VER% 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 s ^ 
 
 ■^Aa]AIN(13W^ 
 
 ^.OfCAllFOff^ ^OfCAllFOff^ ^^\\E UNIVERJ/^ 
 
 ^OAavaan-i'*?^ '^OAUvaaiH^^ ^J'jihnvsoi^^ 
 
 o<lOSANCElfj> 
 
 o 
 
 , -< 
 
 ^/sa3AiNn]\vv^ 
 
 ARY(9/, W^lllBRARY(9x^ 
 
 ^WEUNIVERJ/A. 
 
 o 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj-^ 
 
 o 
 
 ^Aa]AiNn]WV 
 
 ^NjvlllBRARYO/ 
 
 ^^tllBRARYQc^ 
 
 
 '^aojiivojo"^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOftj^ 
 
 .^'rtf■lNIVER5■//l 
 
 ^vlOSANCEtfj^ 
 
 pa = 
 
 mi 
 
 ^^;0FCA1IF0% 
 
 jA;OfCAllF0ff^ 
 
 i'^ "^^^Aavaaii^ ^laDNVsm^"^ %a3AiNii-3WV^ '^^Aavaaii^ '^>OAavaani^ 
 
 wmih 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj>, 
 
 ■^/iajAiNnmv* 
 
 ^>^llIBRARYQc ^;^lliBRARYa^ .^WEUNIVER% 
 
 ^.JOJIlVJJO'i^ 
 
 %OJ11V3JO'^ 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfjVx 
 
 O 
 
 %aMiN(i]WV^ 
 
 IVER% 
 
 ^lOSANCElfjy. 
 
 o 
 
 > -< 
 ^/5a3AINn3\V^^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ,^OFCALIFO% ,^WEl)NIVER5/A 
 
 "^OAavaaii-i^ 
 
 ^CAavaanj^"^ 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj-^ 
 
 CO 
 
 so 
 
 ».- -I 
 
 %a3AlN(13WV 
 
 WRY(9/ 4^l-llBRARY(9/ 
 
 
 '^<!/0JnV3JO>' 
 
 .\WEl)NIVER% 
 
 <ril3DNVS01=*^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfx^ 
 
 %a]AIN(l-3WV^ 
 
 ^^tllBRARYQ^ 
 
 ^■flOJITOJO'? 
 
 ^lllBRARYOc. 
 
 C_3 
 
 ^<!/0JIIVJJO-^ 
 
 rfl 
 
 aaivi^^ 
 
 ^0FCA1IF0% 
 
 "5 ^-^ » •- ^' 
 
 ^OAavaall•l'^^ 
 
 AWEI)NIVERJ/a 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfjVx 
 
 "^/iaJMNiiaftV 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 "^OAavaaii-^ 
 
 ^<?AavaaiH^ 
 
 IVER% ^lOSA-JCElf/;^ 
 
 
 ^^l■llBRARY(9/^ -^IIIBRARYO^ 
 
 ^<J0JnV3JO'^ '^OJIIVJJO'^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ ^OFCAllFOff^^ 
 
 ^WEUNIV£Ry/A 
 
 %13DNVS01^ 
 
 .\\\EUN1VERJ/A 
 
 -n 
 
 "^/^aaAiNflJwv^ "^(^Aavaaii-i^^ "^OAavaaii^ '^sudnvsoi^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 %a3AINfl]l\V^ 
 
 ^lOSANCEl^^ 
 
 
 RARY^^ \>^t•LIBRARYOc^ 
 
 .^WEUNIVERy/A 
 
 vj^lOSANCElfJV- 
 
 m%m% 1^ 1(^1 
 
 ^ILIBRARYQc^ 
 
 iJJiTi 
 
 -^tllBRARYQc 
 
 UIT 
 
 ii.
 
 )% .-;;OfCAllF0P^ 
 
 , \\\E UNIV[RJ7A A^•lUVAN^.tUX* 
 
 1 i 
 
 ■# "^^OAavaaii^ ^udnvsoi^ "^/^aaAiNn-Jwv^ '^^omm\^ '^^okmnw^ 
 
 # 
 
 \yh 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj-^ 
 
 C3 
 
 ^IIIBRARYQ^ 
 
 ^^^tllBRARYOr 
 
 iv^^ %a^AiNn-3\\v^ "^^OAHvaan^ 
 
 ^<?Aavaani'^ 
 
 AWfUNIVERJ/A 
 
 o 
 
 .AWEUNIVERJ/a 
 
 ,A;lOSANCElfj> 
 o 
 
 . -< 
 ^^Aa]AINn3WV^ 
 
 ^lOSANC[lfj> 
 o ^^^ ■ 
 
 -<rii]DNVS01=^'" ■^AaiAINrtJWV' 
 
 % 
 
 ^•5/. -^tilBRARYOf 
 
 JO^ ^OdllVJJO'^ 
 
 V? 
 
 AWEUNIVER% 
 
 ^J'JlJDNVSm^ 
 
 ^lOSANCflfj"^ 
 
 "^/Sa^AINIl-JftV^ 
 
 ^IIIBRARYO^ 
 
 ^>^UIBRARYQ<;^ 
 
 ^<!/0JnV3JO^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 < 
 
 )% .-^.OfCAllFO/?^ 
 
 n 
 
 MM\ms//j, 
 
 •# '^^^Aavaaii-^ '^jshmsoi^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfjV. 
 
 %a]AiNn-3ftV^ 
 
 <^;OF-CAllFOff^ 
 
 ^OAavaaiH'^ 
 
 .^(OFCA1IFO% 
 ^ VT7_lg 
 
 ^<?AavaaiH^ 
 
 -1 
 
 
 ^lOSAVCElfx. 
 
 %83AINn-3WV^ 
 
 ^UIBRARY^^ 
 
 ^tUBRARYQc. 
 
 ^.SOJIIVDJO'^ ^<!/0JI]VDJO'^ 
 
 .^WE•l]NlV[R5■//). 
 
 o 
 <m3DNVS01^ 
 
 v>:lOSANCElfj^ 
 
 ■^Aa3AIN(l-3WV^ 
 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ^OFCAIIFO^, 
 
 %a3AiNn-3ftv* ^(?Aavaan# ^^^Aavaaiii^"^ 
 
 -^MEUNIVERJ/A 
 
 "^JSlJDNVSOl^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj-^ 
 
 %a3AiNnmv^ 
 
 YO/ ^>MlIBRARYO/r, aWEUNIVERS/a 
 
 '^.ifOJIlVJJO^' 
 
 ^lOSANCElf% 
 
 <rii3DNVS01^ ^/Ja]AINil-3ftV^ 
 
 -^^llIBRARYOc:^ 
 
 ^tllBRARYQ/- 
 
 \^myi^ %ojiivjjo'f^ 
 
 ;j;OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ^(3Aavaan# 
 
 .^\^E■llNIVER5•//^ 
 
 ^^iUDNVSOl^ 
 
 Aj;lOSANCElfT* 
 
 %a3AINfl]WV^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 s 
 
 ^OFCAIIFO% 
 
 ^<?Aavaani^ 
 
 '^<?Aavaaii-j^ 
 
 <awe 
 < *— 
 
 CO 
 
 RS/A ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 ^1 tel 
 
 ^^^lUBRARYQf 
 
 ., ^tUBRARYQ^r 
 
 PJii iffii 
 
 ^WE■UNIVERj•/A ^lOSANCEl^^ 
 
 .^1 %^ " 

 
 THE 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE 
 
 IRELAND, 
 
 AN 
 
 NTERIOR TO THE ANGLO-NORMAN INVASION, 
 
 &C. &C. 
 
 ?
 
 THE 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE 
 
 lEELAND, 
 
 ANTERIOR TO THE ANGLO-NORMAN INVASION; 
 
 COMPRISING AN ESSAY ON 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND, 
 
 WHICH OBTAINED 
 
 THE GOLD MEDAL AND PRIZE OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY. 
 
 GEORGE PETRIE, R.H.A, V. P. R.I. A. 
 
 ^cconJj ©Iiition. 
 
 DUBLIN: 
 HODGES AND SMITH, GRAFTON- S TREET. 
 
 MDCCCXLV.
 
 DUBLIN : 
 
 PRINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PHESS^ 
 
 BY M. H. GILL.
 
 Annex 
 
 TO 
 
 THE VISCOUNT A D A R E, M. P., M. R. I. A., 
 
 AND 
 
 AYILLIAM STOKES, M.D., M.R.I.A., 
 
 REGIUS PKOFESSOK OF PHYSIC IN THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN. 
 
 My Lord, and Sir, 
 
 You will remember that in one of the beautiful 
 works of the great painter, Nicolo Poussin, he has depicted a 
 group of shepherds at an ancient tomb, one of whom deciphers 
 for the rest the simple inscription engraved upon it : 
 
 " ET EGO IN ARCADIA." 
 
 And it was a natural and grateful desire of the Arcadian shep- 
 herd to be remembered in connexion with the beloved region 
 in which he had found tranquillity and enjoj'ment. 
 
 In like manner, I would wish to be remembered hereafter, 
 less for what I have attempted to do, than as one who, in the 
 pure and warm hearts of the best and most intellectual of 
 his local cotemporaries, had found, and enjoyed, a resting- 
 place, — far superior to that of the Greek. 
 
 As two of the dearest of those friends, equally known, 
 beloved, and honoured by all, as by me, — permit me, then, to 
 inscribe your names on this humble monument; so that, if it 
 
 Hfeijn**, 
 
 '«^c«1
 
 iy . DEDICATION. 
 
 should happily survive the wreck of time, it may be known as 
 that of one who, though but a feeble and unskilled labourer in 
 ihf (ields of Art and Literature, was not deemed unworthy of 
 the warmest regards of such as you, and who was not un- 
 grateful for his happiness. 
 
 Believe me, my Lord, and Sir, 
 With sentiments of the deepest Respect and Gratitude, 
 Your affectionate and faithful Servant, 
 
 GEORGE PETRIE. 
 
 21, Great Charles-street, Dublin, 
 February '20lh, 1845.
 
 I 
 I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 J- HE work, of wliicli the first volume is now submitted to the 
 PubHc, was originally written for, and presented to the Royal Irish 
 Academy, as an Essay oa the Origin and Uses of the Eound Towers 
 of Ireland ; and that Essay was so fortunate as to obtain a gold medal 
 and prize of fifty pounds from the Academy in 1833. It may, 
 however, be proper to state that, in its present form, the work con- 
 tains not only the original Essay on the Round Towers, very much 
 enlarged, but also distinct Essays on our ancient stone churches and 
 other ecclesiastical buildings, of cot emporaneous age with the Round 
 Towers, now first submitted to the Academy, and for the approval 
 of which that distinguished body is in no way committed. For this 
 amplification of my original Essay into a work of great national scope, 
 I am alone answerable ; and whatever may be the faults found Avitli 
 its execution, I trust the Academy and the Public generally will 
 give me credit, at least, for the motives which influenced me in thus 
 extending the field of my inquiries, and believe that I was actuated 
 solely to undertake this additional labour by an ardent desire to rescue 
 the antiqviities of my native country from unmerited oblivion, and 
 give them their just place among those of the old Christian nations 
 of Europe. Let me add too, that I was further influenced in ex- 
 tending this work by the hope that by making the age and historical 
 interest of these memorials of our early Christianity more generally 
 known to, and appreciated by my countrymen, some stop might be
 
 I'KKFACE. 
 
 VI 
 
 put to tlio wa.Uon destruction of these remains, which is now, un- 
 happily, of daily occmTcnce, and which, if not by some means checked 
 must lead ore long to their total annihilation. I had long felt that 
 such a work, comprising, as a whole, the several classes of early 
 Chri<<tian architectural remains, was not only essential to the final 
 settlement of the question of the origin of the Towers themselves, but 
 was also a desideratum in the general history of Christian civilization 
 in Europe ; and circumstances, unnecessary to be stated here, having 
 thrown the publication of my Essay on the Round Towers into my 
 owi hands, I immediately determined to avail myself of the oppor- 
 tunity to make that Essay the basis on which to erect it. I soon 
 found, however, when it was too late to think of diminishing it, that 
 the labour was much greater than I had ever contemplated. On such 
 an intricate subject a popular Essay, feebly supported by facts, and 
 references to authorities difficult of access, and, for the most part, 
 liiddi^n in languages unknown to the multitude, would have made 
 little impression on the learned, and have been of no permanent 
 value to the country: hence it became imperatively necessary to 
 submit to the reader all those passages, derived from manuscripts or 
 scarce books, from which my conclusions were drawn ; and, conse- 
 quently, the work which I had originally expected woidd have been 
 comprised in a single volume, will, of necessity, extend to two. The 
 volume now presented to the Public will, however, be found com- 
 plete in itself, as a critical and historical dissertation, not only on 
 the Round Towers, but on the Christian architecture of Ireland 
 generally, previous to the Anglo-Norman Invasion. It contains all 
 the opinions Avhich I have formed on this subject, and all the general 
 proofs which I deemed necessary to substantiate them. I have, there- 
 fore, considered it proper to meet the wishes of the Academy and of 
 my friends by giving it immediate publication, instead of waiting to 
 see the second volume through the Press, which must necessarily 
 require a considerable time, even if life and cu-cumstances shoidd
 
 PREFACE. vii 
 
 permit me to accomplish it. That vokime will be altogether supple- 
 mentary to the present, and will contain descriptive and historical 
 notices of all the remains of ecclesiastical architectvire in Ireland, 
 with illustrations similar to those in the present volume, wherever 
 they present features of interest or variety; and it will be closed 
 with a statement of my opinions on the origin of the various styles 
 found in those remains, the ages and purposes of which are now in- 
 vestigated; for it will be seen that until such materials are laid in 
 full before the Public, no conclusions on this point could with safety 
 be hazarded. 
 
 The circumstances now alluded to will, I trust, account, to some 
 extent, for the length of time which has elapsed between the reading 
 of the original Essay to the Academy, and the publication of the pre- 
 sent volume. For this delay I have exposed myself to the censure 
 of many, but I can truly aver that it was to none a cause of so much 
 regret as to myself The laborious character of the work will, how- 
 ever, be my best apology, — a work requiring a most intimate ac- 
 quaintance with the existing monuments, not merely of a county or 
 district, but of the whole kingdom, with its contiguous islands, often 
 most difficult of access ; — and again, demanding the most diligent 
 examination of the whole body of our ancient manuscript authorities, 
 as far as they were accessible in the public libraries, as well of 
 England as of Ireland ; — and lastly, requiring the labours of the 
 draftsman no less than those of the literary antiquary. It should be 
 remembered, moreover, that works of research of this character are 
 amongst the most tedious tliat man can undertake ; scarcely a page 
 of them can be Avritten without a previoiis investigation of the most 
 laborious character ; and the antiquary who is restrained from rush- 
 ing prematurely into print by a conscientious desire to make himself 
 previously acquainted with every thing conducive to the discovery 
 of truth, is, as I conceive, more deserving of praise than censure, and 
 will be so judged by posterity.
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 For the object which this work is intended to effect, as well as 
 the spirit in wliicli it is conducted, I trust I may lay claim to some 
 praise, the pursuit of trutli being never lost sight of. Dr. Johnson, 
 with his characteristic wisdom, observes, in one of his letters to the 
 celebrated Charles O'Conor : " Dr. Leland begins his History too 
 late : the ages wliich deserve an exact inquiry are those, for such 
 tliere were, when Ireland was the school of the west, the quiet habi- 
 tation of sanctity and literature. If you would give a history, though 
 imperfect, of the Irish nation, from its conversion to Christianity to 
 tlie invasion from England, you would amplify knowledge with new 
 views and new objects. Set about it, therefore, if you can ; do what 
 you can easily do without anxious exactness. Lay the foundation, 
 and leave the superstructure to posterity." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary for me to say that I am not vain enough 
 to suppose that I have supplied the desideratum in our history 
 which Dr. Johnson has thus ably pointed out. Yet, as the antiquary 
 is the necessary pioneer to the historian, clearing the path before him, 
 and often opening out vistas of the distant country, without which he 
 would have to explore his way through the wilderness of time in doubt 
 and difficulty, if not in darkness, — so, I may, as I trust, without pre- 
 sumption, venture to hope that my humble labours will not be with- 
 out some value as contributing to that object. What, I may ask, 
 Avould we know of the true greatness of the Greeks or Egyptians if 
 Ave were unacquainted with their ancient monuments ? What do we 
 know of the Etruscans but what we have derived from this source ? 
 and, may I not add, would not an erroneous conclusion, such as so 
 many have laboured to establish, as to the indefinite antiquity and 
 uses of the Irish Round Towers, while it was suffered to pass with- 
 out correction, necessarily pervert, and give a colouring of falsehood 
 to the whole stream of Irish history, and lead to the reception, in 
 the public mind, of the most visionary notions of the ancient civili- 
 zation and importance of the country ?
 
 PREFACE. ix 
 
 That many faults will be found in the execution of this ■work, I 
 am fully sensible. I have little concerned myself with the graces of 
 style, beyond the necessary attention to clearness ; and my object 
 being to illustrate as much as possible the progress of art in the 
 country, I was never deterred from becoming discursive by the dread 
 of being deemed wanting in order and consecutiveness. In short, for 
 its various imperfections, and for my own incompetency to do bet- 
 ter, I can truly aver that I would not have imdertaken it, however 
 necessary, at this eleventh hour of the existence of our antiquities, if 
 I had seen any probability that a more able hand was disposed to 
 accomplish it. That I have been able to throw some considerable 
 light on the hitherto neglected antiqi;ities of my country, and to 
 remove the verv thin veil which involved the orifjin of her Kound 
 Towers in mystery, will, I fondly hope, be the opinion of the learned. 
 I have not, however, any very sanguine expectations that either the 
 evidences or arguments which I have adduced, or those which I have 
 still to submit to my readers, will have any very immediate effect 
 on the great majority of the middle classes of the Irish people (for 
 the lower or agricultural classes have no ideas upon the subject but 
 the true ones) in changing their opinions as to their indefinite anti- 
 quity and Pagan uses. Among these such opinions have assumed 
 the form of a sentiment almost religious, and my dry facts have too 
 little poetry in them to reach the judgment through the medium of 
 the imagination. Neither do I anticipate that I shall be able to con- 
 vince all those who have written recently in support of those erro- 
 neous, but popular theories, though I expect to satisfy the more 
 intelligent and candid of my antagonists of their errors, as for ex- 
 ample, my friends the members of the South Munster Society of 
 Antiquaries, most of whom, I have reason to suspect, are more than 
 half gained over already. 
 
 I have but one word to add now respecting the illustrations to 
 this work. It will be seen that they make but slight pretensions to 
 
 b
 
 xu 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 bring tlie work before tlie Public, in tlie garb of elegance which it 
 lias assumed. Nor can I conscientiously avoid expressing my con- 
 viction, that in employing their capital on a work of this character, 
 they were less impelled by the ordinary feelings which influence 
 publishers on such occasions, than by sentiments of regard for its 
 author, and a desire to raise the character of their country. And I 
 have also to return my best thanks to Mr. Gill, of the University 
 Printing Press, the printer of the work, and, indeed, to all the intel- 
 ligent persons of his Establishment, to whose Zealand ability it owes 
 so much of its beauty, and to all whom, 1 may truly say, the work 
 seemed a labour of love. 
 
 GEORGE PETEIE. 
 
 21, Great Charles-street, Dublin, 
 March 8th, 1845-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Introduction, 1 
 
 PART I. 
 
 ERRONEOUS THEORIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE ROUND 
 
 TOWERS CONSIDERED. 
 
 Section I. — Theory of the Danish Origin of the Towers, 5 
 
 II. — Theory of the Phcenician or Eastern Origin of the Round 
 
 Towers, 11 
 
 III. — Theories of the Pagan Uses of the Round Towers, . . . . 12 
 
 IV. — Theories of the Christian Origin and Uses of the Round Towers, 109 
 
 PART II. 
 
 TRUE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE ROUND TOWERS. 
 
 Section I. — Introduction, 122 
 
 II. — Antiquity of Irish ecclesiastical Remains, 125 
 
 III. — General Characteristics of the ancient Irish ecclesiastical 
 
 Buildings, 160 
 
 Subsection 1. Churches, 161 
 
 2. Oratories, 343 
 
 3. Belfries, .358 
 
 4. Houses, 421 
 
 5. Erdamhs, 437 
 
 6. Kitchens, 444 
 
 7. Cashels, 445 
 
 8. "Well Coverings, Tombs, and Mills, 452 
 
 Index, 456
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 NO. PAGE. 
 
 1. Nuraghe of'Borghidu, in Sardiniu, 7(5 
 
 2. Ground-plan of ditto, il). 
 
 8. Plan of the Level of the second Chamber of ditto, ib. 
 
 4. Section of ditto, ib. 
 
 5, 6. Sections of ditto, 77 
 
 7. Nuraghe Nieddii, near Ploaghe, in Sardinia, ib. 
 
 8. Ground-plan of ditto, ib. 
 
 9. Section of the Base of the Round Tower of Cloyne, 86 
 
 10. Round Stone-house, called Clochan na Carriage, on the great Island 
 
 of Aran, in the Bay of Galway, 1,30 
 
 11. St. Finan Cam's House, a round Stonc-housc on an Island in Lough 
 
 Lee, in the County of Kerry, 181 
 
 12. Round Stone-house on Ard Oilean, off the Coast of Connamara, . ib. 
 
 13. Stone Oratory at Gallerus, in the Barony of Corcaguiny, in the County 
 
 of Kerry, 133 
 
 14. Monumental Inscription, in the Byzantine Character, on a Stone at 
 
 Gallerus, in the County of Kerry, 134 
 
 15. Ancient Alphabet, in the Byzantine Character, on a Stone at Kil- 
 
 malkedar, in the Barony of Corcaguiny, in the County of Kerry, ib. 
 10. Ogham Inscription on a Stone at Temple Gcal, in the Barony of 
 
 Corcagiuny, in the Coimty of Kerry, 13(i 
 
 17. Ancient Inscription to Seven Romans on a Stone at Templebrecan, 
 
 on the great Island at Aran, .139 
 
 18. Ancient Inscription found in the Tomb of St. Brecan, at Temple- 
 
 brecan, on the great Island of Aran 140 
 
 19. Ancient Inscription on a black roimd Calp Stone found in the Tomb 
 
 of St. Brecan, at Templebrecan, on the great Island of Aran, . ib. 
 
 20. Doorway, in the Cyclopean Style, in the Oratory at Gallerus, in the 
 
 County of Kerry, 1(58 
 
 21. Doorway of Templepatrick, on Inchaguile, in Lough Corrib, in the 
 
 County of Galway, 1(54
 
 XVI 
 NO. 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 •II. Ancient Inscription on a Stone at Tcmplcpatrick, on Incliaguile, in 
 
 Lough Corrib, in the County of Gahvay, IHo 
 
 23. Doorway ol'tlie Church of Ratass, near Tralce, in the County of Kerry, 1 ()9 
 
 24. Doorway of Our Lady's Church at Glendalough, in the County of 
 
 Wicklow, 170 
 
 25. Cros.s carved on the Soifet of the Lintel of the Doorway of Our Lady's 
 
 Church, at Glendalough, 171 
 
 2(). Cro.«s carved on tlie Lintel of the Church of Killiney, in the County 
 
 ofDublin, ib. 
 
 27. Doorway of the Reefert Church at Glendalough, 17;i 
 
 28. Doorway of St. Fechin's Church at Fore, in the County of Wcstmeath, 1 74 
 
 29. Doorway of the Cathedral of Kibnacduagh, in the County of Gal way, 17(i 
 
 30. Doorway of Templemacduach, on the great Island of Aran, . . . 177 
 
 31. Doorway of the Church of Ireland's Eye, near Howth, in the County 
 
 ofDublin, 178 
 
 32. Doorwav of the Church of Sheepstown, near Knocktopher, in the 
 
 County of Kilkenny, ib. 
 
 33. Doorway of the Church of Killaspugbrone, in the County of Sligo, 179 
 
 34. Doorway of the Church of Eachaiuech, or Aughenagh, iu the County 
 
 of Sligo 180 
 
 35. Doorway of the Church of Britway, in the County of Cork, . . . 181 
 3(). Window in the east Wall of Trinit}' Church, at Glendalough, . . 182 
 
 37. Window in the east Wall of the Stone Oratory at Gallerus, iu the 
 
 County of Kerry, ib. 
 
 38. Window in the east Wall of the ancient Church of Mvmgret, in the 
 
 County of Limerick, 183 
 
 39. Window in the south Wall of the Chancel of Trinity Church, at 
 
 Glendalough, ib. 
 
 40. Window in the south Wall of the Church of Kiltiernan, in the 
 
 County of Galway, ib. 
 
 41. Window iu the east Wall of the Church of Kilcanaimagh, on the 
 
 Middle Island of Aran, 184 
 
 42. Window in the east Wall of St. Mac Dara's Church, on the Island 
 
 of Cruach Mac Dara, off the western Coast of the County of Galway, ib. 
 
 43. Window in the east Wall of the Church of Termoucrouan, in the 
 
 County of Clare, ib. 
 
 44. Window of the Oratory near the old Church of Ivilmalkedar, iu the 
 
 County of Kerry, 185 
 
 45. Window in the east Wall of the Church of Ratass, in the County of 
 
 Ken-y, ib. 
 
 46. View of the Interior of Trinity Church, at Glendalough, showing 
 
 the Chancel Arch, 18G
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii 
 
 NO. PAGE. 
 
 47. Specimen of the Masonry of the inner Face of the west End of the 
 
 Cathedral at Glendalough, 187 
 
 48. Specimen of " long and short" Masonry in the older Church at 
 
 Monastcrboice, in the Coimty of Louth, 188 
 
 49. View of the ancient Church of Kilcanannagh, on the Middle Island 
 
 of Aran, 18!l 
 
 50. View of the Church of St. Mac Dara, on the Island of Cruach Mac 
 
 Dara, off the Coast of the County of Galway, 190 
 
 51. 52. Doorway of the Round Tower of Kildare ; Section showing the 
 
 Ornaments on its Jambs and Soffit, 209 
 
 53 to 55. Bracteate Coins, found imbedded in the Base of the Round 
 
 Tower of Kildare, 210 
 
 56 to 59. Bracteate Coins in the IMuseum of the Royal Irish Academy, 228 
 
 60 to 62. Coins of Saxon Kings, 229 
 
 63. Doorway of the Round Tower of Timahoe, in the Queen's County, 234 
 
 64, 65. Horizontal and vertical Sections of the Doorway of the Round 
 
 Tower of Timahoe, in the Queen's Coimty, 235 
 
 66. Specimen of Pellet and Bead Moulding on the Soffit of the Arch 
 
 of the Doorway of the Round Tower of Timahoe, ib. 
 
 67, 68. Capitals of the Doorway of the Round Tower of Timahoe, . . 236 
 
 69. View of the outer Division of the inner Archway of the Doorway of 
 
 the Round Tower of Timahoe, 237 
 
 70. Capital at east Side of outer Division of the inner Archway of 
 
 same, ib. 
 
 71. Base of Shaft on west Side of same, 238 
 
 72. Bases of the semicircular Shafts at the Angles of the Archway of the 
 
 same Doorway, with intermediate Space, ib. 
 
 73. Capital found in St. Ottmar's Chapel at Nurnberg, 239 
 
 74. Angular-headed Apertiu-e, and Specimen of the Masonry of the 
 
 Round Towar of Timahoe, ib. 
 
 75. Columns of the Chancel Arch of the Parish Church of Rabin, in the 
 
 King's Co 242 
 
 76. Capitals of opposite Side of the same, 243 
 
 77. Round ornamental Window in the Church of Rabin, 244 
 
 78. Ornamental Doorway of the smaller Church of Rahin, 246 
 
 79. Specimen of Bases of the Semi-column on the north Side of the 
 
 Doorway of the smaller Church at Raliin, 247 
 
 80. View of arched Recess on the east Front of the Priest's House at 
 
 Glendalough, 248 
 
 81. 82. Sculptures on the Two Faces of the Capitals of the arched 
 
 Recess of the Priest's House at Glendalough, 249 
 
 83. Ornaments on the Face of the Architrave and Cornice of same, . . 250 
 
 C
 
 xviii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 NO. 1 A 1 
 
 Hi Plan of tlie Mouldings of the Pilasters, or Mouldings at the Angles 
 
 P 250 
 
 ol same, 
 
 85. Existing Remains of these Mouldings, with one of their Bases, . . ib. 
 8t;. Sculptured Ornaments in Tympanum of Doorway of the Priest's 
 
 House at Glendalough, ^^1 
 
 ,S7. Interior of the east Window of the Cathedi-al Church at Glendalough, 253 
 88, 89. Sculptures on the Frieze of the interior Face of the east Window 
 
 of the same, ^^^ 
 
 !I0. Moulding on the Archivolt of the same Window, ib. 
 
 91. Section of the Pilasters of the same Window, ib. 
 
 92. Doorway in the west Wall of the Cathedral Church of Glendalough, 255 
 
 93. Pilasters of the Chancel- Arch of the Monastery Church at Glenda- 
 
 lough, 2^^ 
 
 94 to 98. Devices on the Capitals of the south Side of the same, . . . 258 
 
 99, 100. Capitals of the outer Pier of the same, 259 
 
 101, 102. Ornaments on the Bases of the Columns of the same, ... ib. 
 
 103, 104. Ditto, ditto, 260 
 
 105. Specimen of Bases of the Piers of the north Side of the same, . . ib. 
 
 106. Ornaments on the Base of the same, ib. 
 
 107 to 112. Sculptures on Stones winch formed the Arch-Mouldings of 
 
 the same, 261 
 
 113. Sculpture on one of the Stones which formed the Arch-Moulding 
 
 of the same, 262 
 
 114, 115. Sculptures on Stones which formed the Arch-Mouldings of the 
 
 same, 263 
 
 116 to 120. Ditto, ditto, 264 
 
 121. Sculpture on one of the Stones which formed the Arch-Mouldings 
 
 of the same, 265 
 
 122. Ground-plan of one of the Piers of the same Chancel- Arch, ... ib. 
 123 to 125. Other sculptured Stones found near the Monastery Church 
 
 at Glendalough, ib. 
 
 126. Ground- plan of one Side of the Church Archway of the Monastery 
 
 Church at Glendalough, 266 
 
 127. Sepulchral Cross at the Rcefert Church at Glendalough, .... ib. 
 
 128. Ground-plan of Teampull Finghin at Clonmacnoise, 267 
 
 129. Capitals of the Chancel- Arch of same 268 
 
 1.30. Shaft, Capital, and Base of Chancel- Arch of the same, .... ib. 
 
 131. Capitals of the Doorway of the great Church at Clonmacnoise, . . 275 
 
 132. Doorway of the Church of Temple Conor at Clonmacnoise, . . . 276 
 
 133. View of the west Gable (containing Doorway and Window) of the 
 
 Stone-roofed Church at Killaloe, 278 
 
 134. 135. Windows in the same Church, 279
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xix 
 
 NO. PAGE. 
 
 136. Doorway of the same, 280 
 
 L37. View of tlie Chancel-Ai'ch and Fragment of the Doorway of St. Cai- 
 
 min's Church in Innishcaltra, 282 
 
 lo8. Capitals of the Piers of the Chancel- Arch of the same ; front View, 283 
 
 139. Ditto, ditto, side View, ib. 
 
 140 to 142. Windows of diflPerent Forms in the same Church, . . . 284 
 143. Ornamented Doorway of the Church of Achadh ur, or Freshford, in 
 
 the County of Kilkenny, 285 
 
 144,145. Capitals of Piers of the same, 288 
 
 146. External View of Cormac's Chapel at Cashel, 289 
 
 147. Ground-plan of Cormac's Chapel, 292 
 
 148. Arcade of the southern Tower of Cormac's Chapel, 293 
 
 149. View of the Interior of Cormac's Chapel, 294 
 
 150. South Doorway of Cormac's Chapel, . . 295 
 
 151. Sculptured Ornament on the Tympanum of the great northern 
 
 Doorway of Cormac's Chapel, 296 
 
 152 to 156. Capitals of the Shafts of the great northern Doorway of 
 
 Coi-mac's Chapel, 298 
 
 157 to 161. Capitals of the single Columns of the great northern Door- 
 way of Cormac's Chapel, 299 
 
 162, 163. Capitals of the smaller north Doorway, 300 
 
 164 to 167. Capitals of the Semi-Columns wliich decorate the south Side 
 
 of the Nave, ib. 
 
 168, 169. Ditto, ditto, 301 
 
 170 to 173. Capitals of the north Side of the Nave, ib. 
 
 174, 175. Ditto, ditto, 302 
 
 176 to 178. Capitals of the outermost double Semi-Columns of the Chan- 
 cel-Arch, ib. 
 
 179, 180. Capitals of the double Semi-Coliunns placed on the Faces of 
 
 the Piers of the innermost Divisions of the Chancel-Arch, ... ib. 
 
 181,182. Capitals of the Chancel, 303 
 
 183. Bases of the single Shafts of the Nave ib. 
 
 184. Bases of the double Shafts on the Piers of the Chancel- Arch, . . ib. 
 
 185. 186. Sculptured Label or Dripstone, Terminations on the interior 
 
 Face of the smaller northern Doorway, ib. 
 
 187. One of the decorated Arches of the blank Arcade which ornaments 
 
 the sides of the Nave, 304 
 
 188. One of the Arches of the open Arcade which ornaments the Apsis, 
 
 or Recess, at the End of the Chancel, ib. 
 
 189. 190. Examples of the most pecuhar of the Windows of Cormac's 
 
 Chapel, ib. 
 
 191. " The Font" in Cormac's Chapel, 305
 
 XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 NO. PAGE. 
 
 192. Stone Cross in the Cemetery adjacent to Cormac's Chapel, . . . 306 
 
 193. Crozicr of Cormac Mac Carthy, 313 
 
 194. Inscription on the Base of the great Stone Cross, now lying in the 
 
 Market-place, at Tuam, 315 
 
 195. Base of the great Stone Cross in the Market-place of Tuam, . . 316 
 
 196. Portion of Chancel-Arch of the ancient Church of Tuam, . . 317 
 
 197. 198. Capitals of the Jambs of the Chancel-Arch of Tuam Church, . 318 
 
 199. Capitals and Arch-Mouldings of one of the Doorways of the Abbey 
 
 of Cong, 319 
 
 200. Doorway of the Church of St. Dairbhile, in Erris, 321 
 
 201. 202. Two of the Bosses of the Crozier of St. Damhnad Ochene, . 323 
 203, 204. Obverse and Reverse of unpublished Bracteate Penny, . . . 324 
 
 205. Inscribed Tomb of Maeliinnia, at Clonmacnoise, 325 
 
 206. Inscribed Tomb of Blaimac, at Clonmacnoise, 326 
 
 207. Inscribed Tomb of Flannchad, at Clonmacnoise, 327 
 
 208. Inscribed Tomb of Suibine mac Mailas hvmai, at Clonmacnoise, . 328 
 
 209. Inscribed Tomb of Conaing mac Conghail, and Dubcen mac 
 
 Thadggan, at Clonmacnoise, 329 
 
 210. Inscribed monumental Stone of Aigidiu, at Divrrow, 331 
 
 211. Outline of one Side of the Leather Case of the Book of Armagh, . 332 
 
 212. OutUne of the lower Side, or Bottom, of the same Case, .... 333 
 
 213. OutUne of one of the Sides of the leather Case of the Slirine of St. 
 
 Maidoc, of Ferns, 335 
 
 214. Inscribed Tombstone of Sechnasach, at Clonmacnoise, .... 342 
 
 215. Round Tower of Devenish Island in Lough Erne, 360 
 
 216. Castle of Brunless, in Brecknockshire, 367 
 
 217. Castle of Bnmless, and Round Towers of Clondalkin and Rosscar- 
 
 bery, 368 
 
 218. Interior of Doorway of Tower of Roscrea, 369 
 
 219. Ditto, ditto, restored, ib. 
 
 220. Section of ditto, restored, ib. 
 
 221. Jamb of Doorway of Round Tower of Dysert, County of Limerick, 371 
 
 222. Section of the Round Tower of Clondalkin, 397 
 
 223. Section of the Roimd Tower of Rattoo, County of Kerry, ... ib. 
 
 224. Ground-plan of the Round Tower and Portion of the Church of 
 
 Rattoo, County of Kerry, 399 
 
 225. Section showing Corbels of same Tower, ib. 
 
 226. Cornice under the Roof of Devenish Round Tower, 400 
 
 227. Doorway of the Round Tower of Drmnbo, County of Down, . . 401 
 
 228. Lower Doorways of the Round Tower of Swords, 402 
 
 229. Upper Ditto, ditto, ib. 
 
 230. Doorway of the Round Tower of Antrim, 403 
 
 w mum w
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. xxi 
 
 .■AGE. 
 
 23L Doorway of the Tower of Kilmacduagh, County of Galway, . . 404 
 
 232. Doorway of the Tower of Glendaloiigli, County of Wieklow, . ib. 
 
 233. Doorway of the Tower of Oughterard, County of Kildure, . . . 400 
 
 234. Doorway of the Tower on Tory Island, off the Coast of Donegal, . 4()t! 
 
 235. Exterior View of the Doorway of the Tower of Roscrea, .... 4U7 
 
 236. Doorway of the Tower of Monasterbolce, County of Louth, . . . 408 
 
 237. Doorway of the Round Tower of Donaghmore, County of Meath, . 410 
 
 238. Doorway of the greater Tower of Clonmacnoise, 411 
 
 239. View of the greater Tower of Clonmacnoise, 412 
 
 240. One of the upper Apertures in the Round Tower of Cashel, with 
 
 Specimen of Masonry of the same, 4i;-5 
 
 241. Specimen of Masonry from the Base of the Round Tower of Cashel, 414 
 242 to 244. Apertures in the Round Tower of Kells, ib. 
 
 245. Angular-headed Aperture in the uppermost Story of the Tower of 
 
 Cashel, 415 
 
 246. Semicircular Aperture in the Tower of Dysert, ib. 
 
 247. Aperture placed directly over the Doorway of the Round Tower of 
 
 Roscrea, ib. 
 
 248. Specimen of Aperture in the small Tower attached to Teampull 
 
 Finghin, at Clonmacnoise, 416 
 
 249. View of die Round Tower and Church of Teampull Finghin, at 
 
 Clonmacnoise, ib. 
 
 250. View of St. Columb's House at Kells, 430 
 
 251. View of St. Kevin's House at Glendalough, 432 
 
 252. Doorway of St. Kevin's House at Glendalough, 434 
 
 253. Gateway of the Cashel at Glendalough, 450 
 
 254. Ground-plan of Gateway at Glendalough, 451 
 
 255. Tomb of St. Muireadhach O'Heney at Bannagher, County of Lon- 
 
 donderry, 453 
 
 256. Tomb at Bovevagh, County of Londonderry, 454
 
 -3 
 
 AN 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 sive investigation 
 
 NTEODUCTION. 
 
 HE question of the Origin and Uses of 
 the Eound Towers of Ireland has so fre- 
 quently occupied the attention of distin- 
 guished modern antiquaries, without any- 
 decisive result, that it is now generally 
 considered as beyond the reach of conclu- 
 and any fiu'ther attempt to remove the mystery 
 connected with it may, perhaps, be looked upon as hopeless and 
 presumptuous. If, however, it be considered that most of those in- 
 quirers, however distinguished for general ability or learning, have 
 been but imperfectly quahfied for this undertaking, from the want of 
 the peculiar attainments which the subject required — inasmucli as 
 they possessed but little accurate skill in the science (if it may be so 
 called) of architectural antiquities, but slight knowledge of oiu' ancient 
 annals and ecclesiastical records, and, above all, no extensive acquaint- 
 ance with the architectural peculiarities observable in the Towers, 
 and other ancient Irish buildings- 
 
 -it -will not appear extraordinary
 
 2 IXQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 tluit they should have failed in arriving at satisfactory conclusions, 
 while, at the same time, the truth might be within the reach of dis- 
 covery by a better directed course of inquiry and more diligent 
 research. 
 
 Hitherto, indeed, we have had little on the subject but specu- 
 lation, and tliat not unlVequently of a visionary kind, and growing 
 out of a mistaken and un philosophical zeal in support of the claims 
 of our country to an early civiUzation ; and even the truth — which 
 most certainly has been partially seen by the more sober-minded in- 
 vestigators — having been advocated only hypothetically, has failed to 
 be estabhshed, from the absence of that evidence which facts alone 
 coidd supply. 
 
 Such at least appears to have been the conclusion at which the 
 Royal Irish Academy arrived, Avhen, in oflering a valuable premium 
 for any essay that would decide tliis long-disputed question, they 
 prescribed, as one of the conditions, that the monuments to be treated 
 of should be carefully examined, and their characteristic details de- 
 scribed and dehneated. 
 
 In the foUoAving inqmry, therefore, I have strictly adliered to the 
 condition thus prescribed by the Academy. The Towers have been 
 all subjected to a carefid examination, and their pecidiarities accu- 
 rately noticed ; while our ancient records, and every other probable 
 soui'ce of information, have been searched for such facts or notices 
 as might contribute to throw light upon theu- history. I have even 
 gone fiu'ther : I have examined, for the purpose of comparison with 
 the Towers, not only all the vestiges of early Christian architecture 
 remaining in Ireland, but also those of monuments of knoA\Ti or 
 probable Pagan origin. The results, I trust, Avill be foimd satisfac- 
 tory, and will suffice to estabhsh, beyond all reasonable doubt, the 
 following conclusions : 
 
 I. That the Towers are of Christian and ecclesiastical origin, 
 and were erected at various periods between the fifth and thirteenth 
 centiu"ies. 
 
 II. That they were designed to answer, at least, a twofold use, 
 namely, 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 predatory attack.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 3 
 
 III. That they were probably also used, when occasion rctiiiirt'd, 
 as beacons, and watch-towers. 
 
 These conclusions, which have been already adVocatod seixinttt'/i/ 
 by many distinguished antiquaries — among wliom are Molyneux. 
 Ledwich, Pinkerton, Sii- Walter Scott, Montmorenci, Brewer, and 
 Otway — \^'ill be proved by the follo-\ving evidences : 
 
 For the first conclusion, namely, that the Towers are of Christian 
 origin : 
 
 1. The Towers are tiever found imconnccted with ancie'iit 
 
 ecclesiastical foundations. 
 
 2. Theu- architectiu-al styles exhibit no features or peculiarities 
 
 not equally found in the original churches with which 
 they are locally connected, when such remain. 
 
 3. On several of them Christian emblems are observable, and 
 
 others display in the details a style of architectiu-e uni\'fr- 
 sally acknowledged to be of Christian origin. 
 
 4. They possess, invariably, arcliitectural features not foiuid in 
 
 any buildings in Ireland ascertained to be of Pagan times. 
 For the second conclusion, namely, that they were intended to 
 serve the double purpose of belfries, and keeps, or castles, for the uses 
 akeady specified : 
 
 1. Their architectural construction, as will appear, eminently 
 
 favoiu-s this conclusion. 
 
 2. A variety of passages, extracted from oiu" annals and othei- 
 
 authentic documents, will prove that they were constantly 
 apphed to both these piu'poses. 
 For the third conclusion, namely, that they may have also been 
 occasionally used as beacons, and watch-towers: 
 
 1. There are some liistorical evidences which render such a 
 
 hj-pothesis extremely probable. 
 
 2. The necessity which must have existed in early Christian 
 
 times for such beacons, and watch-towers, and the perfect 
 fitness of the Eound Towers to answer such pm-poses, will 
 strongly support this conclusion. 
 These conclusions — or, at least, such of them as presume the 
 Towers to have had a Christian origin, and to have served the purpose 
 ofabelfiy — will be fiu-ther corroborated by the uniform and concur- 
 rent tradition of the country, and, above all, by authentic evidences, 
 
 B 2
 
 4 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 which shall be adduced, relative to the erection of several of the 
 Towers, with the names and eras of their founders. 
 
 Previously, however, to entering on this investigation, it will be 
 conformable with custon), and probably expected, that I should take 
 a sunnnary review of the various theories of received authority from 
 which I find myself compelled to dissent, and of the evidences and 
 ar'nunents by which it has been attempted to support them. If each 
 of these theories had not its class of adherents I would gladly avoid 
 trespassing on the reader's time by such a formal examination ; for 
 the theory which I have proposed must destroy the value of all those 
 from which it substantially differs, or be itself imsatisfactory. I shall 
 endeavour, however, to be as concise as possible, noticing only those 
 evidences, or argimients, that seem worthy of serious consideration, 
 from the respectability of their advocates and the importance which 
 has been attached to them. 
 
 These theories, which have had reference both to the origin and 
 uses of the Towers, have been as follows : 
 
 FiEST, as respects theu' origin : 
 
 1. That they were erected by the Danes. 
 
 2. That they were of Phoenician origin. 
 Secondly, as respects their uses : 
 
 1. That they were fire-temples. 
 
 2. That they were used as places from which to proclaim the 
 
 Druidical festivals. 
 
 3. That they were gnomons, or astronomical observatories. 
 
 4. That they were phallic emblems, or Buddliist temples. 
 
 5. That they were anchorite towers, or styhte coUunns. 
 
 6. That they were penitential prisons. 
 
 7. That they were belfries. 
 
 8. That they were keeps, or monastic castles. 
 
 9. That they were beacons and watch-towers. 
 
 It will be observed, that I dissent from the last three theories, 
 only as far as regards the appropriation of the Towers exclusively to 
 any one of the piu'poses thus assigned to them.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 ERRONEOUS THEORIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS CONSIDERED. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 THEORY OF THE DANISH ORIGIN OF THE TOWERS. 
 
 Of the various hjq^iotlieses which I have now to notice, the earliest 
 put forward is that which ascribes the erection of the Towers to the 
 Danes. This hj'pothesis appears to have originated in an observa- 
 tion of the celebrated John Lynch, the author of Cambrensis JBver- 
 sus, to the effect, that " the Danes, who entered Ireland, according to 
 Giraldus, in 838, are reported {diciintur) to be the first builders of 
 these towers." But, as it will be necessary to refer to this passage 
 hereafter, I shall transcribe the whole of it in tliis place. 
 
 "Exiguas tamen illas orbiculares arctasq; turres Dani Hiberniam Giraldo authore 
 anno Dom. 838 primum ingressi, primi erexisse dieuntur; non vt pro campanili, sed 
 pro speculo baberentur, vnde prospectus ad longinqua late protenderetur. Postea 
 tamen vsus inualuit vt campanis in earum culniine appensis, Campanilium vices ge- 
 rerent : Tametsi non e media Ecclesise fabrica extantes fornicibus innLxa; in altiun 
 tendant, vt modo fit, sed e csemeterij solo in idoneam altitudinem extoUautur. Vel 
 nominis enim setymon illas indicat illi vsni accomodatas fuisse ; Cloctheach enim 
 
 perinde est ac domns campante, voce Cloc campanam, et teach domum significante." 
 
 Camhr. Eversits, p. 133. 
 
 This hearsay testimony loses much of whatever httle weight it 
 might, at first sight, appear entitled to, when Ave consider the pri- 
 mary object which its author had in view, in the work in which it 
 occiu's, namely, to dispute, or ca\dl at, every assertion in the work of 
 Giraldus, wherein it is stated that the Towers were built more patriae, 
 or in a mode pecuhar to the country. 
 
 Lynch's timid surmise was followed by the bolder assertions of 
 Peter Walsh, who, in his Prospect of Ireland, pubhshed in 1C84, 
 translates nearly word for word the observations of tlie former, only 
 so altering them that what L}aich mentions merely as a report he 
 assimies as a certainty. The following are his words :
 
 (i INQl-IKY IXTl) THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " It is most certain, that those high, round, narrow Towers of stone, built cylinder- 
 ivise, wht'reof Camhrensis speaks, were never known or built in Ireland (as indeed 
 no more were any Castles, Houses, or even Churches of stone, at least in the North 
 of Ireland) before the year of Christ 838, when the Heathen Danes possessing a great 
 part of that Countrey, built tliem in several places, to serve themselves as Watch- 
 Towers against the Natives. Though ere long, the Danes being expuls'd, the Chris- 
 tian Irish turu'd them to another and much better (because a holy) use, that is to 
 Steeple-Houses or Bell-Fries, to hang Bells in for calling the People to Church. 
 From which latter use made of them, it is, that ever since to this present, they are 
 call'd in Irish Cloctlimchs, that is Bell-Fries, or Bell-Houses; C'loc or (log, signifying a 
 Bell, and Tmrh a House in that Language." — Prospect of Ireland, pp. 416, 417. 
 
 Ill tlie l'( >llo\viiig centiuy this hypothesis received the abler sup- 
 port of tlie celebrated Dr. Moljaieux, the friend of Locke, whose 
 opinions, dehvered with the modesty of a sincere inquirer after ti'uth, 
 I shall present in his own words : 
 
 " It may not be improper to add to tliese remarks upon Danish mounts and forts, 
 some observations on the slender high round towers here in Ireland, tho' they are less 
 antient ; since they are so peculiar to the country, and seem remains of the same 
 people the Ostmen or the Danes. These we find common likewise every where, spread 
 over all the country, erected near the oldest churches founded before the conquest ; 
 but I could never learn that any building of this sort is to be met with throughout 
 all England, or in Scotland. 
 
 " That the native Irish had but little intercourse with their neighbours, and much 
 less commerce with these at greater distance, before the Danes came hither and settled 
 among them, is pretty certain : and that the Danes were the first introducers of coin, 
 as well as trade, and founders of the chief towns and cities of this kingdom, inclosing 
 them with walls for safer dwelling, is generally agreed on all hands; and it seems no 
 way less probable, that the same nation too must have introduced at first from coun- 
 tries where they traffick, the art of masonry, or building with lime and stone. 
 
 " For that there were lime and stone buildings here, before the conquest by the 
 English, in Henry II''s reign, is certain ; notwithstanding some, and those reputed 
 knowing men in the affairs of Ireland, have hastily asserted the contrary. For it ap- 
 pears, beyond all controversy, that those high round steeples we are speaking of, were 
 erected long before Henrg II^s time, from a plain passage in Giraldus Cumbrensis, 
 that was in Ireland in that prince's reign, and came over with his son king John, 
 whom he served as secretary in his expedition hither: he speaks of them in his ac- 
 count of this island, as standing then, and I am apt to think, few of these kind of 
 towers, have been built since that time. 
 
 " That author mentioning these steeples gives us this short description of them, 
 Turres ecclesiasticas, quce more patrice arcia> siinl et altce, nee non. et rotundce. Church- 
 towers built slender, high and round, and takes notice of their model, as being fashioned 
 after a singular manner, and proper to the country. 
 
 " And since we find this kind of church-buUding, tho' frequent here, resembling 
 nothing of this sort in Great Britain ; from whence the Christian faith, the fashion of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 7 
 
 our churches, and all their rites and customs, 'tis plain, wore first brought hither ; 
 the model of these towers must have been taken up some other way: and it seems 
 probable tlie Daties, the earliest artificers in masonry, upon their first conversiim to 
 Christianity, might fancy and alFect to raise these fashioned steeples in this pecviliiir 
 form, standing at a distance from their churches, as bearing some resemblance to tln' 
 round tapering figure of their old monumental stones and obelisks, their pyramids, tlicir 
 mounts and forts, of which they were so fond in time of paganism. 
 
 " And Sir Jnmes Ware cursorily speaking of one of these round steeples at CWX-, 
 in his antiquities of />r/«H</, chap. 29. pag. 328, says, there prevailed a tradition in that 
 country, that ascribed the building of that tower he mentions, to the Ostmeii, who were 
 inhalntants of Cod- ; and we might well presume, that had the old native IrM been 
 authors of this kind of architecture, they surely would have raised such towers as 
 these in several parts of Scotland also, where they have been planted and settled many 
 ages past; but there we liear of none of theni."_i\''((/«/-rt/ Hkt. of Ireland by Boats and 
 Molyneux, pp. 210, 211. 
 
 Dr. Molyueiix next proceeds to describe the sitiuitioii, I'orin, and 
 pecvdiarities of construction of the Towers (which description I sliall 
 notice in another place), and tlien returns to his theory of theii- Danisli 
 origin, which he endeavours to support by tracing the etymology of 
 their name in Ireland to a Teutonic or German-Saxon origin : 
 
 " Clotjacf/cl, the name by which they still are called among tlie native In's/t, gives us a 
 further proof of their original, that they were founded first by Ostmen : for the IrM 
 word Clogachd is taken from a foreign tongue, and being a term of art, imports the 
 thing it signifies must likewise be derived from foreigners, as, were it necessary, might 
 be made appear by many instances ; now, the Irish word does plainly owe its etymology 
 to Clugga, a German Saxon word, that signifies a bell, from whence we have also lior- 
 rowed our modern word a clock." — lb. p. 211. 
 
 After this he offers some aro'uments to show tliat the Towers 
 were erected for belfries, which, as they agree mth the hj-pothesis 
 which I trust I shall prove, need not be inserted here. 
 
 The hypothesis of the Danish origin of the Round Towers, is one 
 which has obtained so little attention latterly, that it may, perhaps, 
 be thought wastine; time to shew the weakness of the evidence adduced 
 by Dr. ]SIol}-neux to support it. A few words, therefore, will suffice. 
 It will have been seen that this hj'pothesis rests chiefly on the proba- 
 bility that the Danes might " fancy and affect" to raise such steeples, 
 "as bearing some resemblance to the round tapering figm-es of their 
 old monumental stones and obelisks, their pyramids, their mounts 
 and forts, of which they were so fond in time of paganism!" But, it 
 may be asked, where in Ireland are such Danish monmneutal stones,
 
 8 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 obelisks, or pyramids to be found ? and where are the Danish mounds 
 and forts ? It appears certain from our authentic historical records, 
 that the obeliscal pillar-stones, sepulchral moimds, and earthen mili- 
 tary works, so niunerous in this coimtry, are of Irish and not Danish 
 orijrin ; and for the fact, that no remains similar to these are found in 
 Denmark, we are furnislied witli the testimony of a Danish antiquary, 
 the grandson of Olaus Wormius, as commvmicated to Dr. Molyneux 
 himself by his brother William, in a letter "WTitten to him from Hol- 
 land, in 1684. In this letter Wilham thus Avrites : 
 
 " I am intimately acquainted here with a young gentleman that comes from Den- 
 mark, thovigh he is a Norwegian by birth ; his name is John Scheldrop ; he is very 
 inquisitive after antiquities, especially of his own country and of Ireland. I have often 
 discoursed with him concerning both, and especially of our great Danes' mounts ; 
 I have told him your thoughts of them, and the reasons you ground them on, taken 
 out of Olaus Wormius, who was his grandfather, but he will by no means allow of 
 them ; assuring me that those mounts erected over soldiers killed in battle, of which 
 he has seen several, are not (even the largest of them) above ten foot high. He says 
 he never saw any such as ours in all Denmark ; wherefore I question they be rightly 
 
 called, or whether they be the works of the Danes." — Mult/Helix's Correspondetice, Dublin 
 
 University Magazine, vol. xviii. p. 483. 
 
 Thus it appears that Dr. Molyneux's reasoning, as to the Danish 
 origin of the sepulchral momids and forts, had failed to make an im- 
 pression, not merely on the minds of the learned in Denmark, but 
 even on that of his o^\ai most intelhgent brother; and hence the 
 whole superstructiu-e as to the origin of the Towers, which is raised 
 on this basis, must necessarily fall to the groimd. Indeed, from the 
 whole tenor of the Irish annals, it may be seen that the Danes, a 
 rude and plundering people, were so far from being the builders of 
 ecclesiastical edifices, except m a few of their own maritime towns in 
 Ireland, that almost invariably, diu-ing their settlement in the coun- 
 try, they were the remorseless destroyers of them ; and though it 
 might be conceded, that on their conversion to Christianity, in the 
 tenth centiuy, they may have founded a round tower belfry in Cork, 
 or in any other town which they inhabited, yet the probabihty is 
 quite against such a supposition, as we are altogether without proof 
 of their having done so. The Tower of Cork was connected with 
 the ancient chiu'ch of St. Finbar, founded in the sixth century, and 
 perhaps coeval with it ; and no Eound Towers of this kind have 
 been discovered in connexion \a\h any of the edifices Avliich the
 
 OF THE KOUXD TOWERS OF lUELAXD. 
 
 9 
 
 Danes arc said to have foiuuled in Dulilin. \\'(.'.\i;,nl, Waterl'i.rd 
 Linieriek. or elsewhere. Had tlie Towers been of Danish ori^nni 
 it is quite inconceivable but that some traces of such l)nildin(rs would 
 have been discovered in the north of Europe, or in En>dand. Nor- 
 mandy, Sicily, or other coimtries in which the Northmen liad settle- 
 ments ; and that none such have ever been discovered seems certain, 
 as even Dr. Ledwich, the ablest supporter of the iheorv under consi- 
 deration, is obhged to allow. As to the Saxon etjonolog)^ of the ^vord 
 clog, it is one that will not prove anything; for, as Dr. Lanigan well 
 observes, " the word clog was used by the Irish long before tlu' 
 Germans or Saxons had churches or bells. We find it Latinized 
 into cloccn, and it was used by Columbkille, and generally by the 
 ancient Irish writers as signifying a bell ; so that instead of giving 
 Saxon etymology to r/oc/iac/id," a form of the word, by the Ava}-, 
 never used in any Iiish book or IMS., " the Saxon cliigga was most 
 probably derived from the cloc or dug of the Irish teachers of the 
 Saxons." — Ecci History, vol. iv. p. 406. 
 
 In latter times this lijqDothesis was zealously advocated by Dr. 
 Ledwich, a ■svriter, who, although learned and ingenious, was less 
 honest, or more prejudiced, than those who had previously given it 
 their support. According to tliis writer, indeed, every thing indi- 
 cating the least pretension to civilization in Ireland, previous to the 
 arrival of the English, should be ascribed to the Danes, — the Irish 
 being a race of uncivilized savages. But it will be seen, that to 
 substantiate such opinions, Dr. Ledwich was necessitated to resort to 
 an imposition on the credulity of Ids readers, quite miworthy of his 
 learning and abiUty. Thus, after quoting those passages from Lynch, 
 "Walsh, and Molyneux, Avhich are given in tlie preceding pages, he 
 proceeds : 
 
 " Let it now be remarked, that the opinion of every author, who has spoken of 
 our Round Towers for the space of 542 years, that is, from Cambrensis to Molyneux. is 
 uniform in pronouncing them Ostman or Danish works. No silly conjectures or ab- 
 surd refinements had as yet been introduced into the study of Antiquities ; writers 
 only sought after and recorded matters of fact. All these authors, it will be said, 
 follow Cambrensis, I grant they do ; but would .my of them adopt his notions was it 
 possible to substitute better or more authentic in their room ? The answer is posi- 
 tive and direct, that they would not, and here is the proof. In 1584, Stanihurst led 
 the way in severely criticizing many of his positions. In 1662, John Lynch, in his 
 Cambrensis Eversus, entered on a formal examination of his Topography ; not a page, 
 
 C
 
 10 IXQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 scarcely a paragraph escaping his morose and carping pen, and yet Lynch was a good 
 schohir and nntiquary. In his time Irish MSS. were more numerous and collected than 
 since, consequently the means of information more ample, and yet he discovered 
 nothing in his extensive reading to contradict what Cambrensis had delivered." — 
 Antiquities, pp. 158-159. {Second edition.) 
 
 Notliing, but its artfulness, can exceed the audacious mendacity 
 of the fi)regoing passage. " Let it now be reniarked," he says, " that 
 tlie opinion of every author, who has spoken of our Round Towers 
 for the space of 542 years, that is, from Cambrensis to Molyneux, is 
 uniform in pronouncing them Ostman or Danish works." Would 
 not the reader imagine from tliis that there had been a long list of 
 writers summed up in favour of the hypothesis, of which Cambrensis 
 and Molyneux were but the first and last ? Such, surely, would be 
 his impression ; but let us see whether the facts are of a nature to 
 justify it. In the first place, Cambrensis himself has not written a 
 syllable indicating his belief that the Round Towers were of Danish 
 origin ; on the contrary, he expresses his conviction that they Avere 
 erected more patrice, after the manner of the covuitry ; and, secondly, 
 from that writer to John Lynch, who was endeavouring to controvert 
 every position of Cambrensis (and thus probably originated the con- 
 joctiu'e relative to the Danes), not a single -wTiter has said one word 
 upon the subject. To this he adds, with great apparent simplicity : 
 " All these authors, it will be said, follow Cambrensis, I grant they 
 do; (!) but would any of them adopt his notions was it possible to 
 substitute better or more authentic in their room ?" INIost admirable 
 caudom' ! No one could have ever Avritten this but a person desirous 
 of supporting an erroneous hypothesis by false assertions. This at- 
 tempted imposition of Ledwich has been so well exposed by the 
 generally acute Dr. Lanigan, that I shall make no apology for pre- 
 senting to the reader liis remarks upon it in his owm words : 
 
 " Led^vich has shamefully imposed on his readers by representing Giraldus Cam- 
 brensis as having asserted, that the Round towers were built by the Danes. Now 
 Giraldus says no such thing, nor in the little that he has said relatively to their mode 
 iif construction, which is all comprised in the few words quoted above, does he make 
 any mention of Danes or Ostmen. On the contrary he plainly hints, that the archi- 
 tecture of them was purely Irish, more patria:. Besides, from his having looked upon 
 at least some of them as very ancient, it is evident, that he could not have imagined, 
 that they were erected by the Danes, whereas he supposed that they existed in 
 Ireland before the arrival of that nation. Ledwich squeezed his misrepresentation of 
 Giraldus out of another of Lynch's moaning in the above quoted words. Lynch says,
 
 OF THE HorXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 11 
 
 that tlK. Kouud towers are reported to lu.ve been f.rst ereeted by the Danes, wlu.e 
 hrst arrnal m Ireland was, according to Giraldus, in the year 838. The sense of this 
 plain passage is twisted by Ledwieli, as if Lynch had stated that Giraldus said that the 
 Danes not only first came to Ireland in 838, but that they were likewise the first 
 builders of the Eound towers. Lynch could not have even thought of attributing such 
 an assertion to Giraldus, whereas his object was to refute the supposition of Giraldus, 
 that there were such towers in Ireland at times much earlier than those of the Danes'. 
 Lynch was arguing against what Giraldus has aljout Round towers being seen hi 
 Lough Neagh, and strove to refute him by showing, that there were not any such 
 towers in Ireland at the very ancient period alluded to by tiiraldns, whereas, he says, 
 they are reported to owe their origin to the Danes, who, according to Giraldus h 
 self, did not come to Ireland until A. D. 838." 
 
 " The reader will now be able to form an opinion of Ledwich's logic and crit.. 
 rules, and to judge of his fidelity in referring to authorities."— £ct. Hist vol i 
 pp. 405, 406. 
 
 To these remarks it would be useless to add any thing further ; 
 and, taking it for granted that the reader is now satisfied that the 
 hypothesis of the Danish origin of the Towers is one which has not 
 been proved, or even made to appear probable, I will proceed witli- 
 out further delay to the next section. 
 
 nni- 
 
 Klll 
 
 SECTION IL 
 
 THEORY OF THE PHOENICIAN, OR EASTERN ORIGIN, OF THE ROUND 
 
 TOWERS. 
 
 The romantic notion of ascribing the origin of the Round Towers 
 of Ireland to the Phoenicians, Persians, or Indo-Scythians, originated 
 in the fanciful brain of General Yallancey, an antiquary who, in his 
 generous but mistaken zeal in support of the claims to ancient ci\"i- 
 lization of the Irish, has done much to involve our ancient history 
 and antiquities in obscm-ity, and bring them into contempt with the 
 learned. In support of this conjectiu-e, however. General Yallancey 
 has adduced scarcely a shadow of authority, but in place of it has 
 amused his readers partly with descriptions of the fire-towers of the 
 Persians — which only prove that these were not like the Rotmd 
 Towers of Ireland — and partly with a collection of etymological dis- 
 tortions of the most obvious meanings of Irish words, intended Id 
 prove that the Eound Towers received their local names from being 
 temples of the sacred fire ! 
 
 c2
 
 12 IXQUIHY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 As these supposed proofs i-ost altogether on the uses to which it 
 lias been assmned that the Towers were applied, it will be most ex- 
 ])edient, and prevent rei)etition, to present them to the reader in the 
 following Section, in which I have to treat of that subject ; and as the 
 more ingenious arguments of Doctors Lanigan and O'Conor, Miss 
 Beaiifort, Mr. D' Alton, Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Moore, and, recently, Mr. 
 AVhulele of Cork, iu support of this hjq^othesis, are of nearly a similar 
 kind, they shall be considered in the same place. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 THEORIES OF THE PAGAN USES OF THE ROUND TOWERS. 
 
 1 . That they were Fire-temples.— 2. That they were used as places 
 from which to proclaim the Druidical festivals. — 3. That they were 
 Gnomons, or astronomical observatories. — 4. That they were Phallic 
 emblems, or Buddhist temples. 
 
 The theories of the Pagan uses of the Round Towers above enu- 
 merated, have been so blended together by their most distinguished 
 advocates, that I have found it impossilDle to treat any one of them 
 separately from the others, without involving myself in repetitions, 
 which would be tedious to the reader, and unessential to my purpose. 
 I shall, therefore, take the arguments adduced to sustain them, in the 
 order as to time in which they appeared, commencing -with those of 
 General Vallancey, their great originator. 
 
 The earhest conjectm'e as to the Phoenician or Indo-Scythian 
 origin of the Round Towers, and their uses as fire-temples, appears in 
 Vallancey's Essay on the Antiquity of the Irish Language, first pub- 
 lished in 1772, and afterwards reprinted in the eighth number of the 
 Collectanea de Reb. Hih. in 1781, and is to the following effect : 
 
 " The Irish druids caused all fires to be extinguished throughout the kingdom on 
 the eve of May day, and every house was obliged to light his fire from the arch-druid's 
 holy fire, kindled on some elevated place, for which they paid a tribute to the druid. 
 This exactly corresponds with Dr. Hyde's description of the Parsi or Guebri, descen- 
 dants of the ancient Persians, who have, says he, an annual fire in the temple, from 
 whence they kindle all the fires in their houses, which are previously extinguished, 
 which makes a part of the revenues of their priests ; and this was undoubtedly the 
 use of the round towers, so frequently to be met with in Ireland, and which were cer- 
 tainly of Phoenician construction.
 
 OF THE KOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. | ;i 
 
 " I will here hazard a conjecture. 1 find bn2 gudul to signify maynns ; I thul also 
 that the oriental nations at length so named the tower of Babylon, &c., mbl23 /««,/„- 
 dalut/i, turres ab aniplitudine dict«. Boehart. p. 42. Geog. Sacr. 6Wi. e. y«,/,// tnrris ; 
 may not our Irish name cloghad ior the round towers built in Ireland, which ai.i.a- 
 rently were of Ph«nician workmanship, be derived from this word yad, and cloyli, stone. 
 It must be allowed that chiy is a bell, and hence these towers have been thought tu 
 have been belfries ; but we have many places called clogh, i. e. saxiun. 
 
 "Again, the druids called every place of worship cl<x,l,(„l, alluding to the circles of 
 stones they usually set up in those places ; there is therefore no positive authority to 
 say that these doghcuts or towers were used as belfries only, or that they took their 
 name from that use." — pp. 285, 286. 
 
 To reply to assertions resting on such puerile conjectiu-es as tlie 
 preceding, would be but a waste of time, and I shall only obsui've, 
 that there is not a shadow of authorit}' to be found in the Irish his- 
 tory for the statement, that the Druids called every place, or any 
 place of worship, cloghad, or that the Round Towers of Ireland were 
 eve]' so called, as I shall prove hereafter. 
 
 The theory thus dogmatically put forward by \'allancev haviny 
 been combated by Dr. Ledwich in his Essay on the Romid Towers, 
 tirst pubhshed in the fifth number of the Collectanea, the former -was 
 followed by some remarks on the Round Towers of Ireland in the 
 succeeding volmne, number 10, for the purpose of supporting it. But, 
 as this paper only shows that a tower somewhat similar in size and 
 form to the Lish towers exists in Bulgaria, and asserts from a conjec- 
 tural etymology of its name, Misgir or Midsgir, that it -was a fire- 
 temple, I do not feel it necessary to insert it here. 
 
 On this paper, Dr. Ledwich makes the follo-\ving remarks : 
 
 " I had almost forgot our author's Bulgarian round tower, which was a Turkish 
 minaret. He should have known that the Turks or Magiars colonized Bulgaria in 
 
 889 Gibbon's Rom. Hist. v. 6. p. 34, note 2. that then they were tolerably civilized. 
 
 Forster's Northern Voyages, p. 39, note. That Arabic inscriptions in Turkish mosques 
 are common. Tollii Epist. Itiner. p. 150. And that those on the Bulgarian tower are 
 not old. — Forster, supra. The Turks received the idea of belfries or their Tninarets 
 from the Greeks A. D. 784 Sabellic Ennead. 9.1. 1. Here are materials for a dis- 
 sertation to convict our Author of the grossest ignorance, or unpardonable inatten- 
 tion." — Antiquities, p. 166, note. {Second Edition.) 
 
 But reasoning of this kind woidd make but httle, if any, impres- 
 sion on the mind of an author like Yallancey ; he would ackno^vledge 
 that the Bidgariau tower, or auy other, Avas a minaret, but what of 
 that? " The minarets," he answers, "were originally fire towers !" —
 
 14 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Sec MS. comment on Ledwich's Dissertation on the Round Towers 
 of Ireland in Vallancey's corrected copy of the Collectanea de Reb. 
 Hib., preserved in the library of the Royal Irish Academy. 
 
