|
Doorway Type |
roughly lintelled |
|
Distinguishing Features |
none |
|
Traditional Association |
St.Tighernach
|
|
-- Holding a mouse over a thumbnail picture will "popup" information
for many of the pictures
|
|
-- Clicking ON the thumbnail picture will load up a 1024x780 version
of that picture
|
|
Clones Round Tower, Co. Monaghan
Clones Round Tower
County Monaghan
O.S. Map 27 & 28A
Visited May 23, 2006
Location: The N54 into Clones. From the town square, take the main road
downhill and turn left into a side street. There is an entrance from a right-side lane
near the round tower, or at the main gates from the opposite side of the small cemetery.
Dimensions: There is a visible offset, approximately 20 cm high and 12 cm
wide on the south west base of the tower, outside the graveyard wall near a viewing
walkway. The tower is 15.4 m at the lowest point that it can be accurately measured,
due to the bisecting walls. Height is just under 22.9 meters from the offset. The east-facing doorway is
1.64 meters above the present cemetery level and 2.12 m above the offset. Small lintelled
windows face - in ascending order - S, N and E with the traditional four bell-storey windows
at the cardinal compass points.
Features: The tower is composed of a purplish-colored sandstone
Comments: While this is a nice enough round tower at virtually it's full height,
of more interest are the headstones in the well-maintained cemetery - many from the17th and
mid 18th century. They feature rounded crosses with skulls and crossed bones and
coffins, hour glasses and bells; all symbols of mortality. Some feature the well carved coats of arms of early
prominent citizens.
History: The monastery at Clones was founded by St. Tighernach who died in the mid
sixth century. The Annals record the destruction of "all it's churches" in 836, but there
is no mention of the round tower. Getty did an excavation in the 1840's below the debris-filled
sill level of the tower. The results were inconclusive, as human bones that were found at the
extreme lowest level (below the level of the external offset) could have come from either
a burial ground that the tower was built upon or from graveyard debris used as infilling.
Other Items of Interest: Along with the early headstones in the churchyard
is the Shrine of St. Tighernach. It is carved in the shape of a house complete with finials
from a single stone. One of the gables features a figure (St. Tighernach?) with
outstretched arms. Not far from the graveyard where the round tower stands, is
another churchyard containing "the Abbey". It is the ruin of a 12th century nave and
chancel church and the graveyard also contains early headstones.
|
