Kilmacduagh

Round Tower

At over 34 metres in height, Ireland's tallest round tower totally dominates the monastic complex at Kilmacduagh. We could see the tower from a good distance away as we approached the site. This rather unique monument has a number of very distinctive features. There are a total of 11 angle-headed windows present in the tower, some of which have been restored. Probably the most obvious feature of the tower is the very noticeable lean, over 1/2 metre, towards the south-west. The conical cap, which collapsed in 1859 and restored in 1878, overhangs the drum slightly.

The walls of the tower are believed to be almost 2 metres thick at the base. Because of the thickness of the walls and the height of the tower we were not surprised to learn that the monument has a diameter of over 5.5 metres. Amazingly the foundations are only 60 centimetres deep. Another rather striking feature is the height of the doorway. It stands at over 8 metres above ground level. This raises the unanswered question about access to the tower -obviously they did not use a 8 metre high wooden ladder and it would have been quite a feat to scale the tower using a rope ladder. Sadly the weather changed for the worst during our visit, but hopefully we will drop by Kilmacduagh again in the near future.