 In the twelfth number of the Collectanea, General ^'allancey 
 returns to the Round Towers again, and finds them employed for 
 various purposes not previously thought of Thus, in the preface to 
 this number, he tells us they were first erected in Ireland by the 
 African sea-champions : 
 
 " Potter in his Grecian anti.piities, says, the Pelasgi were Tyrhenians born, and 
 (speaking of the building of Athens) taught the Greeks the art of building hoiises of 
 lime and stone, and from them, walls and castles were called Ti^^rii. [Ti^^^i?]- ^^ it pos- 
 sible that Potter could be ignorant that the Hebrew and Chaldee -m Tin; was a cir- 
 cular building, a tower, from the origin of languages? Observe the ancient history of 
 the Irish in this particular, ' African sea-champions landed in Ireland, conquered the 
 country, introduced their language, and taught the inhabitants to build with Ume 
 and stone,' to build \\'\mtl— Round towers undoubtedly, for no other buildings were 
 erected in Ireland of lime and stone, for many centuries afterwards."— p. iv. 
 
 Again : 
 
 " The ancient Irish Seanchas say, that Gan, Geanan, Conning and Faovar, were 
 African generals who drove the Nemedians out of Ireland. That they first settled at 
 Toirinis, whlcli was called Tor Conning, or tower of Coyndng, from the tower he built 
 there : this is the first round tower mentioned in Irish history." — p. xxxvi. 
 
 And asrain : 
 
 o 
 " With Nemed came many Tuatha Dadanan, and in his reign the Africans arrived : 
 these Africans were the Phoeni another tribe of the Pelasgi : it is not surprizing then, 
 that our Irish historians observe, that these Africans spoke the same language as the 
 Irish. Tliey conqiiered the country and taught the inhabitants to build round towers, 
 ha^-ing first landed at the island of Tor or Tor-inis called also Tor-Conuing from the 
 name of the Carthaginian general (Conuing) and here is the first account we have of 
 our round towers." — pp. Ixix. Ixx. 
 
 On these passages it -will be sviiBcient to remark, that if, as Yal- 
 lancey asserts, the ancient Irish historians state, that the Irish were 
 taught by the Fomorians, or African sea-champions — who came here 
 a few centuries after the deluge — to bixild with Ume and stone, it 
 would only show that such authorities were of little value. But the 
 fact is, that they make no such statement : and as to the story of 
 Tor-Conuing, or Tory Island, it appears to be a legend originating 
 in the natural formation of the island, w^hich presents, at a distance, 
 the appearance of a number of towers, and hence in the authentic
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWKKS OF IKELANM), 15 
 
 Irisli aimals, and the lives orColuuibkiUe, the patron saiul cil'ilie phicc, 
 it is called Torac/i, ov the towery island, and Latinized Turac/tiu. 
 and Tonu-lid insula. It is true, indeed, that there is a Kound Tower 
 still remaining on Tory Island, but it would reqiiii-e a more than or- 
 dinary share of credidity to enable one to believe that this is the 
 Tor-Conning of the Africans; or that its age is anterior to that of 
 St. Columb, to whom its erection is attributed by the connuou ti-adi- 
 tion of the islanders, and the inhabitants of the ojiposite coasts. 
 
 Farther on in the same Preface, the learned General informs us, 
 that the Roimd Towers were sorcerers' towers. Thus : 
 
 " That the oriental aub were sorcerers, the learned Millius has very clearly ilemon- 
 strated ; that the Irish abh were sorcerers also, is evident from the common verb ubk- 
 faidhim, to prophecy, where /aid/: a prophet, is compounded Avith ab/i. Tliese were at 
 the head of the Irish sorcerers, and I shall hereafter shew that there was a ])residiiig- 
 aub at each tower, and that the first name for Christian, a bishop in the Irish lan- 
 guage, was aobk-ill-toir, or, an a/tb of many towers, or places of wor?liip, fur h'li- nut 
 only implies a tower but every thing belonging to a church. 
 
 " Hence toir-dealback, a proper name, now written turlogh ; it originally signified 
 a tower-sorcerer ; see dealbha or tealbha, sorcery." — p. cxxxiv. 
 
 Still farther on, he informs us that the Towers were made for 
 celestial observations, a notion subsequently adopted even b}' Doctor 
 O'Conor and other learned men. The passage is as folloAvs : 
 
 " Thus Lucian tells us, that they had in the porch of the temple at Ilierapolis wliiili 
 ' stood on the knob uf a hill, Priapus's three hundred cubits high, into one of which a 
 man gets up twice a year, and dwells seven days together in the top of the phallus, tliat 
 he may converse with the gods above, and pray for the prosperity of Syria ; wliich 
 prayers, says he, are the better heard by the gods for being near at hand.' — This was 
 the opinion of Lucian, but the fact is, these pillars, or round towers, were made for ce- 
 lestial observations, as those still standing in Ireland, were by our Driuds." p. clxv. 
 
 A few pages after this. General Vallancey presents us with what 
 he calls " Fm'ther illustrations on the Round Towers," in which -we 
 find a new use to which they were applied : thus, in speaking ol" the 
 dancing festivals of the Canaanites and other ancient nations in ho- 
 noiu" of the Heavens, he "vrates : 
 
 " In Syriac, chvgal, a circuit, to turn round. One of the serrices paid to this attri- 
 bute, by tlie heathens, was, to dance, or move in circles ; and, in this manner, our 
 Irish Druids observed the revolution of the year, festivals, &c., by dancing round our 
 round towers; and from the Syriac cinigal, the word clog was formed, implying, any 
 orbicular form, as, the skull, a round tower," &c — Vol. iii. p. 482. 
 
 General Vallancey, in a few pages after, fui-nishes us with a quo-
 
 If, IXQUIKY IXTd THE ORIGIN AXD USES 
 
 tation from an ancient Iii^li IMS. — the Glossary of Cormac, Arch- 
 liisliop of Cashel, in the tenth century — which wcmlcl appear to set 
 tlh' question of, at least, the Pagan antiquity of tlie towers at rest for 
 ever. It is as follows : 
 
 •■ G'lU or qaill, i. c. carrtha cloche, a stone column, or pillar, that is. one of the 
 aiK-ient round towers, (Cormac's Gloss. Vet.) is aire is hearor ffoll. (says Cormac) disuidiu 
 fo hith ceata ro suighidseat in Eire, i. c. they were so called, mil, by the colonists who 
 settled first in Ireland." — Th. p. 485. 
 
 He next adduces the authority of Dr. O'Brien, the learned author 
 of the Irisli Dictionary : 
 
 " Cuil-ceac/i, or Ciil-kak corrupts claieeac/i, a round tower ; as Cuilceac Cliuina- 
 vmha, the tower or steeple of Clojne. O'Brien. This word, adds he, seems to be 
 corrupted of clog-theach, that is, the bell-house. I have had occasion before, to shew, 
 that Dr. O'Brien, had very little knowledge of the roots of his mother tongue, for clog 
 is a contraction of oigol. 
 
 " Cuill-kak, is e\ddently the annunciator, instructor, or proclaimer of the festi-\ als. 
 See cul, gid, and kak, in the preceding list of Oriental and Irish words. Hence, it is 
 rather more than conjecture, that our Irish round towers, which Cormac tells us, were 
 built Ijy the first people who came to this island, were the buildings from which the 
 approaching festivals were announced." — Ih. pp. 486, 487. 
 
 General Yallancey next tells us : 
 
 '• Another name for the round towers, is sibkeii, siMheit, and sithbhein. See O'Brien 
 and Shaw's Lexicons." — lb. p. 488. 
 
 He then compares this word with what lie considers cognate 
 words in the Hebrew, Arabic, and S}Tiac, and resumes: 
 
 '■ The Irish word, Sith-hkeit, is literally, the Beth, or house otSith ; which may imply, 
 the house of peace, of pointing out the seasons, or, the house of adoration. Sith, par- 
 ticularly, expresses every place established by the Druids in Ireland for devotion. 
 Sith-drum, was the ancient name of Cashel, or Caisiol, that is, the Sith upon a hill : the 
 tower of Caisil is thus situated; Caisiol, implies also, a house built of lime and stone. 
 Sith, is pronounced See, the t being aspirated : I think it bids fair to be the root of the 
 Latin, sedes, and the English, see; i. e. the diocese of a bishop. Ainsworth, derives the 
 word from the Greek, i}®-, edes. Sith-bheiiu in Irish, will imply the place of the bene- 
 diction, of pointing out, or proclamation, of the anni\-ersary, or of the vigils, the even- 
 ing place of prayer, and, lastly, binn, is also a beU, used by the Eomish church in 
 excommunication. Gur beanadh binnean Chiarain, air. Chron. Scot, ad an. 1043. 
 
 '• Caiceach, the last name I find for the round tower, is supposed by the Glossarists, 
 to be compounded of cai, a house, and theac, a house ; this is tautology with a witness I 
 The word may be compounded of cai, a house, and eeac, instrttction, &c. but I rather 
 think it should be written, caig-theac, or caig-each, i. e. the house of solemnity, or of 
 the feasts or festivals, an chag, in Hebrew, as we have already shewn, is a circle, 
 festival, anniversary. Exod. x. 9. we have a {chag') festival da}-, xxiii. 18. nor shall the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF 1REI.AXD. {'J 
 
 fat of my (cktff) annual sacrifice, remain till morning. The Hebrew, c/iag, is the root 
 of the Irish, cayaus, a name of lent. Cari/us, i. e. Ca/f-aos, the season of C'/mv—Vet 
 Glos." 
 
 " These towers were certainly belfries in after ages ; and, probablv, were n..t .mlv 
 observatories, but belfries too, at the time of their construction. It is worthy of ol)sei'- 
 vation, that all festivals are proclaimed in the eastern countries from the top of the 
 misgir, or diz-ghale, or round towers of the mosque: Bells might also have been used 
 by our Druids : the hand bell is of a very ancient construction ; and the Latin name for 
 a bell-ringer, viz. tintinacuhis, seems to be of Scythic origin; and also, thilinahuUim a 
 bell. Tein, in Irish and Arabic, is noise, a ringing noise : tein-tein, is doubled in botli 
 languages, to express the greater noise: bticdim, in Irish, is to strike, which was the 
 ancient mode of sounding the bell. Ciil, as we have shewn, is an anniversary, a round 
 tower, a steeple; in Persic, Kule: but keol, in Irish, is a musical note, music. I submit 
 these observations to the notice of the Irish antiquary, and Hatter myself, they merit 
 his researches. 
 
 " Nor does it appear, that the modern name of these towers, viz. cloqhnd, or cloig- 
 theac, supposed to signify a bell-house, are any inducement to think they are modern 
 buildings. Clog is certainly a bell in Irish, so named, from clog, the cranium or skull; 
 in which form, our first bells were made, and those to this day used in clucks are cast ; 
 but clog, the skull, owes its name to its orbicular form, as we have shown before. 
 
 " It is evident, that all our cloghads have not been belfreys: in many there are nn 
 marks of the wall having been broken within for hanging a bell ; nor are they always 
 annexed to churches. There are many in the fields, where no traces of the foundations 
 of any other buUdings can be discovered round them. Had the primitive Christians 
 of Ireland possessed the art of building these towers with lime and mortar, it is rea- 
 sonable to think, they would have preferred building the churches of the same durable 
 materials ; but we are positively told, that Duleck, or Dam-Uag church, was the first that 
 was built with such materials ; and was so called, from hoc, a stone. Near to the 
 church, is a Druidical monument, or leac of enormous size, to which probably it owes its 
 name."— /A. pp. 490, 491, 492. 
 
 The last passage in tliis volume bearing on the subject of the 
 Eound Towers in any intelligible way, occiu's two pages after, and is 
 as follows : 
 
 " The name cluan, was, I believe, originally given to all these towers : it appears 
 to be a contraction of cul-luan; i. e. the return of the moon: cluan, certainly signifies 
 a la^v^l; cluan, says O'Brien, is a name given to several of our bishops' sees, as C'luati 
 
 Umha, now Cloyne ; Cluan Haidhneach, Cluan Mac Nois, in Leinster, &c We meet 
 
 with many places in this kingdom, named Cluan, that are situated on hills, conse- 
 quently, they did not derive their names from a plain or level country. 
 
 " A plain, in Irish, is expressed by machaire, magh, leirg, cathan, aohadh, faithche, 
 faithemeid, maighneas, raodh, reidhlcin; and, clogad, can no more be derived from 
 Tlachdga, than homo from Adam. Le Brun describes a tower, in Turkey, which the 
 Turks name kiss-kolce, i. e. the tower of the virgins : — in a few pages after, he says, 
 they call it kses-calisi, L e. the castle of the virgins. He saw, also, the tower of the 
 patriarch Jacob, near Bethlehem, but it was so ruinous, he could form no idea of its 
 
 D
 
 18 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 iiiagiiitudo: ho gives a plate of tlic ruin, by which \vc may see, it was then aljout 20 
 t'oet high, circular, and exactly resembling the state of many of our Irish towers. The 
 kiss-kolcp or Virgin's tower, of the Turks, carries the air of Oriental romance in the 
 name: cais-caili, in Irish, is, indeed, the virgin's tower, but lam inclined to think the 
 name is a corruption of cuis-cuile, or o( ceach-ciiile, i. e. the tower of proclamation of 
 anniversaries, &c. See Le Brun's Voyage de Levant. Kiss., in Arabic and Persic, is 
 holy, religious."—/*, pp. 494, 495. 
 
 I have nmv done witli this third vohime of General Yallancey's 
 Collectanea, having omitted nothing in my extracts from it which 
 could be deemed of the slightest importance in this inquiry. 1 shall 
 not, however, trespass on the reader's time or patience by any formal 
 refutation of theories, supported by such evidences or arguments as 
 liave been now laid liefore hini : to do so gravely would, I feel, 
 equally involve me in ridicnle with their author ; and to treat them 
 -with levity would be foreign to my tastes and the spirit of this in- 
 vestigation. Besides, if there be any that could be convinced by 
 such reasonings, they would not be likely to have their faith shaken 
 by any commentary that I could make upon them. There is, how- 
 ever, one portion of his remarks, which it may not be improper to 
 notice, namely, that in Avhich he appeals to Irish aiithorities for facts 
 in support of his hypothesis, but which I shall prove to be AvhoUy 
 fallacious. The first authority so adduced is that of the celebrated 
 Cormac Mac CuUenan, who, according to General A'allancey, states, 
 in his ancient Glossary, that the word gul or gaill was the name of 
 the ancient Round Towers, and, that they were so called by the co- 
 lonists who settled first in Ireland. I regret to be obliged to state 
 that there is no passage in Cormac's Glossary to that effect, and that 
 the passage from which he gives a garbled quotation, will not bear 
 his interpretation. I here present it to the reader at full length, 
 from my own copy of Cormac's Glossary, wdiich has been collated 
 with all the vellum MS. copies of the work, preserved in our public 
 or private libraries: 
 
 ^all .1. coipce cloice, iic e|"C: nip cinraij comaibce comecci pelb puiDUi 
 coiccpice CO companouiB gall. 
 
 ^all, cerapoa pop oinj^aip .i. jciU cloice ceoamap, uc ppeommup: ip aipe ip 
 bepap gull DipuiDiu, po Bir ip ^tnll ceca po puiDi jpec i n-Cpe. ^aill .i. Ppainc : 
 ^aiU, can amm do pciepclanouiB ppanc .i. cpep jallia ; acup ipa canoope cop- 
 popip po h-ainmni^eD DOiB; ^all enim ^pece lac tacme oicicup; moe ^^dliue 
 incipca. Sic Dill jfill ip ciinm do ela : inoe Pep Pluman Ditic : cocall cop n-jciU, 
 ^aiiii in bpuin.
 
 OF THE KOUXI) TOWERS OF IKELAXD. ]() 
 
 gall, DOn, ciiiim do called, Dino. ip ■^Muy, iicup ,p ci juh.! ccpinr po h-uinin- 
 iiij'^cD .1. a carBtipp a cino. 
 
 Thus translated by IMr. O'Douovan : 
 
 " Gal/, i. e. a standing s/<»u\ ut est ' Nt-ighlmuis tiiking caix" of cattle are not in 
 fault by marking a conterminous boundai-y -witli pillar stones.' 
 
 " Gall has four meanings, viz., in the first place a pillar-stone, vt prceiliximiis: the 
 reason that such stones are caOedya/Zs, is because it was the Galli that first fi.xed them in 
 Ireland. Gall, i. e. Frank. Gall then is a name for the nobles of France, so called 
 h-om. gallia, i. e. a canclore corporis; for gall [rectc ya'A«] in Greek is lac in Latin ; 
 hence Gallice iiiasta. Thus also gall is a name for a swan : hide Fer Mumhan dixit: 
 Cuchall cos n-gall, yaimh in bhrain, i. e. the swan's foot is webbed, the raven's funded. 
 
 " Gall is also a name for a cock, from gallas, so called a galea capitis, i. e. from the 
 crest of his head." 
 
 This ATord, gall, is explained rock in all the Irish dictionaries, and 
 its diminutive ^-aZ/tt /I (corruptly dallun) is still used all over Munster 
 to denote those pillar-stones, which are so numerous in that province. 
 The word coirthe, by which it is explained in Cormac's Glossary, is 
 still well understood, and always applied to a large standing stone, as 
 to that on Cnoc a choirthe, or, the hill of the pillar-stone, near James- 
 town, in the county of Roscommon. The reader Avill now be able to 
 see the true value of the authority, which General Vallance}', bv a 
 garbled quotation, so confidently put forward as a conclusive evidence 
 of the antiquity of the Eound Towers, and I need make no fm'ther 
 comment upon it. 
 
 General Vallancey next quotes the authority of Dr. O'Brien for 
 the meaning of the word Cuil-ceach, or Cul-kak, — " Cuil-ceach, or 
 Cul-kak, corrupte clai-ceach, a roimd tower; as CuUceac Cluaiid- 
 Umha, the tower or steeple of Cloyne. O'Brien. This word, adds he. 
 seems to be corrupted of Clog-theacli, that is the bell-house." 
 
 This is another characteristic example of Yallancey's mode of 
 quoting authorities; he first makes O'Brien say, that Cuilceaclt be- 
 comes corruptly Cluiceach, and then that the word seems to be cor- 
 rupted of Clog-theacli. But O'Brien does not say that Cuilceach is 
 corruptly CUuceach, nor has he the Avord Culkak or Cluiceach in 
 his book; neither does he say that Cuilceach seems to be a cor- 
 ruption of Clog-theach, but states positively that it is so. The fol- 
 loAving are the passages which Vallancey has so misquoted and 
 
 garbled 
 
 D 2
 
 20 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " CuiLCEACH, a stocplo ; cuilccach Cluaiui-uuiha, Cloyne steeple. — This word is a 
 corruption of Clog-theach. 
 
 " Cloio-theach, a steqiUs a l)elfry; comipte, Cuilgtheach." 
 
 Our autlior next tells us, that another name for the Round Towers 
 is Sibheit, Siflthlieif, and Sit/ihlicin, and for this he refers ns to 
 O'Brien's and Shaw's Lexicons ; but this quotation is equally false 
 with those I have already exposed, for the words Sibheit and Sithbhe.it 
 are not to be found in citlier of the works referred to. The word 
 Sifhhhe is, indeed, given in both Lexicons, but explained a city, not a 
 round tower. The word Sitlibhein is also given in both, but ex- 
 plained a fort, a turret ; and the real meaning of the word, as still 
 understood in many parts of Ireland, is, a fairy hill, or hill of the 
 fairies, and is apphed to a green round hill crowned by a small se- 
 pidchral mound. 
 
 He next tells us that CaiceacJi, the last name he finds for the 
 Round Towers, is supposed by the Glossarists to be compounded of 
 rai, a house, and teach, a house, an explanation, which, he playfully 
 adds, is tautology with a witness. But where did he find authority 
 for the word Caiceach f I answer nowhere ; and the tautology he 
 speaks of was either a creation or a blunder of his own. It is evident 
 to me that the Glossarist to whom he refers is no other than his fa- 
 vourite Cormac ; but the latter makes no such blimder, as will appear 
 from the passage which our author obviously refers to : 
 
 Cai .1. ceac: unoe Dicicup ceapo-ca .1. ceuc ceapoa; cpeap-ca .1. ceac cumcinj. 
 " Cai, i. e. a liouse : unde dicitur ceard-cha, i. e. the house of the artificer ; creas-clia, i. e. 
 a narrow house." 
 
 Lastly, he tells us that the name Clnan was, he believes, origi- 
 nally given to all these towers, and that it appears to be a contraction 
 of Cul-luan, i. e. the retiu-n of the Moon! For this new meaning of 
 the word, it would, however, have puzzled him to find an authority, 
 though he evidently Avdshes us to believe that he had such, by quoting 
 O'Brien to sliew that chian is a name given to several of om- bishops' 
 sees. But O'Brien knew the meaning of the word too well to have 
 had any such notion in his mind, and correctly explains it as follows : 
 
 " Cluain, a plain between two woods, also any fine level fit for pasture ; Lat. planum, 
 
 Angl.-Saxon. laicn, visibly of the same root with cluain Vid. Lhn/d's Compar. Eti/m. 
 
 pag. 10. col. 1., for an initial letter being expressed in one Celtic dialect, and omitted in 
 another. Note that several towns and bishops' sees in Ireland derive their names from
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 21 
 
 this word C/iiain ; ex. Clunin fitnlia, now the town of Cloyno, a liishop's '^co in tlie 
 Countj' of Cork ; Cluain-haidhncach and Cluain Mac Nois, in Lcinster, &c." 
 
 Tliat this is tlie true and only meaning of tlie word chmiii, can be 
 proved by reference to tlie localities bearing the name in every part 
 of Ireland. In many places there are twenty-fonr rluains together, as 
 in O'Conor Faly's Conntry in the King's Coimty, and in O'Conor Roe's 
 Country in the County of Roscommon ; and the cluain is invariably 
 found to be a fertile piece of land surrounded by a bog or moor, or 
 on one side by a bog, and on the other by water. On this conjecture 
 of Vallancey it may also be remarked, that, if every place in Ireland 
 bearing the name Cluain had received that name from a round tower, 
 there must have been several thousands of Round Towers in the 
 country, and in many places they must have been so congregated 
 together, as to have required the wand of a magician to call tliem 
 into existence, since they would be too numerous for the population 
 of Ireland, at any period, to erect them. But the assumption is so 
 visionary, that it is puerile to treat it sei-iously. 
 
 In the succeeding vohmie of the Collectanea, containing a Vin- 
 dication of the ancient history of Ireland, General Vallancey again 
 returns to the subject of the Round Towers, and presents us with 
 several names for them, and new evidences in support of their anti- 
 quity. In this volume, howevei", he abandons many of his fonner 
 theories — theories which he had put forward as incontestible — both 
 as to their origin and uses. They are now not African or Phcenician 
 towers, but towers of the Persian or Chaldean Magi. They are no 
 longer towers for celestial observations, or, for proclaiming the anni- 
 versaries, or, sorcerers' towers, or, towers for the Druids to dance 
 round, — they are now only fire-towers of the restored religion of Zcr- 
 dust or Zoroaster ! 
 
 It is a difficult and rather unpleasant task to follow a writer so 
 rambling in his reasonings and so obscm-e in his style, but, as his 
 followers are still the most numerous class of my readers, I must get 
 through the labom- as well as I can, consoled by the conviction, that 
 little more is necessary to prove the visionary nature of his hypo- 
 theses, than to present the arguments on which they rest, in conse- 
 cutive order. 
 
 " In the Sadder of Zerdusht as given us by Dr. Hyde, we find the fire-temple or 
 Tower, or House of Prayer, named Aphrinayhan; the sacred festivals had the same
 
 •22 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 name : The Persians in India luul a stated festival once a month. Hoc convivium seu 
 \uv E[m\x j>hn-((li habet nonien AiVinaglian, i.e. Benedictalia seu benedicendi Epiiljc, 
 in the singular number it is AjJ<enn; or AftVin. In the Chaldce we find IVnrW 
 Aphriuu, Templuni. In Irish Afrithgnam is to bless {gnam or gnim is the verb agere 
 vel faeere)- 'i"l»' Chnppel, Mass-house, or House of prayer, is kno^^^l at this day in 
 Ireland, by no other name than Tl-Afrion, i. e., the house of benediction. 
 
 •' There can be no .loubt of the round towers in Ireland, having been Fire- towers ; 
 the ri-nifrloHit, the house of benediction. The Arabs call them Perkin, i. e. a fire 
 hearth, in Irish Bieocan. The construction of them was well adapted to the purpose : 
 the door being always from 12 to 15 feet from the base, the sacred fire at the bottom 
 could not be molested by the wnid : it was covered by a Cupola at top, and four small 
 windows in the sides near the top, let out the smoke. The diameter of them is no 
 more than sufficient for the Cai-Culane, or Draoi to perform his sacred office : his 
 Zend or prayers were not to be heard by the congregation, as in the service, his mouth 
 was covered lest he should breath on the holy fire, so that he mumbled or nuittered 
 his words. Wien he had done, he probably ascended to the door or to the top, and 
 gave his A}ihrin. The sacred fire was fed by the wood of a sacred tree; in Persia the 
 name of that tree is Haum al Magjus, i. e. Haum Magorum : In Irish Om and Gninu 
 was Crann-naomha or sacred tree : we translate it an Oak. 
 
 " The Pcrso-Scythi of Ireland named these Towers, Tuir Be'd, or the Towers of 
 Baal or Belus, a name sacred to the Sun ; whence Bel-ain, a year, i. e. the Circle of 
 Bel. In Pharh. Gj. a Persian author, we are told that Ardeshir Bahek, a Persian King, 
 constructed a certain lofty building which he named Terbali, to the East of the City of 
 Iharaghun in Persia, — alia etiam veterum Templorum Persicorum nomina in sequen- 
 tibus memorantur, et eorum omnium nomina hodie recuperare et recensere, est plane 
 impossibile, — Hyde, 1 08. 
 
 " The sacred fire was named Hyr, in Irish Ur, it was also named Adin; whence 
 the Adair of Ireland, names of places where some sacred building is always to be 
 found ; our modern churches are commonly annexed to these old fire-towers ; a strong 
 argument that they were originally sacred buildings. The Prafectus ignis was named 
 Hyr-bad, in Irish Ur-Baidh. scil. Ignis Sacen/os; we now translate baid, a prophet. 
 The Urbad continued night and day in the fire tower, and all other Priests were sub- 
 ject to him ; we have the same accounts in the Irish MSS. Tliis order was also 
 named Miigh. Primus ordo antea vocabatur Mogh et postea Hi/rbad. (Hyde). Mogh 
 i\Iugh or Miigh was the name in Ireland, hence Ard-magh the Sletropolitau See of 
 Ireland, and all those old family names beginning with the Epithet Mag, as Mag 
 !Mathi;hanma, MiW uidir, Maff Cana, Mag Giolla Eiabha, Maji Rasrhnuil, IMcWh Luijch, 
 Mac Luchta, &c. &c. and this name was borrowed of the Chaldeans, another strong 
 circumstance from whence Zerdust came, corresponding with our Irish traditions. 
 Olini in Chaldreorum Curia horum Rector supremus (Jerem. 29. 3. 13) dicebatur 
 23-3-1 Rah vmg i. e. Magorum Praifectus." — Vol. iv. pp. 202-3-4-5. 
 
 And again: 
 
 " It may be said that the few fire towers existing in Ireland, plainly evince that this 
 fire-worship was not an established religion, and that they must have been applied to 
 some other use : to this objection, I answer, that many have been pulled down, and
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWKKS (IF IFvIXAXl). 23 
 
 that tliosc were only Cathedrals ; that other buildings of wattles and straw, (cr Corri- 
 dores) to cover the congregation, may have lieen erected round them, and wr shall lind 
 most of the Irish Towers connected with our Cathedrals, as at Cluiine, Cin'licU, Olu„- 
 (/(doui/k, &c. &c. Notandum est, quod omne Pyreuni t'liit Ecclesia Cathcdralis dotatii 
 ad alendum Epi^copum, et Sacerdotes necessarios (Ilyde, l()(i). and likr ihr (ilicbres r.l' 
 India, they often prayed to Culinary fires, where a tower was not eonviiiii-ntly at 
 hand."— /i. pp. '20G, 207. 
 
 I do not feel it necessary to make any connnent on llie ijreceding 
 passages, as Vallancey's new Irish names for the Round Towers, toge- 
 ther with tlie Irish authorities to which he refers, are, as all Iii.-h 
 scholars must be aware, mere creations of his own fancy. I proceed, 
 therefore, to his sixth volume, in which we are presented with a se- 
 cond Essay on the Irish Rovmd Towers, and from this I shall extract 
 whatever passages I can find directly bearing on the ([ucstiiiu. He 
 commences as follows: 
 
 " From my first knowledge of Irish history, and of the mythology of the pagan 
 Irish, I did conceive, that these towers were erected to contain the sacred fire, and I 
 have had no reason to alter my opinion. From that history it appeared evident, that, 
 as in ancient Persia, so, in ancient Ireland, there were two sects of tire worshipper.s ; 
 one, that lighted the fires on the tops of mountains and hills, and others in towers ; an 
 innovation said to be brought about liy Mnyh NtiadJiut, or the Magus of the new lau; 
 otherwise called Airgiod-lamh, or golden hand, who was the Zerdost or gold hand of 
 the Persians, who is said to have lost his life by a Touranian Scythian, in a tumidt 
 raised by this innovation ; so Mogh Nuadliat had his hand cut oft' in the struggle, but 
 one of the Tuailia-dadan colony, or Chaldtean magi, supplied the loss with a silver (jr 
 golden hand. 
 
 " These towers were evidently named by the Chaldeans ]V~1SS aplirixn, i. e. tcm- 
 plum, a name that exists at this day in Irisli for the house of prayer or benediction, 
 viz. Ti aifrion, a mass-house ; Ar. .j_i _il ufi-ian, P. aferitt, praise, glory, benediction, 
 blessing. In Cantico Canticorum, (po^siav sibi fecit Salomon, i. e. ]V~2S iipliriun sil)i 
 fecit Salomon. (Aldrete Antig. de Espana, p. 203.) By the ancient Hindoos they were 
 named Coill, whence the Cill and Ceall of the Irish, of which hereafter. 
 
 " The jiagan Irish worshipped Crom cruait, the same God Soraster adored, in fire, 
 first on mountains, then in caves, and lastly in towers: this fire worship, says Irish 
 history, was introduced by a certain draoi, named Midhghe, a corruption of Magiiisr/i, 
 which in Persian signifies, nailed by the ears, not cropt eared, as some have imagined, 
 but the Zoroastrians changed it to Megiiisch or Mtigiiisch. 
 
 " 'The Brahmins kept a portion of the sacred fire constantly and fervently glowing 
 in caves, continually ascending in pure bright pi/ramidal flame, fed with the richest 
 gums ; this was prior to the Pyra;ia, or fire temples, which were always round, and 
 owed their origin, according to the Magi, to the zeal of Zoroaster.' (Maurice. Ind. Ant., 
 V. II. p. 279.) 
 
 " This pyramidal flame seems to have given the idea of the njund towers, wliieh
 
 24 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 AVI.TC conical, and cndrd in a point at top, both in Ilindoostan and in Ireland, as we 
 shall shew hereafter. 
 
 " The tower of Ireland, dc^dicated to Bi-i(iiU a saint, who took on her the heatlien 
 name, is one of the highest in the kingdom— i?;vy/; inghean Dnyhda, bamlea, agus ro 
 mor an a/riknam, i. e^ Brigit, daughter of Daghda or Apollo (the Daghda-rath of the 
 Brahmins) a goddess, and very great was her Aifrion tower, or house of benediction. 
 
 (Cormac.) 
 
 " Zerdhusht extruxit doniicilia ignis, et fecit ea cum aipola exeelsa, et ignem gladio 
 non fodiendum. (Buudari, an Arabian.)"— VoL vi. pp. 121—123. 
 
 " ' The Persians, says Prideaux, first made the holy fires on the tops of hills, but 
 Zoroastres, finding that these sacred fires in the open air, were often extinguished by 
 rain, tempests and storms, directed that fire towers should be built, that the sacred 
 fires might the better be preserved.' 
 
 " We find these towers still exist in Caucasus, the first settlement of our Ara- 
 coti, particularly in the tribe of Dalguis, now called Ingushi. Those mountains were 
 explored by Guldenstaedt by order of Catharine ; in Vol. I. he says, ' They call 
 themselves Inqnshi ; they are Christians. They believe in one God, whom they call 
 Daile (in Irish Duile). Many of their vollages have a stone tower, which now serves 
 them, in time of war, as a retreat to their women and children.'" — lb. p. 124. 
 
 The preceding passages are followed by an extract from Dr. Baum- 
 garten, concerning the religion of the Scythians, in which, however, 
 there is nothing ahortt fire, but that they worshipped an invisible 
 deity, and admitted of no images, but, like the Magi, made use only 
 of symbols. This again is followed by an extract from the Horaj 
 Bibhcas of Mr. Butler, concerning the religion of the ancient Persians, 
 and another from the same work concerning the Echla : after which 
 he compares certain words in the Zend and Brahminical languages 
 with the Ii-ish, to shew their similarity, and for others refers to the 
 Preface to the Prospectus of his Iiish Dictionary, and then says : 
 
 " From all which I conclude, with certainty, that the Old Irish, or Aire-Coti, the 
 primitive inhabitants of Britain and the western isles, were the Ar-Coti of Caucasus, 
 and the Ara-Cotii of Dionysius, from the borders of the Indus, whence they were 
 called IndoScgthce ; that they were mixed with the Brahmins, who at that period built 
 round toicers for the preservation of the holy fire, in imitation of which those in Ireland 
 and Scotland were built." — lb. p. 133. 
 
 I have given the arguments and cA-idences of General Yallancey 
 thus fully, lest it might be thouglit that I did him injustice by thek 
 abridgment: and I am satisfied, that with the learned and unpreju- 
 diced reader it will be deemed unnecessary to offer a word of com- 
 ment on them — that it Avill be but a waste of time to reply to argu- 
 ments resting on conjectural etjinologies unsupported by authority
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 25 
 
 of any kind, and vague references to Irish liistory, williont any inti- 
 mation in what antlinr, niamiseiipt, printed book, or library, they may 
 be found. But as I shall have many readers to whom sucli evidences 
 have been " strong as proofs of holy writ," and wlio will not be thus 
 easily satisfied, it is imperative on me, however painful, to present 
 them with such demonstrative proofs of their insufficiency to sustain 
 the conclusions di-awn, as even they must receive as incontrovertible. 
 In the first paragraph above quoted. General Vallancey tells us, 
 that it appears evident from Irish history that, as in ancient Persia, so 
 in ancient Ireland, there were two sects of fire-worshi])pers, one that 
 lighted the fires on the tops of movmtains and hills, and the other in 
 towers. This last form of worship, he continues, was an innovation, 
 said to have been brought about by Mogh Nuadhat, or the Magus 
 of the New Law, otherwise called Airgiod-/a}>i/i, or Golden-hand, 
 who, as he states, was no less a personage than the Zerdost or Gold- 
 hand of the Persians, who is said to have lost his life by a Touranian 
 Scythian, in a tumult raised by this innovation. On these assertions I 
 have first to remark, that Irish history furnishes us with no such facts 
 as are here stated. It is true, that it states that fii'es were lighted by 
 the Druids on the tops of moiuitains and hills ; but there is not one 
 word to be found in that history respecting fires ha\'ing been lighted 
 in towers, nor about the innovation, said to have been brought about 
 by Mogh Nuadhat, nor about any innovation introduced by any Magus 
 whatsoever. Secondly, it does not appear from Irish history that 
 there was any prince, or Magus, called Mogh Nuadhat, to whom the 
 cognomen of Airgiod-lamh was applied, nor would such a cognomen 
 mean Golden-hand, but Silver-hand. We are told, indeed, in Irish 
 history, of a leader of the Tuatha De Danann colony, who was called 
 Nuada Airgiod-lamh, or Nuada of the Silver-hand, from a hand of 
 silver with which he supplied the place of a hand lost in the battle 
 of Magli Tuiredh, near Cong, m the present county of Mayo, fought 
 against the Fir-Bolgs, according to OTlaherty's corrected Irish chro- 
 nology, in the year 2737; and we also find in that history mention 
 of a provincial Idng of the Milesian colony, named Eoghan, who bore 
 the cognomen of Mogh Nuadhat, and who was slain by the celebrated 
 monarch Conn of the Hundred Battles, in the battle of Magh Lena, 
 in the year of Christ 192. Thus it will be seen, that General Val- 
 lancey makes the cognomen of one prince be the name of another, 
 
 E
 
 0() INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 who lived iiuuiy ceiiturics before him, in order to give probability to 
 ;i lancil'ul etyinology of this cognomen necessaiy to his purpose, but 
 which, after all, it will by no means bear ; for we have the authority of 
 Irish history itself, that the cognomen Mogh Nuadhat did not mean 
 Mtii>iis of the Neir Law, but strong labourer. See an ancient Irish 
 tract on the etymology of the names of celebrated Irish personages, 
 preserved in the Book of Lecan, fol. 22 1 , and ISIac Cmtin's Vindi- 
 cation of the History of Ireland, p. 102. 
 
 General Vallancey next tells us, that these Towers were evidently 
 named by the Chaldeans Apltriun, i. e. templum, and that the Tower 
 of St. Bridget, at Kildare, — one of the highest in the kingdom, — was 
 called her Aifrion Tower, or house of benediction ; and as authority 
 for this name he quotes the Glossary of Cormac Mac CuUenan. But 
 in this, as m an instance recently quoted, he has most shamelessly 
 garbled and falsified the text of that writer, as wiU appear from the 
 following acciu'ate transcript of it from the oldest copies : 
 
 6pi^ic bnii-pile, injen in tDugoae ; ip i iiipiii Spijic be n-eicpi, .1. baii-oea no 
 uopacip piliD, ap ba po riiop, ocup bu po an a ppicjnarii. loeo cam tDeam uocanc 
 poecapum ; cuiup popopep epunc 6pi^ir be leijip, ocup Gpijic be joibne, injenu 
 intDnjDoe; oe quapum nominibup penep hotninep hibepnenpep oea 6pi jic uocaba- 
 cup. 6pi5ir, Din, .1. bpeo-pai^ic. 
 
 " Brigliit the poetess, tlie daughter of the Dagda ; she was the goddess of poetry, 
 i. e. the goddess whom the poets worshipped, for very great and very noble was her pre- 
 siding CARE. Ideo earn Deam vacant poetarum; cujus sorores eraiit Brighit, the god- 
 dess of jjhysic, and Brighit, the goddess of smiths, the daughters of the Dagda ; de 
 quarum nominibus penes homines Hibernenses Dea Brighit rocahatur. Brigliit then 
 means an arrow of fire." — H. 2. 16. 
 
 That the word ppirjnain in the preceding passage, — which General 
 Vallancey has manufactiued into Afrihnam by joining the posses- 
 sive pronoun a, her, to the noiui, to make it resemble the Chaldee 
 Apliriun, — can only be vuiderstood as implj'ing the diligent care, or 
 attention, Avith which the goddess was siqiposed to "watch over the 
 inspiration of the poets, can be proved by numerous examples from 
 ancient Irish MSS., and among these from Cormac's own woik, in 
 which the word occiu's twice under the word lerec, thus : 
 
 Ro bui coUeicc in c-eccep oc acullairi ino ecpine, ocup oc cup pulae x:<.i];\ ci 
 FpirjnuTh. 
 
 " The poet was at the time conversing with the tyro-poet, and keeping an eye over his 
 
 ASSIDUITY."
 
 OF THE I50UXD TOWERS OF IRELAXn. 27 
 
 Ro pdrciij Kipnm m r-ecep mop mennHiin m ecpme, ocup lai^ec « ppir^nuiiici. 
 '• The poot afterwanlsol.scrvod the groat mind of tlu- tyro-poot, and tlu- smnllness 
 
 of his ASSIDUITY." 
 
 And under the modem spelling, p]iiocnom, this word is exi)laine(l 
 ntrc, dilii^enre, in the Dictionaries of O'Brien, O'Reilly, and— in wliat 
 is suiDerior to either— the MS. Dictionary of Peter O'C'onnell, pr,- 
 served in the British Museum. Under the modern spelling the word 
 is also used in the sense of "caring, presiding over, or supeiintend- 
 iug," by the Four Masters, as in the following passage. 
 
 A. D. 1174. piann .1. piopenr Uu ^opmuin, uipo-peap lecchinn Qpoci niuclu. 
 ojiip epenn ude, pao. epjnu, eolac, ip in eaccna oiaoa, asupDomanoa, lup nibeir 
 bliaoain ap picic 1 b-PpancaiB cijiip t StuaiB ace pocckiim, a^iip piche bliuocin 
 ele aj ppiochnam ajup 05 pollarhnacchao pool Bpenn, cic bar co poiiitiieuc ip 
 in Ceaccaoin pia j-Cuipj uipp an peaccmojao bliaoain a uoipi. 
 
 Thus translated by Colgau : 
 
 " 1174. B. Flnrenluis Gormanns, Arcf/imaifiste); .ten, snp-emiis mof/crator srliohp 
 ArdmacJiancP, ac omnium totiiis Hiberni(v Doctor egregiiis, in ditiinis Sf hiiinanis scientijs 
 peritissinms ; postquam annis viginti una in Francid et Anglid operam studijs nauasset, 
 Sj- oliis posteii riyinti annis sc//olas Hilierni<v tunqiiam Prcpfcctiis rexisset, ipsci ferid qnarld 
 ante Dominicam Resurrectionis, pie inDomino oMormiuit." — Trias Thauin. p 310. 
 
 The reader has now materials laid before him from which to jud'ie, 
 whether Vallancey was justified in stating that the above passage in 
 Cormac's Glossary refers to the Round Tower of Kildare, or to the 
 Christian St. Bridget, and that ba po an a pptf^nctrh means " very 
 great was her Afrion tower, or hou.se of benediction." 
 
 General Vallancey next tells us that " the pagan Irish worshipped 
 Cro)ii criiait, the same god Soraster adored, in iire, first on moun- 
 tains, then in caves, and lastly in towers : this fire-worshi]), says 
 Irish history, was introduced by a certain draoi, named Mid/ig/tc, 
 a corruption of Magiusch, which in Persian signifies, nailed by the 
 ears," &c. 
 
 On this I have to remark, that, as I have already stated, Irish 
 history says nothing about the worship of fire in towers, nor that 
 Crom Cruait {recte Crom Cruach) was worshipped in fire in any 
 manner, but on the contrary, that he was worshipped under the form 
 of a large idol ornamented with gold and silver, and surrounded by 
 twelve lesser ones of brass, typical emblems, as it might be conjec- 
 tiu-ed, of the sun and the twelve signs of the zodiac. See the legend 
 given in full in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, as published b}- 
 
 E 2
 
 28 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Colgan in Trias Tliauni. p. 133. Neither does Irish history state 
 tliat firc-ujorship was introduced by a certain druoi, or Druid, named 
 Midhghe, though it must be confessed, that an inference to that effect 
 might be drawn from the romantic history of tlie first colonies of 
 Ireland, in which it is stated, that on the landing of the Nemedians, — 
 the second colony after the deluge, — who came hither from Greece, a 
 certain Druid, named Mid/ie, hghted the first fire for them in the terri- 
 tory of Meath, which is said to have thence received its name from 
 liim; and that all this colony were obhged to pay him and his suc- 
 cessors a tribute for the hberty of lighting theii' fires annually from 
 this original fire. This story is preserved in the Book of Leinster, 
 a vellum MS. of the twelfth century, in the Library of Trinity Col- 
 lege, Dublin, H. 2. 18, fol. 157, a, h ; and, whatever may have been the 
 origin of the custom, it appears, from a statement in another ancient 
 MS. in the same library, to have been perpetuated even long after 
 the introduction of Christianity into the covmtry. As the passage to 
 which I refer has not been hitherto noticed, and will throw a curious 
 light on the nature of this custom and the history of the times, I shall 
 present it to the reader in this place : 
 
 Claccja, ona, ITluiiia do nich h-i, ocup ip lac maccpaij rPuman do comeDciD 
 Claccja CO n-a cenncaib, con nach oencai ceine D'paooD a n-6ipinD no co ceannaij- 
 rea uacha-puiTi h-i; ocup j-ciiepall oip jacha h-aen chuaidie a n-6ipinn Doib ap 
 in ceinio; miach cpuichneciclicct ocup cope ap each ppini-ceallach a n-Gpinn do 
 comapba ITIiDe ap in ceinuio pin, .1. O'CainoealBain. 
 
 " Tlachtgha; Munster celebrated it (i. e. its fair) and it was the youths of JEuns- 
 ter that kept Tlachtgha with its fires, so that no fire was lighted in Erin until it was 
 purchased from them ; and a screpall of gold was paid them out of every territory in 
 Erin for the fire ; a sack of wheat and a hog from every chief hearth in Erin to the 
 Comharba of Midhe (Meath), i. e. O'Caindealbhain (O'Quinlan), for this fire." — Class 
 H. 3. 17, p. 732. 
 
 In addition to the passages which I have already quoted from 
 General Vallancey, there are many others connected with his hypo- 
 thesis on the Eound Towei's, interspersed through his woi'ks, which, 
 as bemg wholly of a visionary etymological character in reference to 
 the local names of Towers, I do not feel it necessary to notice in this 
 place, as I shall present them to the reader, in connexion with the 
 Towers to which they refer, in the third part of this work. There 
 is still, however, one point which it is incmnbent on me to notice, 
 namely, the supposed similarity which the Persian and Hindoo fire-
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWERS OF lUELAND. 2;) 
 
 temples, bear to the Irish Roiuul Towers ; and, as this siniilaritv lias 
 been much dwelt upon by subsequent ^vTiters, and ajipears to have 
 had considerable weight with them, it will be well to put the reader 
 more fully in possession of the fiicts on which it rests. They are thus 
 stated by General Vallancey: 
 
 " Mv. Pennant, speaking of tlie Polygars of the Circars of India, says, 'All i1h> 
 people of this part of India are Hindoos, and retain the old religion, with all its sniier- 
 stitiou. This makes the pagodas here much more numerous than in any other part 
 of the peninsula. Their form too is different, being chiefly l)uildings of a eyliiidiii'al, 
 or round toicer shape, with their tops eitlier pointed, or truncated at the summit, and 
 ornamented witli something eccentrical, but frequently with a round ball stuck on a 
 spike ; this ball seems intended to represent the Sun, an emblem of tlie deity of the 
 place.' — (View of Hindoostan, V. II. \>. 123.)" — vol. vi. pp. 133, 134. 
 
 " Hanway, in his travels into Persia, says, there are yet four temples of the Guebres, 
 or worshippers of fire, who formerly inhabited all this waste. It seemed inconsistent, 
 that tlie Persians suffered these temples to remain unmolested, after the abolition nf a 
 religion, which they now esteem grossly idolatrous ; but they are made of most durable 
 materials. These edifices are round, and above thirty feet diameter, raised in height 
 to a point near one hundred and twenty feet." — Ih. p. 137. 
 
 " In the Hisfoire des descoueertes dans la H/isse et la Perse, there is an accoiiiit of 
 many round towers, said by the inhabitants to be the work of very remote times. At 
 Bulgari, not nine wersts distant from the Wolga, where our Aire-Coti first settled un- 
 der Casair, the most remarkable of the ancient bviildings, says Pallas, is around tower, 
 called Misger, which appears to be a corruption of J~^'> - muzgi, signifying, to make 
 the holy fire bvirn bright (Richardson). 
 
 " In the midst of the ruins of Kasimof, on the Oha which falls into the Wolga, is 
 a round and elevated tower, a sort of temple of stone and bricks, called in their lan- 
 guage Misquir (Guthrie). 
 
 " In the country of the Kisti and Ingushti, very ancient nations of Caucasus, most 
 of the villages have a round tower." — Ih. p. 145. 
 
 " Lord Valentia, in his late Travels in the East Indies, met with two round towers 
 near to each other, 1 mileN. W. of Bhaugulpour ; he was much pleased with tlie sight 
 of them, as they resembled those Towers in Ireland, which have puzzled the anticjua- 
 ries of Ireland — ' but they are a little more ornamented — the door about the same 
 height from the ground. It is singular, says he, that there is no tradition concerning 
 them. The Rajah of Jyenegar considers them as holi/, and has erected a small building 
 to shelter the great number of his subjects, who annually come to worship here. I have 
 given an engraving of them, adds his lordship, as I think them curious.'" — Account 
 of the Stone Amphitheatre, t^r., p. 41. 
 
 Of these extracts I may observe generally, that with the single 
 exception of that from Hanway relative to the four towers of the 
 Guebres, none of them prove that the towers noticed may not liave 
 been — what is far mox-e probable — ancient Mahometan minarets, or,
 
 30 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 belfries of the early Christians ; «in(l, witli reg:ml to Ilanway's in- 
 stance, on which so much stress lias been laid, it may be remarked, 
 that even supposiu<r these towers to have been erected for the purpose 
 stated — a thing after all very doubtful — yet no point of exact con- 
 formitv between them and the Irish Towers has been established, 
 excepting that of rolmidity; while, on the other liand, the Persian 
 towers are pro\ed to differ essentially from the Irish, in being nearly 
 three times their average diameter. This want of established agree- 
 ment was so strongly felt by Dr. Lanigan, that notwithstanding his 
 zeal in supporting Vallancey's hypothesis, he is obliged to confess a 
 wish that Hanway had been more particular in his description. On 
 this subject Dr. Ledwich has made the following judicious remarks : 
 
 " Our imtlior begins his career by atfirminn; our towers to be the same as the Per- 
 sian Pyi'atlie'ia, and that merely from Mr. Planway's saying there were roimd towers 
 in the country of the Gaurs. Now if the Gaurs came hither, their monuments would 
 have been similar to those described by Strabo, which 'were inclosures of great com- 
 pass [x^my.oyot worthy of mention, egregious], in the middle were altars, and on them 
 the ISIagi preserved much ashes and a perpetual fire.' The Greek words throw not the 
 smallest light on the figure of the Pyratheia, much less can it be inferred they were of 
 lime and stone, or of the altitude of ottr towers. Even Hyde, from whom he takes the 
 shape of the modern Parsee fire-temples, would have informed him, that the ancient 
 Persians had no temples, nor even a name for them in their language. What the 
 Parsees now use were taken from Christian or Mahometan archetypes." 
 
 " ' Nulla erant templa veterum Porsarum, cptippe qui omnia sua sacra sub dio 
 peragebant, ideoque in sua religione et lingua non habebant temjsli nomen.' Hyde de 
 Kelig. vet. Pers. p. 359-"- — Antiquities, p. 16(5. 
 
 To these remarks I shall only add, that I am far from wishing to 
 deny that a remarkable conformity is to be found between many of 
 the Round Towers noticed by travellers, whether Christian, or Ma- 
 hometan, and ovu' Irish Towers ; but on the contrary, hope to make 
 that conformity more evident, and to be able to show, in the con- 
 cluding section of this inquiry, that they are all equally derived from 
 the same source, namely, the early Christians. 
 
 In connexion with this hypothesis of the Persian origin of the 
 Round Towers, and their use as fire-temples, I have next to notice the 
 opinions of Mr. Beauford, another EngUsh antiquary, who was cotem- 
 porary with Vallancey, and one of the learned Triumvirate of Irish 
 antiquaries, who were permitted to publish their works in the Col- 
 lectanea de Rebus Ht hern ids. This gentleman's opinions are given 
 under the word Cloghadh, in an Essay on the ancient Topography
 
 OF THE ROINI) TOWKKS OK lUKLAXI). 31 
 
 of Ireland, published in the eleventh miiul)er of lliat work, and are as 
 I'ollows : 
 
 "Cloghadh, or CliHjho, the Ilibcrno-ccltic name of those slender round towers ut 
 this day found in several parts of Ireland. Tlic word is derived from the old Irish 
 Tlachgo from Thicht, tlie earth or universe. The Druidic temples of Vesta in which 
 were kept the sacred or eternal fire, were called Tlachgo or temples of Cybele, being 
 of tlie same construction with the Pyrathea of the ancient Persians, and the Vfiammia 
 of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, some of which are still reinainino; in Persia and 
 Bulgaria. The Hibernian Druids erected these temples in their sanctuaries, as is 
 evident from the ruins of several still remaining in different parts of the kingdom, 
 jjarticularly at Ballynasliebh in the County of Kilkenny, Navan near Armngli, &c. 
 They were constructed of rock stone without cement, and were of the same diameter 
 with those towers now remaining, but to what altitude they were carried is not cer- 
 tain; little more than the fc>uudations being now visible. After the establishment of 
 Christianity in Ireland, among a ninnber of Druie [Druidie] superstitions, the sacred or 
 eternal fires were preserved for several centuries, and the Tlnchtjn by the christian 
 clergy removed from the sanctuaries of paganism to those of the true faith, and be- 
 came appurtenances to churches and monasteries, though still retaining their ancient 
 denomination of Tluchyo or temples of Vesta. On the abolition of these fires, about 
 the twelfth century, and the intrt)duction of bells, the TIaclign were in general eon- 
 verted into belfries, whence the modern name for a bell in Irish is cloyfi, from being 
 ]jlaced in the Thichgo or vestal temples. As these round towers are neither fo>nKl 
 in Britain or the European continent, they were most probably introduced into this 
 island by the Persian Magi or Gaiirs, who in the time of Constantine the Great ran 
 over the world, carrying in their hands censors containing the holy fire; ascerting their 
 God should destroy all other Gods, which in some measure they effected by lighting 
 fires under them, thereby burning those of wood and melting those of metal. In this 
 period the christian religion had made considerable progress in the southern and wes- 
 tern parts of Europe, but in Ireland druidic superstition remaining in its original 
 purity, whose tenets not being widely different from those of the Gaiirs, these pagan 
 philosophers found a ready assent to their doctrines; whence PjTatheias or vestal towers 
 became universal throughout the island, in the place of the ancient Tlachgo, which we 
 have shewn under that word were mounts of stone containing the remains of their 
 ancient heroes, and on which fires were occasionally lighted from the sacred vaults at 
 the times of sacrifice. The Cloghailh now remaining in Ireland were all erected by 
 the christian clergy, and are none of them older probably than the beginning of the 
 seventh century, nor none of a later date than the close of the eleventh, though evi- 
 dently derived from structures of a similar nature vised by the pagan priests; they 
 were however continued as Ix'lfries to the close of the fourteenth century, for which 
 reason a belfry in the Irish language is termed Clnglmflh, from being originally tem- 
 ples of Tlucht. AVare Ant. Dufrene's Gloss, tom. :J. Jurieu's critical Hist, of the 
 Church, vol. 2."— vol. iii. pp. 308—310. 
 
 (^n the preceding statement it will be sufficient to ob^^ervc, that 
 the story of the Gaurs, or Persian Magi, overrunning Europe in tlie
 
 32 IMJLIIiV IN In Till-: OKIGIX AND USES 
 
 roi'ni of Constantine, is altogetlicr a lulivieation of the author's own, 
 and that the ecclesiastical historian, Jurieu. to whom he refers as liis 
 authority, states nothing from which such an inference could be drawn. 
 The passages m Jurieu's Critical History of the ChiU'ch, on wliich 
 this mendacious statement was founded, are given by Vallancey in 
 the fourth volume of his Collectanea [pp. 406, 407], "who enjoyed a 
 Iriuiiipli in exposing the dishonesty of his former literary associate. 
 Mr. Beauford's statements Avitli respect to the derivation of the word 
 Cloghad from Tlachgo, of the original Round Towers ha^•ing been 
 constructed of rock stone without cement, and of the ruins of several 
 of those still remaining being of the same diameter with the Round 
 Towers now remaining, are given without any authority, and are piu'e 
 fallacies. And the statement as to the conversion of these Towers 
 into belfries, on the introduction of bells about the twelfth century, 
 is equally fallacious, as it is certain from the whole body of our eccle- 
 siastical histor}', that bells Avere in use in Ii-eland from the period of 
 the first introduction of Christianity into the country, as I shall show 
 in its proper place. 
 
 I have next to notice the arguments in support of this hj-j^^othesis 
 of the eastern origin of the Towers, of a writer Avho was greatly supe- 
 rior in solid learning, honesty, and general acuteness, to any of those, 
 whose reasonings I have hitherto combated, namely Dr. Lanigan, the 
 able author of the Ecclesiastical History of L'eland. That such a 
 writer should have followed in a track so visionary as that of Val- 
 lancey, can only be accounted for by his shght acquaintance Avith the 
 subject of architectural antiquities. His reasonings are as follows: 
 
 " The great similarity of these towers in the interior of Hindostan to our Irish 
 Round towers has con-sanced me, that, as my worthy and learned friend General Val- 
 lancey had long endeavoured to establish in various tracts of his, that this mode of 
 architecture was introduced into Ireland in the times of paganism by a people, who 
 came to this country from some far distant part of the East. The patterns, from which 
 the construction of our towers was imitated, were most probably the fire-temples of the 
 Persians and others, who followed the IMagian religion as reformed by Zerdusht, or, 
 as he is usually called, Zoroastres. Those temples were usually round, and some of 
 them were raised to a great height. That fire was in pagan times an object of worship, 
 or, at least, great veneration in Ireland, and particularly the sun, which was considered 
 the greatest of all fires, is an indubitable fact. Now the lower part of an Irish Round 
 tower might have answered very well for a temple, that is, a place in which was an 
 altar, on which the sacred fire was preserved, while the middle floors could have 
 served as habitations for the persons employed in watching it. The highest part of the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWKUS OF lUICLAXl). 33 
 
 Tower was an observatory iuteiuleJ for c-destial observnlii.iis. as, I think, cvid.'iHly ap- 
 pears from the four windows being placed diix-ctly opposite to the four cardinal points. 
 The veneration in which the pagan Irish held the heavenly bodies and, above all, the 
 sun, must have led them to apply to astronomical pursuits, which were requisite also 
 for determining the length of their years, the solstitial and equinoctial times, and the 
 precise periods of their annual festivals. I find it stated, that the doors of most of 
 these towers face the West. If this be correct, it will add an argument to show, that 
 they contained fire-temples ; for the Magians always advanced from the West side to 
 worship the fire. According to this hypothesis the Round towers existed in Ireland 
 before churches were built. I see no reason to deny, that they did ; and the particular 
 style of their construction shows, that they are very ancient. But then, it is said, how 
 does it happen, that they are usually found near old churches? In the first place this 
 is not universally true. Secondly it is to be observed, that these towers used to be 
 built in towns or villages of some note, such, in fact, as re(iuired churches in Christian 
 times. Thus, wherever there was a Round tower, a church was afterwards erected • 
 but not vice versa, whereas there were thousands of churches in Ireland without any 
 such towers in the vicinity of them. Thirdly, there was a prudential motive for the 
 teachers of Christian faith to build cliurclies near the sites of the Round towers, that 
 they might thereby attract their new converts to worship the true God in the very 
 places, where they had been in the practice of worshipping the sun and fire. It may be, 
 that some of these towers were built after the establishment of Christianity in Ireland 
 for penitential purposes, as already alluded to, although I have some doubts about it ; 
 but I think it can scarcely be doubted, that the original models, according to which 
 they were constructed, belong to the times of paganism, and that the singular style of 
 architecture, which we observe in them, was brought from the East, between which 
 and this country it is certain that there was an intercourse at a very ancient period of 
 time."— ^cc/. Hist. vol. iv. pp. 406—408. 
 
 In this laboured and ingenious effort to establish a theory on in- 
 sufficient data, there appears a consciousness of the weakness of the 
 proofs on ■which it rests. A very few words Avill, I think, shew that 
 they amount to nothing. 
 
 In the first place, granting even that the Persians at a particular 
 period may have worshipped fire in rotundos of above 30 feet diameter, 
 which might have answered very Avell for the purpose, it does by no 
 means necessarilj' follow that the ancient Irish must have done so 
 Ukewise in towers of nine or ten feet in diameter, which would not 
 be at all adapted to such a piu'pose. Besides, I must repeat, there js 
 not even a shadow of proof that the Irish worshipped fire at all in 
 towers, " The lower part," he gravely states, " u-onld\vA\G answered 
 very well for a fire-temple," and, as he adds in a note, " to guard against 
 the objection that might be made of how those covered temples were 
 kept fL-ee from smoke, that might easily be contrived by the help of 
 the loop-holes which we find in them, or oi the door" Now as tlie 
 
 F
 
 34 INQUIUY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 fkct is tliat no loop-holes, or otlier apertures, are ever found in tlie 
 lower part of the Towers, except the doorways, the latter must have 
 been the only expetlieut ; and it is one, I confess, so truly Irish, that 
 I am forced to acknoAvledge the strength of the argument which it 
 furnishes, and am only surprised tliat the Doctor did not think of 
 stren<Tthening it by an allusion to the known perpetuation of the cus- 
 tom among the fire-worshippers still remaining in Ireland. 
 
 Secondly, as to its appearing evident, " that the highest part of 
 the tower was an observatory intended for celestial observations, from 
 the foiu- windo\vs being placed directly opposite to the four cardinal 
 points," it is to be observed, that the fom- windows do not always 
 face the cardinal points, nor do the windows always consist of the 
 number four. In some instances, as shall be hereafter shewn, they 
 are fewer than that in number, and in many instances more. Besides, 
 to make celestial observations from windows a foot or two wide in a 
 wall three or four feet thick, woidd be manifestly impossible. 
 
 Equally incorrect is the assertion, that the doorwaj' in most of the 
 Towers faces the west : on the contrary it most generally fiices the 
 east, but it is also sometimes found facing the north-east and south- 
 east, its situation, in fact, depending altogether, as I shall hereafter 
 shew, on the position of the Tower with reference to the church with 
 which it was originally connected. The fact, therefore, that the Ma- 
 gians always advanced from the west side to Avorship the fire, does 
 not furnish an argument to prove, that the Irish Towers were fire- 
 temples. 
 
 Dr. Lanigan next says, that he sees no reason to deny that the 
 Eound Towers existed before Christianity, and that their style proves 
 them very ancient. To this I reply, that I see every reason to deny 
 that they did so, for not the slightest evidence has ever been adduced 
 to prove, that the Irish were acquainted with the art of biulding with 
 lime cement before they received the Christian faith ; and the archi- 
 tecture or masonry of the towers and that of the ancient chiu-ches 
 erected before the twelfth century, of which some hundreds still exist, 
 is the same in every respect, as I shall hereafter shew. 
 
 After this, he says, it is not universally true that the ToAvers are 
 found near old churches; but in this he also errs, as shall be shewn 
 in the proper place : they are, Avithout a single exception, found near 
 old churclies, or Avhere churches are known to have existed.
 
 OF THE ROVXI) TOWKUS OF IIJKI.AM). 35 
 
 Finally, he argues that it ^vas the policy of the Christians to l)ni](l 
 tlieir churches near the ancient fire-temp'.es, and that the Round 
 Towers, having been built in towns, or villages of some un{v, re- 
 quired churches in Christian times. Why, then, I may ask, are ncil 
 chuixhes found near the Pagan altars or cromleacs, which, A'allancey 
 states, were also dedicated to the sun? liut, iu truth, if the Doctor, 
 who was so well acquainted with the Ada Sanrfoi-mn //ihcrnio', 
 had rellected a little before he allowed himself to be carried awa\' 
 by his zeal iu support of a favourite theory, he would lia\x' l)een 
 ashamed to make this assertion-; for he must Iiave known, tliat so 
 far from the churches adjacent to Round Towers having been built 
 in places in which, previously to the introduction of Christianity, 
 there had been " towns or villages of note," they were, in most in- 
 stances, erected iu the most desolate and unfrequented places that 
 coidd be found; as the words " Cluaiu" and "Disert," prefixed so 
 generally to their names, sirfficiently indicate, and the hves of their 
 founders iucontestibly prove. It was, hi fact, the monasteries that 
 usually gave birth to the towns, not tlie towns to the monasteries ; 
 and the destruction Avhieh fell u]ion the primitive establishments has, 
 in most instances, been followed by the dechne of these, their con- 
 stant appendages. 
 
 As to the argiunent that there were thousands of churches in 
 Ireland, without Round Towers in their vicinity, it hardly deserves 
 notice. It was not every religious establishment that could afford to 
 erect a round tower belfry, or that might require one ; and I will 
 hereafter shew, from the annals and other authorities, that vervmanv 
 cloigteachs, or Round Towers, existed in Ireland, Avhieh are no longer 
 to be found. 
 
 Let the reader now judge how far Dr. Lanigan had solid gi'ound 
 for his final conclusion, viz. " that it can scarcely be doubted tluit the 
 original models, according to Avhich they Avere constructed, belong to 
 the times of Paganism, and that the singular style of architecture 
 A\hich Ave observe in them was brouglit from tlie East." 
 
 The arguments in support of this h}q3othesis adduced by Miss 
 Beaufort, in her A'ery elaborate and A'aluable " Essay upon the State 
 of Architecture and Antiquities previous to the landing of the Anglo- 
 Normans in Ii-eland," are much less taiigible than those I have just 
 examined, and rest sdmost entirely on the supposed Persian origin of 
 
 F 2
 
 36 IXQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 the Iiis^li, and the consequent agreemeut in manners, customs, and 
 reUgion between the ancient ' Iran and Erin.' " This talented hidy, 
 indeed, following in the track of Vallancey, has been indefatigable in 
 reading the travels of Eastern tourists, in search of evidence to sup- 
 ])ort his views, but the new instances which she has gleaned from 
 their works, of towers in the East, always excepting the minarets, 
 liave scarcely any agreement with those in the West, and, also ex- 
 cepting Hanway's eternally quoted instance of the " Eotundos of the 
 Ghebers," all the supposed temples of the Fire-worshippers present 
 forms which have not the slightest similitude to the Eoiuid ToAvers 
 of Ireland. 
 
 Miss Beaufort's etymological evidences shall be examined in their 
 proper places, in the coiu-se of tliis investigation, but a few general 
 assertions, which she has hazarded, seem to reqiure particular exa- 
 mination here — an examination which, however, I must say, from 
 feeUngs of respect for the talents and acquirements of that estimable 
 lad)', I should gladly have avoided entering on, if the course of this 
 investigation did not demand it, and if silence on the arguments and 
 authorities which she has adduced might not, perhaps, be taken as 
 evidence of inabihty to refute them, or, what I should still more 
 regret, of a want of pi'oper respect for the value of her laboiu-s. 
 
 The assertions to which I have alluded are as follows : 
 
 1. " Tlie object for which the towers were built is distinctly mentioned in the 
 ancient history called the Psalter of Cashel, and that ol' Tara to be for the preservation 
 of the sacred fires of Baal, ' the Baal-Theine.' 
 
 2. " It is stated in the Psalter of Tara, that in the year A. D. 79, there was a so- 
 lemn convocation at Tara, where it was ordained that the sacred fire should be exhi- 
 bited from the tower of Thlachtga in Munster, and from all other fire repositories, on 
 the thirty-first of October; and that if by any accident the holy flame had been extin- 
 guished, it should be relighted from thenc& It was also enacted that a tower for fire 
 should be built in each of the other provinces of Connaught, Leinster, Meath, and 
 Ulster; and a tax called Scraball equal to about three-pence per head, was laid upon 
 
 all adults to provide a fund for that purpose. (Psalter of Tara, by Coinerford, p. 41 
 
 Cited Parochial Surveys, III. p. 319 A genuine copy of this Psalter is said to be now 
 
 in the British Museum — Trans. Iberno Celtic Society, p. xxii.) 
 
 3. " Fire worship having been persevered in by the King Lugaid, the son of Lao- 
 gaire, his death by lightning was considered as a direct punishment from heaven for 
 having preserved the Baal-Thiene in opposition to the preaching r.f St. Patrick. (Psalter 
 of Cashel, p. 68. Cited Parochial Surveys, III. p. 320. The original Psalter of Cashel 
 is now in the British Museum. Ibid. p. LX.) 
 
 4. " It is recorded in Irish history that Rosa Failgee, the son of Cathair More,
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 37 
 
 who was made monarch of all Inlaiul, A. D. \-r,, was a prince deeply learned in all 
 the knowledge ofhis times, and that he built the tower ol' Koseiiallis, which derives its 
 name from him, a proof of the antiquity of this tower at least. (Parochial Surveys, III. 
 p. 328.)" — Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. xv. pp. 20(5, 207. 
 
 These bold assertions would seein suffieient to set tlie <iviesti(iii 
 for ever at rest, and with uninqniring readers, nuist doubtless have 
 had great weight; but, I beg leave to ask, where are either the 
 Psalters of Casliel or Tara now to be found? Miss Beaufort answers, 
 " in tlie British Museum," and gives as her authority for the foct, the 
 Transactions of the Iberno-Celtic Society. But tlial work, wliicli 
 was compiled by my friend, the late Mr. O'Reilly, merely states, tliat 
 they are said to be in that national depository ; and, speakiu"- i)f the 
 Psalter of Tara, he adds, ''perhaps not trti/i/." Well, indeed, mi^ht 
 lie make that admission, for there is not the least evidence to sup- 
 port such a hearsay, as he was himself obliged in conversation U) 
 confess to me. 
 
 It may, however, be veiy properly said that, though no entire 
 copies of those celebrated works can now be Ibund, authenticated 
 extracts may exist, which should be taken as evidence ; and that 
 Miss Beaufort's authorities may be of tliis description. Let us inquire, 
 then, how far they are worthy of attention. 
 
 1. J"or the first assertion, that the object for which theToAvers were 
 built, — namely, the preservation of the sacred fire — is distinctly men- 
 tioned in tlte Psalters of Cashel and Tara, Miss Beaufort gives no 
 authority, and I might, therefore, let it pass without observation. But 
 it is worthy of remark, that in the cvu-ious and valuable ancient Irish 
 Glossary of Cormac Mac CuUenan, the supposed compiler of the 
 Psalter of Cashel, the word Bell-tinne is explained in such a man- 
 ner as to preclude the possibility of supposing that wi-iter could con- 
 nect the May-fires of the Dniids vdth towers of any kind. 
 
 6ellcaine .i bil-cene .i. rene bil .i. cene pomihec .i. oa rerie poinmec do ^nictp 
 na opaice co cmcectaiB mopaib po|iaib, ocup do bepoip na cecpa ecupa ap ce6- 
 manouib cecha bliaona. 
 
 " BeUtaine, i. e. bil-tene, i. e. tene hil, i. e. the goodly fire, i. e. two goodly fires, which 
 the Druids were used to make, with great incantations on them, and they used Xo bring 
 the cattle between them, against the diseases of each year." 
 
