towers round kildare

The Cathedral was begun by Ralph of Bristol around 1223, but only the south transept and a part of the tower as well as small portions of the rest of the church date from this period. It was partially restored in the 15th century, and heavily restored int he 19th century when the choir was almost totally rebuilt. In the south transepts are preserved some good medieval tombs (particularly that of Sir Maurice Fitzgerald of Lackagh who died in 1575) and some of the medieval floor-tiles, and in th...

A St. Bridget ( Not to be confused with the saint of the same name from Kildare) founded a monastery or convent here in the 6th century which was burned in 1094. The 34 foot high stump of a Round Tower with round-headed doorway is all that remains of the old monastery. The church is said to have been built in 1609, but may be earlier. It has an intact east window and partially preserved barrel-vaulting. The staircase leading from the church to the roof forms a separate building beside the ch...

This round Tower, without windows on the top, is 65 feet high and it may never have been completed. there is a flat raised moulding around the round-headed doorway, and an indistinguishable head carved above it. The monastery of which the tower is the sole remnant was founded by an obscure saint named Tua who was attached to the nearby monastery of Clane. Little is known of the history of the monastery except that one of its abbots, named Folachtach, died in 765. The church beside the Round...