic scholars in Ireland, sought in the ‘Annals’ and other Irish MSS. for references to such buildings as it was the custom of the early inhabitants to erect; and from these hitherto-neglected sources of information, much light was thrown upon the subject of ancient Irish ecclesiastical architecture. The following is a summary of Petrie’s conclusions:​—​

1. That the Irish ecclesiastics had, from a very early period, in connection with their cathedral and abbey churches, campaniles or detached belfries, called in the Irish ‘Annals’ and other ancient authorities by the term Cloictheach, ‘House of a bell.’

2. That no other building, either round or square, suited to the purpose of a belfry, has ever been found in connection with any church of an age anterior to the twelfth century, with the single exception of the square belfry attached to a church on Inis Clothrann or Clorin, an island in Lough Ree, which seems to be of earlier date.

3. That they were designed to answer at least a twofold purpose​—​to serve as belfries, and as keeps or places of strength, in which the sacred utensils, books, relics, and other valuables were deposited, and into which the ecclesiastics to whom they belonged could retire for security in cases of sudden attack.

4. An examination of ancient Irish literature tends strongly to the conclusion that the people so generally recognised this use of the round towers as a primary one, that they very rarely applied to a tower erected for defence any other term but that of ‘cloictheach’ or belfry.

5. That they were probably also used, when occasion required, as beacons and watch-towers.

Petrie, while establishing their ecclesiastical character and origin, gave, however, too wide a margin to the date of their erection, viz., from the sixth century to the thirteenth. The investigations of the late Lord Dunraven in tracing such structures on the Continent narrowed their first erection down to the ninth century. He shows that they were founded on European examples, the most notable being those of Ravenna, where six of its round towers still stand. The round towers were due to Byzantine influences, and some writers trace their original source to the towers built in connection with early Syrian churches. Miss Stokes, following Lord Dunraven, assigns the Irish round towers to three periods between 890 and 1238 A.D., and classifies them into four distinct groups, according to their style of masonry and doorways.

The Norse sea-rovers rendered ecclesiastical establishments most unsafe. The first period of their invasions extended from the end of the eighth century to the middle of the ninth century, and the land was ravaged from north to south with fire and sword. On the sea-coast and along the river valleys the country lay waste. On the banks of the Bann, the shores of Lough Neagh, by the Boyne, and broad expansions of the Shannon, and as far south as the distant Skellig Rock, few sacred establishments escaped plunder and desecration. To protect their churches, oratories, and sacred treasures, these towers were built by the monks, from which watch could be kept, and an easy retreat made to them as places of safety; their lines can still be traced along the shores of the waters where the fleets of the Danes are known to have appeared.

The usual features of the round towers may be thus summarised:

Doorways.​—​In form these are similar to the doorways we have described as characteristic of the early churches, but they are generally more highly ornamented, and appear to have been furnished with double doors. They are placed almost invariably at a considerable elevation above the ground. A flat projecting band, with a small bead-moulding at the angles, is the most usual decoration; but in some instances a human head, sculptured in bold relief, is found upon each side of the arch. A stone immediately above the doorway of Antrim tower exhibits a cross sculptured in alto-relievo; and at Donaghmore, in Co. Meath, a figure of the Crucifixion, in bold relief, occupies a similar position. This style of decoration may have been much more common than is generally supposed, as, of the number of towers remaining in Ireland, the doorways of at least one-third have been destroyed. Concentric arches, with chevron and other mouldings, occur at Timahoe and at Kildare.

Windows and Apertures.​—​Generally speaking, these are similar in form to the windows in contemporary churches​—​with this difference, that they never splay, and that the arch-head in numerous examples differs in interior form from that of the exterior. The windows in the earliest towers are square-headed or triangular, and in the latest they are well formed, and of cut stone. The tower was divided into storeys, about 12 feet in height, the floors of which were supported by projections of the masonry or by brackets. Each storey, except the highest, was generally lighted by one small window; the highest has generally four of large size. A conical roof of stone completed the building. The tower usually rested on a low circular plinth; the walls varied in thickness, from 3 to 5 feet; the lowest storey had no aperture, and sometimes its space was filled by solid masonry. The earliest towers were built of rubble masonry; and the spaces between the stones were filled with spawls; little mortar was used in laying the courses, but grouting abundantly. In the latest towers fine ashlar masonry was used, like the Norman work of the twelfth century; a few have external string courses, as in the perfect tower at Ardmore, County Waterford. About seventy round towers still remain, thirteen of which are perfect, of which ten retain the original conical cap.