 A somewhat different explanation of the Baal-tinne is given in 
 another MS. in Trinity College (II. 3. 18, p. 5yG), but, as will be seen, 
 it makes no more allusion to Towers than that akeady quoted:
 
 38 IXQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USKS 
 
 6elcaine, .1. 6el-D!ne : bel, oud, uinni do locil : 1]- ami do rni|^i-e(ilbra Dine cacha 
 cerpa pop peilb 61ieil; mule 6elcme. No, 6elcine .1. 6il-riiie .1. cene c-foinmeac 
 .1. DCi ceniD DO gnioip DpuiD co cincetlaiB mopa, ocup oe lejjoip na cerpa ecuppu 
 cip ceomancaib cuclia bliaona. 
 
 ^^Be/taine, L e. Bel-dine: Bel was the name of an idol: it was on it [i. e. the fes- 
 tival] that a couple of the young of every cattle were exliibited as in the possession of 
 Be/; umle Beltiue. Or, Beltine, i. e. Bil-tine, i. e. the goodly fire, i. e. two goodly fires, 
 which the Druids were used to make with great incantations, and they were used to 
 drive the cattle between them against the diseases of each year." 
 
 It may be remarked, that remnants of tliis ancient custom, in 
 perhaps a modified form, still exist in the May-fires lighted in the 
 streets and subm-bs of Dublin, and also in the fires lighted on St. John's 
 Eve in all other parts of Ireland. The Tinne Eigen of the Highlands, 
 of which Dr. JMartin gives the following account, is probabl)' a rem- 
 nant of it also, but there is no instance of such fires being lighted in 
 towers or houses of any description : 
 
 " The Inhabitants here [Isle of SkyeJ did also make use of a Fire call'd Tin-Etjin, 
 (i. e.) a forced Fire, or Fire of necessity, which they used as an Antidote against the 
 Plague or Murrain in Cattle; and it was performed thus : All the Fires in the Parish 
 were extinguish'd, and eighty one marry'd Men, being thought the necessary number 
 for effecting this Design, took two great Planks of Wood, and nine of 'em were employ'd 
 by turns, who by their repeated EiForts rubb'd one of the Planks against the other 
 untill the Heat thereof produced Fire ; and from this forc'd Fire each Family is sup- 
 plied with new Fire, which is no sooner kindled, than a Pot full of water is quicklj' 
 set on it, and afterwards sprinkled upon the People infected with the Plague, or upon 
 cattle that have the Murrain. And this they all say they find successful by Expe- 
 rience." — Description of the ^Vestern Islands of Scotland — (second edition), p. 113. 
 
 2. As authority for Miss Beaufort's second assertion, relative to 
 the Tower of Thlachtga, &c., we are referred to the " Psalter of Tara, 
 by Comerford, p. 41, cited in the Parochial Survey, Vol. III. p. 320."; 
 and certainly in the latter work we do find a passage in nearly the 
 same words which INliss Beaufort uses. But if the lady had herself 
 referred to Comerford's httle work, she woidd have discovered, that 
 the author of the article in the Parochial Survey had in reality no 
 authority for his assertions, and had attempted a gross imposition 
 on the credulity of his readers. The passage in Comerford is as 
 follows : 
 
 " A. D. 79. This prince [Tuathal Teachtmar], as soon as he was in quiet pos- 
 session of the throne, convened the general assembly of Tarah, where several wise re- 
 gulations were made for the better governing the state. It was by the authority of this 
 assembly, that Tuathal separated a tract of land from each province, and made the
 
 I 
 
 OF THE nOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 3() 
 
 country of Meatli, as it iipp^'urs at this day ; lie also erected or stately jxiluce in each 
 of these proportions, riz. in that of Minister, t/ie palace of Tlachtga, where the fire of 
 Tlachtga was ordained to be kindled, on the 31 of October, to summon the priests 
 and angurs to consume the sacrifices offeved to their gods; and it was also ordained, 
 that no other fire should be kindled in the kingdom that night [P.o/"7«ra, in margin], 
 so that the fire to be used in the country, was to derive from this fire, for which privi- 
 lege the people were to pay a scraball, which amounts to three-pence, every year, as an 
 acknowledgment to the king of munster. The second palace was in that of Connaught, 
 where the inhabitants were assembled once a j'ear upon the first of May, to offer 
 sacrifices to the principal deity of the island, under the name ofBeul, which was called 
 the Convocation of Visneach; and on account of this meeting, the King of Connaught 
 had, from every lord of a mannor or chieftain of lands, ahorse and arms. The third was 
 at Tailtean, in the portion of Ulster, where the inhabitants of the kingdom brought 
 their children, when of age, and treated >vith one another about their marriage. Frum 
 this custom the king of Ulster demanded an ounce of silver from every couple married 
 liere. The fourth was the palace of Teamhair or Tarah, which originally belong'd to 
 the province of Leinster, and where the states of the kingdom met in a parliamentary 
 way." — History of Ireland, pp. 49, 50 Second etlit. pp. 41, 42. 
 
 Where, in the above exti'aet, do we find even tlte shghtest men- 
 tion of fire- towers, or a word from which an inference conld possibly 
 be dra■s\^l that they ever had an existence in Ireland ? Palaces are 
 spoken of, not toAvers ; and there is not even a vestige of a tower, or 
 ancient stone biulding of any kind, now to be foimd at any of the four 
 places mentioned ; and it will further appear, by a reference to my 
 essay on the History and Antiquities of Tara, that no tower of this 
 kind Avas known to the most ancient authorities to have ever existed 
 there. Even as to the marginal reference to the Psalter of Tara, it 
 is of no account whatever, for the writer, Comerford, was quite igno- 
 rant of Irish authorities, his Avhole Avork being nothing more than 
 an abridgment of the English translation of Keating's L'eland, in 
 Avhich, hoAvever, no such marginal reference occiu-s. An allusion, 
 indeed, is made in the latter Avork to this Psalter, but it is only to 
 state, in describing the Palace of Tara, that the pedigi'ees, &c., Avere 
 there transcribed into the royal records. See this question examined 
 at length in my essay on the History and Antiquities of Tara. 
 
 But it should also be observed, that Keating, in this very account 
 of the four palaces of Tuathal, Avhich Comerford has abridged, clearly 
 shoAvs that the fires lighted at the convocation of Uisneach, on the 
 first of May, could not have been in foirers, for he states that " upon 
 this occasion they Avere used to kindle tAvo fires in every territory ot 
 the kingdom in honom- of the Pagan God" (Baal), and that " it Avas a
 
 40 IXQUIUY INTO TIIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 solemn ceremony, al tlii.s time, to drive a niimher of cattle bet^veen 
 these fires; this was conceived to be an antidote and a luvseivation 
 against tlie Murrain, or any otlier pestilential distemper among cattle, 
 for the year following." — Kenfings General Historjj (iflrrltttid, vol. i. 
 p. 326, Dublin edition, 1813. 
 
 3. For Miss Ileairfort's third asscrlitm, that "the death oC King 
 Lugaid was considered as a direct pvmishmcnt (Vom heaven ibr having 
 preserved the Baal-Theine in opposition to the preaching of St. Pa- 
 trick," we are rtsferred to the " Psalter of Cashel, p. (i8. — Cited Pa- 
 rochial Surveys, III. p. 320." The Parochial Survey does, it is true, 
 refer for its authority for this assertion to the Psalter of Cashel, but 
 it is only as quoted by Comeiford, in page 68 of his history; and, 
 on referring to that page in the latter, we find no nieiitiiiu whatevei' 
 either of the Psalter or of the Biutl-tln'iiie. The j)assage refeired 
 to is as follows: 
 
 "TI)isprince(Lugliiu(Ili) waskillud by a tliuiulci-bdlt, as a punisbniciit iVmii beavi-n, 
 for opposing the preacliing of St. Patrick." — Comerford, second edition, p. f38. 
 
 4. Lastly, Miss Beaufort asserts, that " it is recorded in Irish his- 
 tory that Rosa Failgee, the son of Cathair More, who was made nu)- 
 
 nareh of all Ireland, A. I). 1 7-'5 , built the tower of Kosenallis, 
 
 which derives its name Irom him, a proof of the antiquity of this tower 
 at least:" and, as authority for this statement, she refers us to the 
 Parochial Surveys, vol. iii. ]). 328. It will Ije seen, however, on refe- 
 rence to the authority quoted, not only that it states nothing of the 
 kind, but also that, even if it had, the authority of a writer so utterly 
 unacquainted with Irish history and chronology should be held as of 
 no value whatsoever. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " The village of Rosenallis, is said to derivu its name from Rossa Failgea, eldest son 
 of Cutliaoii- Mure — Charles the Great. The father being in bi,s own hereditary right 
 King of Leinster, was eleeti'd .supreme monarch on the decease of Fedlimus Legifer, 
 anno Christi 175. lie nlliiiiH'd to this high dignity by his many and great virtues, but 
 chiefly by his bold and successful opposition to the Danes [1], who piratically infested 
 the coasts, though they had not yet attein[ited an invasion: he was distinguished by 
 his iiii]iartial justice and heroic valour, till he fill in the memorable battle of 'I'ailten. 
 This monarch had many sons, polygamy beinrr then tolerated, and Rossa his eldest and 
 favourite, was deejjly skilled in the learning of these days. He is said to have built the 
 round t(jwer mentioned in sec. IV." 
 
 Let US now tiu'u to the secti(m referred to, and we shall find the 
 following passage:
 
 OF I'lIK l.'dl'XI) I'dWKKS (IF IliKI.AM). 41 
 
 " I{i>scii!i1lis Iiiis llic ruins ofnii i.M .liiir.li ihal wus (l,7liciilril I., ilw Virgin Mnry: 
 
 III.' iiiliiiliiliials slill iibscrvu tlu! Isl. dl' l''cOiiii!iry, in imim monition of ilicir iiulniiii'ss. 
 
 A round lower, connrrlcd willi llic i-nins of luiscimllis, nIIII i-i'niiiiii>." iii.. .'{1'.), '.i'M. 
 
 1 1 will lie seen I Ii;il ii 1 1 I his is Lrivcii mi llic w rilcr's iiwii iiiiili(Mit\-, 
 without any I'd'crciu'c In Irish i-cconls whiitsncvcr ; ikH' is their :i 
 word ill frisli liistory lluil would wariiiiil iisscrlioiis so iihsiinlly llillii- 
 cioiis. Wiiiil, lor iustauoc, would be thouiihl oi'lhal Irish liislor\-. il'it. 
 sliih'il, lhal the coasts oi' liThiiid wci'r inrcslcil li\- the Danes in 17-'», 
 ^\■h(■ll llir iiaiiic III l)aiic is iiiikiidun In all an! hciilic historians lor 
 several ce'iiturii's later. Tiiis writi'r tells us, that Kossa Failu'eu is 
 sdld to Iiave built the Tower ol" Roseiiallis, but he lias not shown 
 that Irish history says so, or '^\vv.n us any authoi'ity i'or such an as- 
 serlimi Iml his own, Neilhcr has he ^ixcu us any aullioril\- I'nr llie 
 ecjually alisiiid slalcniciil, lhal IJoseiiallis dcriv-es its name rnuii Kossa 
 Faili^ca; nor is there any reason whatever to suj)|iose lhal the naiiie 
 was so derived. He is not even correct in his stateinenl as to ihe 
 ])atroncss of the oldcliurcli with which I he Tower was connected, and 
 which he tells us was dedicaled lo the Virgin Mary, the inhaliilanls 
 still observing the first ol" February in coninieinoralion ofiheir pa- 
 troness. The writer sliould liave known that none of the festival 
 days of the Virgin Mary falls on that day, which is so well known 
 to the IJonian Calhiilics in Ireland as the festival day of St. Bridget, 
 that they ha\(' no other name to cx])ress tliis day than {,(i ptile 
 6|ii'7;ne, i.e. the day of thi' festival of IJriilget: and that it was in this 
 great patroness of Ireland the eliureli of litjsenallis was dedicated, 
 and ])rol)al)ly owed its origin, and not to tlie Virgin Mary, Ave have sulli- 
 cieiit, evidence from the work ol'Colgan, the learned editor of her [ ml i- 
 lislied lives, who, in his Kith chapter — "Do Eeclesiis & loeis S. Brigida^ 
 in I liliernia dieatis," — inserts this vi'iy eliureli in the following words : 
 " 'J\'iJij)///iii S. lh-iiii(lrc in vicode lloslinnglas in I lyriegain." And this 
 leads us to the true etymology of" the name of which Koseuallis is a 
 corniplion, and not ol" liossa Failgea, as this writer alisunlly states. 
 Roy puinj^Ut)' signifies the wood or shrulibei)' of the bright stream. 
 It is true that Colgaii also gives it, in the same list, under its Anglicized 
 name as if" it were a dillerent one, thus : " Uos-analluis Keel : par: Diec. 
 Killdarien. in Deeanatu de Kill-eich, vcl roctius Kill-aeluiidh." But 
 this ei'for, il'it be one, of supposing that the places were not the 
 same, can easily be accounted for in a writer living oiil of the coiin- 
 
 u
 
 42 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 fry, and depending for his intormatiou on the hsts of the churches 
 and parishes dedicated to St. Bridget sent him by the Roman Cathohc 
 prelates of the several dioceses. There can be no doubt, however, 
 that Ros Finnglas and Rosenallis are the same name, from the inti- 
 mation given of Teiiip/um Brigidxe being m the village of Ros Finn- 
 glas in Hyriegain, as there was at the time no other village in that 
 ancient territory. 
 
 I have dwelt at greater length on these erroneous statements in 
 JVIiss Beaufort's valuable Essay than I, and perhaps the reader, could 
 have wished ; it will, however, render unnecessary any lengthened 
 examination of the proofs, advanced in support of this h}']3othesis in 
 the more recent essay by ]\Ir. D' Alton — the evidences reUed on being 
 often the same in both. Besides, Miss Beaufort's authority has added 
 weight to those evidences, and even increased the difficulty of sifting 
 them. Thus, when Mr. D' Alton states that " the Psalter of Cashel 
 expressly declares that they (the Towers) were used for the preser- 
 vation of the sacred fire" (p. 139), he judiciously refers us to Miss 
 Beaufort's Essay ; and that lady refers us to the inferior authority of 
 a Parochial Siu'vey; and that again, in regular progression down- 
 wards, cites an abridged history of no character, in Avhich, after all, 
 no such statement is to be found ! And thus, if any reader should, 
 in the face of such bold assertion, still feel disposed to be sceptical, 
 he would — if unaccustomed to the mode in which, unfortunately, 
 antiquarian questions are so often investigated — find himself entangled 
 in a net, out of which he might have neither opportunity nor inclina- 
 tion to extricate himself 
 
 One or two assertions of Mr. D' Alton's own, relative to the suj^- 
 posed antiquity of the Towers, must not, hoAvever, be allowed to pass 
 without observation. These assertions are : 
 
 1. That " the Irish Annals can alone support the investigation, 
 and in the most ancient of these the Round Towers are recorded." — 
 Essay, p. 136. 
 
 For this statement Mr. D' Alton refers to Dr. O'Conor's Rer. Hib. 
 Script, vol. i. Proleg. p. 2. p. ccvii., but the passage referred to does 
 not bear out Mr. D' Alton in his assertion. It only shows, from Irish 
 authorities, and those not the ancient Annals, that Towers existed 
 in Ireland at a very remote time, but offers no evidence as to their 
 shape, or that they were of the description of those now the subject
 
 OF THE ROUXD Tt)WEltS OK IliEI.ANn. 43 
 
 of investigation. On the contrary, the instances quoted — tlie Tin- 
 Conaing, Tor-Brenfran, and the Towers i)f Md^lititirrrddh, or 
 Campus Turrium, in Mayo and Sligo, must, as our whole history 
 shows, and as even Mr. D' Alton himself would be necessitated to 
 allow, have evidently been of a totally different description. These 
 Towers have been suiBciently preserved to om- own times to enable 
 us to ascertain tlieir exact character, and that they were of the class 
 of Cyclopean forts so common in this country, as I have shown in my 
 essay on Military Architecture in Ireland. 
 
 2. After the unqualified assertion, on the authority of Miss Beau- 
 fort, that the Psalter of Cashel expressly declares that they (the 
 Towers) were used for the preservation of the sacred fire, Mr. D' Al- 
 ton adds : 
 
 " And the brief but empliatic mention of them by Giraldus Cambrensis, which 
 Dr. Ledwich has so misquoted, does fully confirm tins opinion. It occurs where he 
 speaks of the consequences of the alleged inundation of Lough Neagh. ' It is no im- 
 probable evidence of this event, that the fishermen of that sheet of water at times plainly 
 behold the religious tmcers, which, according to the custom of the country, are nar- 
 row, lofty, and round, immersed under the waters ; and they frequently shew them to 
 strangers passing over them, and wondering at the causes of the phenomenon. It is 
 quite immaterial to the present purpose, whether or not such an inundation did actually 
 liappen. It was the ojjinion in Ireland at that time that it did ; it was matter of his- 
 tory in the country, for the annals of Tigernach, which relate it, were then extant 
 upwards of a century; and these annals, with which Giraldus must have been well 
 acquainted, fix its date to A. D. 62, a time when he knew Christianity had not dawned 
 in Ireland; yet he, believing the report, expressly says that these towers, denomi- 
 nating them " religious," were of such antiquity, that some of them might have been 
 overwhelmed in that visitation; that the fishermen of that lake actually distinguish 
 them under the water, ("sub undis conspiciunt,") and repeatedly shew them to strangers, 
 (" extraneis frequenter ostendunt,") that they were towers for ecclesiastical uses, ne- 
 cessarily meaning for the uses of a religion general at that retrospective date, as sun- 
 worship was, though he vises a term which in its more ordinary application is confined 
 to Christianity, (" ecclesiasticas turres,") while he adds that they were built agreeably 
 with the custom of Ireland, " more patriae." Were they belfries he would naturally 
 have termed them " campanilia," were they for any other then known Christian pur- 
 pose, he would have been sure to name it ; but he saw, as every one must see, that these 
 " ecclesiasticje turres," were for the uses of a religion peculiar to Ireland, and that part 
 of Scotland colonized from Ireland.'" — Essay on the Ancient History, Sfc. of Ireland: 
 Transact. R. LA. vol. xvi. pp. 139 — 141. 
 
 Now, whatever may be the value of this allusion of Giraldus to 
 the Towers, it will be obvious to every dispassionate inquirer that Mr. 
 D' Alton has assigned to it a degree of importance, to which it is by 
 
 G 2
 
 44 INQUIRY INTO THE UKIGIX AND USES 
 
 no means legitimately entitled. The remark of Cambrensis was ob- 
 viously a mere incidental one, made without any view to the question 
 of the age or uses of the Towers ; and the only safe conclusion that 
 could be di-awn from it would be, that the Towers were considered 
 as ancient in his time. And, what places this beyond controversy is, 
 that the same writer makes a similar incidental allusion — from what- 
 ever cause it may be, not liitherto noticed — to the Tower of Kildare, 
 wliicli still exists, and which is characterized by featm-es of Christian 
 architectui'e that will leave no doi.d)t of its real ei'a : but, while lie 
 applies to this Tower the very identical epithet, — turris ecdesias- 
 tica, — given by him to the imaginary towers of Lough Neagh, he says 
 not one word that would imply his supposing it of pagan times ; 
 whereas, his words, on the contrary, clearly show that it was then 
 one of a group of Christian edifices. Mr. D' Alton, therefore, had no 
 gi'ound for translating the word " ecclesiasticas" by " religious," or 
 for supposing that so skilful a Latinist as Giraldus could have used 
 the word in a sense alike unwarranted by its etymology, its pagan 
 acceptation, and its imiversally received meaning iu his time. The 
 words must be understood in their estabhshed meaning as eccle- 
 siastical Toicei's, that is. Towers connected with, or belonging to, 
 Christian churches, and in no" other, because the word ecclesia, from 
 which ecclesiasficus is formed, was never apphed by any Christian 
 \vriter but to a Christian congregation, or the building in which such 
 a congregation assembled. Neither is there greater weight in Mr. 
 D' Alton's reinarks, that were they belfries, he (Cambrensis) woidd 
 natm'ally have termed them " campanilia," and that were they for any 
 other tJien known Christian piu-pose, he would have been svu-e to 
 name it. As already stated, it Avill be shown that these ecclesiastical 
 Towers were intended to serve for more than one pm'pose ; and 
 under such circiunstances it woidd have been impossible for Cam- 
 brensis to have characterized them more properly than by the general 
 phrase which he has in both instances employed. And, as to Mr. 
 D' Alton's bold assertion, — that if they were for any other then known 
 Christian pm'pose, he would have been sui'e to name it, — the reply is 
 obvious, that if Cambrensis had been writing a distinct treatise on 
 the subject he woidd indeed have been sin-e to name the piu'pose, or 
 purposes, for which the Towers had been built, whatever they might 
 have been, but tliat it would have been altogether unreasonable to
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 45 
 
 expect a detailed explanation of those imrposes in an allusion nieroly 
 incidental to tlie subject he had in hand. Tliat Luugh Neagh was 
 indeed fornu-d by an inundation, though not, in the way stated by 
 Canibrensis, on the authority of a legend still applied to almost every 
 lake in Ireland, and that this inundation actually took place in the 
 fii'st centmy, there is no reason to doubt, because it is recorded Ijy 
 the most ancient and trustworthy of our aimalists, and the names ol'the 
 very tribes, who occupied the })laiu so covered, are also given in very 
 ancient documents. But it by no means follows, and indeed it is not 
 at all probable, that Canibrensis, when he made his statement, was 
 acquainted with such authorities, for, if he had been aware of the true 
 circumstances and period of that inundation, he would surely have 
 adduced them in support of the truth of his statements, rather than 
 rest their credibility on a popular supposition, which could not be 
 true ; and, if Mr. D' Alton will have it that he was accpuiinted with 
 such authorities, he should also allow that the disgustiug cause as- 
 signed by Cambrensis for this inundation was equally derived from 
 that soiu'ce, though the whole existing body of Irish Uteratm'e might 
 be searched in vain for a single evidence to show that the Irish were 
 acquainted with the existence of, much less addicted to, such crimes 
 as those ascribed to them by that political traducer. 
 
 That the legend of the Towers seen in Lough Neagh, was current 
 among the Irish in tlie time of Cambrensis, as this writer states, I d(j 
 not by any means wish to deny : they preserve it to this very day ; 
 but with this important difference, tliat the architectiu'al objects they 
 now imagine to be visible are chimneys of houses, tops of castles, and 
 spires of chm'ches, — the lofty objects that are now most familiar to 
 them — as the round belfries of earlier date were in the time of Cam- 
 brensis ; and we would have just as much reason to attach importance 
 to the delusive imaginings of the peasantry at the present time as to 
 those of their predecessors in ages so remote. 
 
 3. Tliat " the Ulster Annals even mention the fall of no less than 
 fifty-seven of these Towers in consequence of a di'eadful earthquake, in 
 A.D. 448." (O'Conor, ibid. vol. 4. p. 2). The passage referred to is 
 as follows : 
 
 " ^n. rrfCXl biti. Ingenti tenvmotu per loca varia inimiiientc, plurime url)es aii- 
 guste, muri, receuti adliuc re-edilicatione construct!, cum Ivii turribus corruerunt." 
 
 On this passage, however, which Mr. D' Alton so boldly pronounin^s
 
 46 IXQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN ANT) USKS 
 
 to relate to the Round Towers of Ireland, Dr. O'Conor, with all his 
 zeal to support the same hypothesis of their pagan origin, only ven- 
 tures in a note to propound the following conjecture : 
 
 " Qua;re utrum h»c n'feri'nda siiit ad turres Ilibernise, de quibus Giraldus iii<iuit 
 ' arctae sunt, et alta;, necuon et rotuiidte, more patrio.' " 
 
 But, I may ask, do not the Annals of Ulster often record foreign 
 events, and quote as their authorities the chronicles of Marcellinus, 
 Isidorus, and Beda ? and with this example of Dr. O'Conor's cautious- 
 ness before him, should it not have occurred to Mr. D' Alton, before 
 he hazarded so confident a conclusion, that these Towers might not 
 have been Irish, and particularly as a reference to the commonest 
 popular works on general chronology, or universal history, Avould have 
 been sufficient to enlighten him ? For example, in the Chronological 
 Tables of the Abbe Lenglet Dufresnoy at the year 446, as well as in 
 the Universal History (vol. xvi.) at the year 447, he would have 
 found the very same statement as that given in the Annals of Ulster, 
 with this difference only, that these authorities designate the locality 
 of the event as Constantinople, while the Irish annalist uses the 
 phrase urbs augnsta, being the title always applied by the ancient 
 continental chroniclers to that capital of the eastern empire, and the 
 appellation by which Constantinople is always designated in the 
 Chronicle of Marcellinus. And what will be thought of the value 
 of Mr. D' Alton's assertion, when it shall be sho-\vii, that if he had re- 
 ferred to that ancient authority he would have found, that the pas- 
 sage in the Ulster Annals was but a transcript, to the very letter, 
 of the original words in ]\Iarcellinus ? That the reader may see the 
 truth of this at a glance, I here present him with the passage, first, 
 as it appears in the edition of Marcellinus, published in the Magna 
 Bihliotheca Veterum Patrum, Parisiis, 1654 (tom. xv. p. 716, col. i. 
 line 53), and again in the more coiTect edition edited by the cele- 
 brated Joseph Scaliger, and published in the Thesaurus Temporum, 
 Amsteloda'mi,l658 (p.41, col. i. line 45) : 
 
 " Ingenti terrae motu per Locaria inimincnte, plurima; vrbes, Augusts niiiri re- 
 cent! adhuc ffidificatione constructi, cum hij. turribus corruerunt." — Marcel. Chron. in 
 Mag. Bihliotheca Vet. Pat. 
 
 " Ingenti terra; motu per loca varia imminente plurimi iirbis Augustse muri re- 
 
 centiadhuc reasdificatione constructi, cum lvu. turribus corruerunt." Marcel. Chron. 
 
 in Tkesaur. Temp.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 47 
 
 It may be observed (although scarcely necessary), that tlie text, 
 as given by Scaliger, is by far tlie more correct one ; and it may bo 
 added, that tlie true reading ofthis passage is also quoted, as referring 
 to Constantinople, in Reading's edition of Evagrius's Church History, 
 lib. i. c. 17, note i. p. 272. 
 
 It is true indeed that the text of this passage, as jjublished by Dv. 
 O'Conor from the MS. in the Bodleian Library, more neai-ly agrees 
 with that published in the Magna Bibliotheca Vet. Pat., 1G54 ; but 
 it is a cimous fact, that the text of the College MS. copy of the Annals 
 of Ulster, though originally the same as that in the Magna B/fi/iafheca 
 Vet. Pat., has been corrected in a more modern hand, l)y interlinea- 
 tion, to the very reading published by Joseph Scaliger in 1 658, and this 
 ajjjjarently before either edition was published. It runs tlius : 
 
 " Ano. Dni. cccc°. xl°. iiiii°. 
 " Ingenti terrce motu per locaria [corrected by interlineation to loca no.ria'] innni- 
 nente plurinie [^phirimi'] urbis auguste muri receuti adhuc rea^dificatione conslriicti cum 
 .l.uii. turribus curruerunt." 
 
 Will it be again asserted that this passage refers to the Round 
 Towers of Ireland ? 
 
 So much, then, for the confident assertions of Mr. D' Alton. I 
 have now to present the reader with the observations in support of 
 this theory of the pagan origin of the Towers, adduced by a writer 
 whose opinions on every matter connected with the ancient history 
 and literary antiquities of Ireland are justly considered of great weiglit, 
 and certainly deserve the most respectful attention ; I need scarcely 
 add, that I speak of the late Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor. He is indeed, 
 in my opinion, from his literary character, and the respect paid to his 
 authority by subsequent wi'iters even of the highest class, the only for- 
 midable strpporter of this hypothesis that has hitherto appeared ; and, 
 as his works are in but few hands, and lest it might be tliuughl that 
 I gave his arguments but a partial examination, I shall give the 
 whole of what he has written on this subject in his own words : 
 
 " Quod si conjectviris indulgere liceret, antiquas Turres Hibernicas, quas nonnulli, 
 aniles i'abulas sectantes, Anaclioreticas appellarunt, ad umbrani ita capiendam, et 4 Anni 
 Hiberuici Rathas sic definiendas, et pra'terea ad Ignem Sacrani servanihira, ajdificatas 
 fuisse existimarem. Earuni anti(iuitatem Ethnicam indicat Giraldus Sa;culo xii, ulii 
 inquit extitisse eas antequam Laciis Neach crumperet in Ultonia. ' Piscatores Turr&s 
 istas, quK more Patria', arctrp sunt, et alta\ nee non et rotiindm, sub tmdis manlfeste, 
 sereno tempore, cunspiciuid.'' (Giraldi Topogr. Dist. 2, c. 9, p. 720.) Poterant ccrte
 
 43 INQUIKY INTO THE OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 Turres ista; postorioribus Steculis, ad Anachorctifum iisum accomotlari, ut in nota ad 
 Aunales IV Mag. ann. 898, et in Annalibus Inisfal. p. 148, itemque in Ultoniensibus ad 
 
 Annum [¥J6 At in istis Annalibus appellantur Fiu(lh-Nemea(Ui, i. e. Indicia Cwlestla. 
 
 Sic in Annalibus Ultoniensibus ad ann. 995 — ' Tene diuit do gabuil Airdmarim rnna- 
 farcaihh Derlach, na Damllacc, no h Erdam, na Fidlinemead, ann cen loscuilli.' — i. c. 
 Fuljrnr oorripuit Ardmaoham. ita ut non relinquuret Nosoconiium, nee Ecclesiam Ca- 
 thedralem, (sive Basilieani) nee Dominn Nobilem, nee Indieem Cadestem, quod non 
 
 eonibureret Eadem liabet Tigernaehus ad eundeni annum, itemque QuatuorMagistri; 
 
 excepto quod pro Erdam, non autem pro Fiudli-ncameud, liabent Clok-teacha, Campa- 
 uilia, his verliis — -'Ann. 995.Ard>nac/iii do loscc do tene saiff/iiiein, ettir tiylid), 7 Domku- 
 /iacc, 7 Cloicteaclia, 7 a Fiadhneimkedh.'' 
 
 " Ad hffic IV Magistrorum verba respexit Colganus in Actis, p. 297, his verbis — 
 ' Anno 993 Ardmacha cum Basilicis, Tiirrihus, aliisque omnibus a;dificiis, incendio ex 
 I'ulmine generate, tota vastatur.' Haac autem versio non literalis est, neque voces 
 explicat, neque conveniunt quse in Annalibus nostris alibi de Campanilibus dicuntur, 
 cum forma aut constructione Turrium antiquarum Hiberniae. Sic, exempli causa, in 
 Annaliljus Ultoniensibus ad ann. 949, hfec leguntur — ' Cloicteach Slane do loscadh do 
 Gall Athacliath. Bacall ind Erlamha, 7 doc badec do cloccaibh, Caeneckair Ferkghimi^ 
 7 sockaidhe mor inbi do loscadh.'' i. e. Campanile Slanense combustum ab Alienigenis 
 Dublinii, (a Danis) Lituus Pastoralis (sive Baculum Patroni) petris pretiosis ornatus, 
 et Campana pra;cipua, et Canccar Pra;lector Schola?, et multi ibi cum eo combusti. 
 
 " Eadem referentes ad eundem annum IV Magistri aiunt — Cloicteach Slabte do los- 
 cadh can a hin do mhionnaibh 7 deijhilhaoin'ddu im Ckoinechair Fearleighinn Slaine, 
 Bachall an Erlamha 7 clocc ba deuch do chloccadjh.^ i. e. Canqianile Slanense combustum, 
 simul cum pluribus rebus pretiosis, et Religiosis viris, qui ibi erant, cum Chonechuro 
 Proelectore Slanense, Baculo Patroni, (i. c. S. Erci,) et Campana omnium qua; ibi erant 
 optima. 
 
 "Jam vero ha^c qua; de Campanilibns in Annalibus referuntui', minime conveniunt 
 vel cum forma vel cum materia Turrium Hibernensium de quibus agitur. Itaque non 
 pro Campanilibus a;dificatas fuisse, sed eorum originem aliunde petendam esse mani- 
 festum est... Non conveniunt cum forma, tara arcta; enim sunt, ut tot res pretiosas, et 
 tot homines capere'non possent, et quoad materiani, e Saxis ingentilnis Eedificatse, niillibi 
 e ligno, fulgure quidem dejici, sed non comburi potuerunt." — Mer. Hib. iScrijJtores, vol. i. 
 Proleg. part i. p. xxxii. 
 
 " Turres veteres Hibernicas, conditas fuisse ad 4 anni Rathas Gnomonice indican- 
 
 das, conjiciens scripsi. i. 32 Fateor quidem Apicem umbne, profectte a Styli alicujus 
 
 vertioe acuto, deprehendi non posse accurate in linea Meridiana, cum propter Penum- 
 bram, turn quia. Sole ad certam altitudinem evecto, acuti verticis umbra cum umbra 
 trunci confunditur, neque respondet cum Solis centro, sed, in latitiidine septentrionali, 
 cum Solis Margine Septentrionale. Attamen cum Ludi Taltinenses et Temorenses 
 spatio dierurn 15, ante et post a;quinoctia et solstitia ^-Estiva celebrarentur, fieri vix 
 poterat quin, eo intervallo, Druidas, Solis et Stellarum cultores, Gnomonis ope .^Equi- 
 noctia, et Solstitia definirent, ac vertentis anniCardines quatuor, intercalatione quadam 
 juxta Solis altitudinem facta, Populari Decreto proclamarent. Procul dubio Turres in 
 antiquissimis Hibernorum Carminibus memorantur, ut in Carmine Martha Magh Tur- 
 readh, et in Prcelii Lenensis Historia Metrica scripta a Senchano Eigceas Sajculo vii.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEllS OF IRELAND. 49 
 
 Inclusoria Anachoreticaquod attinet, luuge diversa t'l-aiit a tiirrilius istis. Iiicliisorium 
 in quo Marianus Scotus Fulda: inclusus est, Cella erat, muro externo circiiinvullutu, 
 ueque iillibi tLTiarum extitere iinquaiu Inclusoria Anaclioretica Tunibus HilicrniciN 
 siniilia. Quatuor aporturre propo Apioeni, quatuor orbis Cardines ruspiciunt, nequt' 
 ullatenus credibile ost, honiinfui potuissu, non dico 20 annis, sed vel una lii/eme in ullu 
 ex istis turribus inclusuni supurvexisse. Vide Carmina Vt-tt-ra Ilibernii-a supra 'Afuiia 
 M(i(//i t/iirread/i,'' — ' Tar/nis Liis an Tiilr,'' et Val/i Mu/'t/Z/c-T/ini. supra in Indict', item 
 Temorium Tiirriinn in Cocniano, suj)ra voce Tcinoria, et alia phira, qua; plane indicant, 
 Turres inaulicpiissiinis Hibernoriim Scriptis Ti'aditiouibus, tanupuini ab iiiiiiieniornbili 
 couditas, niemorari." — Index, vol. i. p. ccvii. 
 
 The preceding extracts are in one respect at least of nuich im- 
 portance in tliis inquiry, — they are the observations ol' a man wlio, in 
 comparison with the others, was preeminently skilled in the ancieiii 
 literatiu-e of Ireland, and whose Avliole life, it may be said, was devoted 
 to its study ; and they may therefore be considered as furnishing the 
 entire of whatever evidences he could discover, in support of this 
 h}^othesis, in the whole body of our Irish historical dociuncnts. Let 
 us now see to what regard these evidences are entitled. 
 
 Dr. O'Conor's conjectiu'es relative to the astronomical uses of tlie 
 Towers might perhaps be sulliciently met by the fact already stated, 
 and of which repeated proofs shall be afforded in the tliird part of 
 this inquiry, namely, that the apertures at top do not invariabl}- face 
 the cardinal points, and by the consideration that they are not always 
 fom- in number, as he supposed, but sometimes more, and sometimes 
 even less. However, for the sake of argument, 1 shall waive this fact 
 for the present, and proceed to examine separately the several pas- 
 sages in our Annals to which he has referred. The first is found 
 in the Annals of the Foirr Masters at the year 898 ; and here it will 
 be observed, that if we allow Dr. O'Conor's translation of this pas- 
 sage to be correct, it will furnish a contradiction to his own state- 
 ment, that the Towers are called, in all the passages referred t(j in the 
 Irish Annals, "■ FiadJi-NemeaJh^' or " Indicia Coelestia." Thus : 
 "A. D. 898. Cosccrachfris araite Turaghan Aiigcoirc Iiisi Ceullra — decc.''' 
 
 "Which Dr. O' Conor translates : 
 
 " A. D. 898. Coscrachus a quo dicitur Turris anachoretica Insulce Celtra; — obiit." 
 
 To this passage Dr. O'Conor appends the following note : 
 
 " Turaghan, a Tur turris, et aghan vel adhan accensio ignis, ut in Vocabulariis 
 Hibernicis, forsan a more Druidico ignes sacros in his turribus accendendi, et quibus 
 alios ignes solemnes accendebant in quatuor anui teuiporibus, ut in vetcri Glossano 
 
 H
 
 50 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 apud Lllmyduiu in Arcbwologia, voce Baal-tinne. Ila; turres, postea a Giraldo JEccle- 
 xiasticce appellatas, a Christianis ad usum Anachoretarum accommodate fuisse videntur, 
 \\t in toxtu apparet. Vide Annal. Inisi'al. p. 148." 
 
 Thus Ave are \o infer from the passage in the text, that the Towers 
 were used for anchorites in Christian times, and from tlie etymology of 
 tlie word TuragJian, as given in the note, that they were originally 
 designed to contain the Druidical sacred fire. I might acknowledge 
 the accuracy of this translation of the text, and the probabihty of tlie 
 etymology, and yet deny the justness of the inferences, drawn from 
 them, for the anchoiite Tower of Iniscealtra may not have been a 
 Round Tower ; and, notwithstanding Dr. O'Conor's reference in jaroof 
 (if the contrar}^ there is no other passage in the Irish Annals in 
 which anchorite Towers are mentitmed, or in wdiich the word Turn- 
 ghan occurs. But I have a far weightier objection to urge. From 
 the first moment that I read the passage, I doubted the accuracy 
 either of the text, or of the translation, and, being anxious to have 
 these doubts resolved, I addressed a note to the late Mr. O'Reilly, 
 the distinguished Irish lexicographer, requesting his examination of 
 the text in his MS. copy of the Annals of the Four Masters, and his 
 opinion of the translation given Ijy Dr. O'Conor. From the reply 
 with which he favoured me I extract the following observations : 
 
 " I have, as you requested, examined my manuscrijit copy of the Annals of the 
 Four Masters, and I find that you had, as I have myself, good reason to doubt the cor- 
 rectness of Doctor O'Conor in his publication of the Irish Annals. The words of the 
 text in the MS. agree with the printed text in every thing but one ; but that one 
 makes a material diiFerence in the affair. Tlie words of the MS. are these : ' Cojxcpac 
 
 fpip apdice Cpua^an an^coipe Inpi Cealcpa oecc' The word Truaghan the 
 
 Doctor has, upon what authi irity I know not, but I believe without any, converted 
 into Turaglian, as you have it, and as it is in print, and this he has made an Anchorite 
 Toirer in his translation, and a Fire Toicer in his note. 
 
 " I do not know what design the learned Doctor may have had in falsifying the 
 Annals ; but that he has done so, in this instance, is incontrovertible, and that he 
 may have done so in others there is strong reason to suspect. The translation of the 
 text of the MS. is literally thus : 
 
 " Cosgrach of whom is said (called) the Miserable, Recluse (or Anchorite) of Inis 
 Cealtra, died." 
 
 " That this is the true translation of tlio MS. will hardl_y he disputed, and tliat my 
 MS. agrees with the College copy I am positive, and that it is agreeable to the original 
 I am convinced. There would be no sense in calling a man an Anchorite Tower, but a 
 man totally given up to fasting, mortification, and retirement from the company of 
 man, as Cosgrach was, might very fairly be called a Trmujhan, or a miserable creature.''''
 
 OF THE ROUXn TOWERS OF IRELAND. 51 
 
 From another accomplislicd Irish scliolnr, my IViLMid Mr. O'Dono- 
 vau, I subsequently ohtaiiu'd tlie following renuirks on the abovi' 
 passage, from Avhich it will appear that, even granting the text in Dr. 
 O'Conor's work to be unlouehed and aecurute, still the translation 
 could not be so : 
 
 " Dr. 0'Conur\s translation of this passage in tlic Annals is very incorrect, viz. 
 
 " A. D. 898. Cosca-achfris a raite Turcti/han Aticjcoirc Insi t'ca/lni, d'ecc." 
 
 " A. D. 898. Coscriiclius « (//lo dicitur Turris anachoretica Insula; Celtra: obiit." 
 
 " The original Irish cannot at all bear this translation. Pi'ip u puice cupn,^(m 
 cannot express a quo dicitur turris, because the preposition ppip being the ancient Ibrni 
 of the modern leip or pip does not signify yjww but icitli or to. If the Four Musters had 
 intended to convey the idea expressed m Dr. O'Conor's translation, they would have 
 writen 6 a paiceap, &c., not ppip a pence, &c. 
 
 " This shows that Doctor O'Conor is wrong in making Qnjjcoipe an adjective, 
 qualifying Turaghan, instead of making it a noun placed in granuiuitical aj)position to 
 Coscrac/i. The following is the literal and indisjnitable translation of the passage as 
 printed by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " Coscrachus, cui dicebatur Tiirag/ian, Anaehoreta InsuliB Celtrtc, obiit. 
 
 " Coscrach, who was called Turaghan, Anchorite of luiskeltra, died. 
 
 " But why he was so called cannot be traced from the text as thus printed, without 
 reference to the original MS. Dr. O'Conor translates the passage as if the original Irish 
 stood thus : 
 
 " Copccpac 6 a pcncecip Cup-Qiijjcoipe Inpi Cealqui, o'ecc." 
 
 In fairness, however, to Dr. O'Conor, Avhom I am extremely un- 
 willing even to suspect of a Avilful falsification of the text of the 
 Annals, I am happy to add that, on referring to the copy of the An- 
 nals of the Four Masters, in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, 
 I find the disputed passage so contracted that he may have possibly 
 made an iniintentional mistake in deciphering the word : and, as the 
 volume in Avhich it occurs was transcribed from the original work 
 now at Stowe, I have little doubt that the contraction is the same in 
 both, the Doctor having, in the printed Avork, changed the text from 
 its abbreviated form, as was frequently his custom. It nuis thus : 
 
 "A.D. 898. Copcch i-p a paire Uajan anscoqie inj^i CeaL", ryej." 
 
 r 
 
 Here it may be observed that the wordUajan appears at first sight 
 doubtful ; for, according to the rule for deciphering Irish contractions, 
 when a vowel is placed over a consonant the letter p (/•) is imder- 
 stood to come be/ore or after it, so that c may be read either rpu or 
 rup, though it is almost invariably the former, and it might therefore 
 
 u 2
 
 52 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 be denied that cajctn is to be read r]iunjdn. But it is very easy to 
 prove from the context that caijrm cannot be read rii|ia;^an ; for any 
 one at all acquainted with tlie idiomatic application of Irish prepo- 
 sitions will see that pjup o means ciii to whom, not a quo, from whom, 
 as Dr. O'Conor renders it ; and when this is established it will be 
 seen that cajdn was a cognomen of Cosgrach, and not the name of a 
 Tower or any other building. This is a fact so obvious to an Irish 
 scholar that it may appear puerile to dwell upon it ; and I shall only 
 add, that in a copy of these Annals in Trinity College, made by Mau- 
 rice Gorman, and also in that made for Dr. Fergus, by the celebrated 
 Hugh Mac Curtin, this word is correctly lengthened into c]iua jdn. 
 The adjective rpua^ signifies pitiful, and also lean, meagre; and from 
 it, by adding the termination on, is formed the noun rjina jdn, signi- 
 fying a meagre, lean, emaciated, macerated ascetic, who by mortifi- 
 cation had reduced himself to a living skeleton. 
 
 But, though I have acknowledged my unAvillingness to believe 
 Dr. O'Conor capable of falsifjdng the text of our Annals, to support 
 any favomite hj'pothesis, yet I must confess that he has laid himself 
 quite open to the suspicion of having done so, not only in the instance 
 already noticed, but still more in the references which follow. Thus, 
 in support of liis theory of the Anchorite use of the Towers in Chris- 
 tian times, he refers to the authority of the Annals of Innisfallen, 
 p. 14(3, and to the Annals of Ulster at the year 996 ; yet in neither 
 place is there a word to support that hypothesis. We have indeed in 
 tlie page referred to a dissertation of the Doctor's own, in whicli 
 the sacred fire of the Druids, but not the Round Towers, is men- 
 tioned ; and, in his second refei'ence, — the Annals of Ulster, at the 
 year 995 [996], — there is no allusion to Anchorite Towers, or to 
 Towers of any description, unless we adopt Dr. O'Conor's dictum on 
 the fanciful etymology of a word. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " 3ln. tirrCf ir b. Tenedialt do gabail A irdmacha con afarcaihh deiiach, na damliacc, 
 na h Efdam, na fdhnemead ann cen loscadh." 
 
 Thus translated : 
 
 " Fulgur corripit Ardmacham, et non relinquit Nosocomium, nee Ecclesiam Ca- 
 tliedralem, nee domum altam, nee turrim, in civitate, quod non incendio deleret." 
 
 And to this he appends the following note : 
 
 " Eadem habet Tighernaek ad ann. 995 — IV Magistri, pro Erdam, habent chic 
 teacha (campanilia.) — Ergo diversa erant Campanilia a turribus rotundis, de quibus.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. .");{ 
 
 vide not. aim. 94y. Fiadhnemeadh Turris ; a Fiadh testimonium, vcl Index, et nemeadh 
 
 coeloruni." 
 
 As the correctness of the etymology of tho words givoii in the 
 above note constitutes the strongliold in which, in support of liis 
 h}-jiothesis, the Doctor has entrenched himseU', it will be necessary to 
 trespass on the reader's time, at more than my usual length, in exa- 
 mining his proofs and arguments. I shall first give the original pas- 
 sages from the Annals to which he refers : 
 
 I. "A. D. 996. rric CaipiU CO pepaib Pepnmiiiji 7 con CTip^ialldib 00 np7;«ii> 
 Qpomcica CO piicpuc ix c. b " Qpomucti do lopcuo ec. rijib n;^>ip Dumliur njrup 
 cloicceoch, njiip pioneo {rectc pionemeo) uili oiljcn, iiu ccimc pitinih u n Gp. 7 im 
 capja CO la mbpaca oijuil uniluio." 
 
 " A. D. 996. Filius Curilli, cum Fernmagiensibus et Argialliis, vastat Ardmachani, 
 et auferunt bis mille boves. Ardmacha combusta penitus, domus, et Ecclesia' lapidese 
 et Campanilia, et Indicia CiElestia omnia eversa. Non evenit unquam in Ilibcrjii;!, 
 neque eveniet usque ad diem Judicii, vindicta similis." — Annal. Tighernacln. 
 
 II. " A.D. 995. Ardmacha do loscc do tene Saigknen ettir tighib, ague Dom/ndiacr, 
 agus Cloicfeaclia, agns a fidhneimheilh do luiile dilgeud.'''' 
 
 " A. D. 995. Ardmaclia combusta a lulmine, domus et Ecclesia; lapidea', et campa- 
 nilia, et ejus turres coclestes omues destructa." — Annal. Quat. Mag. 
 
 Now on the slightest examination of the above passages it must 
 appear evident that Dr. O'Conor's assertion, that the word c/oicteac/nr 
 (belfries) has been substituted by the Fom* Masters for the word 
 erdam of the Annals of Ulster, but not for fiad/ineniead/i, has not 
 the slightest probabihty for its support ; and if Dr. (J'Conor had any 
 knowledge of the true meaning of the word erdain, which he guess- 
 ingly translates dominn aUnm, he would not have hazarded such a 
 strange assertion. That the word erdam signifies a building attaclied 
 laterally to another building, as a sacristy, and not a belfry, as Dr. 
 O'Conor supposes, I shall incontrovertibly prove when I tn-at, in tlie 
 second part of this Inquiry, of the vaiious ecclesiastical edifices an- 
 ciently in use in Ireland, and therefore I shall only observe here, thiit 
 Dr. O'Conor should have remembered that he Avas constrained him- 
 self to translate this very word by sacra doino, in the following 
 passage in the Annals of the Four Masters, which sufficiently proves 
 that the erdam, or erdomh, w^as not a belfry. 
 
 "A.D. 1006. Soisccel mor Cholaimclulle do duhhgoid is in oidhchc as in erdomh 
 iatharach [recte iariharach] an Doimhliacc moir Cenannsa, (^t. 
 
 " A. D. 1006. Evangelium ]Magnum Colurabos-Cille a fure ablatum nocte e.\ sarra 
 domo iuferiori Ecclesite lapidete magna Cellensis, &c."
 
 54 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The triitli unquestionably is, that there was no substitution l)y the 
 annalists, as Dr. O'Conor supiwses, of one synonymous word for ano- 
 ther, and tliat the diCFerence of language used by them was only such 
 as miglit be expected among wiiters living in dilFerent ages and -dif- 
 ferent localities. But in none of them is there any evidence to be 
 found that the word pinnorheb was apphed to a tower; nor had any 
 Irish ^vTiter, before Dr. O'Conor, ever understood the term in that 
 sense. In proof of this I shall first adduce the translation of the pas- 
 sage, relative to this event, in the Annals of Ulster, from the copy 
 of those annals made hi the commencement of the seventeenth cen- 
 tiuy, and now preserved in the British Museum. Ayseough's Cata- 
 logue, No. 4795, Clarendon MSS. No. 49, fol. 2, b. 
 
 "995. Y'' fyre dial taking Ardmach, and left neither sanctuary Imcses or places, or 
 churches cnhiirnt.'''' 
 
 It will be seen, then, that, whatever may be the word tmderstood 
 by the translator in the sense of sanctuary, he did not at least rui- 
 derstand any word of the original as signifying a celestial index or a 
 tower of any kind. 
 
 In the next aulhority whicli I have to adduce, namely the Chro- 
 nicon Scotorum, which was compiled from the old Annals of Clon- 
 niacnoise, it will be seen, that, Avhile the Annals of Ulster omit noticing 
 the biu'uing of the belfry or belfries, this older authority, on the other 
 hand, omits the pibneirheh and epoam. The passage is as follows : 
 
 "A. D. 99fi- Qipjicitla d' op^ain Qponiuclia ^o pucpcic pice ceo bo eipce. 
 CfpDmacha DO lo| cao caijib, cemplaib, ocup a cloijceacli." 
 
 And this passage is not inaccurately rendered by Connell Mageo- 
 ghegan, avIio understood the Irish language perfectly, in his trans- 
 lation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, made in' 1627, thus : 
 
 " A. D. 989, [_recte 996.] They of Uriel preyed Armacli, and took from tlience 
 2,000 cows. Armacli was also burnt, both church, houses and steeple, that there 
 was not never such a poor spectacle seen in Ireland before." 
 
 Thus Colgau, also, translates the passage of the Annals of the Four 
 Masters, which were compiled chiefly for his use, and which it would 
 be folly to suppose he did not thoroughly understand : 
 
 " A. D. 995. Ardtnacha cum Basdicis, turribus, aliisque omnibus cedifciis incendio 
 exflumine [fulmine] generato, iota t-astatur, <^'c." — Trias Thaum. p. 297. 
 
 Dr. O'Conor, however, who defends his hj^iothesis with all sorts of
 
 OF THE KOUXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. SS 
 
 weapons, objects to Colgan's version of this passaf^e, as being neither 
 literal, nor explanatory of the words, nor reconeileable with what is 
 wi-itten in the Annals abont other belfries, as regards either the form 
 or construction of tlie ancient Round Towers (Proleg. ubi supra, p. 49); 
 but tliese assertions are not borne out. Colgan, wlio had no fnie-spun 
 theory to uphold, gave what he knew to be the general meaning of 
 the passage in the Annals of the Four Masters, as far as lie considered 
 it necessary to his purpose, whii'h was to record tlie destruction of 
 the sacred edifices of Armagh; and he leaves tlie word Pibneirheb 
 untranslated, because, as I shall presently prove, it was not a building 
 of any kind. If then, bearing this in mind, Ave analy/.e his translation, 
 it will be as follows. For the words QpOmacha oo lopccao Do reiie 
 pai^nen, he gives us very correctly, leaving the verb to close tlie 
 sense at the end, Archnacha incendio ex fidmhie generuto ; he then 
 inverts the order of the words of the annalists, to bring the buildings 
 into their proper place, according to their relative importance, and 
 translates erci]i Domulmcc, by cion Busiliris ; next cloicreacha, or 
 belfries, by tiirrihus ; and lastly ci^ib, or liouses, which he thought 
 of the least importance, by aliis omnibus (edijiciis; then, passing over 
 the word pi'oneirhen, as unnecessary to his piu'posc, he translates no 
 h-ude DiljenO, by tota vastatur. 
 
 That the preceding analysis is the true one will a]i]v\u' incon- 
 trovertible, when I have shoAvn hereafter the true meaning of the word 
 Pfbnenfieo, and that Dr. O'Conor himself knew he was attempting 
 an imposition on his readers by gi^^ng a different meaniiig to C^olgan's 
 words, would almost appear certain, from our finding him elsewhere 
 actually falsifjdng the text of this very passage in Colgan, to suppoit 
 his h}q3othesis. Thus, in a note on the original passage in the Amials 
 of the Four IMasters, he Avrites : 
 
 "Notanda est distinctio inter Clo/ctear/,a (campanilia) Qt Fidyieimhedh (tnrros.) vox 
 derivata a.fiad (index sen testimonium,) ot neimliedh (coelornm.) — Colganus, ad hunc 
 textum referens, destructionem enarrat EcdesicR, Campanilium, et Turrium Ardmachte, 
 anno hoc, unde sequitur turres non camjianilia fuisse, scd potius indicia cakslia ad 
 Solstitia, ^{[uinoctia, et Cadorum motus indicandos !" 
 
 Most strange ! And Lanigan (vol. iv. p. 412), D" Alton (E.ssm/ mi 
 Ancient Hist, of Ireland, ^c, p. 138), and Moore {Hist, of Ireland, 
 vol. i. p. 34, note), repeat the same passage, and draw the same infe- 
 rence, evidently Avithout referring to the passage in Colgan, for if tliey
 
 56 INQUIRY INTO THE OraGIN AND USES 
 
 Imd done so, they ■would have instantly seen that, though Colgan no- 
 tices the destruction of the hasUivcP, turres, and other ceiUficia of Ai-- 
 inagh in the year 995, he has not tlie word cumpanilia, and therefore 
 makes no distinction between it and turres! And it is scarcely pos- 
 sible to imagine that Dr. O'Conor could have been ignorant that 
 Colgan constantly translates the word clon-f/i each of the Irish Annals 
 l)v the word f urn's, for it is so rendered by him within three pages 
 111' thi' passage, whicli Dr. O'Conor thus so shamefully corrupted, 
 
 viz. : 
 
 " A. D. 1121. Athach ijaoithe moire do tic/iiain in Decemb. na bliadlina so, co ro la a 
 bhendcohhii )■ do cloictheach Ardumuclm.'''' 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor: 
 
 " A. D. 1121. Tempestas venti ingens evenit in niense Decembri anui liujus, quae 
 destriixit tectum Campanilis ArdmachanL" 
 
 Thus by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 1121. Ingens venti tempestashoc anno in mense Decembri supremum tectum 
 TVKnia A rdinachance deiecit." — Trias Tliaiim. p. 300. 
 
 Bvit more than this — the word turris is also used by him as a 
 translation oi c/nirf/ienr/i, in his version of the passage in the Annals 
 of the Four JNIasters relative to the burning of the belfry of Slane ; 
 and this J)v. O'Conor nuist have known, as he has adduced it (i/t 
 supra, p. 49) as a proof that the cloictheacha, or belfries, of the Irish 
 Annals could not be the Round Towers. Thus : 
 
 "A. D. 948. Ctoiccliech Slaine do lopccao no ^liatlaib co n-a tan do riiion- 
 naiB, ajuy De^oaoiniB, im Chuoinechaip, peap-teijinn felaine, cijup bachull an 
 ©plarha, ajiip clocc ba oeach do clocccib." 
 
 "A. D. 948. Coeneachair, id est Probus, Pra:k>ctor seu Prcpfecti/s ScMceSlaneiisis, 
 in ipsaTVRRi Slanensi fluminis \_flammis'] per Danos e?iecatifs interijt, cmn mullis nlijs 
 pijs socijs Sanrtorvm Reliquijs, Sf bacido ipsius Sancti Antisiitis, nempe Sancti Erci pa- 
 troni loci.'''' — Trias Thaum. p. 219. 
 
 Having now, I trust, fully examined Dr. O'Conor's authorities, 
 and proved their insufficiency, I proceed to an investigation of his 
 etymological evidences, which, I have no doubt, I shall show to be 
 equally visionary ; and in this investigation I gladly avail myself of 
 the assistance and authority of one, infinitely more deeply versed in 
 the ancient language and literature of Ireland than I can pretend 
 to be — I allude to my friend, Mr. O'Donovan. From the first mo- 
 ment that I read Dr. O'Conor's explanation of the word Fidhnei- 
 mhedli, I felt assured that he had given it a meaning utterly erro-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. ;-,7 
 
 iicous, and tliat the true explanation would he mrrcd frt'i'x, or trees 
 of the sanrfuan/; and, having expressed this opinion to Mr. ( )'Doiio- 
 van, he was induced to collect, from the most ancient MS. authorities 
 in the libraries of Trinity College and the Koval Irish Academy. 
 such a nimiber of examples of its application as must leave no dmil)! 
 of its true meaning. I have now to lay these examples before the 
 reader, and I trust they will prove, beyond the possibility of doubt, 
 not only that my original impression was a correct one, but that Dr. 
 O'Conor exhibited, in this instance, a carelessness of investigation, 
 which would never have been expected in one who had such am])le 
 access to the sources from which the truth could be elicited, and 
 possessed the critical skill that should have enabled him to make 
 use of them. 
 
 In the passage, as given in tlie different Irish Annals, in whicli the 
 compound term FidhneimhedJi occurs. Dr. O'Conor explains it, 
 sometimes by the %yords index coploruia, and sometimes by indicid 
 crplestia, because, as lie says, fiad signifies an index, or witness, and 
 iH'iiii/ied/i, of the heavens ; and at other times he explains it by tur- 
 res coelestes, and again, simply, by turris. Thus it will be seen, that 
 b}^ a singular process of induction, out of two Avords which, as he says, 
 literally mean witness and oj'tlie heavens, he makes a Eound Tower 
 after the following formula : 
 
 1. Fidh, a witness. 
 
 2. , an index. 
 
 3. FidhJVeimhedh, an index of the heavens. 
 4. , a celestial index. 
 
 5. , an astronomical gnomon. 
 
 6. , a celestial tower. 
 
 7. , a Round Tower ! 
 
 It is to be observed, however, that in this process there is only 
 one part of the compound that can be substantiated by authority, 
 namely, the word neimhedh, which Avas, indeed, sometimes under- 
 stood as signifying o/'///e heavens, as if formed from neamli, heaven 
 (the nimbus of the Latins), Avith the termination of the genitive 
 plural ; and, it was also used as an adjective signifying celestial, liea- 
 venly, or holy, and is understood in this sense by Colgan, who, in 
 translating the name of a place in Ulster, called Slighe NeiniJieadh, 
 
 I
 
 r)3 IXQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ronders it by via ccp/esfis sine snncf.a. — Trias Thanm. p. 165. But 
 tlie word nciinlieadk is also used in ancieut Iiisli ]\1SS. in the sense of 
 sanctuary, and also of glebe lauds, because, as it would appear, the 
 glebe lands had Dl'tcn, anciently, the privilege of sanctuary ; and hence 
 Colgan always translates the word, when used substantively, by the 
 Latin sani-fnuriiniu as in the following examples : 
 
 First, in translating a passage in the Annals of the Foitr JSIasters, 
 relating to the church of Knocknasengan at Louth, under the year 
 1148: 
 
 "A. D. 1148. Ceampall Cnuic na Senjan do popbao I'lp an Gppcop O'Caol- 
 laibe ujiip la DonnchuD ua j-CenBmU, ujup u coippeccaD lu h-ua ITlopsaip, 
 Comapbu paccpuicc, ajup NfcmhfcOJi, .1. cularii Gcclupou, do opoucchao 60 1 
 r^ujmaD." 
 
 "A.D.I 148. Eoclcsia LTigmagensis constructa per Episcopiini Una Coellaidlie et 
 Donchaduiu Hua Keruaill (OryiclUce Principeiit) & coiisecrata per (Mulucldum) Ilua 
 Morgair, Comorbanum {id est sticcessorem) S. Patricij ; qui & sanctuarium Lugmagise 
 coustituit." — Acta SS. p. 737, col. i See also Trias TIatiim. p. 305, col. ii. 
 
 Again, in translating a passage in the same Annals, under the year 
 1196, he renders "Uuiighdlaioe ceall cfju]' NtllllhGQOh," by 
 "Basilicarum et sanctuariorum fundator." — Trias ThauDi. p. 405 
 [recte 505], col. 2. 
 
 That Colgan is correct in this translation can be proved by the 
 highest authorities extant. The word is thus explained in Cormac's 
 Glossary: 
 
 " NeiTier .1. nerh-iar .1. aniip o'p do eclaip." 
 
 '•'■ Nemketh, i.e. Nemh-ialli, [heavenly or sacred ground] i. e. wliicli belongs to tlie 
 Church." 
 
 Thus also in an ancient Glossary in a MS. in the Library of Trinity 
 College, Dublin, II. 2. l(i. Col. 120: 
 
 " NeiniD, in can ip ppi li-eclciip, .1. nem-iar .1. lac neme." 
 
 " Nemid, when belonging to the Church, i. c. heaven-land, i. e. land of heaven." 
 
 And thus again more distinctly in O'Clery's Vocabulary of ancient 
 Irish words : 
 
 " Neiiiieao .1. neairi-iar .1. peapnnn eajlaipe, no calnrii ip oli^reac oo'n eciT- 
 laip." 
 
 " Neimheadh, i. e. neamh-iath [heaven-land] i. e. church-land, or ground wliich is 
 lawful [due] to the church." 
 
 It will also be seen, from the preceding authorities, that in this sense
 
 OF THE ROU^'D TOWERS OF lUKLAXl). 5;) 
 
 the Avonl was supposed to luive been diirercnlly fdniied from the 
 ■word neiiiilie<(dli, used adjectivel}- — the laikT ]]art ul' tlie \\n\\\ lieiiijx 
 understood to be a corruption of \nt, Imnl ; and il is a singular fact 
 in this inquiry th.at Dr. O'Conor was himself obliged to luidei'stand 
 and translate it in this sense, as Colgan had done before liim. Tims, 
 in translating the passage above given luider the year 11 IS, he luis 
 rendered the word nonlu'dh by terra saiirtn. 
 
 " Ecclesia Collis Sciigan tecto cooperta alj Episcojid (rc'aulluilliio eta DuniKliiidd 
 O'Carroll, et consecrata ab O'Morgaro Vicario Patricii, ct tekra tSANCTA, i.e. tkuha 
 EccLESiASTiCA assigiiata ei in Lugmadia." — Rcnnii Hih. Scrijit. vcjI. iii. p. 7(;i. 
 
 Thus it may be considered as proved beyond question, that the 
 word tieimliedli was not restricted to the sense of holy, or celestial, 
 in which Dr. O'Conor translated it in the compound term Fidli- 
 neiinhedli ; and that the true interpretation must depend on the cdr- 
 rect understanding of the Avord _/?(///, and its fitness to be joined lo it. 
 If, for instance, the word fid Ii could bear the translation of »•//// r^s■.v, 
 or i)idr.i\ wdiich Dr. O'Conor has attached to it, the compound term 
 niiglit, indeed, mean, as he has it, adestial witness, or index, though 
 even this would not necessarily imply eitlier a Gnomon, or a Round 
 Tower, for such phrase might with far greater ^iropriety be used to 
 designate the crosses which, in obedience to an ancient canon of the 
 Church, Avere always erected to mark the limits of the neiiiihed/i, or 
 sanctuary. But if it can be shown that the word Jidh will not bear 
 the translation given of it by Dr. O'Conor, while it can be explaiueil 
 Avith certainty in a sense consistent Avith the application of the Avord 
 neimhedh, either substantively, in the sense of sanctuary, or, adjec- 
 tively, in the sense of holy, his explanation of this compound term 
 nnist be rejected altogether. To investigate the meaning of the word 
 Jidlt is therefore my next object. 
 
 Dr. O'Conor states that the Avord fiad, or fiadh, signifies a iritness, 
 or index ; and it is quite true that it does mean a iritness, but not an 
 index, being of the same root as the Saxo-English Avord icif, as in the 
 phrase to wit, and the word witness, which has also an Irisli cognate in 
 the Avord fiadhnaise. But the Avord in question is not Avritten /?rtf/// by 
 the Irish Annalists in anyone instance, hwtfidli or fodli, Avhich is a 
 totally different Avord, signifying tcood, and cognate Avith that Saxo- 
 English Avord. To adduce authoiities to prove that this is the mean- 
 
 I 2
 
 Go INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ing of tlie word would be superfluous, as it is so explained in all the 
 ancient Irish Glossaries and modern Dictionaries, and always trans- 
 lati'd //('lints or s///ra, by Colgan ; but tlie following examjale of its 
 use will be striking and interesting, as containing an example also 
 of the word ne'///iheadh, with which it has been combined in the 
 term Fid/ineh/ihec/h, mider discussion. 
 
 " A. D. 1583. Nip Dion ap an 3-cnpcin pin na pop a rhuincip, HBlTTlhSQt)!! 
 nuoiii) nu piliD, plOOIl nu poirip, gleaiin, na baile, nu buolibuii, no jup cojlao 
 an cip uile laip." 
 
 " A. D. 1583. From tliis Captain [Brabazon] and Lis people, neither iha Nelmheculh 
 of the saint nor of the poet, the wood nor the forest, the valley, the town, nor the bawn 
 aflforded shelter, until the whole country was destroyed by him." — Annal. Quat. Mag. 
 
 It is obvious then that /idh signifies wood, and not icitness, and 
 that the second word, neiiiilieadh, if understood adjectively, must 
 simply mean holy, or sacred, and, if vmderstood substantively, a su//c- 
 tnurji, or glebe laud, and thus the term Avould mean Jioli/ wood, or 
 wood of the sanctuary or glebe. And, as Dr. U'Conor's translation 
 must thus be regarded as demonstratively incorrect, I might be sa- 
 tisfied to let the question rest here. But I can go further, even to 
 prove that if Dr. O'Conor had studied the MSS., in which the term 
 Fidhneimhedh is nsed and explained, he could not have even for a 
 moment dreamed of its signifying either Gnomon or Roimd Tower, 
 for it is used in the most authentic vellum Irish MSS. in the sense 
 0^ sacred grove, or wood of the sa/ict/tari/, and in no other in Chris- 
 tian times, though it may have been, and, I have Uttle doubt was, 
 originally apphed to designate the sacred groves of the Druids. 
 
 The most dubious passages in which this term is found occur in 
 the Brehon laws, in a tract treating of the classification of trees, and 
 the fines levied for committing trespass upon them. The fii'st rmis 
 thus : 
 
 " Gpe" caca'' peaon*^ ache" piOnemeao,^ no Oejpio'^." 
 
 Succidaiitur omnes syU-se praier syivam sacram sen saiictam sylvain. 
 
 Gpe is interpreted by the Glossographer as equivalent to the more modern word 
 tecpao, to cut. 
 
 ^ Cacu is the ancient form of jaca, each, every. 
 
 •^ Peaoa is the plural of pro, or proo, a wood. According to the modern ortho- 
 graphy the o would be aspirated in the singular and plural. 
 
 " Qclic, but, except, is so written and understood at this day. 
 
 ' Proiiemeao is interpreted by the Glossographer f id cilli, i. e. wood of the church.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. (i 1 
 
 In like mannei- the same laws, in specifying the fines for euttiii" 
 down the tbiutli or lowest class of trees, called lopa peaoci, contain 
 the following curious reference to Fidlineuiedh. 
 
 " toj^a peaoa, paich, aiceano, opip, ppciech, eioeano, jilcach, ppm. Cupu <.i 
 n-Dipe each ae. .1. cpi pcpipail inocib icip aichgin ocup oipe irincib pm, in can ip u 
 pio coimichenpa, ocup ni pil ni 'no n-jablaib, &c. ITlaD u pionemeo beioe imoppa 
 .nil. pcpipuil inoceib ap oipe, ocup oa pcpipal ap uirlijin, ocup a cpun ina n-^tibla, 
 ocup a peij'eao ma cpaebaib." — E. 3.5. fol. 3, b, a. 
 
 " Tlie Losafeada, [shrubs] OMnfeni, furze, briar, heath, h\i/, liroom, thorn. A citra 
 is the fine for each, that is, thrci^screpah for both restitution and tine, wlien in « cominou 
 icood, and there is no fine for their branches, &c. It' they be in a Fidhneinedh, tlien 
 shall four screpals be paid tor fine, and two screpcds for restitution, a third [of a scre]ial] 
 tor their limbs, and a sixth for their branches." 
 
 Again, in a note in the margin of the same law tract (fol. 3, a, b. ) 
 the following reference is made to Fklhueii)iedh, which, like that 
 just quoted, proves to a demonstration that it meant sacretl wood, 
 not Round Tower. 
 
 " t)ecbip cpaino a pi6 comaircepa, ocup can oerbip Jjpaio ; oerbip jpaiba pio 
 neiriieD, ocup cm oecbip cpuino. Smucc u pio neimeo no co m-beiicup uile, ocup 
 enechlann mo o benccip." 
 
 " There is a difterence of tree in the common wood, and no difference of rank; there 
 is a difterence of rank in the Fid/i/iei/nedh, and no difference of tree. The restriction of 
 the law is on the Fidkneimedh until it be all cut down, and a fine for it when cut." 
 
