Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Round tower
Town Parks (kells Upper By.), County Meath, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Town Parks (kells Upper By.)
- County
- Meath
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Round Tower
- Latest-edition OS map
- Round Tower
- Coordinates
- 53.72729, -6.88010
- SMR number
- ME017-044013-
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
The round tower is SW of the present Church of Ireland church and the likely site of the daimhliag. It is now incorporated into the masonry wall of the graveyard (ME017-04434-). It was extant in 1076 as in that year Murchadh O’Melaghlin, King of Tara, was murdered in it (Cogan 1862-70, 1, 41). It is constructed on a plinth resting on rock outcrop. The entrance doorway on the N side is 1.5m above the raised level of the graveyard and is round-arched and of sandstone. The tower (int. diam. 2.6m at the doorway) has five floors and has five pointed windows at the top. The conical cap is missing. (Barrow 1979, 168)
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of upload: 2 July, 2014
References
Cogan, Rev. A. 1862-70 Ecclesiastical history of the diocese of Meath: ancient and modern. (3 vols) Dublin: John Fowler, Joseph Dollard
Lennox Barrow, G. 1979 The round towers of Ireland: a study and gazetteer. Dublin. The Academy Press.
Nearby in the register
- Cross - High crossunder 1 mi
- Cross-slabunder 1 mi
- Cross - High crossunder 1 mi
- Cross - High crossunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.