Clondalkin.​—​In the village of Clondalkin, at a distance of about six miles from Dublin by road, stands one of the best preserved of the round towers. Its height to the top of the cone is 90 feet. The doorway, which is approached by a flight of stone steps, comparatively modern, is square-headed, with inclined sides, and perfectly plain, as are also the windows and top apertures. Some years ago a gentleman of the neighbourhood caused this tower to be repaired, upon which occasion floors were added, and placed in their original position. Access may be had from storey to storey by the aid of fixed ladders, so that a visitor has here an opportunity for observation not frequently to be met with. It should be remarked that the projection at the base, about 13 feet high, and which is nearly all solid masonry, is not found in any other round tower in Ireland, and it may possibly be an afterwork. The tower of Clondalkin, though nearly perfect, cannot be considered a very fine example of its class. It is built of rubble masonry, is somewhat low, and its roof, which does not appear to be original, is wanting in that degree of lightness and elegance observable in many.

The other towers in the immediate neighbourhood of Dublin are at Swords, Lusk, and Rathmichael. That of Swords has been disfigured by the restoration of the top, and the ivy which threatened its destruction has been removed. That of Lusk has been incorporated into the west end of the parish church, and the tower at Rathmichael is a mere stump.

Monasterboice.​—​There is a fine example at Monasterboice, within about six miles of Drogheda. The churches, the tower, and the magnificent crosses of this ancient foundation form a group of ecclesiastical antiquities in some respects unsurpassed in Ireland. A description of the crosses will be found in the previous chapter. The tower, the erection of which there is every reason to refer to an early period, is one of particular interest, exhibiting, as it does, a decorated doorway, the head of which is cut out of two stones laid horizontally one above the other. A band extends round the head and down the sides of the doorway, but terminates on a level with the sill, or rather turns off at a right angle, passing horizontally for a distance of eight inches, from which point it ascends, and running upwards round the doorway head, gives the appearance of a double band. A space between the bands, upon each side of the upper part of the doorway, and one upon the semicircular arched head, left uncut, appear suggestive of the cross. The window immediately over the doorway may be looked upon as a characteristic example of the opening found in a similar position in most of the towers, and which is supposed to have answered the purpose of a second doorway, or to have been designed for the purpose of affording persons within the tower some means of defending the entrance beneath. In this example, however, it is unusually small. The other windows are square-headed, as were also the large apertures of the uppermost storey.127 The masonry is good, and characteristic of an early period; the stones are large, well fitted together, and pass through a considerable thickness of the wall, as was observed in the injured upper portion of the structure. The tower has been well repaired by the Board of Works, and flights of steps laid from floor to floor, by which the summit of the top storey can be reached.

A church of very primitive construction, and probably several centuries older than the tower, stands in the cemetery, at a little distance to the north-east of the other remains. Its only doorway is placed, as usual, in the centre of the west gable. It is square-headed, and possesses every indication of great antiquity; but the accumulation of the churchyard soil has buried the lower portion at least to a depth of several feet. The church consisted of a nave and chancel; the latter has been destroyed, but a plain semicircular chancel arch remains. The church immediately adjoining the round tower is obviously an erection of the early part of the thirteenth century.

Kildare.​—​The round tower of Kildare is in several respects one of the most remarkable in Ireland. Its doorway, of which an illustration is annexed, is unusually rich, of Irish-Romanesque work, consisting of three concentric arches, upon two of which a variety of mouldings appears. The external arch is quite plain, and evidently not as ancient as the others. An ornamental canopy, a portion of which still remains, once surmounted the doorway. A still more remarkable and finer doorway is that of Timahoe. The tower of Kildare is 105½ feet high, and 55 feet in circumference; it bears evidence of having been repaired at various periods. Like the round tower of Cloyne, in the County of Cork, and like those of Kilkenny and Kilmallock, it is finished with a plain battlemented parapet, comparatively modern, and added, probably, at some period when the original roof of stone had been destroyed, perhaps by lightning.

Devenish.​—​This tower, with other remains of antiquity, some of which are associated with the name of St. Molaise (see p. 288), stands on the Island of Devenish in Lower Lough Erne, a couple of miles from Enniskillen. The tower is 84 feet 10 inches high, and is remarkable for its symmetry, and the perfection and regularity of its masonry to the very apex. It has a round-headed doorway 9 feet from the ground; at this part it is 8 feet in diameter, and the walls are 4 feet thick. It has five storeys. Above the doorway is a triangular-headed window, and the top storey has four windows nearly facing the cardinal points. It has the unique distinction of possessing the only external decoration not connected with apertures. This is a cornice or band of Romanesque work, of good design, immediately beneath the conical cap. On the band, and over the apertures, are quaintly-executed heads, the beards consisting of interlaced patterns. The tower was thoroughly restored in 1835.