 Thougli not essentially necessary to my pm'pose, but as a matter 
 which cannot fail of being interesting to the general reader, I am 
 induced to add here a few examples of the application of tliis term 
 to a pagan sanctuary, or grove, in which there Avas an altar, or oracle, 
 as it will go far towards proving that the word is of pagan origin. 
 
 Surely, if Dr. 0"Conor had seen this, he could never have thought of translating pi6- 
 neimeb Round Tower! According to the modern Irish orthographj- this would be 
 written f 16 neiriieao, which is the very form of the term adopted by the Four JIasteis 
 at the year 995. Vallancey, in translating this passage in the Brehon Laws {Collec- 
 tanea, VoL III. p. 107), renders /(/ neimcad, holy woods. 
 
 f tDespiD the Glossographer interprets by , 10 oepio, which would be very obscure, 
 were it not found explained on a loose sheet of paper in the handwriting of the cele- 
 lirated Duald Mac Firbis, inserted in a MS. in Trinity College, H. 2. 15. p. 208. This 
 leaf is a fragment of Mao Firbis's first draft of his Glossary of the Brehon Laws, of 
 which several fragments are to be found scattered among the College MSS. Tlie 
 phrase Pioo oefio ap oun is thus explained on this leaf: " P106 oepio a]i ouii .1. 
 colli Dee ap no n^ an oun .1. pio nimeao," i. e. Fiodh defid on the Dun, i. e. the sa- 
 cred wood on or at the dun, i. e. a Fldh nimhcadh.
 
 r»2 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Tlu' (irst passage is from an abridged prose translation of Virgil's ac- 
 count of tlio destruction of Troy, preserved in the Book of Ballj-mote, 
 and relates to the death of Polites and his father Priam by the spear 
 of Pyrrhus, at the altar of Jupiter, over which hung a very ancient 
 laurel, embracing the household gods in its shade. I here give the 
 passage as it stands in the Book of Ballyinote, with a literal transla- 
 tion by Mr. O'Donovan, and under it the passage in Virgil, to which 
 it corresj)onds : 
 
 " tTlapo bai in cpeB pin nioci co hciibbino, I a bponac Di m aioc'i pin. Ro ela 
 Poloinioep, m ic pii;iiciiin, lup n-a ;^uin do Pipp ip m up pm, oapo op")' lapnipac na 
 pi^-DUine, up cue uupoum inu p'nli, co li-ciipni a paibi Ppium li i piDNSiDUD 
 loib ; uj'ip pipi^ Ti'^^ conaip no cejio inu oiaio, con id ano pug puip in can po piacrco 
 tn bai ' piuonuipi a urhap, .1, JJpiuni ; ujup do beip P'pp puipmio paip Du'n leurcin 
 ;i;<n lan-inoi|i bui ma oeip, co pug upiutino rpic, cup ruic mupb cen unm"in. 1 
 fiuonuipi a urliup. Qcpacr unnriioi conacaib u eppiD cnca uime ; uj;iipcia cbeap- 
 Buoap ni ceapbuio a Dpoc-uij^ne; ujup popopbuip uichipm^uD Pipp o bpiucpuib, 
 iijjnpippeao po paio pip: a ruilioe, appe, ip mop m jnini do pignip, mo iiviDtapgcib- 
 pa uj-'p mo mac do mupbtio nn piaonuipi, ug'ip hi piionaipi alcoipi no n-oe h-i 
 I-IOnGHIIO loib! ugup oe nime Dia Diguil pope." — Fol. 245, a, b. 
 
 " Happy as this fainilv was one night, sonxnvl'iil to them was that night. Poloi- 
 iiides, the son of Priam, after having been wounded b}' Pyrrhus in that slaughter, fled 
 througli the western door of the royal palace, and from one apartment [aiirdami to 
 another, mitil he came to the place where Priam was in the Fidnemud of Jupiter ; and 
 Pyrrhus followed him in every way through which he passed, and overtook him just 
 as he came into the presence of his father, i.e. Priam; and Pyrrhus gave him a thrust 
 of the large broad spear which was in his right hand, and pierced him with its head, 
 so that he fell dead without a soul, in the presence of his father. The old man rose 
 and put on his battle-dress ; and though it had become rusty, his warlike mind had 
 not ; and he commenced abusing Pyrrhus in words, and in this wise spake he to him: 
 ' Wretch,' said he, ' how monstrous is the deed thou hast committed, to enrage me by 
 killing my son before me, and before the altar of the gods in the Fidnemid of Jupiter 1 
 yiay the gods of heaven revenge it upon thee !' " 
 
 The following description of the death of Polites and Priam, as 
 given by Virgil, will convey an exact idea of what object the Irish 
 translator intended to designate by the term Fidnemud, or Fidnemid. 
 
 " ^dibus in mediis, nudoque sub astheris axe, 
 Ingens ara fuit; juxtaque veterrima laurus 
 Incvmhens ara', afqiie wndn-u comjilexa Penates, 
 Hie Hecuba, 
 
 Ecce autcm elapsns Pyrrhi de caxle Polites, 
 Unus natorum Priami, per tela, per hostes,
 
 or THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. (,:] 
 
 Porticibus longis fugit, et vacua atria lustrat 
 
 Saucius. Ilium ardeiis inl'usto vulucre Pyrrlius 
 
 Insequitur, jam jamque manu tenet, et preuiit hasta. 
 
 Ut tandem ante oeulos evasit et ora pareiitum 
 
 Concidit, ac multo vitam cum sanguine fiidit. 
 
 Hie Priamus, quanquam in media jam morte tenctur, 
 
 Non tauien abstinuit, nee voci ira;que pepercit. 
 
 At tibi pro scelere, exclamat, pro talibus ausis, 
 
 Di, si qua est ccelo pietas, qua; talia curet, 
 
 Persolvaut grates dignas, et prajmia reddant 
 
 Debita : qui nati coram me cernere letum 
 
 Fecisti, et patrios i'axlasti funere vultus." — ^Tlneid. Lib. 11.512 o'i^). 
 
 Tlius again, the following passage, taken from an Irish translatitm 
 of some ancient account of the siege of Troy, in a velhnn MS. pre- 
 served in the library of Trinity College, has the term Fiillineinilieilli 
 in the sense of sacred wood, or -w^iod containing an oracle. 
 
 " ]p \ pm aeip af^^\•^ uaip do puachoaoup laochptiib liinpi ^.imiii 6 ro^nil na 
 Cpo^ia moipi. Ro Bi plC)hHGmiiGt)ll DO-imcechca ip ni c-pleb bu coi.iineiipu 
 Doib, ajiip DO cuuDtip mnci Innpi ?_,emin ino o'liippaio ppeajpa cip net oeiciB. (ijvip 
 ranjaoup baoBa bel-oeapjja (i ccicbaip Ippmn d'u ni-buiUDpeaD-pun co ruiije pm : 
 oip oobi Uenip ben-cumaclicuch, ujup 6ni oupbLibuch, piup )Tiai|ic, oeu ni charii, 
 uj pupuil uilcc a\\ na nmuib pni." — II. 2, 17, p. 123. 
 
 " This is the time and hovir tliat the heroes of tlie Island of Lennios were re- 
 turning from the siege of great Troy. There was a Fidhnemhedh of difficult passage 
 in the mountain next to them, and the women of the Island of Lemnos went into it to 
 ask a response from the gods, and red-mouthed ravens came thither from the city of 
 Infernus to disturb them ; for Veuus the woman-powerful, and Eni [Bellona] tlie i'u- 
 rious, the sister of Mars, goddess of war, were inflicting evils upon those women." 
 
 One other example of the application of this term, and I liave 
 done : it ^vill show that, even if Dr. O'Connor had been so little ac- 
 quainted with the Irisli language as to be vuiable to understand its 
 meaning from the passages aheady quoted, he might yet have dis- 
 covered it through his knowledge of Latin. Thus, in an ancient Ti-isli 
 MS. Glossary in the Library of Trinity College, to wliicli tlie Doctoi' 
 had access, the "word nemliedh, a poet, is explained in such a manner 
 by allusion to FidJineimJiedh, that it would have been impossible not 
 to see the proper meaning of tlie latter : 
 
 ■NeriieD, .1. piliD, a nemope: cip ip a plDN6mGt)Q16 po jnicip pileoti ti 
 ii-5peppa. II. 2. IG. Col. 120. 
 
 " Nemed, i. e. a poot, from Nemus (a grove) : because it was in Fidnemeds (sacn.'d 
 groves) 23oets were used to compose their works."
 
 (it INQUIRY INTO TilK OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 After siu'li evidences as 1 have now adduced, tlie reader will, I 
 I trust, have little doubt as to the true meaning of the Fidlineimhedh 
 of the Irish Annals. I may however add, that those Annals and the 
 Lives of our ancient saints show, that trees were a usual ornament 
 in the immediate vicinity of the ancient Irish churches, and, having 
 been ol'ten planted by the hands of the very founders of those build- 
 ings, were preserved with the most religious veneration, and their 
 accidental destruction deplored as a great calamity. Thus the An- 
 nals of the Foiu" Masters, at the year 1102, commemorate the burning 
 of the yew tree planted by St. Patrick at Newry, the memory of which 
 is still per]:)etuated in the name of that flourishing town. And the 
 remains t)f the yew tree supposed to have been planted by St. Kevin, 
 at Glendalough, have been preserved even to our own time. 
 
 Having now, as I trust, satisfactorily disposed of Dr. O'Conor's 
 proofs, as derived from etymological conjecture, I proceed to combat 
 his arguments — a task of much less difficulty. 
 
 We are called on to conclude that the cloictJieac/is, or belfries, 
 noticed in the Annals, were not the Eound Towers, because those 
 Annals also show that the belfry of Slane, containing the holy trea- 
 sure of the monastery and several of its ecclesiastics, was burned — 
 a circumstance wdiich, according to the Doctor, could not possibly 
 refer to a Round Tower, first, on account of " its form, which, being- 
 round, could not hold so many persons and precious things ; and, se- 
 condlv, of its material, which, being of stone, and hi no ])aji of wood, 
 could not be burned, though it might be broken down by hghtning." 
 The fallacy of these arguments can be very easily exposed. 
 
 1. So far from the rotund form of the Towers being inconsistent 
 with the capacity to contain a number of persons and things, the very 
 contrary is evident. There are few, if any, of the Towers, which 
 would not have held from fifty to eighty persons, at the moderate 
 average of ten to each floor ; and it is remarkable that their peculiar 
 fitness as places of safety for the clergy and their holy Utensils, &c., 
 on occasions of sudden invasion, has been so apparent to many most 
 distinguished antiquaries, that, without any other evidence than that 
 which their construction afforded, they supposed them to have been 
 erected for that pm-pose solely. 
 
 2. When Dr. O'Conor asserts that the Eound Towers could not 
 be biu'ued because they were in no part {7nillibi) of wood, he must
 
 \ 
 
 OF THE HOUND TOWEKS OF IKKLAXI). fif) 
 
 have been strangely forgetful of the mode of tlieir construction, in 
 which the floors, and, we may suppose, the doors also, wore in every 
 instance of that material; and though their combustible portion might 
 not be easily ignited by lightning from above, they could evidently 
 be fired by a hostile hand from below, as in the case of the belfry 
 of Slane, and many other belfries, recorded in our Annals to have 
 been biu'ued. The destruction of their inflannnable jiarts is the only 
 injury which we are to suppose the cloirtJieacJis sullered on those 
 occasions; and we have no more reason to conclude that tliey were 
 wholly of wood, than that the danihliags or stone cluirclies were so. 
 which are so constantly mentioned in those Aiuuils as having sullered 
 the same fate. Besides, can any thing more absurd be imagined than 
 that the ecclesiastics should fly for safety with tlieir holy treasures 
 from a band of savage plunderers to a ivooden belfry, while the}' 
 had a stone edifice of any kind to shelter in ? Such an improbability 
 Avould hardly obtain credit from any one but a perscm ready to 
 believe any thing for the sake of a favourite theory. 
 
 Dr. O'Conor, however, was so deeply intent on establisliing his 
 hypothesis, that he lost no ojoportunity of pressing these puerile ar- 
 guments on his reader's attention. Thus, in a note to a passage in 
 the Annals of the Foiu- Masters, at the year 1097, which records the 
 biirniug of the cloictheach, or bell-house of Monaster-Boice in the 
 County of Louth, he repeats tliese argmnents, to divert, as it would 
 appear, the reader from the ob\dous conclusion at wliicli he should 
 otherAvise arrive, namely, that the Rovmd Towers were unquestion- 
 ably the cloictkeachs or bell-houses of the Annahsts. 
 
 " Ex liis sequitur, valde diversa fuisse, non solum nomine, verum et re ijisa, Ili- 
 bernorum Canipanilia a Turribus rotundis antiquissimis, more patrio constructis, juxta 
 Gii'aldum, qui iisque liodie per Hiberniam, e vivo saxo a'diticata, eonspiciuntur. Cnrii- 
 jianilia enim Cloiccteadi, Turres autem rotundi Fiadh-neiinlie diccbantur, i. e. Indicia 
 coelestia, uti supra ad ann. 99-1, et neque comburi poterant turres isti, neque pro 
 bibliotliecis aut rebus pretiosis servandis apti erant, vcl ad finem istum construct i 
 censendi sunt, repugnante forma, altitudiue, arctitudine, et interna constructione." — 
 Annales IV. Magistrorimi, p. 670, 
 
 These indefatigable efforts of Dr. O'Conor's zeal may well excite 
 a smile. The Round Tower Belfry of Monaster-Boice, in which tlie 
 books and other precious things are stated to have been burned, still 
 exists to demonstrate the absiu'dity of his conjectures. It is yet known 
 only by the name given it by the Annahst, namely, the " chief lirncli ;" 
 
 tt.
 
 Q6 INQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 and, with such a strong and lofty tower attached to their monastery, 
 it is quite ridiculous to suppose the monks of St. Boetius would have 
 deposited their httle library and other precious things in a wooden 
 ediiice for safety. 
 
 But I have yet to show, that notwithstanding all Dr. O'Conor's 
 ingenuity in defence of a weak position, he must, or at least should 
 have been himself aware, from the very same Annals from which 
 the preceding passages are quoted, that the cloicflieachs or belfries 
 Avere unquestionably not of wood but of stone. What could he have 
 said to a passage in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1 121, 
 which occm's but a few pages after that last referred to, stating that 
 the cloicfheach, or belfry of Telach n ionmainde in Ossory — sup- 
 posed to be the present Tullamaine, near Callan, in the county of 
 Kilkenny — was spht by lightning, and that a stone which flew from 
 that belfry killed a student in the chmx-h ? The passage, as printed 
 and translated by Dr. O'Conor himself, is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1121. Cloicteach Thelcha n ionmainde in Osraicch do dhiige do chaoirteinn, 
 agus clock do sgeinm as an ccloictheach iskin, co ro mliarhli. mc leighinn isin cill." 
 
 "A. D. 1121. Campanile Telcliioiimandense iu Ossoria dijectvim a fulmine, et 
 lapis divulsus e Campanile isto occidit juveneni lectorem in Ecclesia." 
 
 More to the same effect might be still adduced, but I trust it will 
 he considered as unnecessary, and that I have now suiSciently re- 
 futed the authorities, etymologies, and arguments, adduced by Dr. 
 O'Conor in support of these theories. I have reluctantly entered the 
 lists with that celebrated man, and I have combated his assertions, 
 only because the sacred cause of truth reqim-ed the contest. But I 
 should be sorry to have it supposed that I would insmuate an unfa- 
 voiu'able opinion of his general accm'acy, or attach a harsher cha- 
 racter to his valuable labours than that, which the historian Warner 
 tells us the Doctor's grandfather acknowledged to be appUcable to 
 his own, namely, " that the Amor Patria3 might have inclined him to 
 extend the matter (of the Antiquities of Ireland) somewhat beyond 
 the rigour, to which he should have confined himself" 
 
 To the preceding notices I have now to add the arguments of 
 two gentlemen, who have lent their talents to sustain the hj-j^iothesis 
 under consideration, since this Inquiiy was originally written and 
 presented to the Academy, namely our great national poet, INIoore, 
 and the ingenious Mr. Windele, of Cork. In the argiunents of the
 
 OF THE EorXD TOWEKS OF inEEAXD. ()7 
 
 former, indeed, I find little but a repetition, embodied in more gi-ace- 
 fill language and a more logical form, of the evidences which I have 
 ali-eady examined ; yet, as it will be satisfactory to the reader to have 
 every thing bearing on the question brought together for his con- 
 sideration, I shall insert them in this jilace. 
 
 " How far those pillar-temples, or Round Towers, whieh form so rcruarkaWe n part 
 of Ireland's antiquities, and whose history is lost in the night of time, may have had 
 any connection with the Pyrolatry, or Fire-worship, of the early Iribh, we have no cer- 
 tain means of determining. That they were looked upon as very ancient, in the time 
 ofGiraldus, appears from the tale told by him of the fishermen of Lough Neagh point- 
 ing [out] to strangers, as they sailed over that lake, the tall, narrow, ecclesiastical round 
 towers under the water, supposed to have been sunk there from the time of the inun- 
 dation by which the lake was formed. This great event, — the truth or falsehood of 
 which makes no difference in the facts of the period assigned to it, — is by the annalist 
 Tigernach referred to the year of Christ 62 ; thus removing the date of these struc- 
 tures to far too remote a period to admit of their being considered as the work of Chrb- 
 tian hands." — Histon/ of Ireland, vol. i. p. 26. 
 
 Mr. Moore then proceeds to examine the various theories, whicli 
 have been advocated in connexion with their Christian origin and 
 uses, to which he makes objections, Avhich shall be examined in their 
 proper place, and then resumes as follows : 
 
 " As the worship of fire is known, uncjuestionably, to have formed a part of tlie an- 
 cient religion of the country, the notion that these towers were originally fire-temples, 
 appears the most probable of any that have yet been suggested. To this it is objected, 
 that inclosed structures are wholly at variance with that great principle of the Celtic 
 religion, which considers it derogatory to divine natures to confine their worship within 
 the limits of walls and roofs ; — the refined principle upon which the Magi incited Xerxes 
 to burn the temples of the Greeks. It appears certain, however, that, at a later period, 
 the use of fire-temples was adopted by tlie Persians themselves ; though, at the same 
 tune, they did not the less continue to offer their sacrifices upon the hills and in the 
 open air, employing the Pyreia introduced by Zoroaster, as mere repositories of the sa- 
 cred fire. A simple altar, with a brazier burning upon it, was all that the temple 
 contained, and at this they kindled the fire for their worship on the high places. To 
 this day, as modern writers concerning the Parsees inform us, the part of the temple 
 called the Place of Fire, is accessible only to the priests ; and on the supposition that 
 our towers were, in like manner, temples in which the sacred flame was kept safe from 
 pollution, the singular circumstance of the entrance to them being rendered so difficult 
 by its great height from the ground is at once satisfactorily explained. 
 
 " But there is yet a far more striking corroboration of this view of the origin of 
 the Round Towers. While in no part of Continental Europe has any building of a 
 similar construction been discovered, there have been found, near Bhaugulpore, in 
 Hindostan, two towers, which bear an exact resemblance to those of Ireland. In all 
 the peculiarities of tlieir shape, — the door or entrance, elevated some feet above the 
 
 K 2
 
 68 INQLIUY INTO THE OIUGIN AND USES 
 
 ground,— the four windows near tlie top, facing the cardinal points, and the small 
 rounded roof,— these Indian temjiles are, to judge by the description of them, exactly 
 similar to the Round Towers ; and, like them also, are thought to have belonged to a 
 form of worship now extinct and even forgotten. One of the objections brought 
 against the notion of the Irish towers having been fire-temples, namely, that it was 
 not necessary for such a purpose to raise them to so great a height, is abundantly an- 
 swered by the description given of some of the Pyrea, or fire-temples of the Guebres. 
 Of these, some, we are told, were raised to so high a point as near 120 feet, the height 
 of the tallest of the Irish Towers ; and an intelligent traveller, in describing the re- 
 mains of one seen by him near Bagdad, says, ' the annexed sketch will show the resem- 
 blance this pillar bears to those ancient columns so common in Ireland.' 
 
 " On the strength of the remarkable resemblance alleged to exist between the pillar- 
 temples near Bhaiigulpore and the liound Towers of Ireland, a late ingenious his- 
 torian does not hesitate to derive the origin of the Irish people from that region ; and 
 that an infusion, at least, of population from that quarter might, at some remote pe- 
 riod, have taken place, ajipears by no means an extravagant supposition. The opinion, 
 that Iran and the western parts of Asia were originally the centre from whence popu- 
 lation diffused itself to all the regions of the world, seems to be confirmed by the tra- 
 ditional histories of most nations, as w-ell as by the results both of philological and 
 antiquarian enquiries. To the tribes dispersed after the Trojan war, it has been the 
 pride equally both of Celtic and of Teutonic nations to trace back their origin. The 
 Saxon Chronicle derives the earliest inhabitants of Britain from Armenia ; and the 
 great legislator of the Scandinavians, Odin, is said to have came, with his followers, 
 from the neighbourhood of the Euxine sea. By those who hold that the Celts and Per- 
 sians were originally the same people, the features of affinity so strongly observable 
 between the Pagan Irish and the Persians will be accounted for without any difiicvdty. 
 But, independantly of this hypothesis, the early and long-continued intercourse which 
 Ireland appears to have maintained, through the Phoenicians, with the East, would 
 sufiiciently explain the varieties of worship which were imported to her shores, and 
 which became either incorporated with her original creed, or formed new and distinct 
 rallying points of belief. In this manner the adoration of shaped idols was introduced ; 
 displacing, in many parts — as we have seen, in the instance of the idol Crom-Cruach — 
 that earliest form of superstition which confined its worship to rude erect stones. 
 To the same later ritual belonged also those images of which some fragments have 
 been found in Ireland, described as of black wood, covered and plated with thin gold, 
 and the chased work on them in lines radiated from a centre, as is usual in the images of 
 the sun. There was also another of these later objects of adoration, called Kerman 
 Kelstach, the favourite idol of the Ultonians, which had for its pedestal, as some say, 
 the golden stone of Clogher, and in which, to judge by the description of it, there were 
 about the same rudiments of shape as in the first Grecian Hermje. Through the 
 same channel which introduced those and similar innovations, it is by no means 
 improbable that, at a still later period, the pillar- temples of the Eastern fire-worship 
 might have become known ; and that even from the shores of the Caspian a colony 
 of Guebres might have found their way to Ireland, and there left, as enigmas to pos- 
 tei-ity, those remarkable monuments to which only the corresponding remains of their 
 own original country can now afford any clue.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEHS OF IKF.LAXD. (][) 
 
 X.H-11 
 
 " The connection of sun- worsliip with the soifncc of astronomy hns alrnidy 
 briefiy adverted to ; and the four windows, facing the four cardinal iKiints, which arc 
 found in the Irish as well as in the Eastern pillar-teni])lcs, were alike iiit<iidcd, no 
 doubt, for the purposes of astronomical observation, — for determining the ciiuinoctinl 
 and solstitial times, and thereby regulating the recurrence of religious festivals. The 
 Phoenicians themselves constructed their buildings on the same principU- ; and, in 
 the temple of Tyre, where stood the two famous columns dedicated to the Wind and 
 to Fire, there were also pedestals, we are told, whose four sides, facing the cardinal 
 points, bore sculptured upon them the four figures of the zodiac, by which the position 
 of those poults in the heavens is marked. With a similar view to astronomical uses and 
 purposes, the Irish Round Towers were no doubt constructed ; and a strong evidence 
 of their having been used as observatories is, that we find them called l)y some of tlie 
 Irish annalists Celestial Indexes. Thus in an account, given in the Annals of the Four 
 Masters, of a great thunder-storm at Armagh, it is said that ' the city was seized by 
 lightning to so dreadful an extent as to leave not a single hospital, nor cathedral 
 church, nor palace, nor Celestial Index, that it did not strike with its llame.' Before 
 this and other such casualties diminished it, the number of these towers must have 
 been considerable. From the language of Giraldus, it appears that they were com- 
 mon in his time through the country; and in thus testifying their zeal for the general 
 object of adoration, by multiplying the temples dedicated to its honour, they b\it 
 followed the example as well of the Greek as of the Persian fire-worshippers. 
 
 " There remain yet one or two other hypotheses, respecting the origin and pur- 
 poses of these structures, to which it may be expected that I should briefly advert. 
 By some the uses to which they were destined have been thought similar to that of the 
 turrets in the neighbourhood of Turkish mosques, and from their summits, it is sup- 
 posed, proclamation was made of new moons and approaching religious festivities. A 
 kind of trumpet, which has been dug up in the neighbourhood of some of these towers, 
 having a large mouth-hole in the side, is conjectured to have been used to assist the 
 voice in these announcements to the people. Another notion respecting them is, that 
 they were symbols of that ancient Eastern worship, of which the God Mahadeva, or 
 Siva, was the object ; while, on the other hand, an ingenious writer, in one of the most 
 learnedly argued, but least tenable, of all the hypotheses on the subject, contends that 
 they were erected, in the sixth and seventh centuries, by the primitive Cu>nol)ites and 
 Bishops, with the aid of the newly converted Kings and Toparchs, and were intended 
 as strong-holds, in time of war and danger, for the sacred utensils, relics and books, be- 
 longing to those churches in whose immediate neighbourhood they stood. To be able to 
 invest even with plausibility so inconsistent a notion as that, in times when the churches 
 themselves were framed rudely of wood, there coiild be found either the ambition oi- 
 tlie skill to supply them with adjuncts of such elaborate workmanship, is, in itself, no 
 ordinary feat of ingenuity. But the truth is, that neither then nor, I would add, at 
 any other assignable period, within the whole range of Irish history, is such a state of 
 things known authentically to have existed as can solve the difiiculty of these towers, 
 or account satisfactorily, at once, for the object of the bviildings, and the advanced civi- 
 lisation of the architects who erected them. They must, therefore, be referred to 
 times beyond the reach of historical record. That they were destined originally to 
 religious purposes can hardly admit of question ; nor can those who have satisfied
 
 70 INQUIRY INTO THK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 themsolvcs, from the strong evidence which is found in the writings of autiqviity, that 
 tliere existed between Ireland and some jiarts of the East, an early and intunate inter- 
 course, harbour much doubt as to the real birth-place of the now unknown worship of 
 which these towers remain the solitary and enduring monuments." — Histori/ of Ireland, 
 vol. i. p. 29— 3G. 
 
 As in the preceding arguments I find nothing requiring an ansAver, 
 Avhich lias not been ah-eady noticed, I shall gladly pass on- to the ar- 
 guments more recently adduced by Mr.Windele in a tone of confidence, 
 Avliich contrasts strikingly with the cautious spiiit of inquiiy exhibited 
 by Mr. Moore. The first article in support of this hypothesis, put for- 
 \\ard by Mr. Windele, appears in a work entitled Historical and 
 Descriptive Notices of the City of Cork and its Vicinitj/, Sj-c, Cork, 
 184C», and is as follows : 
 
 " The origin and use of these towers are still, as they have been for nearly two 
 centuries past, 'questiones vexatte.^ and are likely so to continue, dividing the leisure 
 of archaiologists, with such useful objects of enquiry, as Hannibal's vinegar. Homer or 
 Ossian's birth place, or the Mysteries of the Babylonian bricks ; — absurdities innu- 
 merable have been brought forth in the discussion. One writer has found their original 
 in the square, solid pillar of Simon the Stylite, where from, by way of close copy, a 
 round, hollow tower was formed. O'Brien, one of the latest authorities, has discovered 
 the Hindoo Liiigam, in their form ; and, their use he says, ' was that of a cupboard,' 
 to hold those figures, sacred to that very decent deity the Indo-Irish Budha. Grave 
 writers, too, have not been wanting who ascribed their construction to the ' Danes,' to 
 serve as watch towers ; and a recent essayist, has, by way of climax, declared his belief, 
 that they were erected in order to serve, — as indices to the cathedral churches. But 
 amidst all these follies, the ground of debate has been gradually narrowed, and the 
 parties belligerent, at present, may be classed into two, one contending for their Pagan, 
 and the other for a Christian origin. 
 
 " Vallancey was the first who held the former opinion. He was ably sustained by 
 Dr. Lanigan, and followed by O'Brien, Dalton, Beaufort, and Moore. The other side, 
 reckons amongst its adherents, the names of Ledwich, Milner, Hoare, Morres and Petrie. 
 To us, it seems, that all the force of argument, authority, and analogy, is with the 
 former. The advocates of the Christian origin, have, in vain, sought for a prototype, 
 in Christian lands ; whilst their opponents have found it in India, Persia, and Ba- 
 bylonia; and, perhaps, we may add amongst the remains of the ancient Phoinician 
 colonists of Sardinia; thus indicating to the antiquary, that connexion or affinity of the 
 early inhabitants of Ireland, with the ' Golden Orient,' which their antiquaries are fain 
 to claim. 
 
 " Their Irish names, Tur-aghan or adhan, Feidk-neimhedh and Cilcagk are of them- 
 selves conclusive as to their Pagan origin, and announce, at once, a fane devoted to that 
 form of religion, compounded ofSaboeism, or star- worship, and Budhism, of which the 
 sun, represented by fire, was the principal deity in all the kindred mythologies of India, 
 Persia, Phenicia, Phrygia, Samothrace, and Ireland. This idolatry in many respects, 
 dLffered from that of Gaul and Britain. Zoroaster was its grand reformer in Persia, and
 
 OF THE ROUXn TOWERS OF IRELAND. 71 
 
 the reformation seems to have been accepted in Ireland. He it was, who cansed Pj-rein, 
 or Fire temples, to be erected. Hauway tells us, that four of them which he saw at 
 Sari, are of the most durable materials, round, about [above] 30 feet in diameter, and 
 raised in height to a point of about 120 feet. It is objected to our Pyreia, that there was 
 no necessity i'ov carrying them up to so great a height. The objection equally lies 
 against those at Sari. Fire temples, also constituted part of the Brahminieal worship. 
 They were called like ours, Co/l from Chahnia, to burn. Mr. Pennant, speaking of the 
 Indian Pollygars, says, that they retained their old religion, and that their Pagodas arc 
 very numerous, ' Their form, too,' he says, 'are different, being chiefly buildings of a 
 cylindrical or round tower shape, with their tops, either pointed or truncated.' Lord 
 Valencia describes two round towers, which he saw in India, near liaugnli)hiire. He 
 says, ' they much resemble those buildings in Ireland ;' the door is elevated ; they pos- 
 sess a stone roof and four large windows near the summit. From India, we pass more 
 to the westward, and in Baliylonia, the ancient cradle alike of the religion of India, 
 Persia, and of Druidism, we find remains of the pillar tower. Major Keppel, in his 
 ' Personal narrative,' has given us a sketch of a portion of a pillar, as he calls it, which 
 he observed between Coot and Bagdad, near the Tigris. It was composed of sun-burnt 
 bricks, twenty feet two inches high, and 63 feet in circumference. It was evidently 
 detached from other ancient buildings near it. He concludes by stating, that ' the 
 annexed sketch will shew the resemblance this pillar bears to those ancient columns, so 
 common in Ireland.' 
 
 " Following in the track of the old Phenician navigators, we find Sardinia, an is- 
 land once colonized from Iberia and Phenicia, strewed with very singular buildings, of 
 high antiquity, called Nuracfgis, a name deemed to be derived from Norax, the leader 
 of the Iberian colony. These are conical towers, constructed of large cubic stones, 
 whose sides fit each other, without being connected together by either lime or cement. 
 The largest are from fifty to sixty feet high. The interior is divided into three dark 
 chambers, one above the other. Under several of these structures, burying places and 
 subterranean passages have been discovered, leading to other Noraghs. Several lum- 
 dreds of these monuments, between large and small, are scattered about Sardinia. 
 ' There are,' says the writer in the Foreign Quarterly Review, ' we believe, structures 
 of a similar description in some parts of Ireland.' In some places, the Nuraggis are 
 called, ' Domu de Orcu,'' or house of death, in the belief of their monuments of the dead. 
 This would not be very inconsistent with the character of the Irish towers ; human 
 bones having been found interred within that at Kam-Island in Antrim, and similar 
 relics,- — but having undergone the ancient pagan process of Cremation, — were recently 
 discovered in the tower of Timahoe. 
 
 " From our still imperfect acquaintance with the literary remains of ancient Ireland, 
 we are not aware of many notices of oiu- Round towers occurring in the early documents, 
 yet preserved. In our annals, the names of such places as Muighe Tuiretli-na-bh Fo- 
 morach, — the plain of the Fomorian tower ; Mo//-tiira, the plain of the Towers, in 
 Mayo ; Torinis, the island of the tower ; the tower of I'emor, and many others are men- 
 tioned with reference to the most remote periods of our history. The Ulster Antials, 
 at the year 448, speak of a terrible eartliquake felt in various parts, in that year, by 
 which, seventy-five towers were destroyed or injured. The ' annals of the Four Masters' 
 mention, at the year 898, the Turaghan Angcoire, or Fire-tower of the Anchorite, at
 
 72 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Iiiiscaihre, in the Shannon ; and the same annals, as well as those of Ulster, note at 
 the year 995, the destruction, by lightning, of Armagh, its hosjiital, cathedral, jiiilate, 
 and FidlDicmead, or cek'stial index, i. e. Round tower. 
 
 " These two last names ought to be decisive of the controversy. Turaghan literally 
 signifies a Kire-tower; the addition Angcoire refers to an appropriation for anchoretical 
 uses, long posterior to the erection of the edifice. This accords with the general prac- 
 tice of the early Christian clergy, who placed their churches on the site of the Druid 
 fanes. Kyland, (Hist. Waterford,) mentions a Cromlech, or altar, which stands in the 
 church-yard, near the sugar loaf hill, in the Barony of Gualtier. It is stated in the old 
 life of Mocteus, (a work of the seventh century,) that when that saint came to Louth, 
 he found the place in possession of the Magi, whereupon he lighted a fire, which they 
 seeing, endeavoured to extinguish, least their own Idolatrous fire should fail, but 
 Mocteus, proving the victor, founded his monastery there. 
 
 " That Anchorites may have shut themselves up in some of the then deserted and 
 unoccupied towers, is not now to be questioned. The tower at Inniscailtre was so 
 seized on and used ; but it is very ridiculous to suppose that this body adopted a style 
 of building here, unlike any thing in use among them in any other country. In fact 
 the Anchorite Indusorii were very difierent from those towers ; that in which Ma- 
 rianus Scotus was confined at Fulda, was a cell with an external wall. The Anchorite 
 habitations are invariably called cells by the old writers, not towers. Such cells are 
 still extant near several of the most ancient of our churches, as at Ardniore, where 
 that of St. Declan is called the Moiiacluui, or dormitory; and at Ardfert and Scattery, 
 where there are several similar structures. And yet at each of these places, there still 
 remains, or there has been, a Round tower. 
 
 " The architectural features of the Round tower are objects of the highest impor- 
 tance in the enquiry ; the forms of the windows and doors, in general, are of high 
 antiquity, — forms out of use at the time that their alleged Christian founders could 
 have commenced their erection. The style belongs to that period, when the subter- 
 ranean chambers of the Baths were of every day construction, — and their style is Pe- 
 lasgic. The windows and doors of the towers are in general of that form ; broad at 
 base, narrow at top, i. e. sloping or battering inward; and, then, the lintel arch so 
 prevalent in them, so — entirely Pelasgio. As for the presence of the semicircular 
 arch, we no longer deem that of the comparatively late date, until recently supposed 
 of it. The arch was known at an early period in China. It has been found in the 
 ancient baths and palaces of MeJrieo; — in Egypt,^ — in the great pyramid, and in other 
 tombs of a date reaching as high as 1540 years B. C. ; — in Etruscan works, — as the 
 gates of Pesiiim, Volterra, the Cloaca maxima, &c. The Chevron and Bead ornaments, 
 which occur on one or two of the door- ways of our towers, have been found on some 
 very antique cinerary urns, dug up out of old pagan cairns, and tumuli, as well as on 
 gold ornaments found in Bogs, &c. and as to the solitary crucifixion, carved on the 
 door of Donoghmore tower, it has been shewn to be quite modern. Added to all 
 these proofs, let the general form oi' the tower, so Asiatic, and so Un-european, be 
 duly borne in mind, and difficulties must present themselves to our opponents of no 
 ordinary dimensions or character indeed. To pursue this subject farther would carry 
 
 us far lieyond our proposed limits, and we nuist therefore give over." p. 179 
 
 184.
 
 OF THE UOUXD TOWEKS OF IRDLAXr). 7;^ 
 
 Such then is the sum of " all the force of argument, authority, and 
 analogy," Avhich appeared to Mr. AVindele to be with General ^'al- 
 lancey and his followers. " The advocates of the Christian ori<rin" 
 he says, "have, in \ain, sought for a jjrototype, in Christian lands; 
 whilst their opponents have found it in India, Persia, and Babylonia; 
 and, perhaps, we may add amongst the remains of the ancient Phe- 
 nician colonists of Sardinia." But, I must still ask, Avhere have 
 examples of such prototype been found in any of the countries re- 
 ferred to? Not surely in Loid Valentia's Towers at Bhaugulpore, in 
 India, which are not proved to have been fue-temi)les, or of any very 
 remote antiquity; nor in the four towers of theGuebres in India, so 
 vaguely described by HauAvay, wliich could not have been like our 
 Round ToAvers ; nor in Major Ke])pers pillar of svm-burnt bricks, 
 twenty-two feet six inches high, and sixty-three feet in circumference. 
 And, as to the prototype which Mr.Windele, " following in the track 
 of the old Phenician navigators," finds in Sardinia, I believe he is en- 
 titled to the whole merit of the discovery. The buildings in wdiich 
 he linds this prototype are those " called Ntfragiji.s, a name deemed 
 to be derived from Norax, the leader of the Iberian colony," and 
 which, in some places, " are called ' Dowu [^Domos] de Orcn,' or 
 house of death, in the belief of their being monuments of the dead" — 
 a rather singular appellation for temples of the sacred lire. But 
 this Norax, according to the best ancient authorities, colonized Sar- 
 dinia about 1250 years before the Christian era; and, I shoidd like 
 to be informed how these Avorks of a Greek people could have pre- 
 served the form of the fne-temples of the Persian Magi, which were 
 first constructed by Zerdusht, or Zoroaster, about seven centuries 
 afterwards ? This is indeed " followim? in the track of the old Pheni- 
 cian navigators" in a very singular and somewhat retrograde man- 
 ner; but I suppose Mr.Windele will only find in it an evidence of the 
 identity of our countrjmen with the Iberian and Phoenician colonists 
 of Sardinia. The real question, however, is, — Is there any similarity 
 between these Nuraffhes of Sardinia and the Irish Round Towers ? 
 Mr. Windele would ha\e us believe there is, and describes the Nu- 
 raghes in such a manner as would impress us with this belief " These 
 are," he says, " conical towers, constructed of large cubic stopes, 
 whose sides fat each other, without being connected together by either 
 lime or cement. The largest are from fifty to sixty feet high. The 
 
 L
 
 74: INQUIUY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 interior is divided into tliree dark cliambers, one above the other. 
 Under several of these structures, burjang pUices and subterranean 
 passages have been discovered, leading to other Noraghs." And, 
 lastly, to crown all, he quotes a writer in the Foreign Quarterly Ee- 
 view, who states tliat there are, he believes, structures of a similar 
 description in some parts of Ireland ; from which Mr. Windele ob- 
 viously wishes us to suppose, that that waiter meant the Round 
 Towers. But, in the first place, I answer, that the writer in the 
 Foreign Quarterly Review could not have meant any thing of the 
 kind, or he would have expressed himself in clearer terms ; and, in 
 the second place, that if Mr. Windele had described those Nuraghes 
 more fully, his readers would have discovered that they had scarcely 
 a feature in common with the Irish Round Towers. That no doubt, 
 however, may remain on this point, I shall present the reader with 
 the general description of these singular structures, as given in the 
 best work which has been written on the subject, the Notice sur les 
 Nuraghes de la Sardaigne, &c., by M"- L. C. F. Petit-Radel, Paris, 
 182G: 
 
 " Description Generale des Nuraghes. 
 
 " Les Nuraghes ou Noraglaes de la Sardaigne, sont des moniimens de plus oil de 
 inoins de cinquante pieds de hauteur, dans leur etat d'integrite, sur un diametre 
 d'environ quatre-vingt-dix pieds, mesures de dehors en dehors a la basedu terre- plain, 
 sur lequel les plus considerables sont fondes. Le sommet de eeux qui ne sont point 
 ruines, se termine en cone surbaisse, et dans ceux que le temps a tronques a leur 
 sommet, la courbure exterieure de la batisse existante, doit faire supposer qu'ils 
 etaient jadis couronnes de la memo nianiere et dans les memes proportions que ceux 
 qui se trouvent encore dans un etat parfait de conservation ; ce qui n'est pas tres 
 commun. 
 
 " Les materiaux employes pour leur construction sont tires des roches voisines, et 
 se composent de pierres caloaires dures et grenues ; de porphyre trachytique et de 
 roches volcaniques cellulaires ; on en rencontre quelques-uns en granit. Chaque bloc 
 a communement un metre cube, particulierement dans les assises les moins elevees ; 
 les architraves plates, qui surmontent les portes et les lucarnes de ces edifices, sont 
 d'une dimension double, c'est-a-dire deux metres de long, et meme davantage, sur la 
 hautexir d'un metre. La ligne que decrit la peripheric de chaque bloc, a toute I'irre- 
 gularite que produisent des cassures faites, par le marteau, sur des pierres dures. Quel- 
 (]uelbis les pierres en sont plus exactement parallelipipedes, sans cependant atteindre 
 a la regularite parfaite, qui pourrait faire supposer I'emploi simultane de la regie, du 
 niveau et de la scie, comme dans les ouvrages les plus soignes de I'antiquite grecque 
 ou roniaine. Enfin, les parois, tant exterieures qu'interieures de ces edifices, sont ap- 
 pareillees sans ciment ; on y a trouve des marteaux en bronze.
 
 OF THE ROVXD TOWEUS OF IliELAXD. J.') 
 
 " Les Nuraghes sont le plus souveut batis en plainc, sur des tertrcs natunls 
 ou sur des coUines ; quelquefois ils sont entourcs d'un terre-plain tres eti-ii(hi, de 
 plus ou de moins de cent vingt metres de circuit, fortifie d'un niur de dLx pii-ds di- 
 haut, et du meme style do construction que I'cdifice qu'il cntoure ; on en connait plu- 
 sieurs qui sont flauques de cones plus petits, et d'une forme absolumcnt scmblable a 
 celle du cone principal qui occupe toujours le centre. Ces cones acccssoires sont re- 
 unis autour du cone central, au noinbre de 3, de 4, 5, 6 et 7, et le plan de leur dis- 
 position respective est presquc toujours synietrique. Le mur commun qui les ren- 
 ferme est quelquefois traverse dans toute sa longueur par une communication qui 
 conduit de Pun a I'autre cone, et qui repond a I'nsage de nos casemates, etroits, bas 
 et bien batis. Enfin, ce niur commun est surnionte d'un parapet d'environ trois pieds 
 de haut, qui defend la plate-fonne au milieu de laquelle doraine le cone principal. 
 Quand le nombre des cones acccssoires est impair, le mur de cloture, et d'epaulement 
 a-la-fois, obeit aux sinuosites que necessite le dessein qu'on a eu de les disposer syme- 
 triquement, et fournit des exemples sans doute l)ieu anciens, de cetlu uurhytlmiie dont 
 Vitruve a parle. (Lib. i, cap. ii.) 
 
 " Les murs de ces monumens se composent, pour la phipart. de deux paremens, 
 dont les blocs s'ajustent I'un a I'autre par approchement, sans aucun parpaing, c'est- 
 a-dire, sans aucune pierre qui traverse le mur de part en part, sans aucun blocage in- 
 termediaire, et, comme je I'ai deja dit en parlant des parois exterieures, sans aucun 
 ciment. L'epaisseur totale de ces deux paremens est, de bas en haut, traversee en 
 spirale par une rampe, dirigee tantot en pente douce, tantot taillee en degres de pierre, 
 et pratiquee pour servir de communication entre les etages de trois chambres disposees 
 I'une au-dessus de I'autre, et dont chaque voute se termine en ogive ovoi'de. II parait 
 que la chambre la plus basse ne sera devenue souterraine, que par I'effet de I'addition 
 des quatre cones angulaires et du terre-plain qui en recouvre I'exterieur. Ceux-ci 
 n'ont que deux chambres, dont les voutes sont egalement coniques. On y voit aussi des 
 pentes disposees interieurement en spirales, et toutes ces spirales decrivent, dans leur 
 coupe, une abside, dont la ligne courbe se combine, a son sommet, avec une ligne pres- 
 que verticale, ce qui a du causer quelque difEculte dans Tappareil d'une batisse executee 
 sans ciment et sans autre outil que le marteau. 
 
 " Tous les Nuraghes ont leurs entrees terminees par des architraves plates. M. de 
 la Marmora observe que, dans la region de Macomer et de Saint-Lussurgiu, les entrees 
 sont assez hautes pour qu'on puisse s'y introduire debout; mais que dans tout le reste 
 de Pile, I'entree, de ceux meme qui sont les plus considerables, est si basse, qu'on ne 
 peut s'y introduire qu'a plat-veutre, et que leur ouverture, comme celles des soupii'aux 
 de nos caves, ne s'elargit et ne s'eleve qu'a mesure qu'on avance, en s'y glissant dans 
 Pattitude la plus penible." — pp. 31 — 34. 
 
 To render the preceding description more intelligible to the ge- 
 neral reader, it may not be uninteresting to present liiin with illus- 
 trations, from the same Avork, of two of the most characteristic ex- 
 amples of these singular monuments; and I do so the more wilhngly, 
 inasmuch as that they have not, at least to my knowledge, been hitherto 
 made known to the British public. The two wood-cuts annexed will 
 
 L 2
 
 76 
 
 INQUIKY INTO TIIK OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 give a good idea of the iisuul construction of a Nimighe, consisting 
 of a central cone containing three chambers, one over another, and 
 standing on a square base having small cones at each of its angles, 
 connected ^vith oacli other l)y a parapet wall, — as in the Nuraghe of 
 Borghidu, wliich is liere illustrated. This monument is situated 
 in the plain of Ozier, on a moderately elevated rock of very hard 
 " breclte truchyti(jiie" of which the Nm-aghe is formed. The pre- 
 sent height of the central cone is about forty-five feet, but in its 
 original perfect state it would have been about twenty-one feet higher, 
 or in all sixty-five feet ; and its greatest diameter is about forty feet. 
 The square base or plinth, at the angles of which the smallei' cones 
 are placed, is about fifty-seven feet in diameter. 
 
 The first of these cuts gives a general elevation of the structure 
 restored ; and the second its ground plan : 
 
 \ 
 
 2) 
 
 The cuts which follow represent a plan on the level fg of the second 
 chamber, and a section through d e on the ground plan, exhibiting the 
 
 internal arrangement of the building, and the peculiar construction 
 of its window.
 
 OF TUK ROUND 'n)\VKKS OK IKKLANI). 
 
 I I 
 
 In the two next sections will be seen the means of ascent, IVoni the 
 h)wer to the npper chamber, by a spiral gallcrv. constructi-d within 
 the thickness of the wall, and ascending in a gradually inclined ])linu- 
 from one story to the other. 
 
 The first of these sections is taken on the line n /> on the gronnd 
 plan; the second, in part on the same line, but diverging in a semi- 
 circle through the point r to show the coiu'se of the gallery : 
 
 The cuts which follow will afford an example of a Nuraghe of the 
 simplest form, — that is, without a plinth and external cones, — and 
 exhibit the usual construction of the window r and doorway a in 
 those structures generally. The elevation represents the Nuraghe 
 Nieddii, near Ploaghe, which is constructed of volcanic rocks of the 
 neighbourhood; and the ground plan shows its internal arrangement: 
 
 It will be observed, as a peculiarity in this specimen, that the gal- 
 lery which affords a communication between the lower and u])])er 
 chambers does not rise, as in the former example, from the first 
 chamber, but connnences immediately -within the external doorway 
 a by an ascent to the left. This Nuraghe is about twenty-eight feet 
 in diameter, and, in its present state, about twenty-five feet in height.
 
 78 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 That in the style of nmsoniy observable in these ancient sepul- 
 chres, for such they undoubtedly are, there is a striking agreement 
 to he found witli that of many ancient monuments in Ireland, as well 
 as with the Cyclopean remains of Greece and Italy, I am far from 
 denying. On the contrary, I can claim the merit of haA-ing been the 
 first to dii-ect the attention of the learned to this interesting circimi- 
 stance — a fact which I consider as of far greater value and impor- 
 tance, to the history of the British Islands, than even the settlement 
 of the question of the origin of the Round Towers — in my Essay on 
 the Ancient ]\Iilitary Architecture of L-eland, presented to the Royal 
 Irish Academy in 1836, and which was honoiu'ed with the gold me- 
 dal of that distinguished body. But, as I shall hereafter show, there 
 are radically distinctive characteristics in all these remains, which 
 are not found in our Round Towers. To Mr. Windele, however, 
 the resemblance of the Round Towers to the Nuraghes of Sardinia 
 appears so striking that he jumps at once to the conclusion that the 
 former Avere not only fire-temples of the Guebres, but also in jiart 
 sepulchres or monuments of the dead, as the latter are known to 
 have been. " This," he states, " would not be very inconsistent with 
 the character of the Lish towers ; human bones having been found 
 interred Avithin that at Ram Island in Antrim, and similar relics, — 
 but having luidergone the ancient pagan process of Cremation, — 
 Avere recently discovered in the tower of Timahoe." But, I would 
 ask, Avhere are the evidences of either of these facts? and I must add 
 that I utterly disbeHcA-e the statement, respecting the recent discovery 
 of the burned bones in the Tower of Timahoe. JNIr. Windele, hoAv- 
 ever, Avas fortified in his conclusion, not only by the Sardinian Nu- 
 raghes, but also by an opinion advanced by O'Brien, the author of 
 " The Round Towers of Ireland," that amongst their other uses these 
 buildings were occasionally, in part, apphed to sepulchral piu-poses, 
 like some of the Guebre Towers in Persia, and the Ceylonese Dagobs, 
 and also by the fact, that " Sir William Betham at once declared 
 that he fully adopted that opinion." Thus doubly armed, Mr. Win- 
 dele, commimicating a portion of the enthusiasm so excited to the 
 gentlemen of the South Munster Society of Antiquaries, inflamed that 
 zealous body Avith such ardour to substantiate his h}^othesis, that 
 they set out on journeys of discovery to the principal Roimd Towers 
 remaining in their own province, to excavate the very foundations
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 71J 
 
 of those Towers in search of the wished-fi)r human remains. The 
 result will be best told in Mr. "NMndele's own woixls, as given in llie 
 Cork Southern Reporter : 
 
 " Researches amongst the Round Towers. 
 
 " The public attention has lately been directed, tliroiigh the press, to the discovery 
 of a human Skeleton, within the basement of the Round Tower of Ardniore, in the 
 Coimty of Waterford. Since then the lower portion of a second Skeleton, consisting of 
 the femoral and tibial bones, were found at a little distance from the former. And, in 
 the nave of the ruined church adjoining, Mr. Windele discovered a fragment of an 
 Ogham inscription, containing nine letters ; this had, probably, been removed at some 
 distant time from the cemetery. These discoveries opened up a new subject of specula- 
 tion to the antiquaries. An opinion advanced by O'Brien, the author of " the Round 
 Towers of Ireland," that, amongst their other uses, those buildings were occasionally, 
 in part, appropriated to sepulchral purposes, like some of the Gheber Towers of Persia, 
 and the Ceylonese Dagobs was now regarded of greater value than it was supposed it 
 was originally entitled to. Sir William Betham at once declared that he fully adopted 
 that opinion ; he was fortified in it by the facts previously known, that in the Towers 
 of Ram Island and Tuuahoe evidences of ancient interment had been found. Others 
 again, unwilling to abandon previously cherished hypotheses, suggested that Ardniore 
 Tower may have been erected in a more ancient christian cemetery, belonging to 
 Declan's Monastery ; and the absence of the head and feet of one Skeleton, and of the 
 whole trunk of the second, they alleged proved, that in digging for a foundation for 
 the Tower, the builders merely cut a circular trench, amongst the graves, leavintr 
 undisturbed the narrow space within its periphery, and consequently, such portion of 
 human remains as lay interred therein. This was certainly an ingenious solution, hut 
 then why all this hermetical sealing of that portion of the Tower above these remains, 
 first laying down a concrete floor, then four successive layers of solid mason work, 
 and finally above these a second floor of concrete. Even rejecting this, as of no ac- 
 count, it is contended that it is not a necessary consequence that the Tower must have 
 
 been christian, altho' it had been erected within a more ancient cemetery Men died 
 
 and were buried before Christianity, and there were Pagan as well as Christian burial 
 grounds. But in this case, laying aside all the strong and stubborn arguments in fa- 
 vour of the pillar tower having been a Heathen Temple, dedicated to the Sun, or fire, 
 there are two or three special considerations peculiar to Ardmore. In the first place, 
 the lands on which it is situate are called Ardo, the height of the_/?re, — secondly, the 
 ancient life of St. Declan, whilst it is particular in its mention of the churches and 
 monastic buildings, is totally silent as to the Cuilcagk or Tower, which it would not 
 have been, did this, the most remarkable of all the structures at Ardmore, owe its 
 origin to that saint or any of his successors. Then again, the finding of the Ogiiam 
 fragment. In a question of this kind this may be considered as of importance. Tlie 
 Ogham writing has been generally considered as Druidical, as tin- original liteiary 
 character of pagan Ireland, whose descent has been traced back to Babylonia and 
 Persepolis — the ancient of days. In Ireland the majority of inscriptions in this ehai-iie- 
 ter, hitherto brought to light, have been obtained from localities of decidedlj- a heathen
 
 80 IXQriUY INTO THE OrJGIN' AND USES 
 
 nrigin. Bealalianiirc (' the ])laco of the fiuUl of luloration') near this c'ity, possesses 2 — 
 Beallaurannig in Keny, where 7, and Coolcoolaught in the same eoimty where 6 re- 
 luaiii, were botli ancient pagan cemeteries ; 5 inscribed stones form tin' imposts of 
 an okl Pehisgieo-lrish cave at Diniloe ; 2 simihir stones occupy a like situation in a 
 similar cave, in a llatli west of Bandon ; all this is strong evidence of the Pagan cha- 
 racter of these inscriptions, and the finding one at Ardmore is per se a demonstration 
 that the place had been in possession of the Pagans, and therefore the probability of 
 a Glu'bcr Tower and Cemetery. At all events, discovery of the skeletons not being 
 deemed absolutely conclusive, further exploration in other similar structures was 
 considered necessary. Permission from the Dean and Chapter having been obtained, 
 it was resolved to examine the Tower at Cashel. Accordingly -on .the 3rd and 4th of 
 the present month, Messrs. Horgan, Odell, Hacket, Abell, Willes, Keleher and Win- 
 dele undertook the execution of that task ; they were joined at Cashel by the Very Rev. 
 Dean Cotton, to whose excellent taste in repairs and excavations all lovers of the pic- 
 turesque and admirers of the remarkable remains of antiquity which crown tlie rock, 
 stand so much indebted. The door of this Tower is 12 feet above the external plinth 
 which forms the base of the building. The interior of the structure was found filled 
 with loose earth intermixed with human bones to a depth of 2 feet ; under this ac- 
 cumulation was found a mass of solid stone work, forming the original floor of the 
 tower, five feet nine inches below the door. Through this the workmen employed 
 wroun-ht for two days, until late in the evening of the 4th they reached the founda- 
 tion, ascertaining that the masonry extended to the very floor of the rock on which 
 the tower was based. This satisfied the explorers that at least all the towers were not 
 sepulchral. 
 
 " Small fragments of charcoal were found at tlie liase of the tower. Whether tliese 
 could have ever formed any portion of a sacred fire, once burning within the tower, 
 who can affirm or rationally deny ? The idea of such a possible use has however 
 been thrown out, and again met by a scepticism founded on the fewness of the particles 
 discovered. Nothing, it would seem, less tlian a wheel-l>arrow full woidd sxiit the 
 gentleman who propounded doubts upon the suliject ; but he forgot that the place 
 where they were found was a small hole not more than 18 inches diameter, and of a 
 like depth, merely opened to ascertain the distance of the rock from the surface. 
 
 " Not content, however, with this examination, they next pitched upon tlie tower 
 of Cloyue, and here their operations were crowned with perfect success. On Thursday 
 last, under the superintendence of Mr. William Hackett, the workmen, after pene- 
 trating through about two feet of rubbish, reached a solid floor, about a foot in thick- 
 ness, formed of small stones, laid in gravel, so firndy bedded as to yield only to re- 
 peated efforts with the crow-bar and pick-axe. Under this they found, within a space 
 of six feet diameter, a stratum of earth-mould, in which were discovered three skele- 
 tons, laid west and east, two of them lying side by side of each other, and the third 
 under these. The gentlemen under whose directions these researches were prosecuted, 
 and wdio were in attendance on this interesting occasion, were the Kev. Messrs. Hor- 
 gan, Rogers, Jones, Bolster and D. Murphy, Messrs. Hackett, Sainthill, Abell, Win- 
 dele, Keleher and J. Jennings. 
 
 " This discovery sets at rest the question, raised but not deemed satisfactorily 
 disposed of, at Ardmore ; and it stands now ascertained, that the towers of Timahoe,
 
 OF TUE UOpCD TOWERS OF IRELAND. A] 
 
 Ram Island, Anlniorc and C'loyne were, amongst otlier \ises, a[>]irn|iriatcd to seimKliial 
 purposes ; whilst the society have, by their investigations in olhcr di reel ions, also e^- 
 tublished thf tact, that other similar buildings, siieh as L'aslu-1 and Iviiineh, in tiie w«->l 
 
 of the County of Cork, were )H)t similarly used." 
 
 That Mr. Wiudele thought that the question of tlie Origin siiul 
 Uses of the Round Towers was now settled to the satisfaetioii of all 
 inquirers, appears from a letter, subsequently addressed to the Editor 
 of the Cork Southern Reporter, and afterwards published in the sixth 
 number t)f the Archaeologist, in Avhich he states, that lie "had tlie 
 t'ollv to imagine that the recent discoveries at Ardmore and Cluyne 
 would have had a sedative effect on the too long vexed question of 
 the Round Towers." But he was, I think, a little too sanguine in his 
 expectations. I, for one, must declare that I am no more satisfied 
 with the proofs on which he rests his conclusions than his Munster 
 opponent Qiihhun, whose object appears to have been to enjoy a 
 laugh at all the theorists on this subject, by gravely propomiding a 
 new one more absurd than any previously advocated. 
 
 I shall examine Mr. "Windele's discoveries separately in the ordrr 
 in "w^hich they were made, first noticing, however, his statement given 
 on the authority of Sir William Betham, that similar discoveries had 
 been made in the Towers of Ram Island and Timahoe ; on which I 
 must observe, that such vague statements should be considered as 
 of no value whatever in an inquiry of this kind. For, granting that 
 human bones were f nuid in those two Towers, I woidd ask — Could 
 they only have been interred there cotemporaneousl}- with the erection 
 of the Towers. To make the fact worth anything it should be satis- 
 factorily proved that this was necessarily the case. I know myself 
 manyRotuid Towers, into which it has been usual for a long time to 
 throw the bones dug up in the cemetery, and the custom is continued 
 at the present day. Sir William Betham has, indeed, stated, that the 
 bones found within the Tower of Timahoe, — a Tower which 1 shall 
 prove to be of Christian construction, — were cremated, and contained 
 Avithin a pagan urn ; but what proof has he gi\-en us I'or this fact ? 
 Mr. Windele himself appears to have some doubts about it, for in a 
 letter to me, dated Cork, I'ith August, 1841, he asks: "Is it a fact 
 that an itrn containing burnt bones was found in Timahoe ?' And 
 he adds this remark, " this, if true, would settle the age of these build- 
 ings" — a conclusion, however, in which I can l)y no means conciu-, a> 
 
 M ■
 
 82 IXQUIUY INTO THE UlUGIN AND USES 
 
 the erection of a Round Tower in Christian times on tlie site of ti 
 pagan sepulchre would not be a ver}- unlikely cii-eumstance. 
 
 Proceeding now with ^h\ Windele's recent and better authenti- 
 cated discoveries, I shall, in the lirst place, remark, with respect to 
 the Tower of Ardmore, that what he calls the ingenious solution 
 which was offered respecting the erection of that Tower in a more 
 ancient Chi-istian cemetery, is, in my opinion, not only an ingenious 
 (me, but the most rational that could possibly be offered. According 
 to Mr. Windele, however, there are two or three special considerations 
 jjecuhar to Ardmore, which favom- the conclusion as to its pagan 
 origin. In the first place, he says, " the lands on wliich it is situated 
 are called Ardo, the height of the fi^re." Noav on this statement I 
 have to observe, first, that this is not the fact, for the Tower is situated 
 on the glebe of Ardmore, or the great height, and, as appears from 
 the Latin Life of St. Declan, the place was more anciently called Ard 
 )ia g-caerach, and explained by Altitudo ovium. Secondlv, there 
 are no lands in the parish of Ardmore called Ardo, as Mr. Windele 
 states, though there is a gentleman's house so called, but there are 
 two townlands called Ardochesty and Ardoguinagh, one of which 
 adjoins the glebe of Ardmore; and Mr. Windele had no authority 
 ibr calling those townlands Ardo simply, or for his statement that the 
 Romid Tower of Ai-dniore is situated on either of them. And thirdly, 
 even granting that Ai'do was the name of the lands on which the 
 Tower stands, it coidd not possibly signify the height of the fire, or 
 legitimately admit of any interpretation but height of the yew, from 
 ard, a height, and eo, of the ycAV. Mr. Windele's second argimient is, 
 that the ancient Life of St. Declan, whilst it is particidar in its men- 
 tion of the churches and monastic buildings, is totally silent as to 
 the cuilcagh or tower, which it would not have been did this, the 
 most remarkable of all the structures at Ardmore, owe its origin to 
 that saint or any of his sxiccessors. This appears to me a most illogi- 
 cal conclusion. If, as Mr. Windele asserts, the ancient Life of St. 
 Declan, whilst it is particiilar in its mention of the churches and 
 monastic buildings, is totally silent as to the ntilcagh or tower, the 
 legitimate conclusion, I think, would be, that the Tower was not in 
 existence when the Life was written ; and though it may be fair to 
 tbaw an inference that the Life would not have been silent as to the 
 erection of this ToAver — the most remarkable of all the structures at
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. S;? 
 
 Ardmore — had it owed its origin to St. Doclan, it sconis soiiu'wIku 
 ludicrous to expect that it sliould record its erection, by any ol'St. l)u- 
 clan's successors, unless it were first proved that the Life was written 
 subsequently to the existence of those successors, and that the Lilc 
 of St. Declan included the Lives of his successors also. 
 
 Lastly, Mr. Wiudele says, " then again the finding of the Ogham 
 fragment. In a question of this kind this may be considered as of 
 importance. The Ogham Avritiug lias been generally considered as 
 Druidical, as the original hterary character of Pagan Ireland, Avliose 
 descent has been traced back to Babylonia and Persepolis, — the an- 
 cient of days." To this I answer, that the Druitlical origin of the 
 ( )gham writing still remains to be proved ; but, even granting that 
 it is Druidical, as he states, the finding of an inscrijjtion in this cha- 
 racter at Ardmore woidd prove nothing, as it is perfectly certain that 
 the character was used by Christian ecclesiastics both in manuscripts, 
 and inscriptions on stone. But I have a stronger olyection to make 
 on this point. I utterly deny that the lines on the stone at Aixlmore 
 are a literary inscription of any Ivind, and I challenge Mr. "Windele 
 to support his assertion by jiroof. So much then for the discoveries 
 at Ai'dmore ! 
 
 These discoveries not being deemed absolutely conclusive, further 
 exploration in other similar structiu'es was considered necessary; 
 and accordingly the South Munster Antiquaries proceed to examine 
 the Tower of Cashel, and the result Avas such as " satisfied the ex- 
 plorers that, at least, all the Towers were not sepulchral." But I had 
 nearly forgotten that, though they ascertained that the Tower of 
 Cashel was not a sepulchre, they discovered evidences to favoia- the 
 conclusion that it was a sacred fire-temple, namely, a few particles of 
 charcoal in a small hole at the base of the To-\\er on the outside. 
 And Mr. Windele triumphantly asks, " whether these could have 
 ever formed any portion of a sacred fire once burning within the 
 tower, Avho can affirm or rationally deny?" Now I, for one, will ra- 
 tionally, as I think, deny the probabiUty of such a conclusion, and I 
 think I can assign very sufficient reasons for doing so. In the fu'st 
 place, I repeat that we have no evidence whatever that sacred fires 
 were ever hghted in Toirers in this country ; but we have an abun- 
 dance of evidence, which I shall hereafter adduce, to prove that the 
 Towers, that is, the wooden floors, &c. of them, as well as tlie 
 
 M 2
 
 84 IXQUIRY IXTO THE UlUGIN AND USES 
 
 churches, were often burned by the phmdcring Danes. But,— to come 
 to an evidence more in point in connexion with Cushel itself, — is Mr. 
 Windele ignorant that in the year 1495 tlie cathedral, with which the 
 Tower is in immediate contact, was burned by Gerald, the eighth 
 Earl of Kildare, for which act being accused before tlie king, his 
 excuse was that it was trae, but that he had supposed the archbishop 
 was in it ! Now, I ask, would not this conflagration sufficiently ac- 
 count for an abundance of charcoal being found beside its walls, not 
 to speak of a few particles ? I5ut these charcoal remains may be 
 even of later date; for I have been informed that the boys of Cashel 
 in recent times, but previously to the enclosure of the cemetery by 
 Dean Cotton, were in the habit of lighting fires within the Tower to 
 smother the young owls and other birds, which made the interior of 
 it their home. 
 
 I may here observe, that some time after the examination of this 
 Tower at Cashel, the South Munster Society of Antiquaries also 
 examined the Round Tower of Kinneh, in tlie County of Cork, and 
 that the result, as comnumicated to me by Mr. Windele, in a letter, 
 dated 25th September, 1841, was as follows : 
 
 "We some time since examined the Round Tower of Kinneh. It is based on the 
 rock, and on the inside the tower is open down to its base, — the solid rock forming its 
 floor. Thus Cashel and Kinneh prove that all were not sepulchral." 
 
 The want of success of the South Munster Antiquaries in these 
 examinations, though it may have damped, was not sufficient to de- 
 stroy their enthusiastic ardovrr. Though it was now certain that all 
 the Towers were not sepulchres, it was yet possible that one or more 
 than one of them might ha^-e been erected for that purpose. Ac- 
 cordingly, " they next pitched upon the Tower of Cloyne, and here 
 tlieir operations were crowned with perfect success. Under a sohd 
 floor about a foot in thickness, formed of small stones laid in gravel, 
 so firmly bedded as to yield only to repeated efforts of the crow-bar 
 and pick-axe," they actually found, " within a space of six feet diame- 
 ter, a stratum of earth-mould, in which were discovered three skele- 
 tons, laid west and east, two of them lying side by side of each other, 
 and the third under these." To leave no doubt of the truth of the 
 preceding statement, Mr. Windele gives us a hst of the eleven gen- 
 tlemen who were in attendance on the occasion of this interesting 
 discovery. " The gentlemen under whose directions these researches
 
 OF THE KOUND TOWKliS oK IHEI.ANn. 85 
 
 wei-e prosecuU'd, and wlio wore in attendance on this intei-estinLr oc- 
 casion, were the Reverend Messrs. Ilorgan, Rogers, Jones, Bt)lster, 
 and D. Murphy, Messrs. ITackett, Sainthill, Abell, Windele, Kelulier, 
 and J. Jennings." 
 
 To this last statement I wish particularly to call tlie attention of 
 the reader, as, if correct, it would follow as a matter of course, that 
 there would be no disagreement, as to the nature of the facts stated, 
 among the persons who werepn^sent on the occasion of the discovery. 
 Yet it is remarkable that there is a strikitii; disa<;r(!ement betweiMi 
 the account, which I have above quoted, and one subsequcjitlv luil)- 
 lished in the same Cork newspaper. This disagreement will sulH- 
 ciently appear from the following extracts from letters with which I 
 have been kindly favoured Ijy Mr. Windele himself In the fnst of 
 these letters, dated 25th September, 1841, Mr. Windele thus writes: 
 
 " I hasten to inform you oftlie result of an excavation wliidi we caused to be niaile, 
 on the 23rd instant, in the lower part of the Round Tower of Cloyne. 
 
 " You ai-e prol lably aware that that building is based upon a lime stone rock, wliirli 
 stands out several feet higher than the surrounding- ground, and that between it and 
 thy cemetery, in which stands the Cathedral, runs the high road, which here forms 
 one of the principal streets of the ancient town of Cloyne. The workmen commenced 
 by clearing out about 2^ feet of rubbish, under which they found a floor of small 
 stones, a large powder pavement, which could not be penetrated by spade or shovel, but 
 yielded to the pick-axe ; beneath this, in loose mould, were found Iniinun bones, u xkiill, 
 and fragments of decayed timber. The space, within which the bones were found, is (i 
 feet, and the mason-work is, as it were hollowed to receive the bodies. 
 
 " This discovery you will probably deem to be confirmatory of that already made 
 at Ardmore." 
 
 From Mr. Wiudele's second letter, dated 29th September. 1841. 
 it will, however, appear, that the preceding account was any thing 
 but a correct one ; and, it would also appear, that Mr. AVindele was 
 not present at the excavation at all. He thus Avrites : 
 
 " Last week I sent you a report, obtained at second band, of so far as related tn our 
 antiquarian researches at Cloi/ne. Since then I visited, with others of the ancient I'rat't. 
 the Tower in question, and I now enclose you a semi-oHicial statement of what occurred ; 
 and in so doing, it is right that I should inform you that the statement, with regard to 
 fragments of timber being found, was incorrect, no such remains having been disco- 
 vered. It is a curious circumstance that many small oyster shells have been taken out 
 from amongst the clay and rubble which covered the skeletons ; could these once have 
 been men ? Lord Kaimes has somewhere said, that 'men by inaction degenerate into 
 
 oysters,' and Sir , in more recent times, when speaking of his Jim Crow 
 
 propensities, declared he did not know if he should not yet iMrn into an oyster ! A\"e
 
 86 
 
 INHiUIRV INTO THE OIUGIN AND USES 
 
 tire tuld of an Indian Bramin who shut himself up in a Tower for 40 years, during 
 wdiich lengthened period he industriously occupied himself in merely looking at the 
 
 wall and tliinkin" of nothing. AVho knows but, in these unexpected shells, we may 
 
 have found some old Indo-Irish Bramins, whose contemplative inaction might have 
 been productive of an ostracism. To the Budhists this, I submit, is -worth some con- 
 sideration. 
 
 " Since writing the foregoing I received your letter of the 27th instant, and now 
 beg to answer your queries. The feet of the skeletons were under or in a line below 
 the door of the Tower, which faces the S. E. ; consequently the bodies lay from N. ^^^ 
 to N. E. (not West and East as in Report). 
 
 " The hollowing of the mason-work to receive the bodies you are to reject. That 
 was a fancy of my informant, who laboured hard on my visit, to persuade me of its 
 correctness, but as I could see no stich hollow I could not give in my assent. The little 
 slvctch and measurements at foot will best explain." 
 
 The semi-official statement, above alluded to, is as follows : 
 " Round Towers — Cloyne. 
 
 " A correspondent of the Southern Reporter thus writes — The announcement made 
 in your last paper, so far as regards the proceedings of the South Munster Antiquarian 
 Society at Cloyne, mentions merely the operations of the first day, Wednesday. Those 
 of the succeeding day were of a far more decisive and interesting character. The result 
 of the whole is stated in the proces verbal drawn up on the conclusion of their re- 
 searches, with the approbation of the several gentlemen present, viz. : — The Rev. 
 Messrs. Rogers, Lawless, Morgan, Bolster, and Dominick Murphy ; Messrs. A. Abell, 
 R. SainthUl, J. Wiudele, F. Jennings, and W. Keleher. The document I send you, and 
 is as follows : — 
 
 " ' Flaving proceeded to excavate the tower according to order, we entered a bed of 
 earth and of decayed rotten timber (probably the fallen nests of jackdaws and other
 
 OF Tllli KOUNl) TOWEUS OF IHELAND. s7 
 
 birds), interspersed witli decayed bones ofdifFerent animals and stones. Alur hawiig 
 
 cleared it out between tliree and lour feet, we then met a bed ol' broken limestone, 
 
 one foot four inches in thickness, underneath which was a bed of fine black earth, 
 
 wherein we met with three skeletons stretched in the usual way from west to east, one 
 
 being under the two, part of which I have kept ; having three couple of collar bones, 
 
 and three front parts of the lower jaw bones — the upper skeleton being the freshest. 
 
 Under these we met with a layer of coarse heavy stones, with the even or smooth 
 
 sides up, set in coarse gravel, under which were two tiers of light Hags. After that 
 
 we came to the solid rock. 
 
 '"W. Cii.vr.MA.N, tjexton.' 
 '"Cloyne, 24th Sept., 1841.'" 
 
 Now I would seriously ask, is it possible that any rational iiKiuircr 
 could give credence to statements so contradictory ol"eacli other, as 
 those which I have now submitted to the reader, or is it on such 
 statements that a question of this natiu'e is to be decided ? But I 
 have not done with the discoveries in the Cloyne Tower yet. It 
 will be seen from the annexed notice on this subject, recently ])ub- 
 lished in the Cork Southern Reporter, and kindly transmitted to me 
 by Mr. Windele, on the 9th of April, 1842, that the human remains 
 found in this Tower, and originally represented only as " human 
 bones and a skul/,'" having gradually assumed the forms of three hu- 
 man skeletons, are now increased to foui', — and it is difficult to cdn- 
 jecture how many they will make in the next accounts. These are 
 certainly very extraordinary bones ! It Avill be seen also, from the 
 same article, that the researches in the Round Tower of Cashel. 
 which had been given up as an imsuccessful affair, even proving 
 " that at least a!/ the Towers were not sepulchral," were, after all, 
 not so unfortunate as had been supposed. But I must let the South 
 JNIunster Society of Antiquaries now speak for themselves : 
 
 " Round Towers. 
 
 " Towards the close of the last summer we announced to our readers that a disco- 
 very had been made, of importance, in the elucidation of the mystery in which the 
 origin of these structures was involved. We then gave details connected with the dis- 
 covery of human remains within the foundation of Ardmore Tower. From that time 
 to the present, we venture to affirm, more attention has been paid, and more of prac- 
 tical, rational investigation, has been directed to the suljject, than it ever previously 
 received. 
 
 " We have had the pleasure of laying before our readers various interesting com- 
 munications from our literary friends, which, by the talent, ingenuity, and erudition, 
 they display, prove that the subject is in the very best hands. The Sovuh Munsfer 
 Antiquarian Society has also been most active, owing to the untiring exertions of its
 
 88 IXQIIRV INTO TIIIC ORIGIN AXD USES 
 
 membors, corrospniirleiiccs liavf been o[)ened in France, England, Scotland, and in niany 
 placos in Ireland, all with most satisfactory results. 
 
 •• Tlinuifili the kindness of tlie licv. ilr. M-Cosh, of Brechin, (Scotland) a corres- 
 jiondence has been established with the well known learned historian of that citj', 
 D. D. Black, Esq., whose work we have read with very great ph'asiire. 
 
 " We shall now, leaving the discussion to those who are so well able to conduct it, 
 proceed to state the discoveries made subsequently to that at Ardmore. 
 
 " In the month of September, several of our fellow-citizens met by appointment 
 at Caslul the Very Rev. Dr. Cotton, of Lismore, and Edward Odell, Esq., whose la- 
 bours we before mentioned. The Eound Tower there, was examined. Although human 
 remains were found within that structure, yet, because they were near the surface 
 mixed with earth and decayed timber, it was supposed they had been thrown in casually 
 from the adjacent cathedral or burial ground. But it is now to be noted that there 
 was evidence of a previous delving ; and the discoveries since made shew, at least, a 
 probability, that the human bones there found, had been disturbed from their original 
 resting place, within the foundation walls. It must, however, be admitted, that the 
 Cashel researches, cannot be adduced as a positive instance of the sepulchral character 
 of these towers. Not so with Cloyne ; there, at a depth from the doorway of about 
 thirteen feet, being very nearly the same as at Ardmore, were found the bones of four 
 human skeletons lying in the direction from West to East. The space within which 
 tliey lav, was an irregular serrated oval of about six feet and a half by four. 
 
 " The Eoscrca Tower was opened three weeks since, at the request of our Society, 
 by Edward Wall, Esq. of that town, who discovered human remains all tlirough, from 
 the doorway downwards, in a depth of over ten feet. To the very interesting particu- 
 lars given by !Mr. Wall, we purport adverting hereafter, as his researches are not yet 
 concluded. 
 
 " The correspondence with Sir William Betham has shewn the success of the disco- 
 veries to which that learned and zealous antiquary has been instriunental. His noljle 
 friend, the Marquis of Downshire, caused to be opened the Round Tower of Drumbo. 
 The tower of Maghera has also been opened; in both of which were found human 
 remains. Similar results had previously attended the opening of the tower on Ram 
 Island. The two most remarkable instances remain to be mentioned. We have the 
 authority of Sir William Betham, that in the tower of Timahoe, there were not only 
 human bones, but that a sepulchral Urn was found ; and by Mr. Black's history we 
 learn that in Abernethy tower (Scotland) human skulls and bones were found in great 
 numbers, and there was also discovered an urn. These two facts prove that Timahoe 
 and Abernethy towers, at least, were pagan structures, and leave a strong presumption 
 in favour of the same inference with regard to the others. As we are aware that many 
 further researches are about to be made, we hope ere long to present our readers with 
 the results." 
 
 \Yith respect to the disco^-eries in tlie Round ToAver of Cloyne, 
 upon wliicli so much has been said, and so much stress krid, I shall 
 only add, that it is my finn conviction, that none of the South Munster 
 Society of Antiquaries were present at the exhumation of the bones; 
 that the story of this exliiunation, which has assumed so many forms,
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. S'J 
 
 rests on no butter authority than that of the sexton, who was liirotl by 
 the antiquaries to make tlie examination, and wliose story, in many 
 of its details, the antiquaries themselves did not believe to be true ; 
 and lastly, tliat the utmost that can be concluded from it is, that 
 fragments of human bones were found in the rubbish, intermingled 
 with those of other animals, oyster shells, and other remains. Of tin- 
 discoveries of a similar nature more recently made in the Towers of 
 Eoscrea, Maghera, Drumbo, and, 1 bcheve, others, no det^iiled ac- 
 counts have reached me, with the exception of tliose in ilu' Tower 
 of Drumbo : I believe, however, that it is only the discoveries in tiiis 
 Tower that are considered of any importance, and of these I am 
 enabled to present the reader with an acciu^ate account, kindlv com- 
 municated tome by my ingenious friend, Mr. Edunuul (icttv, oj" 15el- 
 fast, in a letter dated Belfast, lOtli of January, 1842. 
 
 " My friend Mr. Tliomson has commuuicated to me your note, requesting the par- 
 ticidars of the opening of the Eound Tower of Drumbo, and I only delayed until a 
 rough notice I had drawn up was read over by the Rev. Mr. Maunsell, by whose di- 
 rections the enquiry was conducted. The tower, you will recollect, has lost part of 
 its original height, and been filled up perhaps a few feet in the interior by stones 
 thrown or fallen in, &c. 'The door described by Harris as 6 feet from the ground is 
 now perhaps five feet. 
 
 " ' For the first two feet the debris thrown out very much resembled the soil of 
 the adjacent grave yard, having mixed thro' it a quantity of human bones, not in any 
 regular form, tho' perhaps more in one spot than another,' and which I feel satisfied hivs 
 been thrown in from the burying ground ; ' some pieces of charcoal were found, and 
 several of the stones thrown out bore evident marks of fire,' having been most j)r(i- 
 bably used by persons forming fires here for temporary purposes unconnected with 
 the original intention of the builders. 
 
 " 'After this depth (2 feet) the stufi' removed assumed more the appearance of 
 mortar rubbish, and seemed in great measure (partly) composed of the ruins of the 
 top of the tower which had fallen in at the period of its dilapidation, whic:h, it wnuld 
 seem, must have been as early as 1744, for about that time Harris iu his County of 
 Down describes the tower as being much as at present. Among the rubbish were large 
 stones, a considerable number of them having marks of fire ; this is also observable in 
 the interior of the building, where there is a slight superficial vitrification, but only 
 above the surface of the ground, which has been lately excavated. Dubourdieu, in his 
 Survey, published in 1802, takes notice of this appearance in these words : At some 
 former time very strong fires have been burned icit/iin this building, and the inside aurfucc 
 towards the bottom has the appearance of vitrification. This stuff so described was exca- 
 vated to the depth of more than onefoot on the first day, and on the next morning the 
 remainder of it was cast out, when the appearance changed to that of a rich black 
 mould, apparently decomposed vegetable matter, with a gnod deal of charcoal and
 
 go INCiUlUY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 boar 
 
 iiuantities of bones of various descriptions, chiefly of the lower animals,— some 
 tusks and jaws, a few short horns of oxen and other remains of those animals. When 
 this substance was thrown out to the depth of about three feet, having now reached a 
 depth of about seven feet altogether below the surface, we commenced upon, a totally 
 different soil made its appearance like the natural soil of the neighbourhood, yellowish 
 or light brown ; it appeared to be covered all over as well as we could trace, with a 
 sliglu coating of mortar, perhaps about one inch in thickness. Almost close under- 
 neath this, and nearly opposite the doorway, was discovered the skull of a human 
 skeleton. This skeleton was afterwards explored with as much caution as possible, 
 when it was found in a very decomposed state, wanting the right arm and hand, and 
 the two legs from the knee down. It lay by compass N. N. W. by W. the head towards 
 the west. ° The skuU was tolerably preserved, having almost a perfect set of teeth in 
 the lower jaw ; all the vertebra; remained undisturbed. In the earth was found the 
 cap {patella) of one knee. No vestige of a coffin, dress or hair was observable. The 
 skeleton was removed in order to continue the excavation, which was down to the 
 depth of nearly two feet from the layer of mortar, when coming to the solid ground 
 that appeared never to have been moved, and reaching the foundation of the tower 
 without making any further discovery, the examination was considered to have been 
 completed. The following measurements of the body were taken : from the crown of 
 the head to the knee 4 feet, 3 inches; from the hip-joint to the knee 1 foot 10 
 inches ; lem^th of the back bone 2 feet -| inch. The interior chamber of the tower is 
 9 feet. The body, as it was found, appeared to be so placed that, had it been entire, it 
 would have occupied the centre of the ground, the head being about a foot, or rather 
 more, from the western side of the tower.' 
 
 " The above notes were taken from an amended copy of a narrative of the exami- 
 nation drawn up by me, and submitted for correction to the Eev. Horatio Maunsell, 
 who, assisted by Mr. Durham of Belvidere, directed the operations. It was returned 
 to me copied in part and amended in Mr. Maunsell's hand-writing. I am thus par- 
 ticular, as Mr. Thomson and I did not go out to Drumbo till the third day, when 
 the skeleton was discovered. I may add that we were informed, the plaster floor de- 
 scribed was less perfect at the east side than to the west. It may either have been 
 disturbed by former enquirers, or more probably affected by the weather, to which from 
 being directly under the door, it was more exposed than other parts. This may ac- 
 count for the want of the legs from the knee-joint. Mr. Thomson, on our return to 
 Mr. Callwell's, the proprietor of the estate, (the tower is in the freehold of the incum- 
 bent Mr. Maunsell,) observed traces of hair on his shoes, which he considered had been 
 mixed with the clay he trod on in the tower. The quantity of stones thrown out of 
 the tower had composed a very small portion indeed of the material of the upper part 
 of the tower, which most probably fell without, not within. The bones of animals found 
 I consider to have been carried in by persons who made a temporary abode there ; and 
 the marks of the fire may have been caused, if not by the flame from their rude hearth, 
 by a burning from accident of an interior floor and stairs, if such thuigs, as I think 
 probable, had existed. 
 
 " I delayed writing until I had received a reply from Mr. Maunsell, as I wished to 
 give you a perfect narrative of our proceedings. The part copied by him is marked by 
 inverted commas."
 
 OF THE ROUXl) TOWEKS OF IKELAXD. ()1 
 
 111 the preet'diiig account I sec iiotliing to ol)joct to. But what is 
 tlie conclusion to be fairly drawn from it ? not surely that it proves 
 the Tower to have been raised as a sepulchral nioninnent in pa>nin 
 times, or even that the bones found within it wciv a deposit cotem- 
 poraneous with its erection. To me it appears that the only rational 
 conclusion to be drawn from the discovery of these bones would be 
 unfavourable even to the very early Christian anticpiity of the Tower, 
 for.^like the discovery of the imperfect skeleton at ArduKM-e, — it in- 
 dicates that the Tower was erected on a spot whicli had been pre- 
 viously used as a Christian cemetery, as the position ol'thc remains 
 clearly shows. And this, too, woiUd account for the im])erl'ection of 
 the skeleton; for, though it is obvious that in digging the foundation 
 of the circular wall of the Tower it would have been necessary to pe- 
 netrate to the virgin clay, and thus run the chance of removing a por- 
 tion of a skeleton, or skeletons, yet, from the respect always paid to 
 the remains of the dead among Christians, and even pagans, it would 
 have been an object to leave the area enclosed within the circle un- 
 disturbed as tar as possible. 
 
 So much then for this singular h}-potliesis. But it will be asked, 
 how do I account for the discovery of pagan lU'ns in the Towers of 
 Timahoe in Ireland and of Abcrncthy in Scotland ? and, certainly, if 
 these discoveries Avere satisfactorily proved, they would, as j\Ir. ^\'in- 
 dele wi'ites to me, stand much in the way of my theory. But they 
 are not satisfactorily proved. With respect to the discovery of the 
 urn in the Tower of Timahoe, I have already expressed my utter 
 disbelief of the statement, and have also shown that Mr. Windele 
 himself is not without doubts of its truth ; and, with respect to the 
 alleged discovery of hiuxian bones and an urn in the Tower of Abei-- 
 nethy, I shall venture also to express my disbelief of it, and will state 
 my reasons for doing so. It will be recollected, that this statement, 
 as already given in full, was put forward in the Cf)rk Southern Re- 
 porter, as resting on the very respectable authority of Mr. D. D. Black's 
 History of Brecliin, and that not a word was said of any other autho- 
 rity for the facts. The words are, " by Mr. Black's liistory we learn, 
 that in Abernethy Tow-er (Scotland) human skulls and bones wei-e 
 found in great numbers, and there was also discovered an urn ;" and 
 it is added, " these two facts prove that Timahoe and Abernethy 
 Towers at least, Avere pagan structiu'es, and leave a strong prcsumj)- 
 
 N 2
 
 92 iNQUiifY INTO I'lii': ()Ui(;iN and uses 
 
 lion in favour of the same iiifeieiice witli regard Lo the others." 
 1 laving for a considerable time failed to procure a copy of Mr. Black's 
 work, I requested Mr. Wimlclc to favoni' me with a transcript of the 
 passage in it, on whit'h this statement rested, and he sent me, as a 
 copy of the extract required, a descriptive account of the Tower in 
 (piestion, but nothing authorizing the statement put forward in refe- 
 rence to the pagan urn. I have, however, been since favoured with 
 a copy of Mr. Black's Avoik by its talented anllior, and 1 certainly do 
 find sui'h a statement in it, not however, as Mr. Black's own, but as 
 one put ibrward by the liev. Dr. Small, and whic'h Mr. Black very 
 obviously regards as of very little value, as will appear fr(.»in the fol- 
 lowing extract from his work : 
 
 "The Rev. Dr. Siiuill of Edcnsheail, Alicructliy, wlio lias writtrn u liook (.m ' IJo- 
 mau Antiquities,' states the tradition, regarding the tower of Abernethy, to be, that it 
 was erected as a burying place for ' tlu' Kings of the Picts,' and to the doctor ' it is as 
 clear as a sunbeam, that the Pictish race of Kings lie all huricd within it.' In con- 
 iirniation of this hypothesis, the Reverend Uoctor writes, that ou the lOth May, 1821, 
 the interior of the tower was dug into, when, at about four feet from the surface, the 
 Sexton found, in presence of the gentlemen assembled, ' plenty of human bones, and 
 the fragments of a light green urn, with a row of carving round the bottom of the neck,' 
 and that, digging still farther, they 'came to three broad flags, which either served as 
 the bottom of the first coffin or the cover of another, and by removing one which 
 seemed the largest, found that there were plenty of bones below; and thus, after gain- 
 ing our end in ascertaining the original design of building it, as a cemetery for the Royal 
 Family, we desisted,' says the doctor. We introduced ourselves to Dr. Small, from 
 whom we purchased a copy oi his work. We are quite satisfied he is a gentleman on 
 whose veracity implicit reliance may be placed; but we rather fear he jumps at conclu- 
 sions, and is not a little credulous — and still worse, wc duubt his antiiiuarian skill. 
 Shade of lluddleston, how woiddst thou shudder, if shades can shudder, to learn that 
 Dr. Small derives Pittendriech, your l)urial jiliice of the Druids, from two connnun 
 Scotch words — ascribing the origin of the term to the circumstance of the Romans 
 having ' got a nuu'i' ilreich piece of road Jiitteii to them,' when fornnng their famous way 
 through North Britain ! The doctor, in describing his researches in the lower, add.s, 
 that the Se.xtoii uf Abernethy, aflerwards, lound ' seven ollur human skulls all lying 
 togethei', all of them full-grown male skulls,' buried in the tower, one ol' which, the 
 most entire, was carried away l)y Sir Walter Scott. Our friend, Thomas Simpson, 
 the successor of the sexton alluded toby the linelur, hints pretty broadly, that situated 
 so close to the kirk-yard as the tower is, there would be no great diflieulty in finding 
 skulls in the latter, when it was once seen there was a demand for them. Thomas 
 applies to this case the liunous axiom in political economv, that the demand regulates 
 the supply." — History (f Brechin, p|). 2(),), 'M)('). 
 
 1 may also observe, that in anotlu'r ])assage in his work, Mr. Black
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. \y.\ 
 
 II our 
 
 distinctly says, " Dr. SimiU's apeculatiun tlocs not coincidu with 
 opinions ;" and also gives as his own opinion, that " tlie Kound Towt-r 
 
 of Brechin was erected somewhere about the year 1000," an opinion 
 
 whi(;]i I sluill lioreafter show is not far from tlie truth. As to I)i. 
 Small's statement, and the speculation respectinir it in which \\v in- 
 dulges, I may safely leave it to the consideration (jf my antifiuarian 
 readers, who will be at no loss to determine the value of the alleged 
 discovery of "y/•ag•w^e//^s• oj'n light green urn with a row of carving 
 round the bottom of the neck," — a monument of pagan anti(|uity not 
 previously found in the British isles ; and this is the fact that pnnes 
 to the South Munster Society of Antiquaries that the Abernetliy 
 Tower, at least, was a pagan structure ! 
 
 I have also to state that Mr. Windele, at the time when he 
 sent me the extracts from Mr. Bhu^k's work, also very kindly fa- 
 voured me with the copy of a letter from the historian of Brechin to 
 William Ilackett, Esq., of Middleton, a member of the South Munster 
 Society of Antiquaries, detailing the results of excavations recently 
 made under Mr. Black's direction within the Round Tower of Bre- 
 chin ; and, as these details not only very cleai'ly exhibit the winter's 
 opinions on the hypothesis under con.sideration, but also contain a 
 very interesting account of the discoveries made on the occasion, I 
 shall present his letter to the reader, in i'uU : 
 
 "ScoTL.iND, nrechin, VMIi Aju-/7, 1842. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " The obstacles alluded to in my lust letter having all been removed, 
 Mr. M'Cosh and I proceeded on this day week, Wednesday, 6th April, to excavate the 
 interior of the round Tower of Brechin. Sir James Carnegie, Baronet, of Southesqiie, 
 our jirincipal Heritor, taking an active interest in our proceedings, and Patrick Chal- 
 mers, Esquire, of Auldliar, having volunteered in the most handsome manner to jiny 
 all expenses, although unl'ortunately, from his bad state of health, he is unable to 
 witness our proceedings, and has, in consequence of continued indisposition, been 
 obliged to resign the; seat hi' hc'ld in Parliament for this district of Burghs, a circum- 
 stance which has thrown this quarter into a fever of Politics, for it will be no easy 
 matter to find a man p<jssessed of all Mr. Clialmers' <[ualilications to fill liis room. 
 
 " The round Tower of Brechin, you will recollect, ha.s a doorway on the west side, 
 the sill of which is G feet 7 inches from the groun<l, and tliis doorway being filled up 
 with stonework, our first proceeding was to open it. 
 
 " I went down on Wednesday morning at six o'clock (I wish to be minute) — ac- 
 companied by David Black, carpenter in Brechin, and James Jolly, mason in Brechin ; 
 and these tradesmen in my presence, carefidly removed the stones wliich blocked up 
 the doorway, leaving the arch free and uniiijured, and displaying a handsome entrance
 
 94 INQUIKY INTd THE ORIGIN ANB USES 
 
 into the Tower. A set of wooden steps were tlien fitted, to give access by the door, 
 while preci^ntions were adopted for shutting up the Tower, when the workmen were 
 not there, so as to prevent any person introducing modern antiques for our annoyance. 
 After removing some old wood, and other timber recently placed there by the church 
 officers, James Jolly was left alone, as the circle of the tower did not give scope for 
 more workmen. He then proceeded to dig amongst the loose earth, and has been so 
 employed till to-day, being from tune to time visited by Mr. M'Cosh and me. Each 
 shovelful, as dug up, was carefully sifted, and thrown into a heap. The sifted earth 
 when accumulated into a small heap, was then thrown out at the door of the tower, and 
 down to [the] wooden steps alluded to. After this the earth was put, by a spadeful at a 
 time, into a barrow, and wheeled to a corner of the churchyard. Here, again, the 
 earth was thrown by a shovel into a cart, and then driven away. By this repeated 
 handling, I think it next to impossible that any thing of the least consequence could 
 liave escaped observation. I directed James Jolly to keep a regular journal of his pro- 
 ceedings ; and each evening when he gai/e up work, he brought to the British Linen 
 Company Bank Office, and left with the accountant, Mr. Eobert Lindsay, the articles 
 found each day ; and Mr. Lindsay again lalielled and marked the articles so found. 
 David Black the carpenter is Mr. jM'Cosh's tradesman, a master workman and an indi- 
 vidual of undoubted character ; — James Jolly is a journeyman mason, a very intelligent 
 man, and a person upon whose integrity ample reliance can be placed ; and Mr. Lind- 
 say, with whom I have been acquainted through life, and who has now been with me 
 for thirteen years continuously, is a man of the strictest probity. I am fully satisfied, 
 therefore, that we have got a careful and correct account of every tiling found in the 
 tower. James Jolly has now dug eight feet below the door sill, that is, he is aliout one 
 foot five inches below the external ground line and hewn basement or plinth of the 
 tower, and has come to where the hewn work ceases, and rude undressed stones form 
 the building. At this depth we stop until we hear from you. We have not reached 
 the native rock on which the tower is built ; but we have now reached the clay or till 
 and sand work, which appears to have been disturbed, as [if] it were what had been 
 dug out for the foundation and thrown into the centre of the tower. Until this depth 
 we have dug through a fine mould composed of decayed wood and other vegetable 
 matter, mixed up with a little animal matter. 
 
 " We found a quantity of peats, and a good deal of dross of peats, or refuse of moss, 
 and we also found great varieties of bones, principally sheep bones, especially jaw bones 
 of sheep, some bones of oxen, and a few human bones, these last being vertebra;, pieces 
 of skulls, toes and bits of jaw-bones. These bones were found at all depths, but we 
 found no bones of any size. We have likewise got a quantity of slates, a hewn stone 
 for the top of a lancet-shaped arch, part of the sill of a window with the base of a mul- 
 lion traced on it, some basement stones, and others of baser workmanship ; oyster 
 shells, buckles or sea-shells, nails, buttons, bits of copper and verdigris, two small 
 lumps of bell metal, several little bits of stained glass, and part of an elf arrow ha^•e 
 also been found at different depths ; and yesterday we found the remains of a key and 
 some charred wood. But what will most please your pagan friends is the fact, that 
 since we began we have each day found various pieces of urns or jars. None of the 
 pieces although put together form a complete urn ; but I think amongst the pieces I 
 can trace out three or four distinct vessels. One appears to have been of glazed
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWEUS OF llilCLAXD. C).", 
 
 earthen ware, and to have had little handles as thus; ^^ ^j,-._ while round the 
 
 mner ledge there are small round indentations : about \" / a third of this 
 
 vessel remains, as marked by the dotted lines ; the other """ — two vessels are 
 
 of clay, regularly baked, apparently, but not glazed, and one is slightly orniunented 
 round the edge thus ^,o^r^=^ the nidentations being evidently made by alternately 
 pressing the thumb ^==i=c:^ and fore-finger horizontal, and the thumb perpeudieu- 
 lar, in the wet clay. 
 
 " Now, how came all these things there ? I am afraid you will set me down, not 
 for a pagan, but for a veritable Heathen when I say, that my opinion is, the slates, 
 glass, wood, and iron had been tossed in at what in Scotland is called the Relbrmation, 
 when our Scotch Apostle, John Knox, drove your Roman Catholic Apostles from what 
 he termed their rookeries ; — that the bones and great part of the animal and vegetable 
 matter had been carried to the top of the tower by the rooks and jackdaws (kaies of 
 Scotland) for building their nests and feeding their young, and had tumbled from 
 theuce to the bottom of the tower ; — that the peats and the rest of the stuff had been 
 thro^vn at various times into the bottom of the tower as a general receptacle for all re- 
 fuse ; — and that the fragments of crns or jars, are just the remains of ctdinary articles 
 belonging to the different kirk officers. 
 
 " After this declaration can I expect to hear from you again, ad^dsing me what 
 further we ought to do in regard to our round towers, which, in my eyes, remain 
 as great a mystery as ever ? 
 
 " The steeple of the church of Montrose was rebuilt some eight years ago, on 
 the site of a steeple which had existed beyond the memory of man. It was thought 
 necessary to dig the foundation of the new tower deeper than the old had been founded, 
 and in the course of this excavation, various skeletons were found buried amongst 
 sand and gravel, the subsoil on which the town of Montrose stands. The fact of 
 bodies being buried below towers and steeples, then, wUl scarce prove the erection 
 to be either Christian or pagan. 
 
 " The tracings which you sent of Cloyne Tower represent very closely the style of 
 building of the Round Tower of Brechin, especially where two or more horizontal 
 stones are connected by a smaller perpendicular one thus 
 
 IE 
 
 i 
 
 and also where one is laid with a little toe or thin part of it projecting as it were 
 beyond itself over another stone, as above. In Brechin too, as at Cloyne, we find it 
 impossible to drive a nail into the joints of the doorway, while into some parts of the 
 general masonrv I have thrust my cane with ease for several inches. Sir William 
 Gell, you remark, gives drawings of a similar mode of building in the vicinity of 
 Rome. But is not this just a mode common to all nations in their rude state, who 
 put up as large stones as they can find or move with ease and bring them together 
 by means of smaller pieces ? " D. D. Bl.\ck." 
 
 On this excellent letter it is not necessar}' for mc to make a single 
 remark. It wiU go far to accoimt for tlie heterogeneous nature of the 
 remains discovered in the Irish Towers, and Avhicli may be fm-ther
 
 96 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 accounted for by the fact that during the war in Ireland, at the close 
 of the sixteenth centmy, these Towers became the receptacles of 
 thieves and wood-kerne. For this fact we have the authority of an 
 Irish sermon written at the time, in which the author laments, among 
 other evils, that " the temples were defiled, the cemeteries dug up, 
 the chapels profaned, the monasteries broken, the cloisters without 
 protection, the cells inhabited by harlots, the belfries (clogdip) inha- 
 bited by wood-kerne" ! 
 
 I might, I think, now have done -with the discoveries of Mr. Win- 
 dele and the South Munster Society of Antiquaries ; but, as these 
 gentlemen, or their organ, have " ventm-ed to affirm that from the 
 commencement of their researches to the present time more attention 
 has been paid, and more practical, rational investigation, has been 
 directed to the subject" (of the origin and uses of the Round Towers) 
 " than it ever previously received," — I must beg leave to express my 
 dissent from such conclusion, and to ofier a few remarks in support of 
 my opinion. That these gentlemen, whose antiquarian zeal I greatly 
 admire and applaud, have discovered a new species of antiquarian in- 
 vestigation, wholly unknown to the antiquaries of past ages, — a sort 
 of railroad process, requiring but little laborious travelling on the 
 old high roads of learning and research, I am free to acknowledge, 
 but I am by no means satisfied that, in inquiries of such a nature, this 
 is the safest mode of travelhng. On the contrary, I am of opinion 
 that, after all, the old mode is the best, — that if — to abandon figure 
 and come to the point — we wished to ascertain whether our pagan 
 ancestors erected the Round Towers as sepulchral monuments or not, 
 we should determine the question, not by the short process of dig- 
 ging in the bases of the Towers, but by the more laborious exami- 
 nation of the ancient literatiu'e of oiu' country, which is still so 
 abundant in amount, and so rich in information on the usages of the 
 times to Avhich those gentlemen desire to refer these monuments. To 
 adduce all the authorities which our ancient manuscripts could fur- 
 nish respecting the ancient pagan modes of sepulture in Ireland, from 
 the earliest period of the historj- of the country, would greatly ex- 
 ceed the space allotted to this section of my inqmry, — but, as the 
 subject is of considerable iutei'est, and has not been hitherto treated 
 of, I shall adduce a few notices from our manuscripts which will sa- 
 ■ ^isfactc rvily show what the sepulchral usages of the pagan Irish were.
 
 OF THE ROrXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. 07 
 
 and be sufficient to denionstr.ite tluU tlie hypiiUiesis dI' the Stmlli 
 Minister Antiquaries is wholly visionary. 
 
 The first authority Avhich I shall adduce will satisfactorily prow, 
 that the Irish in pagan times had regal cemeteries in various parts of 
 the island, appropriated to the interment of the princes of the diffe- 
 rent races, who ruled as sole monarchs, or provincial kings or toparchs ; 
 and that such cemeteries were well known to the people in Christian 
 times, though no longer appropriated to their original purpose, except 
 in one or two instances, where the localities were consecrated to the 
 service of Christianity. This valuable authority is preserved in one 
 of the most celebrated Irish manuscripts — the Leuh/iar na k-Uidlire 
 — a work compiled at Clonmacnoise, and transcribed by Moelmuiri, 
 the son of Ceileachar, the grandson of Conn na m-bocht, a disiiu- 
 guished writer of that great abode of learning — the Scofortim riohile 
 cuhnen, — in the twelfth century, and of which the autograph original 
 on vellum, the property of Messrs. Hodges and Smith, is now belbre 
 me. The article, which I give entire, is called Senchus na Relec, or 
 History of the Cemeteries ; and I may add, that, judging from its lan- 
 guage, its age must be referred to a period several centuries earlier 
 than that in which its transcriber flomnshed. There is a second copy 
 of the same tract preserved in an ancient vellum manuscript in the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin, Class H. 3, 17, beginning at page 
 745, but the older copy is that given here. I should also observe 
 that this tract is glossed in the original, evidently by Moelmuiri him- 
 self, and that such explanations of the transcriber are given within 
 crotchets, both in the Irish text and in the translation of it. 
 
 " Sencap na pelec in po. 
 
 " TTlop pt mop-bperac po jab op h-BpinD, .1. Copmuc, mac Qipc, mtc Cuino 
 Ceo-ccirai^. 6a muic lapom bni ino 6pui pici lino, po-oeij po I'Ctiileo bper 
 peccjue po 6pino acci-peom, con na lunnrea jiiin oiini m h-fcpmo ppi pe u'lbili 
 bicci, .1. uii. ni-bliuona ; ap bai cpermi in oen De oc Copmuc, do peip pecca; ap 
 po pciiD peom na aioepao cloca nu cpunnii, ace no aoenao in ri Dop pom, 7 po 
 po compiD ap cut nu uli oula, .1. in c-oen Dia nepc-compio, po cpucuij nu oi'ili, 
 ip DO no cpeicpeo. ConiD e-peom in cpep po cpeci in Gpino piu ciuccain pacpaic 
 .1. Concobop muc Neppa, oia po innip Qlcup do cepuo Cpipc ; rDopuno, mac 
 Copppi Cino caicc, (.1. mac ITlain) in oupnu pep; Copn.uc in cpep; 7 une ip ooi;^ 
 CO n-ueocucap opem uile pop a plicc imon cpeciiii |'in. 
 
 " Ip ano, cpu, no jnuraijeo (.1. Copmuc) u Doojnop h-i Cempuij, up plicr cec 
 

 
 98 INQUIRY INTO TIIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 pij [lemi, 110 CO po milleo a pope a Gnjuj' ^ui-buaipnec, mac Gcac Pino puac 
 uipc. In CIcuiU (.1. ruluch-i pil Sjpin Coluim CiUe moiu) imoppo 7 1 Cenanoap, 
 7 h-1 C15 Clecij, no bio pom lapcatn ; up nl bd h-aoa pi co n-anim h-i Cempciij. 
 Cunic cpa blip Dici imiai5iD''-peom h-i C15 Clecij ip 111 bliaoain ranuipe ap coll 
 u poipc'', lup n-jjlenumciiM cnama bpacan' ina bpagic". Ro paio peom, (.1. Cop- 
 muc) imoppo, ppia muincip, cen a aonacul ip in 6pu5 (.1. oaij ba pelec loala- 
 oapca), DU15 ni h-inano Diu p6 aoaip peom 7 cec aen po aonocc ipp in 6pui5, 
 ace a aonocol 1 Rpop na pij 7 a aije paip. Puaip peom bcip lap pin, 7 po 
 pepuD comapli oc a aep jpaoa, 7 ippeo po cinpec n aonacol ip in 6pui5, aic 1 
 m-bucup pig Cempa pomi-peom. Ro cocbao lapom copp mo pij po rpi, oia bpeir 
 ipp in 6pu5, 7 h-i cpacc in ftoano po rpi 1 n-apou, con nci pecaip a cede. Co cucpac 
 Dia n-uio cop ciaccuin cap bpeir plara cecc oap cimna in pij. pepaic a pepc 
 Kipom I Rpop na pi^, amail apbepc pern. 
 
 " Ropcap lac po rpa ppim-peilce li-Gpeno pia cpecim : .1. Cpuucu, in Gpug, 
 in Uallciu, 6uucuip Qilbe, Oenuc Qilbe, Oenuc Cull, Odnuc Colman, Cemaip 
 Gpano^. 
 
 " Oenac Cpuacan cecup, ipp ano no aonaicnp clannu h-Gpemoin, .1. pijpao 
 Cempac, no co cdnic Cpemcano, mac tugoec Riab n-oepg, (.1. ip pepioe cec pi 
 Dib po aonacc ip in Gpuj), .i- Cobrac Coel 6pej5, 7 Cabpuio f-oinjpec, 7 Goco 
 peolec CO n-a cpi maccuib (.1. na cpi Pioemno, .i. 6pe)' 7 Ndp 7 t-ocop.), 7 Coco 
 Qipem, 7 f.uguio Riub n-oepj, 7 pe injena Gcuc Peolij (.1. ITleob, 7 Clocbpu, 
 TTIupepc, 7 t)pebpui, mug-ain 7 Gle.) 7 QiliU, mac ITlaca, co n-a pecc m-bpacpib 
 (.1. Cec, Qnlon, Ooce, ec cecepi) 7 ino p'gpuo uli co Cpemrano (.1. ip lac po po 
 uonaicic h-i Cpuacain). Cio pocepa nac ip m 6pui5 na h-aonaiccip na pig? 
 (.1. pil Cobraij CO Cpemcano). Ni h-annpa ; ap popcap lac oa coiceo po cecc)xi 
 clano h-6pemoin .1. coiceo n-^aleoin, (.1. coiceo Caigen) 7 coiceo Olnecmacc, 
 (.1. coiceo Connacc). Coiceo n-^ulion cecup, po jabpac pil 6abpaoa ^oinjpij. 
 Clano Cobcaij Coil Gpeg, imoppo, bu h-e a plepc lama pioe coiceo Connacc; 
 ConiD aipi ippe (.1. coiceo Connacc) cucao oo Hleiob pe cec coiceo. (Ip aipi 
 cucao opba oo ITleiDb, ap ni boi 00 pil Gacac nee ba cualainj a gabail, ace pipi, 
 ap nip b'in;^nima Cujaio m can pin); 7 oana in can no bio piji n-Gpeno o claino 
 Cobcaij Coil SpfeJ, ba coiceo Connacc a puiolep ( 1. a plepc lama); Conio aipi 
 pin no aonaiccip in oenuc na Cpuacna lac. Ipp in 6puig imoppo no aonaiccip lac 
 6 ampip Cpimcamo (.1. Miaonaip) co ampip toejaipe, mic Neill, cenmocuc cpiap, 
 .1. Qpc, mac Cumo, 7 Copmac, mac Qipc, 7 Niall Noi-jiallac. 
 
 ° Innpcnjio, in H. 3. 17. ^ lap choll a puipc, in H. 3. 17. 
 
 "^ lap lenumuin cnama bpacam ma bpajgaio, H. 3. 17- 
 
 '' II. 3. 17 adds, no piabpa po h opc.i. Cuacha oe t)anainn, ciiji ic ppiu acbepca 
 piabpa, i. e. or it was the Siabhras tliat killed him, i. a the Tuatha De Dananns, for 
 they were called Siabhras. 
 
 <= In H. 3. 17, the names of these cemeteries are given as follows : Cjiuucan, 7 6pug 
 mic Inotc, 7 Callci, 7 Qenach pean-Clocaip, 7 6uacaip Qilbe, 7 Qenaeh Qilbe, 
 7 Qenach Gairma, 7 Qenach Chuile, 7 Qenach Cholmam, 7 Ueiiiaip Gpan, 7 
 ITIapcpa niuncipi pinncainn.
 
 OF THE KOUXn TOWERS OF IRELAND. ()() 
 
 " Mo innipemcip rpa in par (ip iiac imo |io cionncc Copnuic. 1p uipi, ouiu'i, 
 iKic uiiD po HDiuicc CIpr, ap po cpeir in la pia cabmpc cuca muccpunm, 7 po 
 rciipn^ip in cpecim, (.1. co pophepao in Cpipraioecc pop GpuiD) 7 apbtpr co m- 
 buo ano no beic n pepc 1 n-Duma n-Depj-Uiacpa, aic b-i pail Upeoic inoii;. 
 X)\a po Decc pom ip in ouuin oo pi;!;ni pin .1. Cam do oenou oen. {.1. ouim 00 pixni 
 Qpc, 7 ippe a coippec, cam do oenna oen 7c.) In can poiicao a copp (.1. CJipc) 
 paip (.1. CO Duma n-Depj-luucpa) lapcam, oiu m-bectp pip ll-Bpeno oca ppein^ 
 app, 111 perpaicip, co po aonucc ip mo muo pain ; pooeij^ ap pop eclup Curalacoa 
 lupcain bull in po uonacc (.1. Cpeoic inoiu), pooeij ria pipinni, 7 tui cpeciiii po m-bi 
 ap na puiUpijeo, cpiu pip placa, do. 
 
 " Niall, imoppo, i)'p uno po aonacc in Ocain. Conio oe aca Ocaii, popp in 
 relaij, .1. oc cami .1. ino ocpoo 7 ino ecalni do ponpac pip h-6pcnD oc caini Nt-iU 
 ano. 
 
 " Conaipe mop ona h-i ITlaij pect 1 m-6pe5aib (.1. oc Pepca Conaipe) po 
 aonucc; ace cena ippe Conaipe Capppaigt ]io h-aonacx anopioe, 7 ni h-e Conaipe 
 mop; Co m-bao fi-e, ona, in cpep pi po h-uonaicce h-i Cempuij h-e, .1. Conuipe, 
 7 Coejaipe 7 * * * *. 
 
 " h-i Callcin, imoppo, po h-aonaiccip Ulaio, .1. OUom pocUi co n-a cknno, co 
 came Concobap, .1. ap ip ono po C05 pioe a cubaipc ecep Slto" 7 miiip, 7 aijeo 
 paip, pooeij na cpeicmi po m-boi. 
 
 " Lkipli Cuaci oe tDanano ip m Spuj no aonaiccip ; (.1. in tDajoa 7 a rpi meic, 
 7 tuj 7 Oe 7 OUiim 7 Ogma 7 Gcan," 7 Copppe, mac Gcame,) 7 pop a plicc-pioe 
 DO coiD CpmncunD; ap ba uo Chuaic t)ea a ben, .1. Nap, 7 ip pi po aplaij paip 
 con bao h-e bao peilic uonaicci do 7 Dia claino in 6pu5; coriio he par, cen a n- 
 aonaicri h-i Cpuacam. 
 
 " 6agin (.1. Cacaip co n-a cLainD, 7 na pig pempo) 1 n-Oenach QilBe ; Clano 
 tDeoao, (.i.pil Conaipe 7 6pnai) h-i Ceniai]i ©puno ; pip ITIumnn, [.1. tJep^rene] 
 1 n-Oenac cull, 7 1 n-Oenac Colman ; Connaccu h-i Cpuacain." — Lealliar na 
 h-Uidhre, fol. 41. b. 
 
 " History of the Cemeteries here. 
 
 " A great king of great judgments assumed the sovereignty of Erin, i. e. Corniac, 
 son of Art, son of Conn of the Hundred Battles. Erin was prosperous in his time, 
 because just judgments were distributed throughout it by him ; so that no one durj-t 
 attempt to wound a man in Erin during the short jubilee of seven years ; for Cormac 
 had the iaitli of tlie one true God, according to the law ; for he said that he would not 
 adore stones, or trees, but that he would adore him who had made them, and who had 
 power over all the elements, i. e. the one powerful God who created the elements ; in 
 him he would believe. And he was the third person who had believed, in Erin, be- 
 fore the arrival of St. Patrick. Conehobor Mac Nessa, to whom Altus had told con- 
 cerning the crucifixion oiChr'ntwasthefrst; Morann, the son of Cairbre Cinncait, 
 (who was surnamed Mac Main) was the second person ; and Cormac was the third ; 
 and it is probable that others followed on their track in this belief. 
 
 ecep 6eca 7 muip in II. 3. 17. ' Gccm .1. banpile in II. ;i. n 
 
 o 2
 
 100 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Where Cormac held his court was at Tara, in imitation of the kings who preceded 
 liim, until his eye was destroyed by Engus Gaibhuaiphnech, the son of Eochaidh Finn 
 Fuath-airt ; but afterwards he resided at Acaill, (the hill on which Serin Colaim Cille 
 is at this day), and at Cenannas, [Kells], and at the house of Cletech ; for it was not 
 lawful that a kin"- with a personal blemish should reside at Tara. In the second year 
 aft<>r the injuring of his eye he came by his death at the house of Cletech, the bone of 
 a sahnon having stuck in his tliroat. And he (Cormac) told his people not to bury 
 him at Brugh, (because it was a cemetery of Idolaters,) for he did not worship the 
 same God as any of those interred at Brugh ; but to bury him at Eos na righ, with 
 liis face to the east. He afterwards died, and his servants of trust held a council, and 
 came to the resolution of burying him at Brugh, the place where the kings of Tara, 
 his predecessors, were buried. The body of the king was afterwards thrice raised to be 
 carried to Brugh, but the Boyne swelled up thrice, so as that they could not come ; so 
 that they observed that it was ' violating the judgment of a prince' to break through 
 this Testament of the king, and they afterwards dug his grave at Ros na righ, as he 
 himself had ordered. 
 
 " These were the chief cemeteries of Erin before the Faith, [i. e. before the in- 
 troduction of Christianity,] viz. Cruachu, Brugh, Tailltiu, Luachair Ailbe, Oenach 
 Ailbc, Oenach Culi, Oenach Colmain, Temhair Erann. 
 
 " Oenach Cruachan, in the first place, it was there the race of Ileremon, i. e. the 
 kings of Tara, were used to bury until the time of Cremhthann, the son of Lughaidh 
 Riabh-n-dcrg, (who was the first king of them that was interred at Brugh) viz. Cobh- 
 thach Coelbregh, and Labhraidh Loingsech, and Eocho Fedhleeh with his three sons 
 (i. e. the three Fidhemhna, i. e. Bres, Nar, and Lothor), aud Eocho Airemh, Lughaidh 
 Riabh n-derg, the six daughters of Eocho Fedhleeh, (i. e. Medhbh, and Clothru, Mu- 
 resc, and Drebriu, Mugain, and Ele,) and Ailill Mac Mada with his seven brothers, 
 (i. e. Cet, Anion, Doohe, et ceteri) aud all the kings doicii to Cremhthann, (these were 
 all buried at Cruachan). Why was it not at Brugh that the kings (of the race of 
 Coljhthach down to Crimhthann) were interred ? Not dLfiieult ; because the two pro- 
 vinces, which the race of Heremon possessed, were the province of Gailian, (i. e. the 
 province ofLeinster), and the province of Olnecmacht, (i.e. the province of Connaught). 
 In the first place the province of Gailian was occupied by the race of Labhraidh 
 Loingsech, and the province of Connaught was the peculiar inheritance of the race of 
 Cobhthach Coelbregh ; wherefore it (i. e. the province of Connaught) was given to 
 Medhbh before every other province. (The reason that the government of this land 
 was given to ^ledhbh is, because there was none of the race of Eochaidh fit to receive it 
 but hei'self for Lughaidh was not fit for action at the time). And whenever, therefore, 
 the monarchy of Erin was enjoyed by any of the descendants of Coblitliach Coelbregli, 
 the province of Connaught was his riddles (i. e. his native principality). And for this 
 reason they were interred at Oenach na Cruachna. But they were interred at Brugh 
 from the time of Crimhthann (Niadh-nar), to the time of Loeghaire, tlie son of Niall, 
 except three persons, namely, Art, the son of Conn, and Cormac, the son of Art, and 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages. 
 
 " We have already mentioned the cause for which Cormac was uot interred thei'e. 
 The reason why Art was not interred there is, because he 'believed,' the day before 
 the battle of Muccramma was fought, and ho predicted the Faith, (i. e. that Christianitj'
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 1 » I 
 
 would prevail in Erin), and he said that liis own grave would be at Dumlui Dcrgluaohi-a, 
 where Treoit [Trevet] is at this day, as he mentioned in a poem which ho composed, 
 viz. Cain do demta den, (i. e. a poem which Art composed, the beginning of whicli 
 is Cain do denna den, &c.) When his (Art's) body was afterwards carried eastwnrdu 
 to Dumha Uergluachra, if all the men of Erin were drawing it thence, they could not, 
 so that he was interred in that place, becavise there was a Catholic church to be after- 
 wards at the place where he was interred (i. e. Treoit hodie) because the truth and the 
 Faith had been revealed to him through his regal righteousness. 
 
 " Where Niall was interred was at Ochain, whence the hill was euUi-d ( teliaiii, i. e. 
 (Ml Caine, i. e. from the sighing and lamentation which the men of Erin made in la- 
 menting Niall. 
 
 " Conaire More was interred at JIagh Feci in Bregia (i. c. at Fert Cunairf) ; how- 
 ever some say that it was Conaire Carpraige was interred there, and not Conaire Moi', 
 and that Conaire Mor was the third king who was interred at Tara, viz. Conaire, 
 Loeghaire, and * • » *. 
 
 "At Tailltin the kings of Ulster were used to bury, viz. Ollandi Fmlhla, with lii-; 
 descendants down to Conchobhar, who wished that he should be carried to a place 
 between Slea and the sea, with his tiice to the east, on account of the Faith which he 
 had embraced. 
 
 " The nobles of tlie Tuatha De Danann were used to bury at Brugh, (i. e. the 
 Dagda with his three sons ; also Lughaidh, and Oe, and Ollam, and Ognia, and Etan, 
 the Poetess, and Corpre, the son of Etan,) and Cremhthann followed them because 
 his wife Nar was of the Tuatha Dea, and it was she solicited him that he should adopt 
 Brugh as a burial-place for himself and his descendants, and this was the cause that 
 they did not bury at Cruachan. 
 
 " The Lagenians (i. e. Cathair with his race and the kings who were before them) 
 were buried at Oenach Ailbhe. The Clann Dedad (i. e. the race of Conaire and Erna) at 
 Temhair Erann ; the men of Munster (i. e. the Dergthene) at Oenach Culi, and Oenach 
 Colmaiii ; and the Connacians at Cruachan." 
 
 The preceding document will, I think, be sufficient to sutisly all 
 rational inquirers of the visionary character of the hypothesis of the 
 K(iund Towers having been erected as i)laces of sepulture!, at least in 
 pagan times; for, though it does not throw any light on the character 
 of the monuments in use preceding Christianity, it refers \is distinctly 
 to their principal localities, in many of which we may still examine 
 the monuments themselves. 
 
 Our ancient MSS., in like manner, acquaint us with the loca- 
 lities of the principal battle-fields in Ireland, and with the particular 
 monuments of the most distinguished kings and warriors, from the 
 earhest periods to the establishment of Christianity in the country; 
 and in most of these localities the monuments still remain. Uiit do 
 we in any of those places discover a Round Tower, or the vestige of 
 one? Most assuredly not, nor any nionument having a cliai'actcristic
 
 102 INQUIUY INTO 'IJIE OKIGIN AND VSES 
 
 in cuiumou with one. ^Xc find tliL' stone earn and tlie green mound, 
 Avith their sepulchral chambers within them, and their monumental 
 character indicated by the upright stones, sometimes single — like the 
 stele of the Greeks— and sometimes forming a circle, or concentric 
 circles. We find the giants' graves, or beds, as they are called by 
 the Irish — the cromlechs and Druids' altars of speculative antiquaries. 
 Aud when we explore any of these monuments, Ave find, according to 
 their age, either the rude unglazed sepulchral urn of baked clay, and 
 occasionally of stone, containing bones more or less calcined, or un- 
 burned skeletons, or occasionally both, in the same sepulchre. We 
 also find very frequently Aveapons of stone or metal ; and, in monu- 
 ments of importance indicating the distinguished rank of the persons 
 interred, ornaments of silver and gold. And that such and no other 
 were the A'arieties of sepulchral monuments in use in Ireland in pagan 
 times, a volume of historical evidences from our ancient MSS. might 
 be adduced to prove : a feAv examples Avill, hoAvever, be sufficient for 
 my present purpose. Thus, as an example of the class of monuments 
 in use in Ireland during the sAvay of the Tuatha De Danann race, as 
 Avell as subsequently, I take the tAVO following passages, relative to the 
 monuments at the royal cemetery of Brugh na Boinne, on the banks 
 of the BojTie, as given in the Dinnsenchus, contained in the Book of 
 Ballnnote, fol. 190. 
 
 " t)o Dinjnaib in 6po5a inn po .1. Conj inline popamo, 6ecr in tJajoa, ITIup 
 Tin rrioppigna, 6ecc in TTlacae, ip oia colpca pciicep Inbep Cotpcu; 6apc Cpim- 
 clicnnD Mianaip, ip ann po aonacc ; pepc peDelmio 'Reccmaip, Ccipn ail Cuinn 
 Cec-caraij, Cumor Caipppi Tipencaip, pulacc Picicliacli Spoipcine, &c." 
 
 " Of tlie monuments of Brugh here, viz. the Bed of the daughter of Forann, the 
 Monument of the Dagda, the Mound of tlie Morrigan, the Monument of [the moiister'\ 
 Mata ; it is from its colpa or thigh Inbher Colptha is called ; the Bare of Crimthann 
 Nianar, in which he was interred ; the grave of Fedelmidh, the Lawgiver, the Cam- 
 ail [stone earn] of Conn of the Hundred Battles, the Cumut [commensurate grave] 
 of Cairbre Lifeachair, the Fulacht of Fiacha Sraiphtine." 
 
 The second passage enters more into detail, as foUoAvs : 
 
 " Qlirep. Imoae in tJajoa ceramup; t)a Cic na moppijna, pope ciipm 1 n- 
 ^enaip CepmuiD niil-Bel, mac in Dtigou ; pipe m-6oinne nina Necrain, ip 1 cue 
 le in coin m-bijoiap bo ainm tJabiUu, unoe Cnoc Dabilla oicicup ; tJumaCpepc; 
 pepcSpclaim bpiceman m tJujoa, ppip 1 n-abap pepc pcicpic inoiu ; Cipp 7 Cuip- 
 pel, mna in tJajoa ; .1. oa cnoc; pepcu Qeoa f-uipjnij, mic in Oajoui; t)epc 
 m-6uailcc m-6ic; 6ecc Cellaij, mic ITluilcoba ; <LecT jabpn Cinaooci, mic IpS*^' 
 luij; Capcap 6eic ITIucae ; ^'■^n" '" ITIqcae .1. pelci pin, uc alii oicunc; tiaj
 
 OF THE IKKXI) TOWERS OK IRELAND. | ( i;i 
 
 6uiDi, mic niiiipeod, (iipm i pail a cenn ; f,ecc 6enn .1. lecc popp n copcluiip 111 
 niocae ; uii. «. ic cop leip 7 1111. cino ; t)iini(i na ciunii ; Caipel Qenrupii, niic 
 Cpunomaeil; Roue pula niioip, &c." 
 
 " Aliter. The Bed of tlie Dagda, first; tlir Two Pups of iIk' Morrigan, at tlif placi' 
 where Cermud IMilbhel, son of the Dagda, was born ; tlie Grave of Boinu, the wife of 
 Nechtan; it was she took with her the small hound called Dabilla, from which Ciuk; 
 Dabilla is called ; the Mound of Tresc ; the grave of Esclam, the Dagda's Brchou, 
 which is called Fert-Palric at this day ; [the monuments of] Cirr and Cuirrell, wives 
 of the Dagda ; these are two hillocks ; the Grave of Aedli Luirguecli, son of the 
 Dagda ; the Cave of Buailcc Bee ; the Monument of Cellach, son of Maelcoblia ; the 
 Monument of the steed of Cinaedh, son of Irgalach ; the Prison of Liatli-Macha ; tin' 
 Glen of the ilata, i. e. the monster, as some assert ; the Pillar-stone of Buidi, tlie son 
 of Muiredh, where his head is interred ; the Stone of Bcnn, i. e, the monument on 
 which the monster Mata was killed ; it had one hundred and forty legs and four heads ; 
 the Mound of the bones ; the Caisel (stone enclosure) of Aengus, son of C'runnmarl ; 
 Rout sula Midir, &c." 
 
 As examples of the sepulchnil momnneiits of tliLs Tiiatlia l)r 
 Danann race most familiar to the majority of myreaders, I may ])oit)t 
 to the magnificent mounds situated on the Bojme at Drogheda, Dowtli, 
 Knowth, and New Grange, which last has lain open to the inspection 
 of the curious during the last hundred and fifty years. And in con- 
 nection with tliese monuments I may observe, that the occasional 
 absence of articles of value within them, when opened in modn-n 
 times, by no means proves that such had not been deposited there 
 originally, as the plundering of these very sepulchres by tlic Danes 
 is recorded in the Annals of Ulster at tlie year 8(i2 : 
 
 " A. D. 862. U'lm Qchuio Qloai 7 Cnobbai, 7 uam peipr 6otioan op Dubuo, 
 7 uam mna an ^oban po pcpuiapec ^uill, quoD uricea non peppeccum t:l'C .1. a 
 peer po placpac rpi pij^e peponn piumn, mic Conainj .1. Qnilnirii, 7 lirnip, 7 
 
 Quiple." 
 
 " A. D. 862. The cave of Aehadh Aldai and of Cnodhba [Knowth], and the cave 
 of the sepulchre of Boadan over Dubhad [Dowth], and the cave of the wife of Gobhan, 
 were searched by the Danes, (/uod antea non perfectinn est, on one occasion tliat the 
 three kings AmlafF, Imar, and Auisle, were plundering tlu' ti'rritory of Fhiiui, the son 
 of Conaing." 
 
 As an example of the monuments of a different race, and of hiter 
 date, I may refer to the cemetery called Relec na Kiogh, at Kath- 
 croghan, the place of interment of many of the kings of the Scotic or 
 Milesian race, and at which was interred the last pagan mcjnarcli of 
 this race, — the celebrated Dathi, — who was killed l)y liglitning. ac- 
 cording to oiu" annalists, in the year 400.
 
 10 J IXQUIRY INTO TlIK OKIGIN AXD USES 
 
 111 the ancient MS. from which the preceding tract on the pagan 
 cemeteries of Ireland has been taken, there is also a tract on the 
 deaths and Inirials of Datlii, the last pagan monai'ch, and the other 
 princes of this race interred at Rathcroghan, from which I extract 
 the following poem, ascribed to Dorban, a poet of West Connanght. 
 as it will very clearly show the character of the sejjulchral monuments 
 in that great regal cemetery. 
 
 " Nicim 7 t)pucc If Oaci, 
 cpi ingena Roppaci, 
 a pecc m-bpurip, — mop a celiac, — 
 ma Qilell otip pino 6pe5mac, 
 Qca pin 'p in Duma mop 
 pil ip in oenuc, cen bpon, 
 Cpi meic pig tajen lepoa, 
 ta cpi ingenu oelboa. 
 Q apim no a innipin 
 nu pil porib do laecaib 
 nocon pit ic plteoaib, 
 7 ni pit ic gaecaib. 
 Coeca Duma, oemnigim, 
 pit in oenuc na Cpuacna, 
 acu p6 cac Duma nib 
 coeca pep pip-glan puacoo. 
 lac cpi peitce lolaioe 
 petec Cliailcen, pe coja, 
 petec Cpuacan pip-glaine, 
 ocup peLec in 6po5a. 
 Cac cnoc pit 'pino oenuc pm 
 aca poi laic ip pijna, 
 ip ecip ip cUDcaipe, 
 7 mnu glana gpiboa. 
 SI05 Connacc ba compomac, 
 aipecc pip-alaino puacoa, 
 alaino in car conjalac, 
 annacc 1 Caraip Cpuacna. 
 Ni pit ip in majm pein 
 
 cnoc in Oenuc na Cpuacna, 
 nac pepc pig no pij-placa, 
 no mna, no ecep puacoa. 
 CTonaicre plog po TTIidi, 
 ap tap in 6po5a cuacaij ; 
 no aonaiccip apo UlaiD 
 ip m Ualcin co tuacaip.
 
 OF THE UDIXI) TOWERS OF IliEI.AM). 105 
 
 pip UUiiD, pin Concobop, 
 aonaicre h-i Culcin puun. 
 CO bap ino pip popbcipdijj, 
 Dici n-oecaiD oib ci mum." 
 
 " Niani and Dnicht niul Datlu, 
 
 Three; daughters of Rossachi, 
 
 His seven brothers, — great his household, — 
 
 With Ailell of fair Bregia, 
 These are buried in the great mound 
 
 Which is at the Oeuach, without doubt. 
 
 Three sons of the King of extensive Leinster, 
 
 With his three beauteous daughters. 
 To reckon or to tell 
 
 The number of heroes under them [the mounds] 
 
 Is not in the power of poets, 
 
 And it is not in the power of sages. 
 
 Fifty mounds, I certify. 
 
 Are at Oenach na Cruaclma, 
 
 There are under each niovuid of them 
 
 Fifty truly-fine warlike men. 
 
 The three cemeteries of Idolaters are 
 The cemetery of Tailten, the select, 
 The cemetery of the ever-fair Cruachan, 
 And the cemetery of Briigh. 
 
 Every hill which is at this Oenach [Cruaclian] 
 
 Has vmder it heroes and queens. 
 
 And poets and distributers, 
 
 And fair fierce women. 
 The host of Connaught that was energetic, 
 
 A truly fine warlike host, 
 
 Beautiful the valiant tribe, 
 
 Buried in Catliair Cruacluia. 
 
 There is not at this place 
 
 A hill at Oenach na Cruaclma, 
 
 Which is not the grave of a king or ro} ul prince. 
 
 Or of a woman, or warlike poet. 
 The host of great Meath are buried. 
 
 In the middle of the lordly Brugh ; 
 
 The great Ultonians used to bury 
 
 At Talten with pomp. 
 The true Ultonians, before Conchobhor, 
 
 Were ever buried at Talten, 
 
 Until the death of that triumphant man, 
 
 Thri.iugh which they lust their glory." 
 P
 
 l()(i IXQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Tills poem is followed by a prose commentary, apparently written 
 by Moelmuiri himself, and, though it is not wholly necessary to my 
 pi'esent subject, I cannot resist the temptation to extract it in this 
 place, as throwing light upon the sources from which the information 
 on this subject was obtahied : 
 
 " marl LllciD pia Concobo]i i Ualren po nonacca, .1. Ollatn porta 7 moppey^- 
 piup leipp Dia maccaib, 7 oia h-uib, 7 co n-opeiin aile do marib Ulao. LUipli 
 Cuure oe Danano (cenniora moppeppiup po aonacc Diib h-i Culcin) ip in Gpuj, 
 .1. ^^115, 7 Oe, mac Olloman, 7 Ojma, 7 Capppe, mac ©came, 7 ©can (banpili) 
 pein, 7 in Dajoa 7 a cpi meic (.1. Qeo 7 Oenjup 7 Cepmaic), 7 pocaioe mop up- 
 cena do Cuair oe Oanano, 7 pep m-Golj, 7 caic a\\ cena. T^ijo coiciD (5ulian 1 
 n-Oenac Qilbi ; Ripjpao TTIuman 1 n-Oenac Ciili, 1 n-Oenac Colman, 7 peci. 
 Clann tJeDoo h-i Cemaip Gpano ; RijjpaD Connacc h-i Cpuacain, uc oitimup. 
 
 " Coeca cnoc in cec Oenuc oib pin : coeca cnoc, em, 1 n-Oenuc Cpuacain, 
 7 .1. cnoc in Oenuc Calren, 7. 1, in Oenuc in fipoja. 
 
 " Ic lar po imoppo pilio Connacc, .1. t)opban, 7 piairciup, 7 Oenjup pili ; a 
 ^noi in luccpin, (.1. in lapcup Connacc ica .i.Oelmna Cipi oa loca) ; Copna Gcep, 
 7 Scanlan mac ©o^ain, in pili, 7 tDacen 6cep, po mapb in bill ; ip oe aca 61I1 
 t)aren Ii-i dp niani, ip ppip acbepap bill Scaren inoiu. Qcac cpa in luce pin ule 
 I n-Oenuc na Cpucicna ; 7 aca ano apo-pi in coicid, .1. QiliU, mac ITlaca Plupepci, 
 7 a pecij, .1. ITleDb, injen ©cac peolij, lap na bpeic u pepc nieoba d'u muncip, 
 up ba h-aipejou leo a h-aonacul li-i Cpuacain. Ni ric Dim a n-aipim uli. Ip 
 (ino po aonacc t)aci, apo pi h-©penn, 7 ip inci a cac in luce po cupim Copna 
 ©cep. Ciappaiji a oipi. 
 
 " piano cpa 7 Gocaio ©olac h-Lla Cepin ip lac po cinoilpac po a Uebpuib 
 ©ocaoa h-Lli planoacan 1 n-Qpo ITlaca, 7 a llebpaib ITIanipcpec, 7 ap na lebpaib 
 cojcuoib ap cena, .1. ap in t.ibup 6uoi, cepco ap in Capcap 1 n-Qpo Pllaca, 7 ap in 
 f-ibup (5ipp, boi im nianipcep ; 7 ip pioe puc in mac lejino lepp 1 n-jaic oap muip, 
 7 111 ppic piam Dilepp. ConiD pencap na pelec inpin." 
 
 " The chiefs of Ulster before Coiichol)hor were burled at Talten, viz. OUamli Fodhla 
 and seven of his sons, and grandsons, with others of the chiefs of Ulster. The nobles of 
 the Tuatha De Danann (with the exception of seven of them who were Interred at 
 Talten) were buried at Brugh, i. e. Lugh, and Oe, son of Ollamh, and Ogma, and Car- 
 pre, son of Etau, and Etaii [the poetess] herself, and the Dagda and his three sons, (i. e. 
 Aedh, and Oengus, and Cermait,) and a great many others besides of the Tuatha De 
 Dananns, and Firbolgs, and others. The kings of the province of Galian [Leinster] 
 were buried at Oenach Alibi ; the kings of Munster at Ueuach Cull, in Oenach Colman 
 and Feci. The Clann Dedhadh at Teuihair Erann. The kings of Coiinaught at Cruachan 
 ■lit ciiximus. 
 
 " There are fifty hills [mounds] at each Oenach of these : fifty hills at Oenach 
 Cruachan, fifty hills at Oenach Talten, and fifty at Oenach in Broga. 
 
 " These were the poets of Connaught, viz. Dorban, and Flaithcius, and Aengus the 
 poet these were of Gno, (in the west of Connaught, i. e. of Delmna Tiri da Locha) ; 
 Torna Eiges, Scanlan Mac Eoghain, the poet, and Daithen, the jioet, whom the tree
 
 OF THE ROIXI) TOWERS OF IKKI.AMl. 107 
 
 killed ; wlienciiis Bik' Datlu'U in 'I'ir Maiuo, at this ilav i-alk-.l Bili Scatlien. All tlii-se 
 are buried at Oenach na Cruachna ; and there are also buried there the supreme king 
 of the pro\ancc, i. e. Ailell Mac ]\Inta of Muiresc, and his wife, i. e. Medhbh, the dauirhter 
 of Eochaidh Fedhlecli, her body having been removed liy her people from Fert Mcdlibhu, 
 for they deemed it more honourable to have her interred at Cruaehaii. I am not able 
 to enumerate them all. It is here Dathi, monarch of Ireland, was buried, and it is hen' 
 lie those enumerated by Torna Eiges. Ciarraigi was his reward. 
 
 " It was Flann and Eochaidh Eolaeh O'Ceiriu that collected this account from the 
 books of Eochaidh O'Flannagau at Armagh, and from the Books of the Monastery [Mo- 
 iiasterboice], and from other select books, viz. from the Lihur Budi, which disappeared 
 from the Carcar at Armagh, and from the Libur Gerr, which was at the Monastery ; 
 and this was the book which the student took with him by stealth across the sea, and 
 was never found since. So far the History of the Cemeteries." 
 
 In accordance with this description we find that the nioiminents 
 within the cemetery at Eathcroghan, wliieh is of a circular ioriii. 
 measuring one hundred and sixteen paces in diameter, and f^ur- 
 rounded with a stone ditch greatly defaced, — the catluiir oi' the 
 poem, — are small circular movmds, which when examined arc foiuid 
 to cover rude sepulchral chambers formed of stone, without cement 
 of any kind, and containing unburned bones. The niouununit of 
 Dathi, which is a small circular mound, with a pillar-stone of red 
 sand-stone, is situated outside the enclosure, at a short distance to 
 the east, and may be at once identified from the following notice of 
 it, given by the celebrated antiquary, Diiald Mac Firbis, in l(j()(): 
 
 " CugciD copp tDari 50 Cpuacbain, jiip Ii-uonuicecib e i TJelij ou pioj 1 j;- 
 Cpuucum, 1 K-pad ct pubcioap piogpaio pit Gpeuriioin do upriiop, (iic 11 b-pud jiip 
 oniu unCbaippre t)hecip5 map bug op a lije 'na leacc lanii le Riiir Cpuucun, gup 
 ariopci, ItJCiG." — Lib. Geiieul. p. 251. 
 
 " The body of Dathi was brought to Cruachan, and it was interred at Relig na 
 riogh at Cruachan, where the most of the kings of the race of Heremon were buried, 
 and where to this day the Red Pillar Stone remains as a stone monument over his 
 grave near Rath-Cruachan, to this time, 16GG." 
 
 The following notice of Carn Amhalgaidh, preserved in the Book 
 of Lecan, fol. 247, a, will give a distinct idea of the kind of monu- 
 ments, which the pagan Irish chieftains erected for the pur])ose of 
 receiving their bodies after death, and will also tend to show that an 
 annual meeting of the people, called in Irish Oenach, was usually 
 held at those regal cemeteries : 
 
 "Capn aiiitdjuiD, .1. amaljaiD, mac Piachpu 6151:10, mic Dtichi, mic Piach- 
 pach. 1]' leip po cochUiD in capn, cum aenaij h-Ua n-amaljaio do oenam 'mi 
 
 V 2
 
 lUS INQUIHY INTO THE OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 rliitncheU cadci bliuDimi, oo peidiem a lonj ocup u cablui^ up ocup mo, ocup dki 
 iionocol booeiii." 
 
 " Ciu-n x\inhalgaidh, i. e. of Amhalgaidli, son of Fiachra Elgaidh, son of Dathi, son 
 of Fiaclira. It is by him that this earn was formed, for the purpose of holding a nieet- 
 imr of thi; Hy-Amhalgaidh around it every year, and to view his ships and tieet going 
 and coming, and as a place of interment for himself." 
 
 11' it wc)-e necessary to my purpose I might also adduce, from tlie 
 most ancient Iiish MSS., several minute descriptions of the modes of 
 interment practised by the pagan Irish ; one, however, which cannot 
 fail to interest the reader, may suffice. It is found in that most va- 
 luable MS., the Leabliar na h- Uidhre, so often quoted already, and 
 occurs in a very ancient story, written to show that Finn Mac Cum- 
 haill was also sometimes known by the name of Mongan, and which 
 details the circumstances connected Avith the death of Fotliadh Airg- 
 theach, who was for a short time monarch of Ireland, and was killed 
 by the warrior Cailte, the foster-son of Finn Mac Cumhaill, in tlie 
 battle of Ollarba, fought, according to the Annals of the Foui' Mas- 
 ters, in the year 285. In this tract, Cailte is introduced as identify- 
 ing the grave of Fotliadh Airgtheach, at Ollarba, in tlie following 
 words : 
 
 " 6amaip-ne lar-pu, a Pino, ol ui c-ocluc. Qoaucc, ol nionjan, ni muir pni. 
 6amaip-ni la Pmo, cpu, ol pe ; du loomap oi Qlbae." Immapnacmap ppi PoruD 
 n-aip5cec h-i puno accuc pop Ollopbi. Picimmip pccinoal n-ano. Pocapcpo epcop 
 paip, CO pec epic, co lluio h-i calmctin ppipp anuU, 7 con pticaib a lapno h-i rti- 
 lam ; ippeb an oicelcap po po boi ip in jai pin. pujebccip in mael cloc oia po lapa 
 u pouD pi,'' 7 pojebcap anuip lapnn ip ni calani, 7 pojebrap uulao"^ pocaio Qipgcij 
 ppi|' cinaip bic. Qca compap cloci imbi ano h-i calam. Qcnc a oi poll aipjic, 
 7 a 01 bunne ooac, 7 a inuincopc apjic pop a compai)i; 7 act'i coipce oc a ulaio ; 7 
 cica 050m ip in ciiiD pil h-i calam dim coipci. Ippeo pil ano, 
 
 eochait) aiR^chech inso. 
 
 TJa m-bi Cailce in imaepiuc ppi pmo. 6che (.1. do jnicbep) lap in oclaic a picc 
 pamUiio ule, 7 popepca." 
 
 " We were with thee, O Finn, said the youth. Hush ! said Mongan, that is not 
 good [fair]. " We were with Finn, once, said he ; we went from Alba, \_recte Almain]. 
 We fought against Fothadh Airgthech here with thee at Ollarba. We fought a battle 
 here ; I made a shot at him, and I drove my spear through him, so that the spear en- 
 tered the earth at the other side of him, and its iron head was left buried in the earth. 
 
 " aimain in H. 3, 17, which is better. 
 
 '' Qn poao pin, i. e. that shot, in H. .3, 17. 
 
 ' Lllaib in H. 3, 17, which is the form of the word still in use.
 
 Ol- THE ROUND TOWEKS OF IKKLANl). ]^)^J 
 
 This is tlio VL'i-y h:iiulk- that was in that spear. The ruuinl slom; iVoiii whii-li 1 iimdt.- 
 that shot will be found, and east oi' it will be found the iron head of the spear biirii-d 
 ill the earth ; aud the uluid/i [earn] of Fothadii Airgthech will be found a shun dis- 
 tance to the east of it. There is a chest of stone about him in the earth. There are 
 his two rings of silver, and his two bunne doat [bracelets?], and his torque of silver on 
 his chest; and there is a jjillar stone at his earn; aud an Oguniis [iiiserilied] cm the end 
 of the pillar stone which is in the earth. And what is in it is, 
 
 EOCHAll) AIRGTHECH HEKE. 
 
 It was Cailte that was here along with Finn. All these things were searched for l.y 
 the youth who had arrived, and they were found." 
 
 I think I have now adduced sufficient evidence to satisfy the 
 reader respecting the real character of the pagan modes of sej)uhuie 
 in use in Ireland, and that the theory, advanced by my i'riends of the 
 South Munster Society of Antiquaries, is at variance as well with tin- 
 ancient Irish authorities as with the existing momimciits of kudwn 
 pagan antiquity. 
 
 The only remaining hypothesis of those referiiiig the Kouiid'l'owers 
 to a pagan use, namely, their having been Phalli, or I'kiai'KIA 'J'k.m- 
 I'LA, is happil}' so absurd, and at the same time so utterh- uiisiipj)orted 
 by autlicn-ity or evidence worthy of refutation, tliat I gladly pass it by 
 without fiulher notice, even though it has found a zealous sup}K)rter 
 in the person of Sir William Betham, since these pages were origi- 
 nally -written and read to the Academy, and who was consequently 
 not unacquainted with their contents. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 THEORIES or THE CHRISTIAN ORIGIN AND USES OF TflK IMl'.VD TOWEKS. 
 
 1. That they were Anchorite Towers. — 2. That they were peni- 
 tential prisons. — 3. That they were belfries. — 4. Tliat they were keeps, 
 or monastic treasure-houses. — 5. That they were walch-towcis aiul 
 beacons. 
 
 1. Anchorite Towers. — The hypothesis tluit the Towers wei-e 
 erected for the use of anchorites, in imitation of tlic jjillar of St. Si- 
 mon the Stylite, originated with Dean Richai-dson. of Belturbet, and 
 has been warmly advocated by Walter Hairis. in liis edition of Ware's 
 works, pp. 130 — 135, and in later times by the lelebrated architec- 
 tuial antiquaries. Dr. Milner and "My. King.
 
 1 10 INQUIRY INTO TIIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The arguments adduced in support of tliis hypothesis rest almost 
 entirely on the supposed agreement, in form, size, and internal con- 
 struction, between the Irish Towers and the pillars of the Eastern 
 Anchorites, to prove which Harris is at great pains to estabhsh a uni- 
 formity, which, it will be easy to show, certainly never existed. 
 
 The first point of agTeement, as Harris gravely states, consists in 
 lioth beinET of a round form. " Those of Asia w^ere in form round, 
 so are om's." This I am forced to concede. 
 
 Secondly. " They [the Eastern Pillars] were of various Heights, 
 so likewise are oiu-s." This, too, I must allow. But the Eastern Pillars 
 varied in height from six cubits, or nine feet, to thirty-six or forty 
 cubits, in one of great celebrity, while the Irish Towers varied in 
 lieight from sixty to one hundred and thirty feet. The only point of 
 agreement therefore is in each class being of various heights ; and 
 on the same data Harris might with equal justice have asserted a 
 common origin for any two classes of objects, however differing in 
 other respects. 
 
 Thirdly. " That they Avere holloir, as ours are." This agreement 
 Harris endeavours to establish in opposition to the learned BoUandus, 
 who expressly states that the Stylite columns were solid. For this 
 purpose he first translates a passage of Evagrius (Hist. Eccl. lib. i. 
 chap. 3) as follows : 
 
 " At the same time, (i. e. in the 4th Century) flourished Si/meon, a man of cele- 
 brated Memory and high Fame. He first instituted the Station in a Pillar, and built 
 a little dwelling Place (Domicilium) on it, the JMeasure of which was scarce two 
 Cubits." 
 
 And again : 
 
 " Simeon, (proceeds Evagrius), wore out 56 Years in these extreme Severities ; for 
 he spent 9 in a Monastery, wherein he had first learned the Eudiments of Divine Pre- 
 cepts of li\-ing, and in this Hovell 47 ; of which last Number he spent 10 in a very 
 narrow Place (which others say was a dry Well) 7 in smaller Pillars, and at length 30 
 in a Pillar of 40 Cubits high, which stood 300 Furlongs at most from A/itiocli." — {Hist. 
 JS'cc/. Lib. 14. Cap. 51.) 
 
 This translation, to mj- mind, carries on its very face sufficient 
 evidence as well of its own inaccuracy as of the falseness of the con- 
 clusions which Harris eudeavom-s to draw from it : for, if the pillar 
 were hollow from its base, what necessity was there to build a domi- 
 cilium of scarce two cubits on its top ? — and, if even the Stylite were 
 stated to have instituted the station in and not on the pillar, is it not
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IKELAXI). 1 | 1 
 
 evident tliiit iu)thiiig inoro could be niennt tliiin such a pulpit or tuli- 
 like cavity on its suniinit as would be necessary to prevent tiu' en- 
 thusiast from falling. In tliis sense only has the passage been alwavs 
 understood and translated, as far as I can find ; us an instance of 
 which take the old Cambridge versionof Evagrius, by X'alesius, l(i<)-j. 
 
 " In these times, Synieon, a person of an holy and most culebnited memory, nou- 
 rished, and was eminent; he was the first person that instituted the station i/jion a pilinr, 
 tlie circumference of whose mansion was scarce two cubits," &c. " Moreover, Symcou 
 six'nt six and fifty years in this afflictive and austere mode of life. In the first nionivs- 
 tery wherein he had been imbued with the precepts of a divine life (he spent) nine 
 years, and seven and forty in that place called t/te Maudra during ten years (of whidi 
 time) he performed his combat in a certain narrow place; (he dwelt) seven years In 
 the shorter pillars, and thii'ty years upon a pillar of forty cubits lonj,'." 
 
 Harris next quotes Raderus, the Tyrolese Jesuit, and Petrus (ra- 
 lesinius, an Italian priest, to support his hypothesis, neither of wlinm. 
 however, assists him in the matter, and even if they did, could iK)t l)e 
 received as authorities of any weight. The former says (I quote ILir- 
 ris's translation), that " The Hole or Cell or Domicile placed at the 
 Top of the Pillars, in which the Sfi/lifes stood, were 2 Cubits, or 3 
 Feet broad, and were nut cohered ivitli a Roof, that they might 
 have the freer Liberty of contemplating the Heavens," &c. ; and that, 
 " When any Person went up to the Sfijlites, or they came down to 
 others, it was by the Means of Ladders." Galesinius, indeed, says that 
 the Stylite " was shut up in a hollow Pillar for forty years ;" but 
 might not this be very properly said of a person enclosed in such a 
 cell or hole as that already described ? and yet Harris has tlie weak- 
 ness to consider this authority as conclusive, and forgetting his own 
 quotation from Raderus, adds : " But let it be considered, whether a 
 Ladder could from the Outside be safely reared to the Height of (JO 
 Feet against a round Spire of such small Dimensions at Toj). in Order 
 to supply the Sfj/lite with Food and other Necessaries ; luiless, hke 
 Eli jail, we allow him to be fed by Ravens, the Necessity of which 
 IVIiracle will be avoided, if we admit the Eastern Pillars to have been 
 hollow, and, like ours, fitted with Lofts and Stages, by ]\Ieans of wliicli. 
 and the Help of short Ladders, access might readily be had lo the 
 Top." 
 
 This is inexpressibly puerile. If the pillars were so narrow that 
 a ladder could not be applied with safety from the outside, their 
 extreme diameter at top being but three feet, what sort of a chimney-
 
 1 12 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 like cavity to place " Lofts and Stages" in must that have been within 
 it ? Certainly one not more than a foot in diameter, if we allow the 
 \vall to have had any thickness, and which, consequently, could only 
 be ascended by a climbing-boy, and a very small one too, whom we 
 must necessarily suppose to have been attached to the saint's esta- 
 blishment for the purpose ! It is difficult indeed to treat such rea- 
 sonings witli proper gravity. There is no distinction more ancient 
 than that between tower and pillar ; insomuch that even Dr. Milner, 
 with all his zeal in support of Harris's hypothesis, had not the hardi- 
 ]iood — a quality he rarely wanted in seeking to estabhsh a point — 
 to adopt such imbecile reasonings. 
 
 Harris, after thus settling, to his own satisfaction, the points of 
 agreement between the pillars of the Eastern ShjUtes and those of 
 the West, next proceeds to point out the circumstances in which 
 they differ, and to explain the probable causes of this non-conformity. 
 The first is, that the Eastern Pillars were not roofed, while the Irish 
 were invariably so, a disagreement which he considered necessary 
 from the difference of region. 
 
 " For human Nature covild not bear to be perpetually exposed witliout Shelter to 
 the Severities of this cold and moist Climate, whatever might have beeu done in the 
 milder Eastern Countries." 
 
 Very rational indeed ! "\^^^at, then, were the uses of the four, 
 five, or six ungiazed apertiu'es at top ? Would not the situation 
 of an unfortunate ancliorite thus exposed to the winds of heaven, let 
 them blow from whatever point they might, be even worse than that 
 of a pei'son exposed to the open aii' ? 
 
 He next says : 
 
 " Another DiiFerence is, that the Eastern Columns were only 3 Feet in Diameter at 
 the Extremity, as appears from Eragrius, Niceplwn(s and others : AVhereas those 
 among us appear to be 8 Feet in the Diameter at the Base, and some more, and the 
 Diminution to the Extremity does not seem to the Eye (for I was never on the Top 
 of any of them) to be above a fourth part, which also corresponds with the Rules of 
 Architecture ; so that the Irish Tnwer, being 6 Feet in the Diameter at the Extremity, 
 afforded Room to the Solitary to stretch himself at Length in it, which he covdd not do 
 in the Eastern Pillar. But may not this Difference be accounted for from the Relaxation 
 of Discipline from what it was in the first Institution of the Stylite Order by Symeon; 
 as we often read to have been practised in other religious Orders, which has from Time 
 to Time caused such infinite Reformations among them ?" 
 
 Tlie difference of diameter, here acknowledged, appears to me to
 
 OF THE ROLXI) TUWEK.S OF lliF.I.AM). 113 
 
 be quite sufficient to prove the fallacy of Harris's speculation, for as 
 to the relaxation of discipline, &c., -which he supposes ini<rht have 
 caused this difference, it is mere idle conjectiu-e, and unworlh}' of 
 notice. 
 
 Harris further on says : 
 
 " The Habitations of these Anachorites are called by some of our Writers Iiiclii- 
 soria in Latin, and Arcti Indusorii Erijaslulu, the Prisons of a narrow Jnclosure. Par- 
 tiinUuly in the Life oi Diincliad 0-Braoin, wjio was Abbot of Clonmacnois, and having 
 obtained a very popular Keputation for Learning and Piety, to avoid the air of vain 
 Glury, he betook himself to an Anachoretical Lite, and shut liiniself up in Arcti In- 
 dusorii Ergastulo, in the Prison of a narrow ftidusiire, and employed hunself wiiully in 
 the Contemplation of God and Eternity, where he died in 987." 
 
 He adds : 
 
 " I will not take upon me to athrm, that it w^as in one of these Towers at Clonnioe- 
 nois, (where there are more than one of the Kind) that he shut himself uj) ; but tlie 
 Expression used upon the Oceasion may be very well adapted to them." 
 
 In this statement Harris has not dealt fairly with his readers, la 
 the first place it would have been impossible for him, as I believe, to 
 have pointed out any other authority for calling the cells of tlic an- 
 chorites Arcti Inclusorii Ergastula, than that single one in the Life 
 (if Dunchad O'Braoin; and, secondly, he leads the reader to infer that 
 it mi<iht have been in one of the Towers of Clonmacnoise that the 
 abbot secluded himself, and there died. This he must have known 
 to be contrary to fact. According to his Life, as given by Colgan, 
 Dmichad had led this sort of life when in a private station, from 
 which being di-agged, on the death of the Abbot Tuathal, he was 
 forced to take on him the labours of the abbacy. Still, however, 
 longing for a retired state, he repaired in the year 974 to Armagh, 
 hoping that he shoiild be allowed to do so in a place in Avhich he was 
 unknown, and far remote from that in which his sanctity had procured 
 him so much admiration. In this expectation he was tUsappointed. 
 His reputation had probably travelled before him, and the respect 
 which it procured for him was soon so general througliout that city 
 that he determined on withdrawing from it. As soon, however, as 
 this intention Avas discovered, the principal inhabitants dei)uted some 
 venerable persons to request hun to stay a year longer among them. 
 The request was comphed with ; and when, at the close of the year, 
 he was again bent on departing, a similar entreaty was made to him 
 ■with the same success, and so on annually, until at length he died 
 
 Q
 
 114 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 there, ou tlio I6tli of Januaiy, A. D. 987-— See Colgan' s Acta Sancto- 
 
 /■//III, pp. 105, \0G. Thus we find that if Harris had taken upon him 
 to allirni that it was in one of the Towers of Clonmaciioise that Dun- 
 chad had shut himself up — a fact which nevertheless he wishes his 
 readers to infer — he would have asserted that which he kncAv was 
 not the truth. If the Round Towers had been appropriated to the 
 use of anchorites, those of Clonmacnoise would have suited Dunchad's 
 pui'pose as well as any other, and he had no occasion to go elsewhere 
 for retirement : he might have locked the door of his keep or prison 
 — after drawing up the ladder, in the maimer Dr. Milner conjectured — 
 and have hid defiance to all friendly intiniders. As to his habitation 
 at Armagh, it is called in his Life a cell (cella) — a term which it 
 woidd be sm'ely an overstretch of the imagination to apply to a fairer. 
 Finally, Harris says : 
 
 " I am informed by a skilful Critick in Iris/i, that this slender Round Tower is 
 ealled Cloch-Aneoire, in that Language, i. e. the Stone of the Anchorite, and not Cloghad, 
 or a Steeple, asMoli/neux lancies; and a Tradition prevails at Drumlalmn in the County 
 of Caean, where one of them stands in the Church Yard, that an Anchorite lived on 
 the Top of it." 
 
 The critic, however, Avho communicated this piece of infonnation, 
 if in earnest, gave but a bad instance of his skill in the Irish tongue. 
 It is unquestionable that the Towers are still knoAvn by no other 
 names than cluictheach and clogas — words signifying bell-house or 
 belfry — in every part of Ireland in which the Irish language still re- 
 mains ; and there is not a shadow of proof that they -were ever known 
 by the name of cloch-ancoire, or stone of the anchorite, — an appella- 
 tion, which it would have been absmxl to apply to a tower. As to 
 the tradition, it scarcely deserves comment. If there were a tradition 
 of a recluse having hved in the tower of Drmnlahan, it must have 
 referred to a period not very remote ; and the circumstance of a re- 
 ligious enthusiast having taken up his residence there, — as the hermit 
 of Killarney did in the abbey of Mucruss, — wovUd no more make the 
 one than the other an anchorite stone, or tower. But I have the au- 
 thority of the Rev. Mr. Beresford, the present Rector of Drumlahan, 
 that the only tradition relative to the Tower preserved there is, that 
 it was a cluictheach, or belfry. 
 
 The true origin, however, of this story of the cloch-ancoire and 
 of the tradition will, I think, be found m the following passage from
 
 OF THE RuLXI) TOWERS OF IRELAND. ] | .-, 
 
 the Annals of the Four Masters, witli whirl. Harris must ccrtainlv 
 have been acquainted, though he did not find it convenient, or deen. 
 it prudent, to bring it forward. 
 
 "A.D. 1484. 6p,an Lla pa.pceuUa.s, Succapr do e-onpcccnn doc unrco.ne 
 DO oenam C15 rempoll mop Dpomu learain, o'ecc." 
 
 " A. D. 1484. Brian O'Farrolly, a priest wl.o commenced to build a cloch anqcoire 
 at the great church of Druim-leatlian, died." 
 
 A really "skilful critic in Irish"— Mr. O'Donovan— to whom I 
 submitted the preceding extract, has fa\oured me with the following 
 observations on it : 
 
 " It is remarkable that in the ancient written Irish language tlie term doc cnr- 
 coipe, i. e. lapis anachoretce, is alwaj-s applied to an anchorite's cell, while in tlie living 
 language and in modern printed litanies the same apparent form of the term is inva- 
 riably applied to the anchorite himself I never heard any name for a hermit or an- 
 chorite in the spoken Irish language but doc-anjcoipe ; it literally means, the rechm 
 of the stone, or, of the stone habitation; for there can be no doubt that the word doc, 
 which literally signifies a stone, was often used by the Irish to denote a stone build- 
 ing, as I could show by many examples from the Irish Annals ; and so far will 
 etymology alone induce us to believe that the Irish anchorite secluded himself in a stone 
 domicile; but this was certainly not a chiytheach, or Round Tower. Cloc-anxcoipe, 
 when it signifies, as in the spoken language, an anchorite, is a compound word, tlie 
 first part of which is in the nature of an adjective, like church in the compound church- 
 door in English. But it is not a compound word as used in the above passage by the 
 Four Masters, for anjcoipe is in the genitive case, governed by doc, and therefore 
 means thti stone, or stone domicile of the recluse." 
 
 What description of cell the clor/t angcoire of Drumlahan was, 
 or whether it was of any particular form, is scarcely necessary to our 
 purpose to inquire. It is enough for us to know that it was cer- 
 tainly not the existing Tower, which is of a very remote antiquitv, 
 nor a building of the Kound Tower form or character, as there could 
 have been no necessity to erect such a structure there, if that which 
 already existed had been considered applicable to the ])in-pose. But 
 it cannot be questioned that the habitation of the anchorite at Drum- 
 lahan, or as it is now called, Drumlane, was, like other hermits' cells, 
 a small, low, stone cell ; for it was so described to Mr. O'Donovan in 
 1836, by the late Mr. Kennedy of that place, — who was the descen- 
 dant, by the mother's side, of the O'Farrellys, the hereditary Here- 
 nachs of the church, — and who also told him that tiie building was 
 partly remaining in his grandfather's time, and situated near the 
 
 Q 2
 
 110 INQUIRY INTO THE OKIGIX AND USES 
 
 chinvli : and of sucli a cell, which still exists, Harris himself gives 
 us tlie following description : 
 
 " One of these Anachorites, at present, remains in Ireland, viz. at Fovre, in the 
 County of West-Meath ; but instead of taking his Station in one of these Towers, he 
 inhabits a small low Cell, so narrow, that a tall Man can scarce stretch huuself at length 
 on the Floor. He makes a vow at his Entrance never to quit his Cell, and the only 
 Recreation he takes is to walk on a Terras built over it, if he may be said to walk, who 
 cannot in a direct Line stretch out his Legs four Times." 
 
 lie afterwards states that the servants of this anchorite, who used 
 to bcf provisions for his support about the country, used to call him 
 " t/ie Holt/ man in the Stnne^' — a term, which in the spoken lan- 
 guage of the Irish at the time, was expressed by cloch-angcoire, and 
 which, being found by Harris in the Irish Annals, as applied to the 
 cell at Drumlahan, gave origin to his tradition in connection with it, 
 and to its erroneous application to the Round Tower there. The feet 
 referred to in the Annals, therefore, not only contradicts the asser- 
 tions of Harris, but establishes also the fallacy of the theory of the 
 anchorite use of the ToAvers, as drawn from this fabricated tradition. 
 
 I have now o-one throuo-h the entire of Harris's arQ-unients, treat- 
 ing them with an attention which I should not consider them to have 
 deserved, but for the influence which they appear to have hitherto 
 had on the question — his theory having been adoj^ted even by many 
 from whom we might have expected a more rational conclusion. The 
 reader will now be able to appreciate their value, and I shall not 
 commit a longer trespass on his patience by adducing further proofs 
 of their futility. Neither do I think it necessary to transcribe the ob- 
 servations of Mr. King, or of Dr. Milner, in support of this conjecture, 
 as they consist chiefly of objections to the other theories, and offer no- 
 thing new, or requiring an answer, in support of their own. Dr. Mil- 
 ner indeed says, that " it is impossible to show what other pirrpose 
 they were calcidated for." But I indulge the pleasing hope, that the 
 reader who will accompany me through the succeeding parts of tliis 
 Inquiry will be of a contrary opinion. 
 
 2. Penitential Prisons. — This tlieoiy was first promulgated by 
 Dr. Smith, the industrious author of some of om- County Histories, 
 on the authority, as he states, of Irish MSS., which, hoAvever, were 
 nameless, and have never yet seen the light. These evidences are 
 thus stated :
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 1 7 
 
 " I was tormorly of opinion that thoy [tliu Kound Towors] wito Ijnilt lor tli.' n-M- 
 dence of Auchorites, and this conjecture was founded from such kind of pilkrs, having 
 been erected in the eastern countries for the receiition of Monks, who lived on )lu' top 
 of them, as is mentioned by Ecayrius in tlie life of St. S/fmeon the Sfi//ite, so ealleii 
 from Ills living in a pillar 40 years, as Petnis Gakshiiits reports. And it seemed 
 probable, that our Irish Asceticks had the models of thi'se buildings originally Iroin 
 Asia, which they early visited, as appears from several lives of the Irish saints ; but 
 the use to which our ancient Irish MSS. put these towers, was to imprison penitents. 
 Some of our writers have named them luc/iisoria, and Arcti Incbisorii En/astiifa, The 
 prisons of a narroio inclosure. Particularly in the life of Dnndiad 0-liraui,i, Abbot of 
 Clonmaemis, into which prison it is said he betook himself, where lie died in 987. The 
 Irish name for a penance is Titrris, i. e. the Latin name for a tower, derived from pe- 
 nitents being imprisoned in them. And 'tis no less certain that all the Irish eccle- 
 siastical words are directly taken from the Latin, as Temple, A (/fish, Ashheq, &c. from 
 Temphnn, Efclesia, Episcopus, &c. The JISS. add, that these penitents were placed 
 on the top of the tower, and having made a probation of a particular number of days 
 according to their crimes, they were admitted to descend to the next floor, and so on, 
 till they came to the door which always faced the entrance of the church, where they 
 stood and received the absolution of the Clergy, and blessings of the people, as some of 
 our Irish JISS. particularly relate." — Antient and Present State of the County and f'ili/ 
 if Cork, vol. ii. pp. 408, 409. 
 
 In tlie preceding passage, winch contains the whole of what Df. 
 Smith has written in support of this theor}-, there is but one assertitm 
 that has any foundation in truth, namely, that all the Lish ecclesiasti- 
 cal words are directly taken from the Latin ; and even this is only 
 partially true, for there are some Irish ecclesiastical words not so 
 derived; nor is the Irish word ttir, or, as it is more usually written, 
 ior, though cognate with the Latin, derived from it, but from a com- 
 mon source. Moreover, the Irish never adopted the Latin word fitrris 
 into their own language ; and it would have been as difficult for Dv. 
 Smith to produce an authority for the application of this word either 
 to a tower, or penance, in the Irish language, as to have ])ro(luceil the 
 Irish MSS. from which he drew his erroneous, if not fabricated, ac- 
 count of the use of the Round Towers. The Avord used for penance 
 in Irish is aicpfje {aitlirighe), a Scytho-Celtic word, signifying lite- 
 rally compunction, sorrow, &c., and figuratively penance. This is 
 the word used by the annalists, as in the following passage fnnii the 
 Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 946. ^opmplair, injen piaiiio, mic mudeudlainn, Piojun NeiU ^hiii- 
 DUib, D'ecc, lap n-airpicce oiocpu ni a cuipniceccuiB 7 ooailcib." 
 
 " A. D. 946. Gormflaith, daughter of Flann, son of Maileachlainn, Queen of Niail 
 Glundubh, died, after having performed severe penanceforher transgressions and sins."
 
 lis INQUIRY INTO TllK OIUGIX AND USES 
 
 riijiap signifies in Irisli " a journey, expedition, pilgrimage," and 
 is not derived from \\\c Latin fiirris, but, as it appears, from a more 
 primitive Irish word zu]\, a journey, a four, a searcli, (Ileb.in, to 
 search, explore.) — Vide O'Reilly's Irisli Dictionary. And thus ciip- 
 opac signifies a traveller and a pilgrim, because the latter, -when 
 he took the penitential staff, was obliged to perform a certain roimd 
 oi' journey — as the practice continues to this day — but not a foi/r 
 from the top to the bottom of a tower ! The word cupap, however, 
 which is only employed figuratively to denote a pilgrimage, is not 
 used in this sense in the Irish Annals, or any other ancient authorities 
 that I have seen, the Avord ailifpe, or oiliqie, being that which is 
 always used. " To this day," says Dr. O'Conor, " the word used for 
 a pilgrimage by the common Irish is Ailitlire. So the Annals of the 
 Four Masters say, that ' Arthgal, son of Cathal, King of Connaught, 
 took the penitential staif, and travelled to Iliona din ai/it/ire,' i.e. on 
 his pilgrimage. (IV. Masters, 777.) This word Ailithre is composed 
 oiAil, a great upright rock or stone, and itriallam [correctly triallaim'] 
 to go round ; and there is no name in the Irish language for the pil- 
 grimages of Christians to Hiona, or to Jerusalem, or to Rome, but 
 that identical word Ailitlire, which was iised by the Pagan Irish for 
 a pilgrimage to the sacred stone of the Came, or of the Tobar, the 
 emblematical God of the Druids." — (See Dr. O'Conor's interesting 
 remarks on the well-worship of the ancient Irish, in the third Num- 
 ber of Columbanus's Letters, pp. 8!), 90.) 
 
 The following extract from Tighernach's Annals, compiled before 
 the year 1088, will furnish an example of the use of the two words 
 employed in Irish for penance and pilgrimage : 
 
 " A. D. 980. Ctmlaini, mac Sicpuica, apo-pij cip ^lialUiib Qcha Cliarh, oo 
 Dul CO h-1 a n-aiCllRl^he 7 a n-ai6irhRl." 
 
 " A. D. 980. AmlaiF, son of Sitriuc, chief king of tlie Danes of Dublin, went to 
 lona, on penance (airpije) and pilgrimage (ailirpi)." 
 
 The true nature of the penance performed on Irish pilgrimages 
 is known to every person acquainted with oiu' ancient customs, and 
 may be found fully detailed in " Richardson's Folly of Pilgrimages 
 in Ireland" (Dublin, 1727). It consists, now as anciently, in per- 
 forming a certain turas, or journey, round a number of stations at a 
 holy place, repeating at each station a certain number of prayers, &c., 
 " and so," as Richardson concludes in his curious account of the pe-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. | |i) 
 
 iiitential stations at Lough Derg (p. 134), " tlicir 'J\/nus (tliai i< 
 Pilgrimage) is ondod." 
 
 In the preceding observations I am liajjpy to lind invsi'U' -up- 
 ported bj^ the approval of Mr. O'Donovan. to wlioni. as a most e«)ni- 
 petent Irish scholar, I sidmiitted them, and who lias lavmn-ed inc 
 with tlie following remarks, which I consider as too valual)le not u< 
 lay before the readt'r : 
 
 " I have read your observations upon Dr. Smith's Penitential Totcer llieun/. and 
 consider them correet and judicious. With respect to his Irish M.S. authorities, I 
 cannot believe tliat he had any such, and, froni having read his publislied works and 
 MS. collections, I have strong reasons to believe that he could not have understood it 
 even if he had ; but, depending upon the interpretation of others, who often imposed 
 upon him, and perhaps upon themselves, he made a vague reference to MSS., according to 
 his usual mode, in order to add weight to his hypothesis. If Dr. Smith had MSS. in 
 his possession, relating to the origin and use of the Round Towers of Ireland, why lias 
 he not told us something about their date, or whether they were of velhim, parchment, 
 or paper, or who were their authors or scribes ? Why lias he not giwn us the ori,L'iiial 
 of some passage from one of these iSISS., with a literal translation ? To such cpiestions 
 I would venture, without fear of contradiction, to rejily, because he had no such MSS. 
 I doubt not, however, but that he might have seen or ln'cn told ofsoiiu' ]iassage in 
 some modern Irish i\IS., in which the word tiiras, pilgrimage, or penitential station, 
 occurs, and which he misunderstood as referring to Round Towers, — a striking iii- 
 stance of which kind of antiquarian juggling we have seen in A'allaneey's ([noting 
 Cormac's Glossary as autliority for the pagan antiquity of the Tower of Kildare. I 
 make no doubt that the MS. referred to by Dr. Smith is a description, in Irisli, ol' the 
 Turas or Station of Lough Derg, many copies of which were, in his time, extant 
 throughout the country. 
 
 " His asserting that the Irish ' Turas,'' as resembling in sound tlie Latin Tunis. 
 is a corroboration oi //is //j/jwt/iesis of the use of tlie Round Toirers, has no weight with 
 me. The Irish word cupap is certainly not derived from the Latin, but is, as well as 
 the English word tour, to be referred to some original language of mankind. Cupap 
 signifies a journey, as 50 n-eipi5iD do cupap leac, '■ may you luit-e success on your jour- 
 ney;'' cpuaj mo rupap 50 6oc oeapj, ^pity my journey or pilyrimage to Lough Dery.^ 
 Ciipap is sometimes figuratively used in the spoken Irish language to signify a cer- 
 tain penitential station, which the Roman Catholics still perform, or lately iierl'ormed, 
 in many parts of Ireland, at holy wells near ancient churches and in the modern cha- 
 pels: it is performed by moving on the knees from one penitential station to anotlur 
 at the ancient churches, or from one station of the Holy Cross to another in tlie mo- 
 dern chapels, and repeating certain prayers before each station. Hence uj cciliaipc 
 ropnip means '■ performing a station or a jiilyrimaye ;'' but the word is understood by 
 the most illiterate peasant as alluding to ihe journeying on the knees; and the same 
 person, who would know that 05 rabctipc cupaip means performing a station or pil- 
 grimage, would understand cupcip paoa to mean a long journey ; cpiocnul^ecip mo 
 cuptip, '/ hace finished my journey;' 50 n-eipi;^i6 do cupup leor, ' may you succeed
 
 120 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Oil your jonrneij^ From these exanijiles it appears quite obvious tliat the Irisli wonl 
 cupap has nothing to do witli tmcer or ti/rr/s, Vuit tliat it is of the same signification 
 and derivation with the English 'lu/n;'' wliieh I trust no person will derive from the 
 Latin tiirr/n, a toicer. 
 
 " I am of opinion that the tcrni rupap is not long intise in the sense of station or pil- 
 grimage, for I never met any ancient MS. authority for such a figurative signification of 
 the word. It is always used in Irish books and JNISS. to signify ajuiirnej/, a travel, a tour; 
 and if the word naoiri were added, then it would mean a pilgrimage, ' a holy journey,' 
 (naoiTi-rupap). But in all our ancient annals the word used to signify '■ pilffrimage'' 
 is ailirpi. Uupap does not mean '■penance^ as asserted by Dr. Smith, and never had 
 any such signification, the word airpi je (which is a noun formed from the adjective 
 airpeac, sorrovful,) being always used to denote penance, whether mental or cor- 
 poreal." 
 
 To these judicious remarks it is liardly necessary to add anotlier 
 word. I am quite persuaded that if Dr. Smith had had any distinct 
 authority for his vague reference, either manuscript or printed, lie 
 ■would not have failed to have tritunphantly produced it. Why did 
 he not tell us what the Towers were called in those ancient Irish 
 MSS., which state that they were used to imprison penitents? He 
 answers this question by anticipation, thus : " Some of our writers 
 liave named them Inclusori/i and Arcfi Inclusorii Ergastula, the 
 Prisons of a narrow enclosure — particidarly in the Life of Dunchad 
 O'Braoin, &c." But these are not IrisJi words, and I have already 
 shown, in the preceding section, that the authorities here referred to 
 make no allusion Avhatever to towers, but on the contrary distinctly 
 and invariably call those Inclusoria ceJIce or cells. 
 
 The name, however, by which the ' Penitentiaries' were called in 
 Irish may be seen in almost every page of our Annals : it is t)ui)i- 
 reach or Dea]i-reac — a name which is supposed by some to be j^oeti- 
 cally compounded of the Avords oeaji, a tear, and reach, a house. 
 It is thus explained by O'Reilly in his Irish Dictionary : 
 
 " tDeap-recic, dear-theach, an apartment in a monastery calculated for prayers and 
 penitence." 
 
 Thus in the Annals of the Four INIasters, at the year 905, the 
 biu'ning of the Deartheach of Mayo is recorded : 
 
 " A. D. 905. Dertech Maige Eo do loscc.'" 
 
 Erroneously translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 " A. D. 905. Nosocomium Maiouense combustum."
 
 or THE ROUND TOWERS OF lliEI.ANn. ] O | 
 
 But correctly by Colgan, who knew the meaning of the passage far 
 better than Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 "A. D. 905. Domus poeniteutivim in Mogco inecndio vastala." Ada SS. p. fiOG. 
 
 And again : 
 " A. D. 1075. Cluain loraini do loscc. con a (/eii/ffh." 
 
 Also erroneously translated by O'Conor, as Ibllows : 
 
 " A. D. 1075. Cluanirardia combusta cum suo Nosocomio." 
 
 But correctly by Colgan : 
 
 "A. D. 1075. Cluain-erardia cum sua Paeuitentium axle, combusta." I/j. p. 40". 
 
 A hundred other instances to the same elTect might be adduced, 
 but these will, I trust, suffice ; nor shoidd I have deemed the prooi's 
 advanced by Dr. Smith deserving of so much notice, if they had not 
 imposed on the acute mind of such an able antiquary as Sir Richard 
 Colt Hoare, who expresses his approbation of this theory in the fol- 
 lowing words : 
 
 " On comparing and considering the various accounts wbicb have been drawn up 
 Ijy so many able and intelligent antiquaries, I am inclined to favour the (ijiinion of Dr. 
 Smith, which is strongly grounded upon the tradition of an ancient Irish manuscript." 
 — Journal of a Tour in Ireland, p. 284, 
 
 3. Belfries. 4. Keeps, or Monastic Treasure-Houses. 5. Watcii- 
 TowERS AND Beacons. — As these theories are only erroneous in 
 their exclusive application, and are sound Avlien applied conjointly — 
 as will, I trust, be proved in the second part of this Inquiry — it is not 
 necessary to take any further notice of them in this place. I shall 
 content myself, therefore, with observing, that if they liave hitherto 
 failed of a more general adoption, it has been the result not less of a 
 want oi facts to support them, than of the difficulties in argunu'iu 
 which their advocates had to encoimter, in ascribing to a single and 
 exclusive use a class of buildings, all of which exhibited peculiarities 
 of structm-e, which were manifestly not necessary to that one purpose. 
 
 R
 
 122 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 PART II. 
 
 TRUE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE ROUND TOWERS. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 In the preceding part of this Inquiry I have endeavom-ed to remove 
 tlie too prevalent existing prejudices of my countrymen in favour of 
 theories respecting the origin and uses of the Romid Towers, which 
 I deem erroneous, by a dispassionate examination of the evidences 
 which have been adduced to support them ; and to the cahii inquirer 
 after truth, Avho may have accompanied me through that rather te- 
 dious preUminary investigation, I trust I have submitted such evi- 
 dences as wiU prepare his mind for an unbiassed examination of the 
 proofs I have now to tender, in support of the conclusions which I 
 hope to establish. 
 
 That my countrymen should be so generally inclined to beheve in 
 hypotheses — I allude particularly to those referrmg the Towers to a 
 pagan origin — on such evidences, will probably excite surprise in the 
 minds of the learned of other countries, among whom a more philoso- 
 phical spirit has been directed to subjects of historical and antiquarian 
 inquiry ; but such surprise must be materially diminished, when it is 
 recollected that soimd antiquarian investigation, even in the Avealthier 
 sister islands, is but of recent growth, and that, from various causes 
 imnecessary to point out, it has naturally followed but slowly in Ire- 
 land. I may add too, as a fact of great importance, that the little that 
 has been hitherto written by men of acknowledged judgment and 
 learning, on the subject of Irish architectural remains, has been far 
 more calculated to mislead than guide the mind on this subject. 
 What, I may ask, could be expected but the wildest speculation, 
 when Sir James Ware, the first and most judicious of all the writers 
 who have treated of Irish antiquities, and whose work still ranks as 
 our text-book for information on such subjects, tells us, with all the 
 weight of authority due to his learning and love of truth, that the Irish
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IREEAXH. ] -JM 
 
 (lid not begin to build with stone and mortar inilil the twelfth cen- 
 tury? The words in which this learned writer despatclics this sub- 
 ject, as translated by his laborious editor, Harris, are as follows : 
 
 '' Malachi/ 0-Morgair, Arclibishop oX Armagh, [who died in 1148] was the first 
 Irishman, or at least one of the first, who began to build with Stone and Mortar, of 
 which his contemporary Sir [St.] Bernard gives tliis Account, ' Mularhi/ tlioight it 
 incumbent on him to build a Chappel of Stone at Bangor, like those he had seen in 
 other Countries : and when he began to lay the Foundation of it, some of the Natives 
 were astonished at the Novelty; because such Buildings were never seen before in that 
 Country.' And a few Words after he introduces an ill-natured Fellow, and puts this 
 Speech in his Mouth. ' What has come over you, good Man, that you should under- 
 take to introduce such a Novelty into our Country ? We are Scots [i. e. Irishmen'] not 
 Gauls. "WTiat Levity is this? What Need is there of such a proud and unnecessary 
 Work? How will you, who are but a poor Man, find Means to finish it ? And who will 
 live to see it brought to Perfection ?' SjX. We find also an Account given by the same 
 Bernard, that this Malachy had some Years before built a Chappel in the same Place, 
 ' made indeed of planed Timber, but well jointed and compactly put together, and for a 
 Scottish [i. e. an Irish] Work, elegant enough." — Antiquities of Ireland, pp. 181, 182. 
 
 It is true that Harris elsewhere, in his edition of Sir James Ware's 
 works, timidly combats this conclusion of the great antiquary on the 
 authority of the passage in Cambrensis, wliich would imply, in the 
 opinion of that "wi-iter, that the Towers were of great antiquity in his 
 time : but, by connecting this conclusion with a theory of his own 
 which he could not substantiate, he only involved the subject in greater 
 mystery than before, and predisposed the imguided mind to wander 
 in a region of more unbounded speculation. 
 
 Nearly cotemporaneous with Sir James Ware, and following in his 
 track. Sir William Petty goes even farther, thus : 
 
 " There is at this Day no Monument or real Argument, that when the Irish were 
 first invaded, they had any Stone-Housing at all, any Money, any Foreign Trade, nor 
 any Learning but the Legend of the Saints, Psalters, Missals, Rituals, &c. ; viz. nor 
 Geometry, Astronomy, Anatomy, Architecture, Engineery, Painting, Carving, nor any 
 kind of Manufacture, nor the least use of Navigation ; or the Art Military." — Puli/iral 
 Anatomi/ of Ireland, (second edition), chap. v. p. 25. 
 
 The next writer who investigated om- antiquities, and treated ol 
 the origin of the Eoinid Towers in partictdar, was the celebrated Dr. 
 Thomas Molyneux ; but his feeble efforts to remove the mystery of 
 the existence of such remains among a people supposed to have been 
 so uncivilized as the Irish, by ascribing them to their oppressors, the 
 pagan Danes, added nothing to the knowledge already extant on the 
 subject. 
 
 R 2
 
 1 24 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 And lastly, tlic more laboured efforts of Dr. Ledwicli, in our own 
 time, in support of the same theory, have only served to inerease the 
 darkness in which our ecclesiastical antiquities were previously in- 
 volved. 
 
 While the Irish were thus instructed in error by tlieir o-wn most 
 distinguished antiquaries, the uncertainty in which the origin of our 
 ecclesiastical architectural remains was involved was still further in- 
 creased by the opinions expressed on this subject by the most dis- 
 tinguished antiquaries of England and Scotland, who universally 
 adopted Ware's opinion that the Irish -were unacquainted with the art 
 of building with lime and stone previously to the twelfth century. 
 They even go so far as to apply the same dogma to the architectin-al 
 remains of the Lnsh colony of Scots, who settled in Scotland in the 
 beginning of the sixth centiury, — as an exanqile of which I quote the 
 following passage, from Pinkerton's Enquiry into the History of Scot- 
 land, vol. ii. p. 141 : 
 
 "Ancient monuments of tlic British Scots tliere are none, save cairns of stones, 
 used as sepulchres, and as memorials. These were adapted to Celtic indolence : while 
 the Gothic irulnsf ry raised vast stones, instead of piling small ones : nor are any cairns 
 found in Gothic countries, so far as I can learn, except such as are very large. The 
 Celtic churches, houses, &c. were all of wattles, as are the barns at this day in the 
 Helmdes ; so that no ruins can be ibund of them. The early cathedral of Hyona must 
 have been of this sort ; and it was burnt by the Danes in the ninth century. The 
 present ruin is not older than the thirteenth. In the twelfth century Saint Bernard 
 represents a stone church as quite a novelty even in Ireland." 
 
 Opinions such as these, which I shall ];)rove to be wholly erro- 
 neous, proceeding from authorities of weight, have had an effect in 
 Ireland doubly mischievous, and greatly to be deplored ; first, as 
 stripping our architectural remains of their true antiquity, and thus 
 destroying that charm of association which would have led to theii' 
 preservation ; and secondly, on the other hand, as preparing the ])td)- 
 lic mind for the reception of those wild theories respecting the pagan 
 origin of the Eound Towers, which, originating with General Val- 
 lancey, have been so generally adopted by his followers in the same 
 school. 
 
 Under these circumstances, to disabuse the minds of my coun- 
 trymen of prejudices, which are calculated to lessen them in the esti- 
 mation of the learned and judicious, — while, at the same time, I 
 satisfy them of the extreme antiquity of the ecclesiastical architectural
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 -J.') 
 
 remains, Still so abuiulant in Ireland, and thus excite a desire for tlirir 
 conservation, — is a task wliich, however humble, I may well [\:v\ a 
 pride that it slioidd have fallen to mv lot to accomplish. To do 
 this, however, itis necessary that I slmnld not cournR' this Inqiiirv to 
 the question of the origin and uses of the Kound Towers alone, but 
 also, as accessary and indeed essential to that Incjuiry, go into im 
 investigation of oui' ecclesiastical architecture generally, of which the 
 Koimd Towers constitute only a subordinate feature. 
 
 It is true that these remains will be found to be of a very siiii|)lL' 
 and unartificial charactei', and to exhibit notliing of that arcliitcctmal 
 splendour so gratifying to the taste, which characterizes the Christian 
 edifices of Europe erected in the later days of ecclesiastical power ; 
 but if, as the great sceptical poet, Byron, so truly says, 
 
 " Even the faintest relicts of a shriue 
 Of any worsliip wake some thoughts divine," 
 
 these simple memorials of a Christian antiquity, rarely to be found 
 outside our own insula sacra, and which, in their grave sim])licity. 
 exhibit a characteristic absence of meretricious grandeur, tyjjical of 
 the primitive ages of the Christian Church, can scarcely fail to excite 
 a deep and reverential interest in the minds of Christians generally, 
 and still more of those who may justly take a pride in siicli venerable 
 remains of their past history. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 ANTIQUITY OF IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL KE^L\I^•S. 
 
 It must be admitted that the opinion expressed by Sir James Ware, 
 as founded on the authority of St. Bernard's Life of St. Malachy, that 
 the Irish first began to build with stone and mortar in the twelfth 
 century, would, on a casual examination of the question, seem tu be 
 of great weight, and extremely diflictdt to controvert ; R)r it would 
 appear, from ancient authorities of the highest character, that tin- 
 I'ustom of building both houses and chiu'chcs with oak timber and 
 wattles was a peculiar characteristic of the Scotic race, who wen' 
 tlie ruhng people in Ireland from the introduction of Christianity 
 till the Anglo-Norman Invasion in the twelfth century. Tims we 
 have the authority of Venerable Bede that Finian, who had been a
 
 1 2() INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 iHoiik of the monastery of loiia, on becoming bishop of Lindisfarne, 
 " built a chuicli lit fVu' liis episcopal see, not of stone, but altogether 
 of sawn wood covered with reeds, after the Scotic [that is, the Irish] 
 manner." 
 
 "... fecit Ecclesiam Episcopal! sedi congruam, qiiam tamen more Scottorum, non 
 de lapide, sed de robore secto totam composuit atque Larundine texit." — Beda, Hist. 
 Eccl. lib. iii. c. 25. 
 
 In like manner, in Tirechan's Annotations on the Life of St. Pa- 
 trick, preserved in the Book of Armagh, a MS. supposed to be of the 
 seventh centmy, we find it stated,- that " when Patiick went up to 
 the place which is called Foin-gea of the sons of Awley, to divide it 
 among the sons of Awley, he built there a quadrangular cluu-ch of 
 moist earth, because wood was not near at hand." 
 
 " Et ecce Patricias pen-exit ad agriim qui dicitur Foirrgea filiorum Amolngid ad 
 dividend urn inter filios Amolngid, et fecit ibi ajclesiam terrenam de liumo quadratam 
 quia non prope erat silva." — Fol. 14, b. 2. 
 
 And lastly, in the Life of the A-irgin St. Monenna, compiled by 
 Conchubran in the twelfth century, as quoted by Ussher, it is simi- 
 larly stated that she founded a monastery which was made of smooth 
 timber, according to the fashion of the Scotic nations, who were not 
 accustomed to erect stone walls, or get them erected. 
 
 " E lapide enim sacras sedes efficere, tam Scotis quiim Britonibus morem fuisse 
 insolitum, ex Beda quoq; didicimus. Indeq; in S. Monentice monasterio Ecclesiam 
 constructam fuisse notat Conchubranus tabulis de dolatis, juxta morem Scoticarum (/en- 
 tium: eo quod macerias Seoti non sdent facere, nee facias habere." — Primordia, p. 737- 
 
 I have given these passages in full — and I believe they are all 
 that have been foimd to sustain the opinions alluded to — in order 
 that the reader may have the whole of the evidences unfavourable 
 to the antiquity of om- ecclesiastical remains fairly placed before 
 him ; and I confess it does not siu'prise me that, considering how 
 little attention has hitherto been paid to our existing architectural 
 monuments, the learned in the sister countries should have adopted 
 the conclusion which such evidences should natiu-ally lead to; or 
 even that the learned and judicious Dr. Lanigan, Avho Avas anxious to 
 uphold the antiquity of those monuments, should have expressed his 
 adoption of a similar conclusion in the following words : 
 
 " Pi'ior to those of the twelfth century we find very few monuments of ecclesiastical 
 architecture in Ireland. This is not to be wondered at, because the general fashion of
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 'i? 
 
 the country was to erect their buildings of wood, a fashion, which in great part cdu- 
 tinues to this day in several parts of Europe. As consequently their chunhes aWo 
 were usually built of wood, it cannot be expected that there should be any reniuins 
 of such churches at present." — Eccl. Hist. vol. iv. pp. .'j;j I , .'Jici. 
 
 Before, however, we deem sucli authorities invincible, k't it ln^ 
 remembered that on smiilar evidences the iuitiquarics of EngUind, till 
 a recent period, came to the conclusion that the churches ol" the Bri- 
 tons, and even of the Saxons, were mostly built with timber ; I'or, as 
 is stated by Grose in the preface to his Antiquities of England on the 
 subject of architectui'e (p. 03) : " An opinion has long prevailed, chiefly 
 countenanced by Mr. Somner, that the Saxon churches were mostly 
 built with timber; and that the few they had of stone, consisted only 
 of upright walls, without pillars or arches ; the construction of which, 
 it is pretended, they were entirely ignorant of" Yet this opinion 
 is now universally acknowledged to be erroneous, and 1 trust I shall 
 clearly prove, that the generally adopted conclusion as to the recent 
 date of our ecclesiastical stone buildings is erroneous also. 
 
 It is by no means my Avish to deny that the houses built by the 
 Scotic race in Ireland were usually of wood, or that very many of the 
 chiu'ches erected by that people, immediately after their conversion 
 to Christianity, were not of the same perishable material. I have 
 already proved these facts in my Essay on the Ancient Military Ar- 
 chitecture of Ii'eland anterior to the Anglo-Norman Concpiest. But 
 I have also shown, in that Essay, that the earlier colonists in the 
 country, the Firbolg and Tuatha De Danann tribes, which our his- 
 torians bring hither from Greece at a very remote period, were ac- 
 customed to build, not only then- fortresses but even their dome-roofed 
 houses and sepulchres, of stone without cement, and in the style 
 now usually called Cyclopean and Pelasgic. I have also shown that 
 this custom, as applied to their forts and houses, was continued in 
 those parts of Ireland in which those ancient settlers remained, even 
 after the introduction of Christianity, and, as I shall presently show, 
 was adopted by the Christians in theii' religious structures. As clia- 
 racteristic examples of these ancient reUgious structures, still remain- 
 ing in sufficient preservation to show us perfectly what they had been 
 in their original state, I may point to the monastic establishment of 
 St. Molaise, on Inishmiu-ry, in the bay of Sligo, erected in the sixth 
 century ; to that of St. Brendan, on Inishglory, off the coast of Erris,
 
 1 28 INQUIRY INTO TlIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ill tlie county of JNIayo, erected in the beginning of the same century ; 
 and to that of St. Feclun, on Ard-Oilean, or High Island, oiFthe coast 
 of Coniiainara. in the county of Gahvay, erected in the seventh cen- 
 tur}'. In all these establishments the churches alone, Avhicli are of 
 the simplest construction, are built with lime cement. The houses, 
 or cells, erected for the use of the abbot and monks, are of a cii'cular 
 or oval form, having dome roofs, constructed, like those of the ancient 
 Greek and Irish sepulchres, without a knowledge of the principle of 
 the arch, and -without the use of cement ; and the whole are encom- 
 j)assed by a broad wall composed of stones of great size, without 
 cement of au}^ kind. 
 
 Such also, or very nearly, appears to have been the monastic es- 
 tabhshment constructed on the island of Fame, in Northumberland, 
 in the year 684, by St. Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, Avho is usually 
 reputed to have been an Irishman, and, at all events, received his 
 education from Irish ecclesiastics. This monastery, as described by 
 Venerable Bede in the seventeenth chapter "of his Life of that distin- 
 guished saint, was almost of a round form, foiu' or five perches in 
 diameter from wall to wall. This wall was on the outside of the 
 height of a man, but was on the inside made higher by sinking the 
 natui'al rock, to prevent the thoughts from rambling by restraining 
 the sight to the view of the heavens only. It was not formed of cut 
 stone, or brick cemented with mortar, but Avholly of rough stones 
 and earth, which had been dug up from the middle of the enclosiu'e ; 
 and of these stones, which had been carried from another place, some 
 were so large that foiu- men coidd scarcely Uft one of them. Within 
 the enclosure were two houses, of which one was an oratory, or small 
 chapel, and the other for the common uses of a habitation ; and of 
 these the walls were in great part formed by digging away the earth 
 inside and outside, and the roofs were made of unhewn timber 
 thatched with hay. Outside the enclositre, and at the entrance to the 
 island, was a larger house for the accommodation of religious visiters, 
 and not far from it a fountain of water. For the satisfaction of the 
 reader I annex the passage in the oi'iginal : 
 
 "... condidit Ciuitatem suo aptam imperio, & domos in hac aque ciuitati congruas 
 erexit. Est autem ffidificium situ pene rotundum, a muro vsque ad murum mensura 
 quatuor ferme siue quinq'; perticarum distentum, murus ipse deforis altior longitudine 
 stantis hominis. Nam intrinsecus viuam cedendo rupem multo ilium fecit altiorem,
 
 or TIIK UorXI) TOWKliS OK lliKI.ANl). !•>!) 
 
 qiiateims ad cohibendnm oculorum siue cogitationein lusciuiani, ad erigcndam in su- 
 prcnia desideria totam mentis intentioncm, pius incola nil de sua inniisiom' iiru'tn 
 ccelum posset intueri : qucm \adulicot muruiii nou do soeto lapido vol latoi-c & ca'inriit.i, 
 sed impolitis prorsus lapidibus & cespitc, qucm de modio luci tudii-ndo tulurat, eoiiipn- 
 suit. E quibus quidam tautM erant graiiditatis, vt vix a quatuor viris vidiTonfiir 
 potuisse leuari : quos tamen ipse angclico adiutus aiixilio illuc attulisso aliunde. & 
 mnro imposuisse rcpertus est. Duas in mansione liiilifl)at domos, oratoriuin scillfct & 
 alind ad communes vsus aptum habitaculum : quorum parietes quidcm de naturali 
 terra multum intus forisque circumfodiendo siue cedeudo confecit, culniina vero de 
 lignis infonnihus & ioeno superposuit. I'orro ad portani insula-, maior erat domus, in 
 qua visitautcs cum fratrcs suscipi & i)uicsecre possent ; neclonge ab ea fous eorundeni 
 vsihus acconmiodus." — Vita S. Ciitlihorti, apiid Colgan^ Acta SS. p. 667. 
 
 That these buildings were, as 1 have already stated, erected in tin- 
 mode practised by the Firbolg and Tuatha De Danann tribes in Iiv- 
 land, must be at once obvious to any one, who has seen any ol' the 
 pagan circular stone forts and bee-hive-shaped houses still so fre- 
 quently to be met with, along the remote coasts, and on tlie islands, 
 of the western and south-western parts of Ireland, — into which little 
 change of manners and cnstoms had penetrated, that Avonld liave de- 
 stroyed the reverence paid by the people to their ancient monnments — 
 the only differences observable between these buildings and those 
 introduced in the primitive Christian times being the presence of lime 
 cement, the use of which was wholly unknown to the Irish in pagan 
 times, — and the adoption of a quadrangular form in the construction 
 of the churches, and, occasionally, in the interior of the externally 
 round houses of the ecclesiastics, the forts and houses of the Firbolg 
 and Tuatha De Danann colonies being invariably of a rotnnd form, 
 both internally and externally. 
 
 It may interest the reader to present him with two or three cha- 
 racteristic specimens of these singular structures, of different styles 
 and eras, and which have been hitherto unnoticed. The annexed 
 view will give a good idea of the general appearance of the round and 
 oval houses erected in pagan times, and of which there are some 
 hiuidreds still remaining, though generally more or less dilapidated. 
 This house, known to the peasantry by the name of CIovIkui na rar- 
 raige, or the stone house of the rock, is, — or was when I sketched it 
 about twenty years since, — situated on the north side of the great 
 island of Aran, in the bay of Galway, and is, in its interior measure- 
 ment, nineteen feet long, seven feet six inches broad, and eight lect 
 high, and its walls are about foiu- feet thick. Its doorway is but three 
 
 s
 
 130 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 I'oel hiuii, and Iwo led six inches wide on the outside, but narrows 
 to two feet on the inside. Tlie roof is formed, as in all buildings of 
 tills class, by the gradual appi'oximation of stones laid horizontally, 
 till it is closed at the top by a single stone ; and two apertiu-es in its 
 centre served the double purpose of a window and a chimney. 
 
 The next example presents a view of a house of one of the early 
 saints of Ireland, and exhibits the characteristics of the Cyclopean 
 style more than the preceding one, the stones being mostly of enor- 
 mous size. It is the house of St. Finan Cam, who flourished in the 
 sixth century, and is situated on Church Island in Lough Lee or 
 Curraun Lough, on the boundary of the baronies of Iveragh and Dun- 
 kerrin, in the county of Kerry, and four miles to the north of DeiTy- 
 nane Abbey, in Irish Ooi]ie phi'ondin, which derives its name from 
 that saint. This structiu-e, though nearly circular ou the outside, is 
 quadi'angular on the inside, and measiu'es sixteen feet six inches in 
 length, from north to south, and fifteen feet one inch from east to 
 west, and the wall is seven feet thick at the base, and at present but 
 nine feet nine inches in height ; the doorway is on the north side, 
 and measures on the outside fom' feet three inches in height, and in 
 width two feet nine inches at top, and three feet at bottom. There 
 are three stones forming the covering of this doorway, of which the 
 external one is five feet eight inches in length, one foot four inches
 
 OF THE KOUXD TOWEKS OF IKELAXD. 
 
 131 
 
 in height, and one foot eight inches in breadth ; and the internal one 
 is five feet two inches in length, and two feet nine inches in hreadtli. 
 
 
 The next example is of somewhat later date, being one of the Imnses 
 ei-ected by the celebrated St. Fechin, who floiu'ished in the se\entli 
 
 century, at his little monastic establishment on Ard-Oilean, or High 
 Island, off the coast of Connamara, in the county of Galway. This 
 building, hke the preceding one, is square in the interior, and measiu-i-s 
 
 s 2 .
 
 1 :V2 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 nine feet by seven feet six inches in height ; the doorway is two feet 
 f(jur inches wide, and three feet six inches high. The material of this 
 structure is mica slate, and, though its external appearance is very 
 rudt'. its interior is constructed with admirable art. 
 
 The introduction of this quadi'angular form, by the first propa- 
 cfators of Christianity in Ireland, is clearly pointed out in an ancient 
 Irish stanza, predicting this and other Christian innovations, which is 
 quoted as the composition of a certain magus of the name of Con, in 
 the ancient Life of St. Patrick, ascribed to St. Eviu, a A\Titer of the 
 sixth century, and thus translated by Colgan : 
 
 '• Constantiuus autem in suis vaticinijs loquens de eo eodem advientu cecinit. Ac/u- 
 eniet cum circido tonsus in cajjite ; cuius ancles erunt ad instar cedium Bomanarum : 
 efficiet tjund cellce futurm sint in pretio Sf cestimatione : cedes eius erant \erunt\ angustce 
 S( amiuhiUn Sf fana multa : pedum pastorale dominahitui: Quando hcec parte >ita S; pro- 
 diqia euenient, nostra dogmata Sf idola euertentur : fides Sf pietas magnificahuntur. Quse 
 omnia veridice prasdicta esse probauit euentus, licet per ora mendacijs assueta, prolata, 
 cogente omnis veritatis fonte & autliore ; qui sa>pe patrem medaeij cogit ad testi- 
 monium veritati pra;bendu." — Trius Thautn. p. 123. 
 
 It is remarkable, however, that the early Iiish Christians do not 
 appear to have adopted all at once the quadrangular form and upright 
 Avails, here alluded to as characteristic of the houses of the Eomans, 
 and observable in the churches still existing, the erection of which is 
 ascribed to St. Patrick and his successors. In the remote barony of 
 Kerry called Corcaguiny, and particularly in the neighbourhood of 
 Smerwick Harbour, whei'e tlie remains of stone fortresses and circular 
 stone houses are most numerously spread through the valleys and on 
 tlie moiuitains, we meet Avitli several ancient oratories, exhibiting only 
 an imperfect development of the Eoman mode of construction, being 
 1)uilt of uucemented stones admirably fitted to each other, and their 
 lateral walls converging from the base to their apex in curved lines ; 
 — indeed their end walls, thoua:h in a nmch lesser desjree, converge 
 also. Another featiu'e in these edifices worthy of notice, as exhibit- 
 ing a characteristic which tliey have in common with the pagan 
 monuments, is, tliat none of them evince an acquaintance witli tlie 
 principle of the arch, and that, except in one instance, that of Gallerus, 
 their doorways are extremely Ioav, as in the pagan forts and houses. 
 
 As an example of these most interesting structiu'es, Avhich, the 
 historian of Kerry truly says, " may possibly challenge even the Round 
 Towers as to point of antiquity," I annex a view of the oratory at
 
 <>V rilK Rdl^XD TOWERS OK IHKI.AXI). 
 
 1 Mi 
 
 (iallerut;, tlu' uiosl bcuutifully constructod aiul jiorfoctly pri-sorvi'd of 
 tliose ancient structures now remaining; and views ofsiinilar oratories 
 
 will l)c I'ound ill tlie succecdinLi: part of this work. 
 
 This orator}', which is wholly built of the green stone of the district, 
 is externally twenty-three feet long by ten broad, and is sixteen feet 
 high on the outside to the apex of the ppamid. The dooi-way. which 
 is placed, as is usual in all our ancient churches, in its west-end wall, 
 is five feet seven inches high, two feet four inches wide at the base, 
 and one foot nine inches at the top ; and the walls are four feet in 
 thickness at the base. It is lighted by a single window in its east 
 side, and each of the gables was terniinated by small stone crosses, 
 only the sockets of which now remain. 
 
 That these oratories, — though not, as Dr. Smith supposes, the first 
 edifices of stone that were erected in Ireland, — were tlie first erected 
 for Christian uses, is, I think, extremely probable , and I am strongly 
 iiiclinod to believe that they may be even more ancient than llu' 
 period assigned for the conversion of the L'ish generally l)y their 
 great apostle Patrick. I should state, in pi\)of of this antiquity, that 
 adjacent to each of these oratories may be seen the remains of the 
 circular stone houses, which were the habitations of their founders; 
 and, what is of iiioiv imiiortaiicc. that their graves are marked bv
 
 134 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Upright pillar-Stones, sometimes bearing inscriptions in the Ogham cha- 
 racter, as found on monuments presumed to be pagan, and in other 
 instances, as at the oratory of Gallerus, with an inscription in the 
 Gra2co-Roman or B}zantine character of the fourth or fifth century, 
 of ■\vlnch the annexed is an accurate copy. 
 
 Ifgii^ 
 
 This inscription is not perfectly legible in all its letters, but is suffi- 
 ciently so to preserve the name of the ecclesiastic, and reads as follows : 
 
 "6ie co6Lim mec . . . niec." 
 
 That is, 
 
 " THE STONE OF COLUM SON OF . . . MEL." 
 
 It is greatly to be regretted that any part of this inscription should 
 be imperfect, but we have a well-preserved and most interesting ex- 
 ample of the whole alphabet of this character on a pillar-stone now 
 used as a grave-stone in the chiuxh-yard of Ivilmalkedar, about a mile 
 distant from the former, and where there are the remains of a similar 
 oratory. Of this inscription I also annex a copy : 
 
 I should observe that a drawing of this inscription, made by the 
 late Mr. Pelham, and which, he tells us, may be depended upon as a 
 correct copy, has been already pubhshed by General Vallancey in the 
 sixth volume of his Collectanea, Part I.; and I may add, as a charac- 
 teristic example of that gentleman's antiquarianism, his obser\ations 
 thereon, which are as follows : 
 
 " There are very evidently two kinds of characters on this stone. One the Ogham, 
 on each side of a line ; the other a running character, which appears to be a mixture of 
 Ph'Enician, Pelasgian, and Egyptian." — p. 184.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 Art 
 
 He then presents ns witli foui* examples of Egyptian and IVrse- 
 politan characters, to show their similarity to the characters on the 
 Kilmalkedar stone, and concludes with a comment on the circum- 
 stance ol" a llowcred cross being sculptured on another side of it, as 
 follows : 
 
 " The cross was, and is still, a usual ornament witli the Asiatic nations. The vest- 
 ment of the priest of Horus is full of 4-. See Caylus, Vol. VI. PI. 7."— pp. 184, 185. 
 
 That the inscription is, however, truly what I have stated it to be, 
 a mere alphabet wanting the A, whicli has been broken off, will, I 
 am satisfied, be at once apparent to every intelligent scholar ; antl 
 also that the three large letters jJni, which occur in the middle of the 
 inscription, and which Vallancey supposed to 1)e an Og]i<n)i. is no- 
 thing more than a usual abbreviation of Domini. As to the object 
 of this inscription I can of course offer only a conjecture, namely, 
 that it Avas an ahecedarium, cut by one of the early Christian settlers in 
 this place, — either a foreigner, or a native who had received a foreign 
 education, — for instructing his followers in the rutliments of the Latin 
 language ; for that it was the practice of the fii'st teachers of Chris- 
 tianity in Ireland to furnish their disciples with the ahecedarium, or 
 Roman alphabet, appears quite clear from Nennius, and the most 
 ancient Lives of St. Patrick, as may be seen by reference to Harris's 
 Ware, Irish Writers, Book II. c. \. And I may add as a fiu'ther con- 
 jecture, that this pillar-stone may have been oi'iginally a pagan monu- 
 ment, consecrated to the service of Christianity by inscribing on it in 
 the first instance the name of the Lord, before it received its second 
 inscription, as it appears from Evin's Life of St. Patrick that it was 
 not unusual for the Irish apostle thus to dedicate pagan monmnents 
 to the honom^ of the true God. In this work it is stated that St. Pa- 
 trick, coming to the plain of INIagh Selga, near Elphin, found three 
 pillar-stones, which had been raised there by the pagans, either as 
 memorials of events, or for the celebration of pagan rites, on one of 
 which he inscribed the name Jesus, on another Soter, and on the 
 third Salvator. And, though it is not expressly stated, we may 
 conclude that he also marked each of those pillars with a cross, sucli 
 as is seen on the pillar-stone at Kihnalkcdai', and on every other an- 
 cient Christian monument in Ireland. The passage, as translated from 
 the original Irish by Colgan, is as follows :
 
 13() 
 
 IXQIIKY INTO IIIE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 •• Rebus EcclesicE ibi dispositis Patricius se coiitulir ad locum qui & Mag-selga le- 
 gitur appellari, vbi sex Briani Principis oficndit filios, Bognam, cognomento Rubruin, 
 Dertliractum, Echcnum, Criiiitliannum, Coelchamum, & Eochadium. Ibi in loco amrenu, 
 vbi circunifusa rcgio late couspicitur, vir Dei cum aliquot coniitantibus Episcopis mo- 
 ram coutraxit iuter tres colossos siue edita saxa ; quae gentilitas ibi in mcmoriam ali- 
 quoriim facinorum, vel gentilitiorum rituum posuit. In his autem lapidibiis, lapidis 
 angularis, qui fecit vtraque vnvim, Christi Domini tria nomina tribus Unguis expressa 
 curauit iiicidi ; in vno lesug^ in altero Soter, in tertio Saluaior nomen impressiim \v- 
 gitur."— Trias Thaum. p. 136. 
 
 As an example of the monumental pillar-stones, inscribed in the 
 Ogham character, which are found in connection with some of the uu- 
 cemented stone oratories in Kerry, to which I have alluded, I annex a 
 cut of the pillar-stone which marks the grave of St. Monachan, and 
 which is situated at the south-west end of his oratory, called Temple 
 Geal, about three miles to the north-west of Dingle : 
 
 Having now, as I trust, sufficiently shown that the Irish erected 
 churches and cells of stone, Avithout cement, at the very earhest period 
 after the introduction of Christianity into the country,— and, if it had
 
 or THE ROU\D TOWERS OF IliKI.AND. ] 37 
 
 boeu nccessarv, I iiiiglit liave adduced a vastly ,<rroatLT body ul' evi- 
 dence to sidistantiate the fact,— I may, I think, fairly ask :— Is it 
 probable tliut they would remain much longer ignorant of the use of 
 lime ceme»t in their religious edifices, a knowledge of which must 
 necessarily have been imjjarted to them by the crowds of foreifrn 
 ecclesiastics, Egyptian, Roman, Italian, French, British, and Saxon, 
 who flocked to Ireland as a place of refuge in the liftli and sixth 
 centimes ? Of such immigration there cannot possibly exist a doubt ; 
 for, not to speak of the great niunber of foreigners who were dis- 
 ciples of St. Patrick, and of whom the names are preserved in the 
 most ancient Lives of that saint, nor of the evidences of the same 
 nature so abundantly supplied in the Lives of many other saints of 
 the primitive Irish Church, it will be sulficient to refer to that most 
 curious ancient document, written in the year 799, the Litany of 
 St. Aengus the Culdee, in which are invoked such a vast number of 
 foreign saints bmied in L-eland. Copies of this ancient Litany are 
 found in the Book of Leinster, a MS. undoubtedly of the twelfth cen- 
 tury, preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, — class II. 2, 
 18 ; and in the LeabliarBreuc, preserved in the library of the Royal 
 Irish Academy : and the passages in it, relative to the foreign eccle- 
 siastics, have been extracted, translated into Latin, and published bv 
 Ward in his Life of St. Rumold, p. 206, and by Colgan in his Acta 
 Sanctorum, p. 539 [535], which latter extract I here insert, with the 
 observations of Colgan upon the interesting facts of which it furuii^hes 
 e^ddence. 
 
 " In ea namqiie nuiii Jeferehantiir 50 Monoclii patria Rnmani, iji/ns c^r. c. 20. Ili<- 
 benigne Lector legis argumentfim aliqiiod magniE istius opinionis, qwim de sanctitate & 
 doctrina liuius sacrte insute olim couceporunt Romani, & alia; Europe nationes, Ilabe- 
 batur enim in auruis illis seminatre fidui prluiordiis, & aliquot scqiiL-iitibus sa;culis, non 
 solum Yt officina conuersionis gentium, sed etiam ad asceticse vitas fbueda excrcitia, 
 vt Tebais altera, communisque ad sapientia;, sacrarum-scripturarum vacandum studiis 
 Occidentis ludus litterarius : vt vix sciam an gloria; plus promeruerit, ex eo quod Doc- 
 tores & Apostolos genuerit, & emiserit prope infinites, quam ex eo quod ex continue 
 Italorum, Gallorum, Germanorum, Britonuin, Pictorvim, Saxonum seu Anglorum, alia- 
 rumque nationum arctioris vita;, & doctrinse desiderio aduolantiuni accursu, incolatu 
 & sepultura merito appellari queat, communis Europie bonaruni litterarum officina, 
 communeque ascetaru sacrarium. Plurima & admiranda de his rejicriuntur in nostris 
 hystoriis, maxime in vitis SS. Patricij, Kierani, Declani, Albei, Endei, Maidoci, Se- 
 nani, Brendani &c. testimonia. Ego ex solo libro littaniarum Sancti vEngussij nd- 
 duco sutiiciuntia ; in quo author istius libri inter innumeros alios domesticos saiictos, 
 inuocat etiam sequentes sanctorum aduenarum in Ilibernia sepultorum turnias. 
 
 T
 
 138 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Suiiclds Rumanos, f/ui iacent in Achadh Gtdma in Ybh-Echia, inuuco in au.vilium 
 rneum per lesum Christian Sfc. 
 
 " SS. Jiomnnos de Lellir eira, innocn in auxilium rneum S^c. 
 
 " SS. Ji'jmunos, qui cum Cursechu fiia Biucliani iacent in Achadh- Dalrach, in- 
 unco SfC. 
 
 '• SS. Romnnns de Cluain-chuinne, inuoco 8fC. 
 
 " SS. Peregrinos de Cluuin-mhoir, inuoco S;c. 
 
 " SS. Rumanos, qui cum S. Aido iacent in Cluain Dartadha, inuoco SfC. 
 
 "■ SS. duudecini Conchennacius, qui cum vtroque Sinchello iacent in lutl-achuii'h, 
 inuoco tS'C- 
 
 " SS. Cimchennaeios, qui cum S. Manchano iacent in Lethmor, inuoco S/c. 
 
 " »S^»S'. septe Monachos Aegi/ptiiis, qui iacet in Disert Viidh, inuoco S)C. 
 
 " SS. Peregrinos, qui cum S. 3Iuchua Jiiio Luscan iacent in Dumnach Resen, in- 
 uoco, Sjc. 
 
 " 5^5'. Peregrinos de BAacli forchedail, inuoco &jC. 
 
 " SS Peregrinos de Cail-uchlair, inuoco Sfc. 
 
 " (S^^ septem peregrinos de Indeach-mnr, inuoco SfC. 
 
 " SS. duodecini Peregrinos, socios S. SincheUi, inuoco SfC. 
 
 " SS. Peiegrinos Romanos, qui in centum quinquaginta cymhis, sine scaphis ad- 
 uecti, comilali sunt SS. Eiiam, Natalem, Nemanum, Sf Curcnutanuni, inuoco S,'C. 
 
 " SS. cenlu quinquaginta Peregrinos Romanos Sf Ilalus qui comitali sunt S. Ab- 
 Imnum in Hiberniam, inuoco S,-c. 
 
 " SS. Gallos de Saliduic, inuoco, ^-c. 
 
 " SS. Gallos de Mag-salach, inuoco, SfC. 
 
 " SS. Saxones (.1. Anglos) de Rigair, inuoco Sj-c. 
 
 " SS. Sa.vones de Cluain-mhuicedha, inuoco ^-c, 
 
 " »S'<S'. Peregrinos de Jnis-Puinc, inuoco ^-c. 
 
 " SS. duodecim Peregrinos de Lethglais-moir, inuoco SfC. 
 
 " SS. cetu quinquaginta Peregrinos in Gair jnic-Magla, inuoco ^-c. 
 
 " SS. quinquaginta Monachus de Britannia, socios Jilij Mainani in Glenloire, in- 
 uoco SfC, 
 
 " SS. qui nque peregrinos de Suidhe Coeil, inuoco SfC. 
 
 " jS^. 150 diacipulos S. Manchani 31agistri, inuoco cfj-c 
 
 " SS. 510, qui ex partibus transmarinisveneruntcum S. Boethio Episcopo, decetnq; 
 Virgines eos cornitantes, inuoco Sj'C. 
 
 " SS. duodecim socios S. Rinchi transmarinos, inuoco c^-e. 
 
 " Hsec & multa alia alibi dicenda, quie de exteris Monacbis & sactis in nostris hys- 
 toriis & Mcnologiis legiitur & breuitatis causa omitto, non solum omuem dubitationem 
 toUunt de numero quinquaginta Monachorum, quos in prEesenti vita in Hiberniam 
 abstractions vitae, vel dootrina; causa, legimus venisse : scd & abunde indicant, & oon- 
 ceptam a priscis de sanctitate & doctrina liuius insula; opinionem, & appeUationem illani, 
 qua passim Insula sanctorum 4' insida sacra, dicebatur, non false aut leui niti funda- 
 mento. An autem ex prajsentibus Eonianis turmis sint aliqui, qui in superioribus litta- 
 niis sancti Eomani vooeutur vel inuocentur, ego non affirmauerim. Vide de Sanctis 
 Barreo 25. Aug. Finneno 23. Febr. Brendano 16. Maij, & Kierano 9 Sept." 
 
 In addition to the preceding evidence, I may add also that we are
 
 OF TIIK liOUXI) TOWERS OF IKKLAXD. 
 
 1:^9 
 
 not ^vitllout monumental inscriptions tostifving to tlio same fact, of 
 wincli I annex, as an example, one which marks tlie grave of seven 
 Romans interred near tlie church of St. Brocan on the Great Islaii.l nf 
 Aran, and wjiich reads as follows : 
 
 un i^omani. 
 
 That this inscription is of very great 
 antiquity the form of the letters sufiicientlv 
 indit'ates, and we can very nearl}- deter- 
 mine their exact age by a comparison of 
 their forms, as well as the style of cross 
 carved on the stone, with the letters and 
 cross sculptured on the grave-stone of St. 
 Brecan himself, the founder of that mo- 
 nastery, of which an accurate copy will be 
 seen on the next page. 
 
 The mscription to which I allude, is, 
 as will be seen, put into a Latin form, like 
 the preceding one, and was, probably, cut 
 by one of the very seven Romans whose 
 grave in Aran was so marked : it reads 
 as follows : 
 
 cl 6RecaHi, 
 
 which, when written in full, would obviously be 
 
 CAPITI BRECANI. 
 
 It must interest not only the antiquary, but in an especial degree 
 the niunerous progeny of the Dalcassian tribe, to find so ciu'ious a 
 monument as this existing of the first and most distinguished eccle- 
 siastic of that race ; for it appears certain from our historical do- 
 cuments that this St. Brecan, who was the founder of Ardbraccan, 
 now the seat of the bishops of JNIeath, was the grandson ol" Cartlien 
 Finn, the first Christian prince of Thomond, and the son of Eochaidli 
 Balldearg, also prince of Thomond, who was baptized by St. Patrick 
 at Saingel, now Singland, near Limerick. The year of St. Brecan's 
 death I have not been able to ascertain, but it must have been in the 
 early part of the sixth century. This head-stone, as it may properly 
 be called, of St. Bi'ecan was originally of an irregular square form, 
 about foiu: feet two inches diagonally, but was broken in opening the 
 
 T 2
 
 140 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 tomb, as is indicated in the engl'a^dug by the dotted lines, which 
 mark the portion now detached, and perhaps lost, though remaining 
 
 in iVacfments when I sketched it. 
 
 This monumental stone was discovered about forty years ago 
 within a circular enclosure known as St. Brecan's tomb, at a depth 
 of about six feet from the sm-face, on the occasion of its being first 
 opened to receive the body of a distinguished and popular Eoman 
 Cathohc ecclesiastic of the coimty of Galway, who made a dying re- 
 quest to be buried in this grave. Under the stone within the sepulchre 
 there was also found on this occasion a small water-worn stone, of 
 black calp or lime-stone, now in my possession. It is of a roimd form, 
 but nearly flat on the under side, and is three inches in diameter, and 
 one inch and a half in thickness. On the upper side is carved a plain 
 cross, thus -|-) and around this, in a circle, the following simple in- 
 scription : 
 
 This inscription, when written in full, would be as follows : 
 0T301C QR 6RecaN NaitlChGR. 
 A PRAYER FOR BRECAN THE PILGRIM.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 1 1 
 
 Tliat the Saxons at a very early period, tlirougli the instruction 
 of foreign missionaries, acquired the art of buikling with stone and 
 Hrae cement, and also that in the erection of their most distinguished 
 churches they even employed foreign architects and workmen, is a 
 fact now so fully estabUshed that it is uimecessary for me to (juote 
 any of the evidences from which it can be proved. But it may Ix; 
 worthy of remark, that the first cliurch built of lime and stone in the 
 Koman style,— "insolito Britonibus more," asBede expresses it,— in 
 Scotland, that of Candida Casa, now Withern, erected by Ninian, the 
 apostle of the Picts, about the year 412, being on the shore of Gallo- 
 way, immediately opposite Ireland, and within sight of it, must have 
 been an object familiar to at least the northern Irish ; and, what is 
 more to the point, it appears from an ancient Irish Life of St. Ninian, 
 as quoted by Ussher, Primordia, pp. 1058, 1059, that this saint aftei-- 
 Avards deserted Candida Casa, at the request of his mother and re- 
 lations, and passed over to Ii'eland, where, at a beautiful place called 
 Cluain-Coner, granted him by the king, he built a large monastery, in 
 which he died many years afterwards : 
 
 " Extat & apud Hiberuos nostros ejusdem Niniani Vita : in qua, ob importunain tinii 
 a matre turn a consanguineis frequcntatam -(-isitatiouem, deserta Camiida Casa, ut sibi 
 & suae qiiieti cum discipulis vacaret, Hiberuiam petijsse atque ibi inipetrato a liege 
 loco apto & amoeno (iTluaniullEonci* dicto, ccenobium magnum constituisse, ibidemq; 
 
 post nmltos in Ilibernia transactos annos obijsse, traditur." 
 
 Independently of the preceding considerations, — which, however, 
 must be deemed of great weight in this inquiry, — a variety of histo- 
 rical evidences can be adduced, from the Lives of the Irish Saints and 
 other ancient documents, to prove that the Irish were in the habit of 
 building their churches of lime and stone, though it is most probable 
 that, in their monastic houses and oratories, they generally continued 
 the Scotic mode of building with wood, in most parts of Ireland, till 
 the twelfth or thirteenth century. A few examples from those autho- 
 rities will be siifEcient in this place. 
 
 1 . In the ancient poem written by Flann of the Monastery, early 
 in the eleventh century, enmnerating the various persons who consti- 
 tuted the household of St. Patrick, the names of his three stone-masons 
 are given, with the remark, that they were the first builders of 
 damhliags, or stone chui'ches, in Ireland. 
 
 The poem of Flann, in which this curious evidence occurs, is
 
 142 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 preserved iu the Book of Lecan, i'ol. 44, b, b; and the passage is as 
 
 follows : 
 
 " Q rpi T'oip, ua maich o cono, 
 
 Cuetncin, Cpuichnec, Cuchpaio lono ; 
 
 luD oo pij'ii Dumlicij ap cup 
 
 CI n-6pino; apo a n-imchup." 
 " His three masons, good wjis tlieir intelligence, 
 
 Caeman, Cruithnech, Lvicliraid strong ; 
 
 They made damliaffs first 
 
 In Erin ; eminent their history." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the word oamlicig, so ge- 
 nerally applied by the Irish annalists and ecclesiastical A\aiters to their 
 larger chiu'ches, will bear no other translation than s^o??e Jioiise: it is 
 so explained in two ancient Glossaries in the library of Trinity Col- 
 lege, Dublin, Class H, 2, 16, p. 101, and H. 3, 18, p. 69- Thus in the 
 former : " Oaimbacc .i. regoiii)^ doc," — " Damliag, i. e. an edifice of 
 stones;" and in the latter, " Ooitriliog, .i. cegaip clac," — " Doimliag, 
 i. e. an edifice of stones." 
 
 And it is also thus explained in the Office of St. Cianan, or Kienan, 
 the founder of the chm-ch of Daimhliag, now Duleek, in Meath, which 
 is extant in MS. in the public library at Cambridge, as quoted by 
 Ware, Harris's edition, p. 137, viz. : " That St. Kenan built a Chm-ch 
 , of Stone in this Place ; and that from thence it took the name oiDam- 
 leagh : for that before this Time the Churches of Ireland were bidlt 
 of Wattles and Boards." — See also Colgcui, Trias Thaum. p. 217, 
 col. 2. 
 
 That this church was one of the first biuldings of stone and hme 
 cement erected in Ireland is, I think, highly probable, if not certain, 
 though it may be doubted that it was the very first; for in the oldest 
 of the authorities extant relative to the life of St. Patrick, — the An- 
 notations of Tirechan, preserved in the Book of Armagh, — it would 
 appear to have been the eighth church erected by St. Patrick in the 
 plain of Bregia, in which he first preached the gospel and built 
 churches. The passage in Tirechan is as follows : 
 
 " De seclcsiis quas fundavit in Campo Breg, priinum in Culmine ; ii, Kclesiae Cerne, 
 in qua sepultus est Hercus qui portavit mortalitatom magnam ; iii. iu cacuminibus 
 Aisse ; iiii. in Blaitiniu ; v. in Collumbos, in qua ordinavit Eugeniiim Sanctum episco- 
 pum ; vi. aeclesia filio Laithphi ; viL im Bridam in qua fuit sanctus dulcis frater Car- 
 thaci ; viii. super Argetbor in qua Kanuanus episcopus quern ordinavit Patricius in 
 primo Pasca.". — Fol. 10.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 13 
 
 It is very probable, however, that in this onumcratinn Tirechan 
 may have had no idea of" arranging the cluirches in tlie order oi' time, 
 as regarded their erection; and if so, the assertion in the Olfice of 
 St. Cianan, tliat tlie church of Daimliliag, or Duleek, was tlie lirst 
 stone chiu-ch erected in Ireland, may be quite true. The question is, 
 however, of no importance either way in this argument; it is enough 
 that the fact is ascertained of a stone church having been erected by 
 St. Patrick, or in his time, in the district of his first labours. From the 
 Annotations of Tirechan we also learn that St. Cianaii, or, as his naiiu' 
 is latinized, Kanannanus, or Kenannanus, was consecrated bishop by 
 St. Patrick ; and we have the unexceptionable authority of the anna- 
 list Tighernach, that he died in the year 490, three years before the 
 apostle himself, with whom lie must have been an especial fovourite, 
 as Patrick bestowed upon him a copy of the Gospels, a gift of ines- 
 timable value at that time. Tlie passage in the Annals of Tighernach 
 is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 490. K. Y. Qiiies S. Cianani t)ainnlilia3. Ip do cuj pacpaic a Soi)xelUi." 
 " A. D. 490. K. V. Tlie rest of St. Cianan of Duleek. It is to him Patrick gave liis 
 Gospels."" 
 
 2. That the art of building churches of stone and lime cenuMit, 
 introduced into Ireland at this early period, was generally adojjted 
 throughout the island, — at least in the larger chiirches connected witli 
 the abbacies and bishoprics, — would appear certain from the fact, tliat 
 the term damhUag became the Scotic or Gaelic name by which the 
 Irish writers designated a cathedral or abbey church, though they 
 also used the terms tempi/!/, ec/ais, regies, and in one or two instances 
 baslic,—\Yor(ls ol jviously adopted from the Latin language : and hence, 
 their ecclesiastical writers, when writing in that language, always ren- 
 der the dainJdiag of the Irish either by the word ecdesin or ltd si lira, 
 though, on noticing the same buildings when Avriting in the Irish lan- 
 guage, they apply the terms damhliag, eclais, andtenipu//, indifferently. 
 This is a fact which I shall clearly prove, and which should necessarily 
 1)6 borne in mind, because, — as by far the greater niunber of jiotices 
 
 ^ It may interest the reader to be informed, that it appears from a topographical 
 account of the County of Meath written in 1682 — 3, that the copy of the Gospels here 
 alluded to, was then preserved in the neighbourhood of Duleek, and that it is probably 
 one of those venerable monuments of the Scriptures at present in the Library of Trinity 
 College, Dublin.
 
 1 44 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 of ancient Irish churches are contained in the Lives of the Saints. 
 which are usually written in Latin, — it might otherwise be supposed 
 that the words tempfum, ecclesia, and basilica, used by those writers, 
 may have been applied to wooden churches, which appears never 
 to have been the case, those writers usually designating such build- 
 ings by the term oratnrii/m ; and hence it is not uncommon, wlien 
 the oratory was not of wood, to designate it by the term oratorium 
 Inpideion, as in the often quoted passage in Bernard's Life of St. INIa- 
 lachy, relative to the stone oratoiy at Bangor, and of which I may also 
 quote as an example the following notice in the Annals of Ulster, at 
 tlie year 788 : 
 
 " A. D. 788. Contencio iu Ardmacae in qua jugulatur vir in hostio [ostio] oratorii 
 
 I.APIDEI." 
 
 To prove this interchange, first in the terms damhliag and tei)i- 
 ])itlL among the Lish writers themselves, before the English invasion, 
 I insert the following passage relating to the damJdiag of Mayo, 
 usually called Tempi//! Gerailt by the Irish, from an ancient Irish 
 MS. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 2, 17, p. 399 : 
 
 " Ro eobciippiD Sacycim lllmji eo oeclimcro a cadipach do t)ia 7 do JTIicel, 7 
 00 ponpao oamliacc inci do oeopaouib tJe co bpctch. Ocup po jubpuc Dluincip 
 rriailpinneoin a papach, 7 do pochaip in oamliacc pin popp in muincip gup mapb 
 oaeinib, inniLib. lap pin co came an penoip, .1. Cuchapach, jop acniiijjiD an cem- 
 pul pain, a piji 12uaiDpi 7 a mic, .1. Coipoelbai,^, 7 po h-aic-Dilpi^eo o pin amac 
 DO oeopaoaib CO bpac; 7 cucao cop inoeapcoip 1 t)unan, 7 mnincipi CiUi Daliia, 
 7 in c-)^enopa, .1. Carapac. 7 Coipoelbuig, pi^ Connachc, 7 ano epcoip 1 Cnaill, 
 7 ano epcoip 1 Dubrhaij. ina bicoilpi co bpach. Ociip Jepe ci raipip pein po 5a- 
 cup a DiichaiD pem a calmam aip, 7 pob oopuio an ixieoul do." 
 
 " The Saxons of Mayo granted the tythes of thi'ir city to God and St. Michael, and 
 tliey made a damhliag in it (i. e. in their city) for the pilgrims of God for ever. And 
 the family of MaOfinneoin proceeded to destroy it, and that damldini/ fell on the people 
 and kUled men and cattle. After this came the senior i. e. Cathasach, and he renewed 
 [ re-built J that teTWjBi^^ [church], in the reign of Ruaidhri and his son, i. e. Toirdelbhach, 
 and it was re-confirmed from that out for pilgrims for ever ; and the guarantee of the 
 bishop O'Dunan, and of the family of Killaloe, and of the senior, i. e. Cathasach, and 
 of Toirdelbhach, king of Connaught, and of the bishop O'Cnaill, and of the bishop 
 O'Dubhthaigh, was given for its possession for ever. And whoever comes bevond 
 [i. e. violates] this he shall be deprived of his own country on earth, and this life shall 
 be miserable to him." 
 
 As the preceding passage, hitherto unnoticed, removes to a great 
 degree the obscurity in which the history of the chiuvh of Mayo has
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IREI.AXn. 145 
 
 been hitlierto involved, I may observe that the edifice to wliich it refers 
 
 must not be confounded with the great abbey churcli of iMayo, 
 
 ■which was erected for the Saxons by St. Ct)hnan, about the middle 
 of the seventh century, — but to that called Tempi/// Gerui/l, i. e. 
 Church of Gerald, and Gill na n-Ai/if/ier, i. e. Church of the Pilgi-inis, 
 which must have been originally erected by the Saxon Saint Gerald 
 at the same place, some time in the beginning of the eighth cenlury, 
 as St. Gerald's death is recorded in the Annals of Tighernacli at the 
 year 732, and of Ulster at the year 731. 
 
 The date of the re-edification of this cliuicli, by the senior Catha- 
 sach, may be determined from the fact stated in the docimient, tliat it 
 occurred during the reign of Euaidhri, king of Connaught, and his 
 son Toirdhelbhach, or Turlogh, by which must be understood the 
 period between the loss of RuaidJiri's eyes, in 1097, and that of his 
 death, which occiu-red in the year 1118. This is also corroborated 
 by the dates of the deaths of the other persons who witnessed the 
 grant ; for Bishop O'Dunan died in 1 1 18, Bishop O'Cnaill in 1 1 17 or 
 1118, and Bishop O'Dubhthaigh in 113G. 
 
 As examples of the substitution by tlie Irish writers oi' tlie Latin 
 words templum, ecclesia, basilica, for the Irisli d(niiliHa!J\ and of the 
 Irish Avords cill, eclais, fem/n/l/, rei>les, for the same term, it will be 
 sufficient to refer to the notices of the ecclesiastical edifices at Ar- 
 magh, the erection of which is, in most instances, ascribed to St. Pa- 
 trick himself. Of these buildings the first Irish notice, that I have 
 found, occm-s in the Annals of Ulster at the year 839, iu Avhich it 
 Avill be seen that the great church was called a i/a)yiJiliag, or stone 
 chiu'ch. 
 
 "A. D. 839. ^opcao QiiiDmacn co n-a oepcijjib, 7 a Daimliacc." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 839- Combustio ArdmacluT cum Nosocomiis [correctli/ Oratoriis], ct Ec- 
 olesiis lapideis suis." 
 
 This event is recorded in nearly the same words in the Annals 
 of the Foiu' Masters, and is freely translated by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 839. CopccoD Qpomaacliu co n-a Depcaij5il>, 7 co n-a DaiiiilKicc lap 
 na ^altuib pempuire." 
 
 " A. D. 839. Ardmacha cum sua Busilicii, aliisq; sacris cedibus, inccnditur j/er Nort- 
 
 niannos." — Trias Tbaum. p. 295. 
 
 U
 
 14(3 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Should it be asked, — If the great church at Armagh were a stone 
 building, why is there no earlier mention of it in those Annals ? — 
 tlie answer is, that the Irish annals seldom, if ever, make any men- 
 tion of buildings except in recording their burning or destruction, 
 and that this was the first time the ecclesiastical edifices of Armagh 
 were burned by the incendiary hands of the Northmen, though they 
 had plundered and occupied the place for the first time nine years 
 before, as is thus stated in the Annals of the Foiu- Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 830. Ceonci opjain CTiioamacha. Qpomaclia do opjjain po rpi i n-uoin 
 liii la ^ul-luib, 7 ni jio li-oipjeo lu li-eacccip-denela piarii 50 pin." 
 
 Thus translated by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 830. Ardmacka spatio vnius mensisfuit tertio occupata Sj- expilata per Nort- 
 mannos sen Danos. Et )iiin.quam ante fuit per exteros occupata Trias Tliaum. p. 295. 
 
 In the next entry relative to these churches in the Irish annals, 
 the damhliag, or great stone chui'ch, is noticed, under the name of 
 ecclais. The notice occurs in the Annals of the Four Masters at the 
 year 890, and is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 890. Qpomacha do opccain ki ^lunicipn, 7 la ^allaib Qrlia cliacli, 
 CO pucpac oeicneabap 7 peace J-ceo 1 m-bpoio leo, lap n-Dipcaoileo upuill do'ii 
 ecclaip, 7 lap m-bpipeo an oeapraije, conio do ip pubpao : 
 
 Cpuaj, a naevh paopaicc, nap anachc c' epnaije, 
 Qn ^aill CO n-a o-cuajaib aj bualao do oepcai^e." 
 
 The following is the literal translation : 
 
 " A. D. 890. Armagh was plundered by Gluniarn, and by the Danes of Dublin, 
 and they carried off seven hundred and ten persons into captivity with them, after 
 having pulled down a part of the church, and after having broken the Jerthach, [or ora- 
 tory], on which was said : 
 
 " Pity, O saint Patrick, that thy prayers did not save, 
 
 When the Danes with their axes were striking thy derthach." 
 
 The substance of this passage is given by Colgan as follows : 
 
 "A. D. 890. Ardmacka occupata 4' expilata per Ghiniarmim, Sf Nortmannos Dub- 
 Unienses; qui ipsa summa Basilica ex parte diruta, S)~ diuersis sacris (pdificijs solo cequatis, 
 decern supra septingentos abduxerunt captiuos.'''' — Trias Thauni. p. 296. 
 
 In the next notice of the sacred edifices of Aniiagh, wliich occurs 
 in the same Annals, the principal chui'ch is designated by the word 
 cill. It occurs at the year 907, and is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 907. Sapuccao Qpoamocha la Cepnachan mac Duilgen, .1. cimbio 
 00 bpeir ap in ciU, 7 a buoao li-i Loc\\ Cuip ppi b-Qpomacba aniup."
 
 OF THE BOUND TOWKUS OF lUEl.ANlJ. 1 I7 
 
 Til us translated by Colgan, wlio renders cill by evclesiu and fxisi/iru: 
 
 " A. D. 907. Basilica Ardinacliuna Sacrilegam vim pama per Keniticlniiium filiiim 
 D/ifyeni ; qiiiquendam captiimm eo refuglj causa effnyieiitem, ex Ecclesia sacrili-go uumi 
 
 extra.rit, Sf in lacu de Loch kin; crhi versus Occideiilem adiacenli, snj^ucauit." Triim 
 
 Thaum. p. 296. 
 
 The Annals of the Fom- Masters next record tlie ijurnin<r of Ar- 
 niagh at the year 914, without any reference to its buildings; but the 
 Annals of Ulster record the same evt'nl in detail at llic 3'ear 91"). I 
 quote the original of the latter notice, as printed by Dr. O'Conor, and 
 1 also give his translation of it, though incorrect in many respects : 
 
 " A. D. 915. Ardmacha do loscadh di ait i. q. nt Kl. JIaii. i a leitli di'iscerlac/i cosiuloi 
 
 7 cosi ntskaholl 7 cosinciicin 7 otsitidlins ub. hiide." 
 
 " A. D. 915. Ardmacha combusta partim, quinto Kalcndaruin Mali, i. c. dimidiiim 
 ejus australe, cum sti-amiiie, et granario, ut tucto, ut domicilio imiiiito Abhatiw tfitius."' 
 
 It might be supposed from the preceding translation that thi.'~ 
 record could have no reference to the burning of the churches of 
 Armagh, and that it could not be used in any way to provi' that they 
 were of stone; but I shall presently show (p. 152) that the contrary 
 is the fact, and that the words of the annaUst which Dr. O'Conor 
 imderstood to mean sframen, i. e. straw, graiiariitin, a barn, and tec- 
 tum, n roof, were actually not only churches, but even stone cluirches. 
 The original passage is thus given in the vellum copy of the Amials 
 of Ulster, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin : 
 
 "A. D. 915. Qpomacci do Vopcao do cene oiaic 1 quiMco Kalenoapum ITlcn, .1. 
 CI Veidi Deipcepcc(cli, cop in Coi, 7 cop in c-Subull, 7 cup in Chucin, 7 cop ino ^ lup 
 QbbaiD h-ude." 
 
 The correct translation of the passage is undoubtedly this : 
 
 " A. D. 915. Armagli was burned by lightning on the fifth of the Kali^nds of May, 
 i. e. its southern half, together with the [church nf^ Toi, and with [the church o/"] 
 Sabhall, and with the Cucin [or kitchen], and with the entire of the Lis Alihai<lh. [(.r the 
 fortified enclosure of the abbots]." 
 
 In the next entry the churches of Armagh are noticed under the 
 name of ceall. It occiu's in the Annals of Ulster under the year 920, 
 and is as follows, as in the College MS. copy : 
 
 " A. D. 920. Inopeo aipomacha h-i im. lo. Noiiembpip 6 ^altaib Qrha cliarh. 
 .1. o ^orbpir Oa Inicnp, cum puo exepcico, .1. ip in c-Parupn pia Peil mupccim ; 
 7 na caiji aepncii^ci do anaccd Ictipco n-ci luce do cedib oe, 7 oi lobpuib, 7 in cell 
 olcena, nipi paucip in ea ceccip eiaupcip pe]i incopium." 
 
 Thus correctly translated by Dr. O'Conor ; 
 
 u 2
 
 148 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " A. D. 920. Ardmacha vastata iv. Id. Novembris per Alieiiigenas Dublinienses, 
 i. e. per Goifredum nepotem Imari, cum suo exercitii, i. e. die Sabbati ante festivitatem 
 S. Martini, et protexit domos orationis, cum suis Colideis, et Leprosis, et Ecclesiam 
 similiter, nisi paucis in ea tectis exustis per incuriam." 
 
 In the next entry, which occurs at the year 9!)-'i, and records the 
 conflagration of the churches and other buildings of Armagh byhght- 
 ning, the churches are called damhliags, or stone buildings, by all the 
 annalists. — See the whole of the original authorities, and old transla- 
 tions of them, given in the preceding part of this work, pp. .52 to 54. 
 
 At the year 1010 the great church of Armagh is mentioned by 
 the Four Masters under the name of Donihliacc mlior, or great stone- 
 church, in the following passage, to which I add Colgan's translation : 
 
 " A. D. 1010. muipeoach, mac Cpiochain, coiiiapba Colaim ciUe, 7 Qoam- 
 num, paoi, 7 eppcop, 7 mac oicche, pe)ilei^inc Qpoamacha, 7 aDbaji comapba 
 Dacpaicc, o'ecc icipp an cecparhao bliaoain peaccmooac a aoipe, a u. Kl. lanuapi, 
 uiDche Sachaipn uo ponnpao, 7 po h-aoTiaiceo co n-onoip, 7 50 n-aipriiicin ip in 
 Oomliacc rhop 1 n-Qpomacha, ap belaiB na h-ulcojia." 
 
 "A. D. 1010. Sanctus MureJacius filius Cricfiani, Cotnorbanus Sancti Cuhnnke, Sf 
 Sancti Adamnani, Doctor eximius, Episcopus, Virgo, seu cir casiissitnus. Lector Theologim 
 Ardmnchanug, Sf fidiirus Cotnorbanus S. Patricij, (id est Archiepiscopus Ardniaclianus) 
 antio wtatis sept/iagesimo quarto, quinto Calendas lantiarij, ipsa node sabbatina, quieuit 
 in Domino: Sf Ardmachce in maiori Ecdesia ante summum altare, cum magna honore Sf 
 solemnitate sepidtus est." — Trias Thaum. pp. 297, 298. 
 
 The record which next follows is of greater value than any 
 hitherto cited, as the annahsts present us with the names of the dif- 
 ferent churches which were biu-ned, and call tliem all damhliags, or 
 stone churches. It occiu's in all the Annals at the year 1020 ; and, as 
 it is of great importance to this Inquiry, inasmuch as it refers to stone 
 churches, — which, as I shall hereafter show, were foitnded in St. Pa- 
 trick's time, — I shall give the various readings found in the different 
 Annals, and also the translations hitherto made of them. The most 
 ancient authority in which it occurs is the Annals of Tighernach, in 
 which it runs as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Qpomaca do lopcao a c. Kl. ITlai, co n.a oepcijib uile cenmora 
 m ceach pcpepcpa noma, 7 po loipc illcije ip na cpenaib, 7 in Damliaj mop, 7 
 m cloicccech co n-a clojaib, 7 Damliaj na Coja, 7 Damliag m c-Sabudl, 7 in 
 cachuip ppoicepca, 7 imao oip 7 apjaic, 7 pec apcena." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Couor : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Ardmaolia combusta tertio Kal. Maii, cum Nosocomiis suis omnibus, 
 non e.xcepta dome Scripturarum.sanctarum, et combustae sunt plurimse domus in ter-
 
 OF THE KOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1 |;) 
 
 nariis rcgionibus Civitatis, et CuthcJralis Ecek'sia magna Iniiiilon, i-t onmimnik- I'tini 
 suis Campanis, et lapiJea Ecck'sia Elcotiouuin, ot Ecclossia lapidua Saballi, (i. f. liurrci, 
 sive granarii S. Patricii,) et Cathedra Doctrinalis Pra'dicatoruin (i. e. suggvstuiii) t-t 
 copia ingens auri et argenti, et res prctiosa; similiter." 
 
 It should be observed, that in the precodinp; translatitin, Dr. 
 O'Conor correctly renders the words Danilinj na ^^oja, by /ajjidi-a 
 Ecclesia Electiomim; and yet in his ininslation, already cited, of 
 the entry in the Annals of Ulster relating to the .same churches, at 
 the 3^ear 915, he renders the word toe, — which is tlie name of this 
 church, given without the preceding word Damliag, — hysframeri: 
 and again in the record of the burning of this same churoli, now to 
 be cited from the Annals of Ulster, it will appear that he gives a 
 different and equally erroneous translation of the same word, thus : 
 
 " A.D. 1020. Qpomaclia uile do leip do lopcao, .i. in tDaimlicn; ITlop co n-(i 
 cinji DO Uiaibe, 7 incloicrec co n-a cloccciiB, 7 in SaBuU, 7 in Uoai, 7 ciipbcio na 
 n-abbao, 7 in c-pen-cuchaip Ppocmpca, 1 D-ceipc Kl. luin, 1 ^Auan pe Cinjcei- 
 ST-" 
 
 This passage, the text of which is here given from the copy in the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin, is thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Ardmaclia tota penitus combusta, i. e. Ecclesia Saxea magna, cum 
 sue tegmento plumbeo, et Campanili, et Campanis, et Ecclesia SaMmlensis, i. e. Granarii, 
 et Toamensis, i. e. Cimitoerii, et Esseda Abbatis, et vetusta Cathedra doctrinalis, tvnio 
 Kalendarum Junii, et die Luna; ante Pentecosten." 
 
 Here Dr. O'Conor has added an m to Toa, which is not to be found 
 in the Dublin copy nor in any of the other annals, and it is scarcely 
 necessary to remark here that it must be an error of his o-wn in dec^i- 
 phering the MS. With respect to his present conjectural translation 
 of the word, it is worth nothing, as he renders it otherwise elsewhere, 
 and indeed correctly in the Annals of Tighernach ; and it is strange 
 that so laborious a \\Titer did not take the trouble of comparing the 
 different Annals, before he gave such contradictory translations of 
 the passages recording the same events. This passage is tluis cor- 
 rectly translated, but without anglicizing the words Suhlidll and Tod, 
 in the old manuscript translation of the Annals of Ulster, prcscr\ ed 
 in the British Museum, (MS. add. 4795, fol. 47.) 
 
 " A. D. 1020. " All Ardmach burnt wholly, viz. y« Damliag with its bowses 
 [housing] or cover of lead, y>^ steeple with y" bells, y Saval and Toay, & chariott 
 ofy'' abbotts, with y° old chaire of precepts, in y" 3 Kal. of June, Monday before Whit- 
 
 sonday."
 
 1 ■)( » INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The same record is given ])y tlie Foiu- Masters as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Qiiomacha do loj^ccao ■^vy an Raic uile, j;an cepapccain uoin 
 ncclie innce cenniorhu an ceacli pcpetiprpu ntimci, 7 po loipccclii lol-rciijlie ip Tict 
 cpeanuib, 7 po loipcceo in Ooimlicicc Plop, 7 in cloiccliectch co n-a cloccaib, 7 
 tDariiliacc na Coe, 7 Dumliucc an c-SaBaiU, 7 an c-pen-cacliaoip ppoicepca, 7 
 cappac nci n-Qbhao, 7 u liubuip i D-caijib ua mac leijinn, co n-ioniuc oip 7 aip- 
 ^icc, 7 jacli peoic upchena." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Ardmaclia combusta quoad Arcem totam, absque ulla domo ibi sal- 
 vata prteter Domum Scripturarum, et combustae sunt plurimaj domus in vicis, et com- 
 busta est Ecclesia lapidea magna, et campanile cum suis campanis, et Ecclesia lapidea 
 Toensis, et Ecclesia lapidea Sabliallia?, et antiqua Cathedra doctrinalis, et currus ab- 
 batialis, et libri ejus in domibxis Prajlectorum, cum ingenti copia auri et argenti, et 
 omnibus rebus pretiosis similiter." 
 
 An abstract from this passage is given by Colgan in his Annals of 
 Armagh, but he has unfortunately omitted some important objects, 
 and mistaken the meaning of a phrase, which has led others into 
 great error. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1020. Ardmacha Ma incendro vostata rsq; ad arcem maiorem, in qua nvlla 
 donms fu it combusta prceter Bibliotkecam solam : sed pltirimce cedes sunt fammis ahsumptce 
 in trihus alijs partibus ciuitatis, <^' inter alia ipsum snmmum templttm. Basilica Toensis, 
 Basilica SuhliaUensis, Basilica vetus concionatoria ; libri onnies stiidiosoram in siiisdomi- 
 ciliis, 4" ingens copia auri i^j- anjenti cum alijs plurimis bonis." — Trias Tkauni. p. 298. 
 
 That this translation of Colgan's is in part incorrect, as well as 
 defective, will be obvious to every Irish scholar, as well as to the 
 English reader, who will take the trouble of comparing it with the 
 other translations, one of which, already given, is older than Colgan's 
 time, and made by a native Irishman living in Ireland. 
 
 I shall next present the reader with the translation made of this 
 passage in the year 1627 by Connell Mageoghegan, from the Book or 
 Annals of Clonmacnoise, and the original Irish of it given in the 
 Chronicon Scotorum, which was abstracted from the same work : 
 
 " A. D. 1021. Qpomacbo do lopcao jjup an pair jenmora an cec pcpebrpa, 7 
 loipcceo an DamliO'^ ITlop, 7 an claijceac co n-a cloccaib, 7 Gamliaj na Cojct, 
 7 Oamliaj an c-SubaiU 7 an carhaip ppoicepca, 7 imao oip 7 aipjio, 7 peo ap- 
 ceana." 
 
 Thus translated by Mageoghegan : 
 
 " A. D. 1013, [correctly 1021]. Ardmacli, the third of the Kallends of June, was 
 burnt from the one end to the other, save only the Library ; all the houses were burnt,
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOAVEUS OF lUELAXD. 151 
 
 the Great Cliurch, tlie Stketle, tlic Church of the Sabhatl, the inil|>iu or elioir uf 
 preaching, with much gokl, silver and books, were burnt by tlie Danes." 
 
 In the next entry, relating to Arniagli, in the Annals of the Four 
 INIasters, the churches are noticed under the name oi' fcin/u/i//: 
 
 " A. D. 107-1. Qpomacha do lopccao oia niuipr lup m-&ealcaine, co ii-u viihb 
 reinploib, 7 cloccuiB, eiccip p<iic 7 cpiain." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Couor : 
 
 " A. D. 107-1. Ardmaeha combusta die Slartis post Baalis ignem, (i. c. post Ka- 
 lendas Maias,) cum omnibus suis Ecclcsiis et Cunipaiiilibus, tain Ar.x ipiani ternaria; 
 di\-isiones Civitatis." 
 
 And thus by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 107-1. Ardmaeha lota ami onniibus Ecclesiis S)- camjiaiiis, cum aire Jy reliqiia 
 vrbis parte iiieemlio eastata, die Martis jwst festum, SS. PhiUppi <5' lacol/i." — Trias Thaum. 
 p. 298. 
 
 At the year 1085 mention is made in tlie Annals of Uls^ter and of 
 the Four INIasters of the church of St. Bridget, at Armagh, usually 
 called Cill Bhrighide and Tempull Bliriglule, — whicli, according to 
 Colgan, was erected in Patrick's time, — under the name of Reg/es 
 Bhrighde ; and at the years 1092 and 1093 the churches of Armngli 
 are again mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters, under the 
 name of tempuiU. 
 
 At the year 1101 the great church of Armagh is called (lamldinr 
 in the Annals of Ulster, and doimliag in those of the Foui' Masters. 
 
 "A. D. 1101. tDonnchao h-Ua Gochaoa, pi Lllao, do puciplucno u cuibpich 
 la tJomnull mac Cochlamn la pij n-Qilij oap cenn a mic 7 a corhalcui, .1. 1 
 n-t)amliuc Qpoamaclia, cpe impioe comapba pacpaic, 7 paihca pncpaic npcena, 
 &c." — Annul. Ulion. 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 "A. D. 1101. Donnchad O'Eochada Rex Ultoniw liberatus e eatenis a Donaldo 
 filio Lochlinii Rege Alichise, propter filium ejus, et colactaneum ejus, (obsides) i. e. in 
 Ecclesia Cathedrali lapidea Ardniachana, per intercessionem Vicarii Patricii, ct congre- 
 gationis cleri Patricii similiter." 
 
 " A.D. 1101. tJonnchoD Ua h-eochaoa, pi Ulao, d3 puc'r^^ccaD a cuibpeucli- 
 aib lc( t)omnall mac Tllic Cochlainn, la pi n-Qili^. rap cenc a meic. 7 a comnlca, 
 1 n-t)oiTTiliacc apDamucba, cpe impibe comapba pucpaic, 7 a pamra iipceiia, 
 lap 5-comluccha DOiB po KucuU Io|'a, 7 po miono na h-eccail]'i an xi. Kl. laiuuipi.' 
 — Ann. Quat. Mag. 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 1 101. Donnchadus O'Eochada Rex Ultoniic liberatus c eatenis per Donul- 
 dum filium filii Lochlanni Eegem Alichiaj, propter suum filium, et suuni cullactaiRiim,
 
 l.J2 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ill Ecclesia lapidea Ardmacliana, per intercessionem Vicarii Patricii et ejus Congroga- 
 tionis similiter, postqiiam convenirent sub obligatione jurisjurandi Baculi Jesu et reli- 
 quiarum Ecclesiae, xi Kul. Jauuarii." 
 
 And thus by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 1101. Dc cons/lio i^- intercessione Arch'episcopi ^- Cleri Ardmachani Dom- 
 ncddus Hiia Lochluinn Rex Aleacheusis e vinculis liheratum dirnisit Donatiim Hiia Hco- 
 chadha, Regem Vlidice in Basilica Ardmachana, acceptis Jilio Sf aliis ab eo obsidibus: Sf 
 inreiurando per Bncidiim, aliasque sacri loci Reliquias prcestito foedus ibi inierunt XI. 
 Valendas lanuarij." — Trias Tlumm. p. 299- 
 
 In the next notice, which occurs at the year 1112, of the burning 
 of the chm'ches of Armagh, they are called tempuill in the Annals 
 of the Four Masters and in other Annals, as thus : 
 
 " A. D. 1112. Raicli Qpoamacha co n-a cemploib do lofccao, in r. Kl. Qppil, 
 7 Da ppeich do Cpiun Plapan, 7 an cpeap ppech 00 Cpiun liiop." — Ann. Qtiat. Mmj. 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 "A. D. 1112. Ars Ardmachana cum sua Ecclesia comhusta x Kal. April, et 
 duo vici ternariai regiouis civitatis, dicta; Masan, et tertius vicus ternariae (dictac) 
 Mugna'." 
 
 And thus, more correctly, by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 1112. Ar.v Ardinacknia cum templis, duceplatece in Trian-Massain, c^' ter- 
 tiani Trianmor incendio deuastanturP — Trias Thanm. p. 300. 
 
 The next record in the Irish Annals relating to Armagh is one of 
 great importance, as it not only calls the great church a stone struc- 
 ture, but also shows that it was partly without a roof for one hundred 
 and thirty years preceding, — that is, since the great conflagration of 
 the churches by lightning in 995, — so that it must have been a church 
 of considerable magnitude. The passage occurs in the Annals of 
 Ulster, and of the Four Masters, at the year 1125, as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1125. Ip innn cucipjbab a buinoe Dioen pop in t)amliac ITIop Qipo- 
 maclia, lap n-u tan-ecop do plinnciuch la Celluch, comapba parpaic, ip in cpi- 
 chaomaD blinoain ap ceo 6 nu paljai plinncuicb pa'p co comlan." — Ann. Ultmiien, 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 1 125. . . operimentum factum, et optimum tectum, et istud tectum integre, 
 supra Ecclesiam Cathedralem lapideam magnam Ardmachanam, postea totum tegulis 
 coopertum a Celso Vicario Patricii, in trigesimo anno supra centesimum a quo non fuit 
 tegulis contGctum totum." 
 
 " A. D. 1125. h-i quinc Id. Gnaip pop CtoniDe ; ip more cuapccboo a buinne 
 DiDin pop in t)aiTviliacc Dlop Qpoamacha, lap n-a lain-eagap do plinoib la Ceal- 
 lach, comapba paqiaic, ip in cpicliacrhoD bliaoainap ceo o n-opaiBe plinncortildn 
 paip CO pin." — Ann. Qiiat. Mag.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWKRS or lina.AMV 153 
 
 Tliu< transliitcd by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 '■A. D. 1123. Quiiito Id. Januai-ii operiiiiciitum factum ct tectum iiifcgnuii (»•■- 
 tiiin supra Ecck'siam Catliedralcui lapiilcaiu magnani Ardmafhanam, postcii totuiu 
 tLgulis coopertuui a Celso Vicario Patricii, in trigosimo auuo supra ccntcsimuin ux iiu,, 
 
 mm fuit tcgulis opertiim totum usque ad iil." 
 
 And thus by Colgan : 
 
 " A. D. 1 123. Qnlii/o 1//IS laimarij Uynlls h>l<yi-i coiitirta S^- rcMuurata cat L'rcl.wi 
 f'athedraUs Ardmachana per Sanction Celsum A rcliiepiscopiim ; jmMquamper annos reii- 
 tiim triffiiita non nisi ex parte fitisset contecta." — Trias Tliuiim. p. 3()(). 
 
 The hist notice of the ancient churches of Arinagli in the Annals 
 of the Four Masters occurs at the year 1179, which I licre 'nvc witli 
 Colgan's translation : 
 
 " A. D. 1179. Ctpomaca do lopccno ercip cempUiiK 7 petlepaili, (ur PeLUp 
 6piccDe 7 UempuU i\a B-Peapca nama." 
 
 " A. D. 1178 [1179]. Armaclia cum Ecclesijs & Sanctuarijs inccndio exusta, pra- 
 tin- sanctiiarram Sancti [Sancta;] Brigidae 4' templum na ferta (id est, miraculorum) 
 iippcllatHm." — Trias Thaum. p. 310. 
 
 From the preceding notices the following conclusions may, I tliink, 
 be considered as now established. First, that the Irish, when writiu"- 
 in their own language, applied to their stone churches not only tlie 
 term damliliag, which expresses the material of whicli tlicy were 
 formed, but also the terms cill, tempull, regies, and ec/ais, words ob- 
 viously derived from the Latin; and that when noticing these churclies 
 in the Latin language they designate them by the terms ecc/csin, 
 templum, and basilica: and hence, that no inference can be fairly 
 drawn, that the churches designated by any other appellation tlian 
 damliliag were not stone buildings. This, I must repeat, is an im- 
 portant conclusion to bear in mind, because, as I have already stated, 
 almost the entire of our ancient ecclesiastical history, being written 
 in Latin, affords us but incidental evidences as to the materials used 
 in the construction of the churches ; and the Irish annalists who fur- 
 nish evidence as to theii' material by the use of the term damliliag, 
 or stone chiu'ch, only, as I have shown, commence tlieir notices of 
 these structm^es when they were subjected to the devastations of the 
 Northmen in the muth century. 
 
 Secondly, that it is quite certain that the chm-ches at Armagh 
 were stone buildings in the ninth century. This is sufficiently sliowii 
 not only from the notices of these churches as stone edifices already 
 given as early as the year 838, but also from the following important 
 
 X
 
 154 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 notice ill Colgan's annals of Armagh at the year 1145, relative to the 
 erection of a linie-kiln of enormous size by Gelasius, archbishop of 
 Armagh, for the purpose of repairing the churches, as authority for 
 ^vhich he quotes the Life of Gelasius (cap. xiv. in Acf(t Sanctorinn, 
 ]). 775), and the Annals of the Foiu' Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1 145. Priuriiin \_Pionitii~\ lahunan hulffcssus exnntliitor Ge/iisi/is cuyitans de 
 A nlmachana Basilica, aliisq; sacris cedibus aditcereittibus reparandis, extruxit jrro calce 
 4' ccemento in hutic finem excoquendo, ingentis moUs fornacem, cuius latitudo ab omni 
 jHirte erat sexaginta pedes protensa." — Trias Tliniim. p. 305. 
 
 It mav indeed be objected that the authorities to which Colgan 
 refers are insufficient, inasmuch as the Life of St. Gelasius, in which 
 this passage is found, appears to have been compiled by Colgan him- 
 self from various authorities, and the record in the Annals of tiie 
 Foiu- Masters does not state the purpose for which the lime-kiln was 
 erected : but it is not likely that so very accui'ate a compiler as Col- 
 gan would insert such a passage without sufficient authority ; and, 
 even if the purpose assigned for the erection of this lime-kiln were 
 o\\\y an inference of Colgan's own, it woidd be a perfectly legitimate 
 one, — for if it had been erected not to repair, but to build the 
 chiu'ches, the annalists, as was theii- habit, wovdd not have failed to 
 state an object so honoiu'able to the fame of a distinguished eccle- 
 siastic, as will appear from several examples connected with Armagh 
 itself Thus at the year 1126 the Annals of Ulster and of the Four 
 Masters record the erection of a damhliag, or stone church, called 
 Regies Foil agus Pedair, or the Abbey Chui'ch of SS. Paid and 
 Peter — a church, the original erection of which is erroneously as- 
 cribed by Ware and all the subsequent writers to St. Patrick,— and 
 its consecration by the archbishop Celsus. It is thus given in the 
 Annals of Ulster : 
 
 " A. D. 1126. t)aiTiliuc pejley^a poil 7 peociip, do ponao la li-Imap li-Uu 
 ti-Qeoacuii, do coipecpoo do Ceallucli, coniupbu pacpaic, in xij. Kal. Nouem- 
 bpip." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor, who misunderstood the meaning of 
 the word pejlep. which signifies an abbey chiu-ch: 
 
 "A. D. 112(3. Ecclesia lapidea Cathedralis Ctemeterii Paiili et Petri, qiiam aedi- 
 ficavit Imar O'Aedhacan, consecrata a Celso Vicario Patricii, xii Kalend. Novenib." 
 
 Thus in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1126. tDuimliacc pejlepa poil 7 pecaip 1 ii-Qpcmticlvj, 00 ponnub la
 
 OK TIIK liorxn TnWEKS OK IKKI.AXD. 1 .') 5 
 
 li-lm<ip Ua n-CIeoncriin do coippeccno Ici Cealluch, comupbii pcirpuicc, nn iij. 
 Kill. DO Houembep." 
 
 'I'll US translated by Dr. O'Coiior : 
 
 " A. D. 112(). Ecclosia lapidea Coemeterii Pauli .■! Petri iii Ardmacliu, ([ua; avii- 
 fioata est per Iiiianijii O'Edacan, cnnseerala jici- Celsum Vicariuiii Putricii, xii Kiil. 
 
 Novembris." 
 
 And thus bv Coltian : 
 
 " A. D. 1 126. Basilica SS. Petri S; Pauli Ardmaclm cxtriicta jier B. Imnrxnn II m, 
 Hneilhaijain, consecrate est per S. Celsiim Arcliiepiseopum ArdmacJmnuni 12. Calend. No- 
 ueiiili.'^ — Trias T/aanii. p. 300. 
 
 Thus again in the record of the death of ^Malacliy ( )"Morgair, tlie 
 predecessor of Gelasius, in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the 
 year 1148, it is particiUarly stated, not only that he I'.nnided and con- 
 secrated churches, churchyards, and monasteries, but also tliat he re- 
 paired man}' churches that had been for a long period in a state of 
 ruin and desolation, 
 
 " A. D. 1 148. TTlatachiap, .i. maolmcieDocc Ua IDopjaip, aipo-eppcop cacluioipe 
 paopaicc, aipo-cerin laprhaip 6oppa, tejaice comapba peraip, aoin cennr no 
 pinpuijpec ^c'OD'l 7 5°"''^' ci'P°-i^cio' ' n-eaccna 7 a 5-cpabaiD, tocpan polupra no 
 poillpijeo cuarlia 7 eccatpa cpia popceacal 7 caoiii-jniorha, ao;^aipe rciipipi na 
 Ii-6ccailpi CO coicceno, lup n-oiponeo do eppcoip 7 pcicaipc, 7 aop jacha jpaio 
 apchena, lap j-coippeaccao ceampoU 7 peljeao n-iomao, lup n-oenarii gachu 
 luBpa ecclapcacoa pecnon Gpeann, lap D-noonacal peoo 7 bio do rpenaib 7 
 rpuajaib, lap b-porujao cecrll 7 mninipcpeach ; cip ap leipiorii po Ii-acnuaoaijre 
 1 n-6pinn lap n-a b-pailliujao o cein muip, jacti ecclup po lecchi 1 pcnll 7 i 
 n-eiptip, lap B-pajbail jach piajta 7 jach poibepo 1 n-6acclnip Gpeann cipcliena, 
 ip in oapa pechc a leccaioechca, lap beir ceirpe bliabna oecc ina phpioriiuio, 7 
 lapp an cerpaiiiao bliaoain cueccac a aoipi, po prnD a ppipac do cum nirhe an 
 Dopa la DO Nouembep, 7 ap ann celeabpaicc an ©acclaip lirh 7 pollamain Nuoim 
 mhalachinp ap an cpep la, ap n-a claocluD lup nci ppuirib o la pbeile na mapb. 
 ap an la na oiaio, ap comb upaioe a epoach 7 a onoip ; 7 po h-aonacc 1 mainipcip 
 ■S. 6epnaipD b-i CUiipualip b-i b-PpancoiB, 50 n-onoip 7 co n-(iipmicrin." 
 
 Tlius translated by Dr. O'Conor, who has mistaken the meaning of 
 the most important part of the passage, as marked in Italics : 
 
 " A. D. 1148. !Malacliias, I e. Maolniaedogus O'JIorgar, Aicliiepiscopus Cathedra; 
 Patricii, supreniiis Pastor Occidentalis Eiiropae, Legatus Vicarii Petri, Unicus cui pa- 
 rebant Hiberni et AJienigenaj, supremus sapiens doctrina et devotione, Lucerna Lucis 
 illuminans Sascularia et Ecclesiastica propter pietatem et clara gesta, Pastor solicitus 
 Ecclesise generaliter, postquam ordinasset Episcopos et Sacerdotcs, et cujusvis ordiiiis 
 Clericos sinoiliter, postquam consecrasset Ecclcsias et Coemeteria plurinia, jiostqHani 
 perfecisset omnia munera Ecclesiastica ubique in Hibernia, post oblatas res pretiosns 
 et cibaria potentibus et paaiperibus, post tecta imposita Ecclesiis et ^[onasteriis, nam 
 
 X 2
 
 156 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 per ipsuiu rcnovata; sunt in Hibernia, poM ej/is reditum e lucis InuisiiKirinis, omnes 
 Ecclesi» qua; derelictae erant in ruinam et in desolationetn, postquam statuisset omnes 
 regulas et omnes leges morum in Ecclesia Hibernica similiter, secunda fungens Lega- 
 tionc, postquam fuisset quatuordecim annis in Primatu, post quiuquagesiunim quartum 
 annum atatis sua;, reddidit spiritum coelo, 2da die Novembris, et eo die celebrat Ec- 
 clesia ejus felicem migrationem, et Solemnitas S. Malacliia; tertio die celebratur, nam 
 transfertur a Religiosis a die festo omnium Defunctorum ad diem sequentem, ut possit 
 eelebrari more solemni et honorifico, et scpultus est in Monasterio S. Bernard! Clare- 
 valliB in Francia, ciim lionore et reverentia." 
 
 And thus more correctly by Colgan, as marked in small capitals : 
 
 " A. D. 1 148. S. Malachias Hua Morgair, Archiepiscopus oUm Ardmdchanus, Occi- 
 dentalis Europce Legatus Apostolicus, cuim arbitrio Sj- monitis Hiherni S^ Nortmanni 
 arquiescebant, vir nulli saplentia Sf religlone sec/nidiis, luceriia li/cens, 4' Clentm popn- 
 liimq; sacris operibiis S^- coiicionlbus illuminatis ; Pastor fidelis Ecdesirt' Dei ; pust Ej/i.i- 
 eopos, PrcBsbi/teros, aliosq; diuersorum graduum Sf ordhiiim Clericos, ordinaios ; post 
 jRcrlesias midtas, Sanctuaria, <^- Monasteria consecrata ; jjust midtos labores Sf diuersa 
 )niinia Ecdesiastka per vniuersaui Hibeniiam pie exercita; post multas ekemosi//ifis, ^ 
 jiias elargitiones in vsus paiiperum Sf egenorum impensas ; post diuersas Ecclesias Sf Mo- 
 nasteria partim erecta, partim restaurata {in more enim kabuit Ecclesias, diu ante ne- 
 GLECTAS & niViVi xs demio reparare Sf refedificare;) post multas C'anonicas constitutiones 
 Ecclesiasfico' disciplince reformationem, Sf Cleri mores i)i melius committandos, concer- 
 nentes, pie saucitas, anno decimo quarto sui Primatus, cetatis quinquagesitjio quarto secunda 
 iam vice Legati Apostolici munere functus, spiritum coelo reddidit die secunda Nouembris 
 in Monasterio Cliireualknsi in Francia; ibidem cum magna solemnitate, ^- honore sepultus. 
 Quia tamen commcmoratio omnium Jidelium defunctorum eo die celebratur ; festum eius 
 quo commodius Sf solemitius eelebrari posset translatum est in diem sequentem." — Trias 
 Thaum. p. 305. 
 
 Having now, as I trust, satisfied tlie reader that the churches at 
 Armagh were built of stone and lime cement as early as the middle of 
 the ninth century, I proceed to my next and final conclusion. 
 
 Thirdly, that there is every reason to believe that the stone 
 churches already shown to have existed in the ninth century, were 
 the very churches erected in St. Patrick's time, or shortly after. This, 
 I think, will sufficiently appear from the following evidences, — and 
 first, with respect to the Cathedral, or DamhUag Mor. The erection 
 of a cathedral church at Armagh is recorded by all the Irish annalists, 
 as well as b}- the most ancient authors of the Lives of St. Patrick, at 
 the year 444, or 445, and its measurement in length is thus given in 
 the Tripartite Life of the saint, said to have been originally written 
 by St. Eviu in the sixth century : 
 
 " Istis namque diebus sanctissimus Antistes metatus est locum, & jecit I'unda- 
 menta Ecclesioe ArdniaclianK juxta forniam, & niodum ab Angelo prKscriptum. Dum
 
 OF THE UUUNU TOWKKS Ul" llfKI.ANl). 1 o7 
 
 auteiii fitfret luvc fumlatio, S: metiitio furmn;, & <iimiititatis KocUsiit a'llilicaiKlii', colUilu 
 synodus Antistitmu, Abbatuin, alioniinque vniuersi rogni Pra'latoruiu : S: fuclii pro- 
 cessione ad metas dcsignandas processcnint, Patricio cum baculo Icsii in inanu totuiii 
 Cloruui, et Angelo Dei, tanqiiam ductorc & diroctore Patricium pra'ivdLiili. Stutiiil 
 autiiiu Patricias juxta Augcli pra'scriptum (juod murus Ecclusiu; iii lougitudiue cuiiti- 
 lu'rct ccutuiu quadraginta pedes (forte passtts) ; jedificium, siuc aula uiaiur trigiiito ; 
 cidiua septem & decern ; Argyrotheca, sen vasariuin, vbi supullex reponebatur, sfp- 
 tem pedes. Et hx sacrae aedes omiies iuxta lias niensuras sunt postea erecta"." — 
 Part iii. c. Ixxvlli. Trias Thaum. p. 1G4. 
 
 It maybe objected that the work in wliicli the preceding autliurity 
 is found is not of tlie age ascribed to it by Colgan ; but tliis objection 
 is of little consequence to my present argument, — as, even alloAving 
 the passages it contains, -which coidd not be of this antiquity, and 
 which Colgan considers interpolations, to be, as Dr. Lanigan tliink'^. 
 a portion of the original text, — we have still the acknowledgment of 
 this sceptical critic himself, that the work cannot, by any possibility, 
 be later than the tenth century, and that it is in very great part de- 
 rived from much older memoirs, and often with such a scrupulous 
 fidelity, that, instead of giving the mere substance of them, tlie veiy 
 words are retained. 
 
 Seeing then that a great cathedral church was built bv St. Patrick 
 at this early period, we have every reason to believe that it must have 
 been of stone, inasmuch as it is spoken of as such by the Irish anna- 
 lists at the year 838, and that there is no intimation in the whole body 
 of our historical authorities that it was ever rebuilt, though it was 
 undoubtedly often repaired, and had transepts added to it in the 
 twelfth century. And I may remark, as an interesting fact, that, alter 
 all the calamities to which this venerable edifice has been subjected, 
 it still retains, in its present splendid re-edification, nearly the same 
 longitudinal measurement as in the time of its original foundation. 
 
 That the stone-church, called DamhUa<>; an t-Sdhliaill, was also 
 erected in St. Patrick's time, appears from the Tripartite Life of that 
 saint, as in the following passage : 
 
 " Sanctus Patricius igitur cum suis Sanctis comitibus ab vna parte, & Darius cum 
 vxore, &, regionis suae quae vulgo Oirthir, id est Orientalis appellatur, proceribus, 
 simul prodeunt ad agrum ilium videudum, & locum Basilicae in eo erigendje couside- 
 randiim, & designandum. Cum loci considerarent opportunitatem, & terminos, ceruaui 
 eum hinnulo procumbeutem conspiciunt in loco, in quo hodie est Sali/iul/, quam cum 
 comitantes vellent occidere, sanctus id inliibuit, quod sibi postea multa proestaret ob- 
 sequia." — Part iii. c. Ixxi. Trias Thaum. p. 162.
 
 158 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Tlio situation of this churcli, as being to the left or north side 
 of the cathedral or great church, is pointed out in the Life of St. Pa- 
 trick by Maccuthenius, in the Book of Armagh, fol. 7, col. 2. 
 
 The church called Tempull na Ferta is not mentioned by the 
 annalists earlier than at the year 1 1 79, when it is noticed in the Annals 
 of the Four Masters, as already quoted, and also in the Annals of 
 Kilronan. But thei'c is a distinct evidence both in the Tripartite 
 Life of St. Patrick, and in the Life of that saint by Maccuthenius, — 
 an authority undoubtedly of the seventh century, — that this church 
 was originally built by the Irish apostle even previously to the erection 
 of the great church, or cathedral, on the hill : the passage in the 
 Tripartite Life is as follows : 
 
 " Pen-exit igitur vir sanctus, prtmt in mnndatis acceperat, ad fines Machanos, vbi 
 in loco, Ruihdaire dicto, reperit virum Principem & putentem, nomine Darium cog- 
 nomento Deatji, Fincliadij filium : Finchadio aiitem huic pater erat Eoqnnius, k emus 
 Niellanus, a quo familia de Hi Niellain nomen, & origineni sumpsit. Petiit luimiliter 
 vir Apostolicus a principe Dario locum, in qiio Deo domum in terra, sacramque exci- 
 taret rodem. Darioq; percontanti, in quo ipse cam loco mallet erigere, respondit, quod 
 in amano & eminentiori loco, in qua hodie Ardmaclia Ciuitas jacet. Ista autem vice 
 uoluit Darius permittere, vt in isto altiori loco a?dificaret ; sed concessit ipsi alium 
 locum huiriiliorem : in quo vir beatus excitauit Ecclesiam De-Fearta vocatam, in qua 
 multis ipse po.stea liabitauit diebus." — Part iii. c. Ixviii. Trias TJiaum. p. 1G2. 
 
 Thus in the Life by Maccuthenius, in the Book of Armagh : 
 
 '■ Dixitque diues ad sanctum quem locum petis : Peto iuquit sanctus ut illam alti- 
 tudinem terra; quas nominatur Z)ora^^w Salicis dones milii et construam ibi locum. At 
 illi^ noluit sancto terram illam dare altam, sed dedit illi locum alium in inferiori terra 
 ubi nunc est Fertre Martyrum juxta Ardd mache, et liabitauit ibi Sanctus Patricius 
 cum suis." — Fol. 6, b, b. 
 
 Respecting the origin of the chm-ch called by the annalists Damli- 
 liag na To?, or ?ia Tog/ia, I have found nothing in the ancient Lives 
 of St. Patrick ; but that this church also, if not a foimdation of Pa- 
 trick's time, was of a date not long subsequent to it, may fairly be 
 inferred from the early notice of its existence found in the Annals of 
 Ulster. It appears also that this was the original parish church of 
 Armagh ; and hence its name DamliUag na Togha, as accurately 
 ^vritten by Tighernach, which clearly means the stone-chiu-ch of the 
 election. Of this church some remains existed down to the restora- 
 tion of the present cathedral, which are marked in Harris's plate of 
 the latter as " Part of the ruin rif the Old Parish Church where the
 
 OK THE nOUXD ToWKRS OK lUKI.AM). 1 ."j<J 
 
 Rector of Armagh is always iucluctod. It >i- want of which Church Divine 
 service is now performed in the Nave of the Cathccha!" And in like 
 manner Dr. Stuart, the historian of Armagli, slates, tliat al the liag- 
 ment of this chiu'ch, " since the destruction of tlie building, the rectors 
 1 if Armagh have (generally speaking) been inducted, on their respec- 
 tive promotions." Dr. Stuart indeed supposes that this church was 
 called Basilica Vetus Conciotiaforia, a mistake growing out of C'ol- 
 gan's error in giving this as the translation of )'encaraoi]i tui |j|io- 
 cepca, which, as already proved from the best authorities, meant, 
 merely, the old pi'eaching-chair or pulpit. 
 
 Of the other edifices, stated in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick to 
 liave been erected in that saint's time, I shall for the present only re- 
 mark, that the Cuciii, Coquina, or Kitchen, is referred to in the An- 
 nals of Ulster as existing in the year 99-5. 
 
 [ trust I have now adduced sufficient historical evidence to satisfy 
 the reader, not only that the churches of Armagh were stone build- 
 ings as far back as the early part of the ninth centuiy, but that there 
 is every reason to believe that these stone chvu'ches were the veiy 
 buildings erected by St. Patrick and his inunediate successors : and 
 that the abbey and cathedral churches throughout Ii'eland were ge- 
 nerally, — if not, as I firmly believe, always, — of stone also, I shall prove 
 by abimdaut historical and other evidences, di'a^vir from the me)iui- 
 ments themselves, in the succeeding sections of this Inquiry. In con- 
 cluding this section I shall thex'efore only adduce, in su[)port oi" these 
 fects, one additional authority, which, though occiu-ring in a mei-e 
 legend, very satisfactorily proves that the Irish generally were so 
 accustomed to the existence of churches and other buildings of stone, 
 anterior to the tenth century, that they had a remarkable ancient 
 proverb amongst them, which they apphed to stones not adapted to 
 the purposes of building. It occiu's in the Tripartite Life of St. Pa- 
 trick, which, as I have already stated, no writer, however sceptical, 
 has ever ventured to assign to a later period than the tenth century. 
 
 " Alia quadam vice vir sanctus Temoria profectus est ad montem Vsneach aniiiiii 
 Ecclesiani ibi extruendi : sed ei opposuerunt se duo filij Nielli fratresquc Laognrij 
 Regis, Fiaclius & Enda : quos vir Dei primo benigue allocutus promittebat si periiiit- 
 tereut Ecclesiam in Dei honorem in eo amoeno loco e.xcitari, ejusdem Ecclesiae luodera- 
 tores & rectores ex ipsorum progenie fore desumendos. Sed cum illi non solum eius 
 ]ira.'dicationi, & beneuola> propositioni non acquiesoerent ; sed etiam per manus nt- 
 tractum cum viulenter expelli curareut ; tunc vir Dei in tanta; injuria- justum vltioutiii
 
 ](]() INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 cirpit jaculuni malojictionis in ipsos, eorumqiie posteros inijcere. Et cum os in liunc 
 fiiiwn aperiens, diceret ; mahdictio; tunc S. Secundiuus ejus discipulus inclioatam sen- 
 ti'utiani ex ore eius eripiens, & complens, subjunxit ; Super lapides montis Vsneach. 
 Placuit ^■il•o Dei discipuli pia miseratio, & iutercessio & sententiam ab eo prolatam ra- 
 tara habuit. Mira res ! ab isto in liunc vsq; diem lapides isti quasi illius maledictionis 
 succumbcutes plaga?, nulli structure apta; reperiuntur, alteriTie liumano deseruiunt 
 vsui. Vndc abinde in prouerbium abiit, vt siquando lapis, aliaue materia destiuato non 
 deseruiat vsui, ex montis Vsneach lapidibus esse vulgo dicatur." — Part ii. c. xvii. Trias 
 T/ianm. p. 131. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ANCIENT IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL 
 
 BUILDINGS. 
 
 Having shown, as I trust satisfactorily, in the preceding section, 
 tliat tlie Irish were not unacquainted ■with the art of building with 
 stone and lime cement, and that they applied this art to the erection 
 of at least their churches immediately after their conversion to Chris- 
 tianity, I have now to treat of the varieties of ecclesiastical structures 
 in use amongst them, their size, their general forms and details, and 
 the materials of which they were constructed. As this is a subject 
 not hitherto treated of by any of our writers, and is, moreover, one 
 of extreme difficulty, from the slender historical materials that can 
 be brought to illustrate it, I must throw myself on the kind indul- 
 gence of the reader, if I should fail to treat the subject, in all its 
 liearings, with that certainty of proof which it would be so desirable 
 to attain. The structiti'es of which I am about to treat, as noticed 
 in oui' historical dociunents, may be classed in the following order : 
 
 1. Chiu'ches. 
 
 2. Oratories. 
 
 3. Belfries. 
 
 4. Houses. 
 
 5. Erdamhs. 
 
 6. Eatchens. 
 
 7. Cashels. 
 
 I shall treat of each of these classes of buildings in a separate sub- 
 section.
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWEKS OF IKELAXl). \(]l 
 
 SUBSECTION I. 
 CHURCHES. 
 
 Whatever difficulty I may have had to oncoiintLT iu proviu" from 
 liistorical evidences tliat the most ancient Irish cluirches were usuallv 
 if not always, of stone and lime cement, I shall, I think, have none in 
 establishing this fact from the characteristic features of tlie existing 
 remains of the churches themselves,— features which, as far as I know, 
 have an antiquity of character rarely to be seen, or, at least, not hitlierto 
 noticed, in any of the Christian edifices now remaining in any other 
 country of Europe, and which to the intelligent architectiu-al anti- 
 quary will carry a conviction as to then- remote age, superior to any 
 written historical evidences relative to them now to be found. 
 
 The ancient Irish churches are almost invariably of small size, 
 their greatest length rarely exceeding eighty feet, and being usually 
 not more than sixty. One example only is known of a church of 
 greater length, namely, the great church or cathedral of Armagli, 
 which, according to the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, as already 
 quoted, p. 156, was originally erected of the length of one hundred 
 and forty feet. That sixty feet was, however, the usual length, even of 
 the lai-ger churches, appears not only from their existing remains, but 
 also from the accounts preserved in the ancient Lives of St. Patrick, 
 in which that lenoth is given as the measurement of the DomluKicli 
 Mor, or Great Church of Patrick, near Tailteann, now Teltown, iu 
 Meath, as in the following passage in the AnntJtations of Tirechaii 
 in tlie Book of Armaa-h : 
 
 o 
 " Deinde autem uenit ad Conallum filium Neill, ad domiim illius i[ni fimdauit in 
 loco in quo est liodie aeclessia Patricii magna, et suscepit eum cum gaudio magno, et 
 babtitzauit ilium, et firmauit solium ejus inajternum, et dixit illi, semen fratrum tuo- 
 rum tuo semini survit in aeternum. Et tu missericordiam debes facere hercdibus meis 
 post me in saeculum, et filii tui et filiorum tuorum filiis meis credulis legitimum sem- 
 piternum, pensabatque seclesiam Deo Patricii, pedibus ejus Ix pedum, et dixit Patricius, 
 si diminuatur aeolesia ista non erit longum regnum tibi etfirmum." — Fol. 10, a, b. 
 
 In the Tripartite Life also of St. Patrick, ascribed to St. Evin, the 
 measiu-ement of this church is given exactly in the same words, wliich 
 shoAvs that these ancient Lives of the saint have been derived from a 
 common original : 
 
 o 
 
 " Patricius rclinquens filium perditionis Carbreum declinauit ad Conallum eiu.« 
 fratrem. Domus Conalli erat tunc in loco in quo Ecclesia de Domuach Patruic extructa 
 
 y
 
 1()2 IXQllKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 est. Coiiallus vuro veritatis priccoiiein vt Angelum lucis, cum ea qua dccuit reuerentia 
 & houore, Itctus excepit: eiusque doctrinse aures & animum accomodans, per eum in 
 mysterijs fidei iiistructus, salutari lauacro rogeneratus, & iamilia; Christi aggregatus 
 est. Vir Dei suaiii ei iinpertiit bonedictioiiem dicens ; semini tuo semen fratrum tuo- 
 rum inseruiet : iureque liiei-editario obteutum in posteros tuos a patre in filium hoc 
 sanctum trausibit patrimouium, vt mcos successores venerentur, honoraria clientela 
 respiciant, ac lueantui- patrocinio. In loco isto, vbi crat aula sua, Conallus jecit Deo 
 & S. Patricio Ecclesiae extruendae fundamentum, qnod pedibus eius LJT. pedum erat: 
 ipse vero aulam suam ad alium vicinum locum transtulit. Eique tunc dixit Patricius ; 
 quicuinque ex tiia posteritate ausu temerario ausus fuerit aliquid contra hanc Ecclesiam 
 attentare, eius regimen neque ftelix, neque diuturnum erit." — Part ii. c. v. Trias 
 TiMtim. pp. 129, 130. 
 
 These churches, in their general form, preserve very nearly that 
 of the Roman basiUca, and they are even called by this name in the 
 oldest writers ; but they never present the couched semicircular absis 
 at the east end, which is so usual a featiu'e in the Eoman churches, 
 and the smaller churches are only simple oblong quadrangles. In 
 addition to this quadrangle, the larger churches present a second 
 oblong of smaller dimensions, extending to the east, and constituting 
 the chancel or sanctuary, in which the altar was placed, and which is 
 connected with the nave by a triumphal arch of semicu'cular form. 
 These churches have rarely more than a single entrance, which is 
 placed in the centre of the west end ; and they are very impeifectly 
 lighted by small windows splaying inwards, which do not appear to 
 have been ever glazed. The chancel is always better lighted than 
 the nave, and usually lias two and sometimes three windows, of which 
 one is always placed in the centre of the east wall, and another in 
 the south wall ; the windows in the nave are also usually placed in 
 the south wall, and, excepting in the larger churches, rarely exceed 
 two in number. The windows are frequ.ently triangular-headed, but 
 more usually arched semieircularly, while the doorAvay, on the con- 
 trary, is almost universally covered by a horizontal lintel, consisting 
 of a single stone. In all cases the sides of the doorways and win- 
 dows inchne, like the doorways in the oldest remains of C}-clopean 
 buildings, to which they bear a singularly striking resemblance. The 
 doorways seldom present any architectm-al decorations bej-ond a 
 mere flat architrave, or band, but are most usually plain ; and the 
 windows still more rarely exhibit ornaments of any kind. The walls 
 of these cluu'ches are always perpendicular, and generally formed of 
 very large polygonal stones carefully adjusted to each other, botli on
 
 OF THE ROUXn TOWF.liS (IF IIJFI.ANn. 
 
 I(i3 
 
 the inner and outer faces, while their interior is filled up with ruhbk- 
 and grouting. In the smaller churches the roofs were frecjuently 
 formed of stone, but in the larger ones were always of wood, covered 
 with shingles, straw, reeds, and, perhaps sometimes, with lead. 
 
 To the above general description 1 lua}- add, llial no churclu's 
 appear to have been ancientlj'^ erected in Ireland, either of the cir- 
 cular, the octagonal, or the cross form, as in Italy and Greece, — 
 though it would appear that churches of the last form were erected 
 in England at a very early period, — and the only exception to tlie 
 simple forms, already described, is the occasional presence of a small 
 apartment on one side of the chancel, to serve the purpose of a 
 sacristy. 
 
 That the reader may have more clearly brought bi'lbre him the 
 characteristic details of these primitive churches, I shall here annex 
 examples of their several featm-es, beginning with their duorways. ( )f 
 these the most usual, and, as it would appear, the most ancient form is 
 the quadrangular one, as found in the stone-roofed oratories in Kerry, 
 bmlt without cement, and of which the doorway of the oratory at 
 Gallerus, already described, p. 133, affords the finest example : 
 
 This form Ave also find perpetuated in the churches said to have been 
 founded by St. Patrick and his immediate successors, as will be seen 
 in the annexed engraving, which represents the remains ol llie west 
 
 Y 2
 
 1(J4 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 end of tlie small church called Teinpleputrick, situated on the inland 
 oUni.san Glioill Chraihlifhigh,— or, as O'Flaherty correctly trans- 
 lates it, "the island oi' the devout foreigner," — now Inchaguile, in 
 Lough Corrib in the county of Galway, nearly midway between 
 Oughterard and Cong. This little church, though exhibiting the 
 usual form of the larger chiu'ches, — having a nave, triumphal arch, 
 and chancel, — is in its greatest external length only thirty-five feet six 
 inches. The interior of the nave is seventeen feet eight inches in 
 length, and thirteen feet six inches in breadth ; and the chancel is 
 a square of i;ine feet. The doorway, which is six feet high, has in- 
 clined sides, and is two feet wide at bottom, and one foot nine inches 
 at top : 
 
 
 That this church is of the age of St. Patrick, as is believed in the 
 traditions of the country, and as its name would indicate, can, I 
 think, scarcely admit of doubt ; for, though there is another church 
 on the island of beautiful architectiu'e, and of similar fonii and nearly 
 equal dimensions, and undoubtedly of an age considerably anterior 
 to the arrival of the English, it appears, nevertheless, a modern struc- 
 ture as compared with this. It is, however, greatly to be regretted 
 that of the foundation of this, as indeed of many other churches believed 
 to have been erected by St. Patrick, we have no historical account 
 remaining ; nor does either history or tradition preserve the name 
 of the devout foreigner for whom it Avas erected, and to whose memory 
 the second church on the island was dedicated ; but I trust that I 
 shall be able to show from an ancient sepulchral inscription, — the
 
 OF THE ROrxn TOWERS OF IKELANM). 
 
 Ki.j 
 
 only one on the inland,— that lliis devout Ibivigiior was at least a co- 
 temporary of the Irish apostle, and not improbably even his nephew 
 This inscription, Avhi.'h is accurately copied in the annexed wood-eut! 
 
 is found on auiipriglil pilhinif dark lime- 
 stone, about four feet high, situated, when 
 I sketched it, at a little distance in front 
 of Templepatrick. The letters, which are 
 very deeply cut, and in perfect ])resei-va- 
 tion, may be read as follows: 
 
 LIE LUGNAEDON MACC LMEXL'EII. 
 or, in English, 
 
 THE STONE OF LUGNAEDON SON OF LIMENUEH. 
 
 That this inscription is of the earliest 
 Christian antiquity will be at once ob- 
 vious to the antiquarian scholar : there is 
 probably no other inscription in tliis cha- 
 racter of equally certain anticjuity to l)e 
 found in Ireland ; and it is but rational 
 to assume that the ancient clnu'ch called 
 Templepatrick is of coeval, or even greater 
 age, unless it be contended that the church 
 was rebuilt, — an assumption altogether 
 unreasonable, as no more ancient style of 
 Christian edifice than it exhibits can pos- 
 sibly be found. As it is therefore neces- 
 sary to my pm'pose to inqnire who this 
 Lugnaedon was, I may in the fii'st place 
 observe, that it is stated in the Tripartite 
 Life of St. Patrick, Pail II. c. 50, that 
 when the Irish apostle was at Oran, in Magh Aoi, in this very neigh- 
 bourhood, he was solicited bv his Gallic disciples and followers to 
 iissign them situations, in which they might lead lives of retirement 
 and contemplation, — a request which was complied with ; but, ex- 
 cepting the church of Baislec, which was given to one of them, the 
 localities to which these individuals were dii'ected are not named. 
 Of these Gaids or Franks, who were fifteen in number, with one 
 sister, the names of only three are given, namely, lieniicins, IIil)er- 

 
 l(3f, INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 meiu:<, and Eniicius; nud cerlalidy, of these, the name Hibernicius, 
 as applied to a Gaul, might ^vell create a doubt of the truth of the 
 Avlu.le statement: but tliis doubt is removed by the Annotations of 
 Tireclian in the Book of Armagh, in which these three names are 
 written Inaepins, Bernicius, and Hernicius, so that Colgan's form of the 
 name must be either an error of his own, or of the transcriber of the 
 manuscript which he used. Respecting these Gauls, or Franks, Col- 
 cran remarks, that he has found no notice of them elscAvhere, unless 
 they be, as would seem most probable, the holy Gauls, or Franks, in- 
 voked in the Litany of Aengus as of Saliduic, Magh Salach, and 
 Achadh Ginain,— and it is extremely probable that the Gauls distri- 
 buted by St. Patrick in the western regions of Connaught are here 
 invoked. Seeing then that Gaids were left in this district at so early 
 a period, we have next to inquire whether there was among them one 
 named Lugnat, or Lugnadan, for the names are the same, the termi- 
 nation an, as Colgan shows, being a diminutive usually added to 
 proper names, and particularly to those of ecclesiastics. It is remark- 
 able then, that throughout the whole of our ecclesiastical histories only 
 one saint of this name is found mentioned ; and that this saint is stated, 
 not only to have been a cotemporary of St. Patrick, but, by several 
 ancient authorities, to have been also his nephcAv. It should be fur- 
 ther observed, that the locality, in Avhich the church of St. Lugnat 
 was placed, is Lough Mask, in the immediate neighbourhood of the 
 island of Inchaguile, and that on the shore of this lake the most 
 ancient church of the district still remains. In an ancient list of 
 the household or followers of St. Patrick, preserved in the Book of 
 Lecan, fol. 43, a, and in the Book of Ballymote, fol. 117, b, as also in 
 Evin's Life of St. Patrick, and in a poem of Flann of the JMonastery, 
 St. Lugna, or Lugnath, is set down as the luamaire, or pilot, of St. 
 Patrick, as in the foUoAving lines of the poem : 
 
 " bpojan pcpibnibe a |^coile, 
 
 C|niimclie[i Cujncr a luamaipe." 
 
 " Brogan the scribe of his school, 
 Cruimther Lugna his pilot." 
 
 I have next to remstrk that the most ancient authorities, which make 
 mention of Lugnat, concur in stating that he was one of the seven 
 sons of the Bard, or Lombard, — as in Duald Mac Firbis's Compilation 
 of Ancient Genealogies, — and that most of those authorities state that
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEKS OF IltELAXn. Ki" 
 
 these seven sons of the Lombard were St. Patrick's nephews, as in 
 the following passage in the Lcabhar Breac, fol. •), n. 
 
 " Cpuimchep fTujnai (.1. oulca pucpm^ 7 tncic a perh(ip) m pcclicmuo irnic 
 in 6uipD, oc pepcaib Cipe peic, pop toch niepccha." 
 
 '* Cruimther Lugnai (i. e. the foster-son of Piitrick and son of liis sLster) tcu» llie 
 seventli son of the Bard, and located at Ferta of Tir Fuic, on Lovigh Mask." 
 
 And all the ancient martyrologies and genealogies of the Irish saints 
 name these seven sons of the Lombard in the f)ll()wiiig ordi'r : 
 1. Sechnall, or Secnndinus, a bislmp ; 2. Neclitan, a bislio]); 8. Da- 
 l)onna, a saint ; 4. Mogornan, a saint ; 5. Darioc, a saint ; G. An.xilius. 
 a bishop ; 7- Lngnat, a saint. 
 
 In like manner the ancient Martyrologies state that the inotliLM-ul' 
 these sons of the Lombard was Liemania, llie daughter of C'alpluu- 
 nius, and sister of St. Patrick. Thus St. Aengus, in his Calendar, 
 as translated by Colgan, in noting the festival of St. Xechtan at the 
 second of j\Iay, writes : 
 
 "Liemania filia Calphurni, soror S. Patricii, fuit mater S. Nectani dc Kill-viichi' ; 
 c[ui & dicitur Mac-lemhna, id est, filius Liemaniie ; estque qui jacet in Finnauair-iil ilia, 
 ad ripam Boandi." — Trias Thaum. p. 227, col. 1. 
 
 The Calendar of Cashel and that of Marian Gorman record tlK- Iesti\al 
 of Nechtan in nearly the same words ; and also, in recording the fes- 
 tival of St. Sechnall, or Secnndinus, at the 27th of November, call 
 him the son of Liemania, the sister of St. Patrick, as thus translated 
 by Colgan : 
 
 " S. Secnndinus filius Liemaniaj sororis S. Patricij, & Kestitutus pater eius. Co- 
 litur in Domnach-Sechuaill : estque de Longobardis, & Finus nomen eius ibi. Ma- 
 riaiius Gormanus ad eundemdiem; Sechnaldus Magnus filius Iluabaird, de Domnach- 
 Scchnaild in Australi regione Bregiorum, est de Longobardis oriundus ; & Secnndinus 
 nomen eius {nempe Latinum) eiusque mater fuit Liemania soror S. Patricij eratque 
 Primas Ardmachanus. M arty rologi urn DtnHjaUeme eodem die. S. Sechnaldus, id est 
 Secundinus Primas Ardmachanus, filius Liemaniae Sororis S. Patricij : & in Doni- 
 nach-Sechnaild in regione Bregarum est eius Ecclesia : & ipse de Longobardis oriundus 
 esV— Trias Thaum. p. 226, col. 2. 
 
 To the preceding anthorities I may add that of the Annals of 
 Connaught at the year 466, as quoted by Ussher, Pmnortlia, p. 825, 
 that the wife of Kestitutus, the Lombard, is called the sister ot St. 
 Patrick, and named Culmana. But this form of the name, as Colgan 
 observes, is evidently an error for Lieman, and, he might have added, 
 an error easily committed, by joining the final c in mace to L.ema.n. 
 in the passage which records the death of her son Sechnall.
 
 1()8 INQIIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 These evidences will. I trust, be considered sufficient. — without 
 adducing, as I might, many others of the same kind, — to show that 
 the Irish, from the most remote times beheved as a fact that the seven 
 ecclesiastics, enumerated in the preceding autliorities, were the sons 
 of a Lombard father and of Liemania, the sister of St. Patrick ; and I 
 cannot help thinking that the very ancient inscription, which I have 
 copied at the chiu'ch of Templepatrick, on Inchaguile, or the Island 
 of the Gaul, will be considered by the learned and laiprejudiced as 
 a very singular and interesting evidence of the truth of those autho- 
 rities. It is true that oiu' ancient manuscripts also speak of other 
 individuals called sisters of St. Patrick, who appear to have been re- 
 ligious persons in Ii'eland, as well as of their sons, who are called his 
 nephews, — and moreover that some of those individuals, called his 
 nephews, are spoken of not as the sons of Liemania, but of Lupita, and 
 also of Darerca, a name which Colgau, in consequence, beheved to be 
 only an Irish cognomen of Liemania, signifying constant love ; and 
 hence Tillemont, and even l^anigan, unable to unravel the truth from 
 materials apparently so cUscordant, have given up the whole accounts 
 of the recorded relations of St. Patrick in Ireland as of no authority, 
 though Lanigan acknowdedges that there is no doubt that such per- 
 sons existed in St. Patrick's time. But ancient authorities shoidd not 
 be thus discarded with flippant scepticism, and, however suspicious 
 may be the authorities for the relationship of the other individuals 
 named as sisters and nephews of St. Patrick, — through the errors of 
 ancient transcribers, in writing, for example, the name Lupita, who 
 was always called virgo, an obvious mistake for Liemania, — there 
 seems to be no just reason to question the authorities as far as Lie- 
 mania and her sons are concerned : and I may add, that a fabrication 
 in this instance would have been without an object, as some of these 
 ecclesiastics, Luguat for example, occupy no distinguished place in 
 Irish ecclesiastical history or the traditions of the country, and it is 
 nowhere stated tliat either Eestitutus or Liemania was ever in Ireland. 
 
 In the doorway of the church of Templepatrick, which I consider 
 as a specimen of the earliest style of structure of its kind in Ireland, 
 it has been seen that no ornament whatever is used, and this was, as 
 I shall hereafter shoAV, the most usual mode of construction also in 
 the sixth and seventh centuries, and ])erhaps even later; but the 
 doorways were not always plain in those ages, for in many instances
 
 OF TIIIC lidlM) TOWERS OF IRELANR 
 
 10!) 
 
 they preticnt a flat iMcjcrtiii- aivliiiravL',— us in ih,' doorways of the 
 oldest Greek and Ktniscaii buildiii.o-s, as Avrll as in tliose (.f tin- 
 earliest Roman chnrches.— of which ihc annexed .MiiiTavin',' of ihc 
 doorway of the ancient cluuch at Katass, near TiaKv. in K.rry, will 
 present a very eliai'acteristie example : 
 
 "^-fff^^^^^^^^^^^i^^s - ,5Wi.^5^- ^- ■ 
 
 This doorway, which, like the Avhole of the chnrch, is bnill in a stvle 
 of masonry perfectly Cyclopean, except in the use of lime cement, is 
 
 five feet six inches in height from the present level of the ground, 
 
 which seems considerably raised, and would be evidently not less 
 than six feet in height from the threshold or base to the linti-l. — and 
 in width three feet one inch at the base, and two feet eight inches at 
 the top. The stones which, as Avill be seen, are all of great size, in 
 most instances extend through the entire thickness of the jambs, which 
 is three feet one inch ; and the lintel-stone is seven feet six inches in 
 leno:th, and two feet in height, and extends throucrh the whole iliiek- 
 ness of the wall. As fiu'ther illustrations of this very ancient church 
 will be found in the succeeding pages of this work, it is only neces- 
 sary here to observe, that it is wholly built of old red sandstone, 
 " brought," as Dr. Smith remarks, " at a great distance, from the im mn- 
 tains; although there were fine rpiarries of limestone to be had on tiie 
 spot." — Antii'nf (unl Prcsriit State aftlie Cniiutii of Kcvni. p. I(i7. 
 
 'I,
 
 I7<i 
 
 INQllIiV INTO TliK OIIIGIX AM) USES 
 
 Respecting the linuukT's iiaine, di' tlio dak' of the erection of this 
 cluirch, I regret to l)e obliged to state that I have discovered no liis- 
 torical notice, and 1 can only oder a conjecture, grounded on tlie 
 etymology ol' its name, — which appears to have been anciently written 
 Rfir miiiTje Deii'Cipc, i. e. tlie nifJi or fort of the sonthern })lai)i, to 
 (listingnish it from Par miii^e nmipciiir, the rath of the northern 
 plain, now shditeiied to Rattoo, the seat of an ancient bishopric about 
 ten miles distant to the north, — tliat it was probably of cotempora- 
 neous origin with the latter, which was erected by Bishop Lughach, 
 one of the earliest propagators of Christianity in Kerry, but of whose 
 history nothing luore is preserved than his name and festival day, 
 the (ith of October, as set down in the Martyrology of Aengus, and 
 in all the later calendars. 
 
 The next example which I have to present to the reader is ob- 
 viously of cotemporaneous age witli the doorway of Ratass, and has 
 even a more striking resemblance to ancient Greek architecture. 
 
 It is the doorway of the church at Glendalough, popularly called Our 
 Lady's Church, and which, according to the tradition of the old na- 
 tives of the place, as communicated to me many years since, was the 
 first chui-ch erected in the lower part of the valley or city of Glenda-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEKS OK lUKI.ANI). 
 
 171 
 
 lough by St. Kevin, and lluit in which hi' \va> al'U'rwiinls intcrrrd, so 
 tliat its erection may lie lairly i-elened lo the middle of the sixth 
 century. Thi.-; doorway is six i'eet in hi'ight, two feet six inclies in 
 widtli at the top, and three feet at the bottom ; and the stones of 
 ■wliich it is formed, which, including the lintel, are only seven in nmn- 
 ber, are all of the thickness of the wall, wliich is three feet. These 
 stones are all of granite, and admirably well chiselled; and the lintel, 
 which is five feet six inches lontr, and cnw lout tlircc inches lii'di is 
 carved with a double moulding in the architrave, and is also orna- 
 mented on its soffit with a 
 cross, saltier-wise, of which 
 I annex a representation, 
 — with a second example 
 of this primitive custom of 
 placing the cross on the sof- 
 fit of the lintel, which oc- 
 curs in the doorway ol'lhe 
 cotemporaneous chiu-ch of Killiney in the county of Dublin, but dif- 
 fering from the other in being carved in relief, and of the usual form. 
 It may interest some of my readers to be informed, that Sir Walter 
 Scott, on his visit, in 1825, to ".the inestimably singular scene of 
 Irish antiquities," as he designates the seven churches at Glendalough 
 ( Quarterly Review, vol. xli. p. 148), sat for a considerable time be- 
 fore this ancient doorway, and expressed his admiration of, and won- 
 der at, its ancient character, in terms which, to the friends who 
 accompanied him, and who were less enthusiastic antiquaries, seemed 
 unaccountable. 
 
 That the tradition of the place, respecting the antiquity of the 
 Lady's Church, is not an erroneous one, would a]-)poar from a pas- 
 sage which I shall presently adduce from the Life of St. Kevin, jjub- 
 lished by the Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum at the 3rd of June, 
 and which was evidently compiled by one intimately acquainted with 
 the localities of Glendalough, and, in the opinion of the editors, ])re- 
 viously to the twelfth century, when this city, — as stated in the letter 
 of the archbishop of Tuam and his suffragans, written about the year 
 1214, — had been so waste and desolate for nearly forty years pre- 
 viously, that instead of a church it had become a den iil' thieves and 
 a nest of robbers. 
 
 z 2
 
 \--2 INQUIRY INTO THE OKIGIX AND USES 
 
 " Pretered iUa sancta ecdesia, quae esl in Moiitanis, licet in magna reverentid habere- 
 tiir ab antiquisprnjiterSaiirtum Koywinuin, qui ibi duxit vitam eremeticam ; nunc tamen 
 ita (leserta est et ck'solatii \wv qiiiiilr(ii)ini(i fore annus, quod de ecclesid facta est spehinca 
 latromim, fovea fm-um ; ita quud 0/iiicidia committuntur in ilia Valle, quam in alio 
 torn YixhtiYwis: propter desertiim et rastam solifmlinem.^' — Harris's Ware, Bishops, p. 376. 
 
 From this ancient Life of St. Kevin we gather that in the earlier 
 vears of tlie saint's ecclesiastical life, having dwelt in solitude for 
 four years iii various places in the upper part of the valley, between 
 the mountain and the lake, his monks erected for him a beautiful 
 clun-ch, called Disert-Cavghin, on the south side of the upper lake, 
 and between it and the mountain, and drawing him from his retire- 
 ment, prevailed on him to live with them at that church, which, as the 
 writer states, continued to be a celebrated monastic church even to his 
 own time ; and he adds, that here St. Kevin wished to remain and die : 
 
 "... & exivit ipse ab eis solus ad superiorem ipsius vallls partem, quasi per uniTUi 
 luilliariuni a monasterio ; & constitviit mansiunoulam ibi in loco angusto, inter mon- 
 tem & stagnum sibi, ulii erant densffi arbores & clari rivuli : & pracepit Monacliis suis, 
 ut nullum c'iborum sibi genus darent ; & nemo ad eiim veniret, nisi pro maxima causa. 
 Et ita solus, in superiore vallis plaga, inter montem & stagnum, in diversis locis, per 
 cpiatuor anuos Eremita fuit, in jejuniis & vigiliis continuis, sine igne & sine tecto ; & 
 habctur incertum, utrum radicibus herbarum, an fructibus lignoriim, sive cslesti 
 l)astu, suam sustentavit vitam : quia ipse neniini indicavit banc qua'stionem : sed sui 
 Monachi claram cellam, in eremo ubi S. Coemgenus habitabat, inter superius stagnum 
 & moutem, in Australi parte, construxerunt ;. ubi mode est clarum monasterium, in 
 ([uo semper viri religiosissimi habitant ; & illud vocatur Scotice Disert-Caugliin ; quod 
 sonat Latine, Eremus Coemgeni ; Et ibi pkires habitaverunt ; & ferss montium & sil- 
 varum, feritatc posita, mites comitabantur S. Coemgenum, & aquam de manibus ejus 
 domestice bibebant. Et post priedictum tempus, multi Sancti convenientes, duxerunt 
 S. Coemgenum de desertis locis invitum ; & fecerunt eum habitare cum suis Monachis 
 in pra'dicta cella ; ibique S. Coemgenus semper voluit habitare, & ad Christum mi- 
 grare ; adhuc jam illic inter Fratres satis striate vixit." — Vita S. Coemgeni, Die tertia 
 lunii, c. iii. Acta Sanctorum, torn. i. p. 315. 
 
 After remaining here, however, for a few years, he was induced by 
 an angel, — the usual agents introduced in those legendary Lives of 
 saints on such occasions, — to remove his monastery to the east of the 
 smaller lake, near the confluence of the two rivers, where his own 
 resvu-rection should take place, and where a great city gradually rose 
 up in his honour. 
 
 " Et in ipso loco clara & religiosa civitas in houore Sancti Coemgeni crevit, qvise 
 nomine pra;dict8e vallis, in qua ipsa est, id est Gleam-daelach \^Glean dalocli, in the 
 Kilkenny MS.] vocatur : ipsaque civitas est in oriente Laginensium, in regione qua- 
 dicitur Furtuatha." — lb. cap. iv. p. 318.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 173 
 
 That the' lirst cliurrli erected by St. Kevin, witliiii tlic jtivrinrts. 
 of the city in the lower part of the valley, was that now i)opularly 
 called the Lady's Chm-ch, in which his tomb remained witliin the hiiit 
 centiuy, will scarcely admit of doubt : nor is this conclusion at all 
 weakened by the fact, that it no longer bears his name, Init that of 
 the Blessed Virgin ; for, as I shall hereafter show, none of the ancient 
 Irish churches were dedicated to the Virgin, or to any of the foreign 
 saints, previously to the twelfth century, — and tlicre is imt a wuid 
 in the ancient Lives of St. Kevin, which would indicate that any ol 
 the churches of Glendalougli were so dedicated at the ])eriod when 
 they were written. 
 
 In selecting my next characteristic example of the primitive Irisli 
 doorways, I can hardly, tlierefore, take one more likely to interest 
 the reader than that of St. Kevin's earlier church, near the \\\)]>vv 
 lake, and now called the Reefert Church, which is the " clurain eel- 
 lam' of the quotation above given from the Latin Life of St. Kevin, 
 and which, it will be remembered, continued to be a monastic cliuivji 
 to the time of the writer : 
 
 This doorway, which is formed of chiselled blocks of granite, is six 
 feet in height, two feet six inches in width at the top, and two fi-et
 
 174 
 
 INUIIKV INTO TIIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 innv luclu'^ sit the bottom; and most of the stones of ^\•hiL•h it is 
 formed extend through the entire tliickness of the wall, which is three 
 feet. The lintel is three feet nine inches in length, and one foot three 
 inches in height, and extends the entire thickness of the wall. Some 
 chiselling on the left side of this d.xirway seems to indicate the in- 
 tention of adding an architrave, like that seen in the Lady's Churcli, 
 but wliicli was never completed. 
 
 The next example, which I have to submit to the reader, is of 
 somewhat later date, being the doorway of the church of St. Fechin, 
 at Fore, in the county of Westmeath, erected, as we may conclude, 
 within the first half of the seventh century, as the saint died of the 
 memorable plague, which raged in Ireland in the year (i64. 
 
 This magniiiceut doorway, which the late eminent antiquarian tra- 
 veller, Mr. Edward Dodwell, declared to me, was as perfectly Cyclo- 
 jiean in its character, as any specimen he had seen in Greece, is 
 constructed altogether of six stones, including the lintel, which is 
 about six feet in length, and two in height, the stones beimr all of the
 
 OF TIIK lidUNl) TOWKHS OK IKKI.AM). 1 7 -> 
 
 thickness of the wall wliich is throe foot. This doorway, like ilmt 
 of the Lady's Church at Oleiidalough, lias a phiin architrave over it. 
 which is, however, not continued along its sides; and, above tliis. 
 there is a projecting tablet, in the centre of which is sciilpiiuvd ni 
 relief a plain cross within a circle. This cross is thus alluded to in 
 the ancient Life of St. Fechin, translated from the Iri.sh, and ])iil)- 
 lished by Colgan in his Acta Sanctorum, at the 22nd January, ciiji. 
 23, p. 135. 
 
 " Dum S. Fechinus rediret Fouariam, iliiijuo consisteret, venit ad cum ante forks 
 EccLESi.E, VBi CRUX POSITA EST, quidaiu a talo vsque ad vci'ticom lepra percussus." 
 
 Though this doorway, like hundreds of the same kind in Ireland, 
 has attracted no attention in modern times, the singularity of its 
 massive structure was a matter of surprise to an intelligent ^vl•iter of 
 the seventeenth century. Sir Henry Piers, who in his Chorographical 
 Description of the County of Westmeath, written in 1G82, thus de- 
 scribes it, and preserves the tradition relative to its erection bv St. 
 Fechin : 
 
 "One of these churches before mentioned is called St. Fechin's, one of our Irish 
 saints. The chief entrance into this church is at the west-end, by a door about three 
 feet broad, and six feet high. This wall is hard upon, if not altogether, three feet 
 thick ; the lintel that traverseth the head of the door is of one entire stone of the full 
 thickness, or near it, of the wall, and to the best of my remembrance, about six foot 
 long, or perhaps more, and in height about two foot or more ; having taken notice 
 of it, as the largest entire stone, I had at any time observed, especially so higli in 
 any building, and discoursing of it with an antient dweller in the town, I observed to 
 him, that of old time they wanted not their engines, even in this country, for their 
 structures ; the gentleman, smiling as at my mistake, told me that the saint himself 
 alone without either engine or any help placed the stone there, and thereon he pro- 
 ceeds in this formal story of the manner and occasion of it; he said the workmen having 
 hewen and fitted the stone in its dimensions, and made a shift with much ado to tumble 
 it to the foot of the wall, they assayed with their joint forces to raise it, but after much 
 toil and loss of time, they could not get it done, at last they resolved to go and refresh 
 themselves and after breakfast to make another attempt at it ; the saint also, for as 
 the story goes he was then living and present, advised them so to do, and tells them 
 he would tarry "till their return ; when they returned, behold they find the stone 
 placed exactly as to this day it remains over the door ; this was done, as the tradition 
 goes, by the saint alone ; a work for my part, I believe impossible to be done by the 
 strength of so many hands only as can innnediately apply their force unto it." — CiJ- 
 lectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, vol. i. pp. 65, G^i. 
 
 The next specimen of doorway in this style which I shall present 
 to the reader is one nearly cotemporaneous witli the last, namely, the
 
 I7(i 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 doorway of tlio catlieelral church ol' Kihuacduagh, erected for St, Col- 
 nian INFac Duacli by his kinsman Guaire Aidhne, king of Connaught, 
 about the year (ilO. 
 
 This doorway is six feet six inches in height, and in width two feet 
 six inches at the top, and three feet two inches at the bottom. The 
 hntel stone, Avhich extends the entire thickness of the Avail, is five 
 feet eight inches long, one foot nine inches high, and three feet wide. 
 This doorway was closed up Avith rubble masonry, as represented in 
 the sketch, in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, when the church 
 Avas rebuilt and considerably enlai'ged, and a ncAV doorway, in the 
 pointed style, placed, as was usual in that age, in the south Avail. 
 
 Of the foundation of the original church or cathedral of Kil- 
 macduagh, which, for the time, Avas one of considerable size, the fol- 
 loAving notice is given by Colgan from the additions of the Scholiast 
 to the Festilogy of Aengus : 
 
 '■'■ Statuit tunc piissimiis Rex viro Dei Ecclesiavi inihi extntere ; qitare mane sequentis 
 flici misit ad eum sexaginta vaccas effcetas cumseruis^' aneillis adfabricce opus perficien- 
 dum. Postridie igitiir eiiis diei Ecclesia Cailiedralis de Kill-mhicduach crepta est cedificari; 
 mi exindc proceru regiouis Aidhne, <^' stirpis Guarince sepultura cusecrata est." — Acta 
 Sanctorum, p. 245, col. 1. 
 
 Of tills description of doorway I shall only here insert another ex- 
 ample from a church Avhich Avas erected by the same St. Colman
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 ■'.5 I«'V 
 
 Mac Duach, within the great cyclopcaii lort, or eashel, at Kihmirvy, 
 on the Great Ishmd of Aran, and wliich is still in good preservation. 
 This doorway is five feet six iiirhes in height, two feet in width at 
 
 the top, and two feet three inches 
 at the bottom. The lintel is of 
 granite, and measures five feet six 
 inches in length, one foot six inches 
 in height, and extends the entire 
 thickness of the wall, whicli is two 
 feet six inches. The other stones 
 are limestone, and are also of great 
 size, as are the stones of the build- 
 ing generally. A similar doorway 
 ""~^-:v:£;^J£^p^=^'-'"-'" is found in a church adjacent. 
 
 Such then is the form of docjr- 
 
 way found almost universally in tlic primitive chm'ches of Ireland, a 
 
 form not found in any of the doorways of the Saxon churches, which 
 were usually erected " more Ro)iiano," or after the Koman manner. 
 But, though the form of which I have given so many examples is that 
 most characteristic of the primitive Irish churches, we are not with- 
 out examples of doorways Avhich Avould seem to be of cotemporaneous 
 age, constructed in what may be called the Roman manner, nameh', 
 with a semicircular arch springing from square imposts, and exactly 
 resembling the andient Saxon doorways, excepting in this one par- 
 ticular, that the sides are usually more or less inclined : and, indeed, 
 it woidd be strange, if, where the semicircidar arch was generally 
 used in tlie construction of the windows, and also in the triumphal 
 arches between the naves and the chancels, it shoidd not be oc- 
 casionally employed in the construction of the doorways also. As 
 an example of such doorway in a church, which, there is every rea- 
 son to believe, cannot be later than the seventh century, I here 
 annex an outline of the doorway of the ancient stone-roofed cluu'ch 
 on the island of Ireland's Eye, anciently called In is ukic Nessain, 
 or, the Island of the Sons of Nessan, off ITowth, in the county of Dub- 
 lin. This doorway, — which Avas unfortunately destroyed some yeai-s 
 since, that the stones might be used in the erection of a Eoman Ca- 
 tholic chapel atHowth, — was, as usual, placed in the west front of the 
 chm-ch, and was six feet six inches in height, two feet eight inches 
 
 ■2 A
 
 ITS 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ill width below the impost, tiiid three feet at the base ; and the wall 
 
 was two feet eight inches iu thickness. As a description of this cu- 
 
 ...„ rious chnrch, with its Round Tower 
 
 _^ ■ , - belfry, will be given in the third part 
 
 of this work, together with an inquiry 
 into its true history, which has hitherto 
 been very erroneously investigated, I 
 need only state here, that its erection 
 may, with every appearance of cer- 
 tainty, be referred to the middle of 
 the seventh centmy, when the three 
 sons of Nessan, — Dichuill, Munissa, 
 and Neslug, — flourished, and gave 
 name to the island. 
 Very similar to this doorway, — but of better architecture, and 
 
 presenting a torus or bead moulding along its external edges, — is the 
 
 doorway of the ancient church 
 
 in the townland called Sheeps- 
 
 town, in the parish and barony 
 
 of Knocktopher, and county of 
 
 Kilkenny, of which I annex a 
 
 drawing. This doorway,— which, 
 
 as usual, is placed in the centre 
 
 of the west wall, — is composed 
 
 of sandstone, Avell chiselled, and 
 
 measures seven feet in height, 
 
 or five feet six inches to the top 
 
 of the impost, and one foot six 
 
 inches thence to the vertex of " 
 
 the arch ; in width it is three feet immediately below the imposts, and 
 
 three feet three inches at the bottom; and the jambs are three feet in 
 
 thickness. As the ancient name of the church is wholly forgotten in 
 
 the locaUty, as well as the name of its patron or founder, it is out of 
 
 my power to trace its ancient history. 
 
 As another example of similar form I may instance the doorway 
 
 of the ancient church of Cluain Claidheach, now Clooncadi, in the 
 
 barony of Conillo and county of Limerick, erected by the celebrated
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. I J[) 
 
 St. Maidoc, patron of the Sec of Ferns, about tlio close of the sixth 
 centiuy. 
 
 The doorway of tlie very ancient chiu'cii of Kilhispugbrone, or 
 the church of Bishop Bronus, near Knockuai'ca, in the county of 
 
 Sligo, furnishes another example of a 
 
 semicircular arch, but without the im- . ^ -V( '"T^'- 
 
 posts, and the jambs not, as usual, in- ^'yv^^^^^%v>^i\*"==~ 
 
 clined. Contrary to the usual custom '' /^ '^■M 
 
 also, this doorway is placed not in the \ ,J 
 
 west, but in the south wall, — a deviation ~>^^^K'B 
 
 from custom, rendered necessary from •'..-'"■ 
 
 the situation of the church on the sea- '"-t WLm • ^ '^ 
 
 shore, and its consequent exposure to ~-^^*^^^^^£i.»-~ 
 
 the prevailing westerly winds. This ' ■ '"----^ ' 
 
 doorway is six feet high, and three feet six inches wide, and its jambs 
 
 have a reveal of six inches in width, on each side. 
 
 The church of Killaspugbrone, which is of small dimensions, and, 
 with the exception of the doorway, of rude construction, appears to 
 be of great antiquity, and may be Avell supposed to be the original 
 structure erected for Bishop Bronus by St. Patrick, in the fifth cen- 
 tury. The Saint Bronus, for whom this church was erected, — as 
 appears from the Annotations of Tirechan in the Book of Armagh, 
 fol. 15, and also from the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Part II. c. 117, 
 — was bishop of Caisel-Irra, situated in the district of Cuil-Irra, a 
 peninsula situated to the south-west of the town of Shgo. 
 
 A doorway very similar to this of Killaspugbrone, but placed in 
 the west wall, occurs in a very ancient church at Oughtmama, near 
 the abbey of Corcumroe in the barony of Biu-ren and county of Clare, ' 
 and which is obviously of cotemporaneous age with a si'cond and 
 larger chiu-ch at the same place, in which the doorway has the usual 
 horizontal lintel. The memory of St. Colman is venerated here as the 
 founder of these churches, but I have discovered nothing relative 
 to his history as connected with them. The antiquity of their foun- 
 dation is, however, sufficiently indicated by the Litany of Aengus, in 
 which the seven holy bishops of Oc /if ma ma in Corcumruadh are 
 invoked. 
 
 The old church of Aghannagh, near the shore of Lough Arrow, in 
 the barony of Tir Oililla, or, as it is now corruptly anglicised, Tirer- 
 
 2 A 2
 
 180 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 rill, ill the county of Sligo, affords a richer specimen of the arched 
 doorway, but I shall not venture to pronounce so confidently on its 
 antiquity, as I have on the previously adduced examples. That it is 
 of very early date, however, there can be no doubt, and its original 
 foundation by St. Patrick is thus recorded in the Annotations of 
 Tirechan, in the Book of Armagh : 
 
 " Et exiit trans montem filiorum Ailello, et fundavit seclesiam ibi, i. e. Tamuacli et 
 
 Ehenach, et Cell Angle, et Cell Sencliuae." — Fol. 15, a, a. 
 
 From the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Part II. c. 102, we learn 
 
 that St. Patrick left his disciple Bishop Mauius at Each-ainec/i, in 
 
 the territory of Tir-Oililla ; and the memory of this saint, as I have 
 
 ascertained on the spot, — where a holy well called Tobar Maine bears 
 
 his name, — is still venerated at this chiu-ch. As in the preceding 
 
 instance, the jambs of this doorway are 
 
 not inclined, and the arches, of wliich 
 
 there are two, one recessed within the 
 
 other, do not rest on imposts. The 
 
 outer arch is four feet ten inches in 
 
 width, and seven feet nine inches in 
 
 height ; and the breadth of the jambs 
 
 is eight inches : the inner arch is three 
 
 feet four inches in width, and seven 
 
 feet in height ; and the entire thickness 
 
 of the wall, at the doorway, is three feet nine inches. Both the ai'ches 
 
 are ornamented with a plain torus moulding, which is carried down 
 
 the angles of the jambs. 
 
 There is another class of doorway found in some of the earliest 
 
 of our churches, alsoofaquadrangidar form, but in which the weight 
 on the hntel is taken off by a semicircular arch, placed immediately 
 above it, and having the space wtliin the curve filled up with ma- 
 sonry. A doorway of this description is found in the cathedi-al 
 chm'ch at Glendalough, and also in the curious structure in the same 
 interesting locality, called St. Kevin's House, both which shall be no- 
 ticed hereafter. It is also found as a side entrance in the beautiful 
 abbey chm'ch of Inishmaan, in Lough Mask, county of IMayo, origi- 
 nally built in the fifth centmy by St. Cormac, and remodelled and 
 enlarged in the twelfth. The finest specimen, however, of this class 
 of doorway, now remaining, is probably that of the ancient parisli
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 IMI 
 
 ehurch ofBiitway, m tlie barony of Banymoro, and county ..f Cork, 
 one of the most iuterosting remains in the county : 
 
 ;e^ 
 
 =^;z 
 
 jr_ .J w- 
 
 ::_^- 
 
 I — r-f 
 
 V 
 
 
 !J=7i - 
 
 
 L^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 \ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 r- 
 
 
 
 y 
 . ' 
 
 
 w 
 
 ^^^^r>-^ 
 
 
 
 lu this doorway, which is composed of sandstone, it will bo seen that 
 the flat architrave, which occurs in so many of the quadrangular door- 
 ways, is carried along the sweep of the arch, till it terminates in a 
 ciuious figure in the key-stone. This doorway is six feet in height 
 to the lintel, and in width two feet seven inches at the top, and two 
 feet ten inches at the bottom ; and the jambs are two feet seven 
 inches in thickness. Of the origin of tliis chiu'ch I have discovered 
 no historical mention, but its style throughout would indicate that it 
 is of the time of St. Bridget, to whom it is dedicated. 
 
 Of triangtilar-headed doorways, such as are fomid iu some of the 
 Saxon churches in England, I have discovered no examples in the 
 Irish churches, except in two instances, namely, in the south door- 
 way of the church of Killadi-eena, near Newto-\vn-^Iountkennedy, in 
 the county of Wicklow, and in that of Oranmore, near Galway ; but 
 neither of these chiu'ches appears to me to be anterior to the twelftli 
 century, and the latter is probably not so old. 
 
 I have next to speak of the -windows. In these features, wliich 
 are always of a single light, the same simple fomis are found, which
 
 182 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 cliaracterize the doorways, namely, the inclined sides, and the hori- 
 zontal and semicircular heads; the horizontal head, however, so 
 common in the doorways, is but of comparatively rare occiurence in 
 the windows; while, on the other hand, the pointed head formed by 
 the meeting of two risrht lines, which is so rare, if not lmkno^vn, in the 
 
 most ancient doorways, is of very ^ ^ _^ 
 
 frequent occiu'rence. I may ob- 
 serve also, that the horizontal- 
 headed -window and the triangular- 
 headed one, are usually fovmd in 
 the south wall of the chancel, and 
 very rarely in the east wall, which 
 usually contains a semicircular- 
 headed window, the arch of which 
 is often cut out of a single stone, 
 as in the annexed example in the church of the Trinity, at Glen- 
 dalough. In many instances the head is also formed of two stones, 
 as in the following example in the east window of the oratory at 
 Gallerus, built without cement : 
 
 In some of the most ancient chiu-ches examples may also be found of 
 windows in which the arch is formed externally, as in the doorways, of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAXD. 
 
 183 
 
 several stones, particularly when the window, being of more than the 
 usual contracted breadth, required it, — as in the annexed example 
 I'rom the very ancient church of Mun- ^ 
 
 gi'et, in the county of Limerick, said to 
 have been founded by St. Nessan in St. 
 Patrick's time : similar examples occiu- 
 in the soutli side of the great chun li, 
 or cathedi-al, at Glendalough. 
 
 In the triangular-headed windows 
 the pyramidal head is almost univer- 
 sally formed, both externally and inter- 
 nally, of two stones, laid in such a man- 
 ner as to form two sides of an equilateral triangle : these stones, like 
 tlie lintels of the doorways, most usually extend through the entire 
 thickness of the wall. The usual external construction of these win- 
 dows will be seen in the annexed wood-cuts, the first of whicli repre- 
 sents the window in the south wall of the chancel of Trinity Church 
 at Glendalough ; and the second, the window in the south wall of tlie 
 equally ancient chiu'ch of Kiltiernan, in tlie barony of Dunkellin, and 
 county of Galway : 
 
 In none of these \vindows, of whatsoever form they may be, does there 
 appear to be any provision for the reception of sashes or glass ; and I 
 may observe that no notice of the use of glass in the windows of the 
 ancient churches is to be found in any of the old Lives of saints, or 
 other Irish historical docmneuts, although it would appear certain from 
 Ii'ish historical tales of an asje anterior to the Anglo-Norman invasion, 
 preserved in Leab/iar na h-Uidlire, that the Irish were not ignorant 
 of the application of glass to such purposes. They seem, however, to 
 have been unacquainted \vith the art of manufacturing it for windows 
 and it would appear from traditions preserved in many places, that as
 
 184 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 a substitute for glass, parcliment was used, and, as we may conjec- 
 ture, other transparent substances, such as horn, which, no doubt, 
 would admit sufficient light for tlie performance of religious cere- 
 monies in which candles were necessary. Hence, while it was re- 
 quisite to have the windows externally of small size, it was equally 
 necessary that their jambs should 
 
 
 be splayed internally, to admit 
 as much as possible of the quan- 
 tity of Ught reqiured ; and such 
 we find to be the construction of 
 the ancient ■^^dndows invariablj', 
 as in the examples Avhich I have 
 now to adduce. Of these, the first 
 represents a triangidar-headed 
 window in the east wall of the 
 chiu'ch of Ivilcananagh, on the 
 Middle Island of Aran ; the se- 
 cond, a semicircular-headed window in the east end of St. Mac Dara's 
 church, on the island called Cruach Mic Dara, off" the coast of Conna- 
 mara; and the third, a semicircular-headed Avindow, quadi-angular on 
 the inside, in the east end of St. Cronan's chiu'ch, at Termoncronan, 
 in the parish of Carron, barony of Burren, and comity of Clare. 
 
 The same mode of construction is observable in the windows of 
 the ancient oratories, which are built without cement, in the neigh-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRKLAXl). 
 
 185 
 
 l.cnuhood oi'Diiigk., in the county of Kvny, as in tlic oast and only 
 window in tlie orutoiy at Gallerus, of wliicli an c-xtornal view 
 
 boon already given. 
 
 \\:\> 
 
 i-4°^' 
 
 Of ancient windows exhibiting a dou- 
 ble, or external and internal, .splay, as Ibund 
 in many of the Saxon ehurehes and towers 
 in England, I do not recollect having met 
 with more than a single exanipK', and in 
 this the splay is oidy in the jambs. This 
 Avindowisfoimd in the stone oratory, built 
 without cement, situated near the old ehuj-eh 
 of Kilmalkedar, about a mile to tlie east of 
 Gallerus, and which is unipie.-tionably one 
 
 '" of the earliest ecclesiastical structures in 
 
 Ireland. I may observe, however, that Avindows of this character 
 are by no means uncommon in Ireland, in cliurclies of less ancient date. 
 
 In these primitive structm-es the 
 windows, like the doorways, are 
 most generally without an archi- 
 trave or ornament of any kind ; 
 but wlien the doorways present an 
 architrave, or a bead moulding at 
 their angles, tlie windows are ge- 
 nerally decorated with a similar 
 ornament, as in the annexed ex- 
 ample, which represents the east 
 wdndow of the very ancient and 
 interesting church of Ratass, near 
 Tralee, in the county of Kerry, of 
 the doorway of Avhich I have already given a drawing at p. KiS). 
 This windoAv, Inch is much injured, is of greater size than is usual 
 in Irish churches of the earliest age, the height, externally, being 
 three feet six inches, and the breadth at the base ton inches, and 
 at the top eight inches : the external measurement is above eight feet 
 in height, and fom' feet three inches in breadth. 
 
 I have next to speak of the triumphal or chancel arches, which, in 
 the larger churches, stand in the division between the nave and the 
 chancel. These, in the primitive chiu'ches of undoubted antiquity, are 
 
 2 B
 
 18G 
 
 INQUIUY INTO TIIK OUIGIN AND USES 
 
 also of an equally uiionuuueiited construction, but the arches are 
 usually formed with great skill, and of blocks of stone nearly all of 
 equal size. These arches are invariably semicircular, and generally 
 spring from jambs which have au inclination corresponding with 
 those of the doorways and windows, and which usually are without 
 imposts. As a characteristic example of such chancel arches, it will 
 be sufficient to give a view of the interior of Trinity Church at 
 Glendalough : 
 
 This arch is nine feet wide, and ten feet six inches from the present 
 level of the floor, which seems considerably raised, to the key-stone of 
 the arch, and the jambs are six feet high to the spring of the arch. 
 
 I have next to speak of the materials, mode, and st}de of con- 
 struction, of the roofs of the primitive Irish churches. 
 
 In the smaller churches of oblong form, without chancels, the 
 roofs appear to have been generally constructed of stone, their sides 
 forming at the ridge a very acute angle ; and this mode of construc- 
 tion was continued, in the construction of churches, down to the 
 period of the introduction of the pointed or Gothic style into Ireland, 
 as in the beautiful church called Cormac's Chapel, at Cashel, which 
 was finished in the year 1134, and St. Doulagh's Church, near Dub- 
 lin, \\hich is obviously of even later date. In the larger churches, 
 however, the roof appears to have been constructed generally of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAMX 
 
 \^7 
 
 ■\votxl, and covered with reeds, stnuv, or oak sliingles; ; and lienc-e tlie 
 notices, in the Annals, of the frequent burnings of tlie same churcli, 
 by which we are to understand not the destruction of tlie walls, for 
 they covdd not be destroyed by fire, but of the roofs, doors, and other 
 combustible materials, in the interior. There are also instances ol" tlie 
 chancel being roofed with stone, wliile the nave was roofed with 
 lio'hter materials. 
 
 Of the style of masonry of those l)uildings I have already spoken 
 generally, and characteristic examples of it have been given in tlic 
 preceding illustrations. I should add, however, that the stones are 
 most usually laid in horizontal coiu'ses, with more or less irregularit\-, 
 but Avith their joints not always vertical ; and that, except in the 
 doorways and lower courses, the stones rarely extend as bonds 
 through the thickness of the wall, but are placed perpendicularly on 
 their edges both in the inner and outer faces of the walls, — the space 
 between them being filled with rubble, or small stones, and thin 
 grouting, while little or no mortar was used in the joints externally, 
 which are admirably fitted to each other. It should be stated, also, 
 that the stones used in three or four of the lower courses, from the 
 
 foundation upwards, are often of considerably greater size than those 
 above them, as in the preceding example, exhibiting a portion of the 
 masonry of the inner face of the west end of the cathedral church of 
 Glendalough, twelve feet six inches in breadth : and I should also 
 observe, that the stones forming the chancel, or choir, are usually 
 
 2 B 2
 
 188 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 smiiller tlian those in tlic nave. Of the masonry called " opus reti- 
 culafum," I have met witli no example in Ireland, nor have I seen 
 any examples of lierringbone masonry, except in one church — that 
 of Killadreenan, in the county of Wicklow : but, as this church was 
 obviously re-edified in the twelfth centiuy, it would be hazardous 
 to pronotmce on the earlier antiquity of any portion of it. Of her- 
 ringbone ashlar there is indeed a good example, which I shall produce 
 hereafter, in the roof of the Round Tower belfry of the church of 
 Tempull Finghin at Clonmacnoise ; but this is obviously not of an 
 earher date than the tenth century, and possibly later. Of brickwork 
 I have met with no examples, except in the ruins of the chapel and 
 baptistery of IMellifont, in the county of 
 Louth, erected in 1165; and in these in- 
 stances the bricks only occiu" intermixed 
 with stone in rubble masonry. I have only 
 to add, that the style of masonry, now known 
 among architectural antiquaries by the ap- 
 pellation of " long and short," and which 
 Mr. Rickman was the first to discover to 
 be a characteristic feature of the Ancjlo- 
 Saxon churches, is also very generally found 
 in tlie ancient churches of Ireland. This 
 masonry, which consists of alternate long 
 and short blocks of ashlar, or hewii stone, 
 bonding into the wall, is generally used, in 
 England, in forming a sort of quoins at the 
 angles of churches ; but in Irish ecclesiasti- 
 cal buildings it is rarely found except in the sides of the doorways 
 and windows, though a few well-marked examples of it occur as quoins 
 in the external angles of chiu'ches of luidoubted antiquity, as in the 
 annexed example from the older of the two churches of Mouaster- 
 boice, in the county of Louth, which, there is every reason to believe, 
 is the original church of the place. 
 
 As an example of the general appearance of these primitive struc- 
 tures, when of inferior size, I annex an engraving of the very ancient 
 church called Tempull Ceannanach, on Inis Meadhoin, or the Middle 
 Island, of Ai-an, in the Bay of Galway. This httle chiuxh,— which 
 would be in perfect preservation if its stone roof remained, — mea-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF lUKLANl). 
 
 18»J 
 
 siu-es OH the inside but sLxteen feet six inches in length, and twelve 
 feet six inclies in breadth ; and its walls, which aiv three feet in thick- 
 ness, are built in a style quite Cj^clopean, the stones being through- 
 out of great size, and one of them not less than eighteen feet in 
 length, — which is the entire external breadth of the church, — and 
 three feet in thickness. 
 
 The history of this ancient church is not preserved, and the only 
 notice that I have found of the saint, whose name it bears, is given 
 by O'Flaherty in his MS. Account of the territory of West Connaught, 
 namely, thtit " tradition goes that St. Kenanach was a king of Leins- 
 ter's son ;" and elsewhere, in the same work, that he was the pati-on 
 saint of the parish church of Ballynakill, in the barony of Ballyna- 
 
 hinch, or Connamara, where his memory was celebrated on the 
 
 of March. It is therefore not improbable that he is the same as the 
 St. Ceanannan whose festival is marked in the Irish calendars at the 
 2Cth of March. 
 
 The ancient churches are not, however, always so Avholly un- 
 adorned : in many instances they present flat rectangidar projections, 
 or pilasters, of plain masonry at all their angles ; and these projec- 
 tions are, in some instances, carried up from the perpendicular angles 
 along the faces of the gables to the very apex, as appears in the
 
 j,,() INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 ania-xod cngniving c.f St. Mac Dara's cluircL, ou the island of 
 Cruach Mhic Dara, off the coast of Connauun-a : 
 
 •<!?: 
 
 
 This Uttle church is, in its internal measurement, but fifteen feet in 
 leno'th, and eleven feet in breadth ; and its walls, which are two feet 
 eight inches in thickness, are built, like those of the chiu-ch of St. 
 Ceannanach already described, of stones of great size, and its roof of 
 the same material. The circular stone house of this saint, built in 
 the same style but without cement, still remains, but greatly dilapi- 
 dated : it is an oval of twenty-four feet by eighteen, and the walls 
 are seven feet in thickness. 
 
 Of the history of St. Mac Dara, whose festival is noted in the Irish 
 Calendar at the 28th of September, but little or nothing is preserved, 
 though his memory is venerated as the principal saint of the western 
 coast, and his bronze cross, which was preserved in his church, still 
 exists, and is supposed to possess miraculous powers. Of this little 
 church and its founder, O'Flaherty, in his MS. Account of the ter- 
 ritory of West Connaught, gives the following notice, which I am 
 tempted to transcribe, as characteristic of the wiiter and his times : 
 
 " Over against Mason liead in the same country lies Cruach Mic Dara, a small 
 island and harbour for ships. This island is an inviolable sanctuary, dedicated to 
 Mac Dara, a miraculous saint vrhose chappeU is within it, where his statue of wood for 
 many ages stood, till Malachias Quseleus, archbishop of Tuam, caused it to be buried 
 under ground for special weighty reasons. On the shore of this island is the Captive's 
 Stone, where women on [at] low water used to gather Duhasg for a friend's sake in 
 captivity, whereby they believe he will soon get succour by [through] the inter-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF lUliLAXl). lOl 
 
 cession of the saint. Duleasg, or Salt-leaf, is a weed growing on sea-rocks, anil pre- 
 served by drying it on stones in fair weather, and soon after when occasion 8er\'es, for 
 eating. There is scarce any sea-shore [whereon] it grows nui. The boats that imss 
 between Mason head and this ishind, have a custom to bow down their sails tliree times 
 in reverence to the Saint. A certain captain of the garrison of Galway, aiiiiu 1(372, 
 passing this way and neglecting that ciistom, was so tossed with sea and storm, that he 
 vowed he would never pass there again, without paying his obeisance to the saint. 
 But he never returned home till he was cast away by Ship-wreck soon after. Few years 
 after, one Gill, a fisherman of Galway, who would not strike sail in contempt of the 
 saint, went not a mile beyond that road, when sitting on the Pup of the boat, the mast 
 by contrary blast of wind broke and struck him on the Pate, dead, the day being fair 
 weather both before and after. 
 
 " This saint's proper name was Sinach, and Patronimically called Mac Dara, from 
 his father Dara. The Parish church of Moyrus by the sea-shore just o])posite to the 
 island in the continent of Irrosainhagh is dedicated to his name, where is kept his altar 
 stone by the name of Leac Sinach. His festival day is kept as patron of Moyrus parish 
 the IG of July." 
 
 I have now described the various features -whicli (.■liaracterize tlie 
 hitherto little noticed and unappreciated primitive churclies of Ire- 
 land. That, as I have already stated, they have little in them to inte- 
 rest the mind, or attract regard as works of art, it would be childish 
 to deny ; yet, in theii' symmetrical simphcity, — their dindj^-liglited 
 nave, entered by its central west doorway and terminated on the 
 other side by its chancel arch, affording to the devout worshipper an 
 unimpeded view of that brighter sanctuary, in which wei'e celebrated 
 the di\ine mvsteries which afforded him consolation in this life and 
 hope in the next, — in the total absence of every thing which could 
 distract his attention, — there is an expression of fitness to their pur- 
 pose, too often wanting in modern temples of the liigliest preten- 
 sions ; as the artless strains sung to the Creator, which, we may 
 believe, Avere daily hymned in these unadorned temples, were calcu- 
 lated, from their very simplicity and ai'tlessness, to awaken feelings 
 of deep devotion, which the gorgeous artificial nuisic of the modern 
 cathedral but too rarely excites, even in minds most predisposed to 
 feel its influences, and appreciate its refinement. In short, tliese 
 ancient temples are just such humble, unadorned structures, as we 
 might expect them to have been ; but, even if they were found to ex- 
 hibit less of that expression of congriuty and fitness, and moi-e oi 
 that humbleness so characteristic of a religion not made for the rich, 
 but for the poor and lowly, that mind is but little to be envied, which
 
 1()2 INQUIRY INTO TIIK ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 could look with uiiatliy Dii the remains of national stnictvires so ve- 
 nerable I'ur tlu'ir iiiifi(iuity, and so interesting as being raised in 
 honom- of the Creator in the simplest, if not the purest, ages of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 That the unadorned simplicity and contracted dimensions of the 
 earliest Irish churches were not, at least, altogether the result of po- 
 verty and ignorance of the arts in their founders, appears to me ex- 
 tremel}' probable. Poor those honoured individuals imquestionably 
 were, but that poverty generally, if not in all instances, appears to 
 have been voluntary, as became men walking in the footsteps of the 
 Eedeemer, and who obtained their simple food by the labour of their 
 hands : but that they were ignorant of the arts, or insensible to 
 their influence, could scarcely have been possible in men, very^ many 
 of whom, — Romans, Gauls, and Britons, — were educated Avhere those 
 arts, though they had become debased, were still cultivated ; and we 
 have not only abundant historical evidence to show, that many of the 
 ecclesiastics in tliose early times obtained celebrity, as artificers and 
 makers of the sacred implements necessary for the church, and as 
 illuminators of books, but we have also still remaining the most indis- 
 putable evidences of their skill in those arts, in ancient croziers, bells, 
 shrines, &c., and in manuscripts not inferior in splendour to any ex- 
 tant in Europe. It is, indeed, by no means improbable, that the 
 severe simplicity, as well as the uniformity of plan and size, AA-hich 
 usually characterizes our early chm'ches, Avas less the result of the 
 poA'erty or ignorance of their founders than of choice, originating in 
 the spirit of their faith, or a A'eneration for some model given to them 
 by their first teachers; for, that the earliest Christian churches on 
 the continent before the time of Constantine Avere, like these, small 
 and imadorned, there is no reason to doubt ; and the oldest chiu'ches 
 still remaining in Greece are, as I shall hereafter show, exactly similar 
 to those I have described in Ireland. And even the churches erected 
 in the time of Constantine, as Mr. Hope shows, must have been small, 
 and of little architectural pretension. " And Avhen," says this Aviiter, 
 " Theodosius, after proclaiming Christianity the ruling, the sole legi- 
 timate religion of the empire, not only pulled doAATi the churches of 
 Constantine, already become ruinous, but the heathen temples, too 
 small to be converted to sacred uses, in order to employ the materials 
 of many such, howe\-er ill-assorted, for each of his larger neAv churches
 
 OF THE ROUXD TO^VERS OF IRELAND. 193 
 
 singly, he still retained in them the shape and the name of the basi- 
 lica." — Hist. Essay on Architecture, vol. i. p. 90. 
 
 Be this, however, as it may, it seems certain from our most ancient 
 historical documents, that St. Patrick not only introduced a form of 
 church into Ireland which, from veneration to his memory, became a 
 model generally followed for ages after, but that he even prescribed 
 the very dimensions of which the basilicce, or more important cluu-ches, 
 should consist. This appears from the passages, wliich I liave already 
 quoted, — first, from the Tripartite Life of this saint, in whidi it is 
 stated, that in the plan and measurements of the sacred edifices, 
 which he founded at Armagh, he was guided by an angel, — and, se- 
 condly, from a passage in the same Life, and likewise from one in the 
 Annotations of Tirechan, which I have also cited at p. IGl, in which 
 he prescribes sixty feet as the length of the church of Donaghpatrick, 
 near Tailteanu, in Meath, which the prince Conall, the brother of the 
 monarch Laoghaire, Avas to erect for him, and pronounces a male- 
 diction on his race if they should ever diminish it. Thus also, in the 
 notices of the foundations of chiu-ches, given in those ancient Lives 
 of the saint, Ave find it constantly stated that he prescribed the di- 
 mensions of Avhich they Avere to consist, as Avell as consecrated their 
 foundations, as an example or tAvo Avill shoAv. Thus, respecting the 
 church of Seincheall, in the present county of Rosconunon, it is 
 stated : 
 
 " S. Patricius designanit locu & mpsuram Ecclesife extruendiB, qua? vuIlto Seincheall 
 .1. vetus cella, appellatur." — Vita Tripart. S- Patricii, part ii. c. Iviii. Trias Tliaum. 
 p. 137. 
 
 And again in the account of the foundation of St. Fiech's church at 
 Sletty, near Carlow : 
 
 " Mansit autem sanctissimus Episcopus & Abbas Fiecus in ilia Ecclcsia de Dnmnach- 
 Fiec, donee ante se ad coelum sexaginta sanctos ex discipulis pra;miserit. Postea autcni 
 venit ad eum Angelus Domini dicens quod non ibi esset locus resurrectionis eius, sed 
 trans flumen ad occidentem : mandatque quod ibi in loco Cidl-nutige dicto, monaste- 
 rium erigat, singulis officinis locum propriu, & congruum assignans. Jlonuit cnim vt 
 refectorium extruat, vbi aprum ; & Ecclesiam vbi ceruam repererit. Kespondit An- 
 gelo vir sanctus, & obedientiae specimen, se non audere Ecclesiam extruedam inchoare, 
 nisi prius eius pater & Magister Patricius eius locum, & mensuram nietaretur & 
 cosecraret. Patricius ergo monitus, & rogatus venit ad ilium locum ; ([ui Slepte vulgo 
 .i. montes appellatur, & iuxta Angeli pra'scriptum ibi basilica; & monasterij jecit & con- 
 secrauit fundamenta." — Vita Tripart. S. Patricii, part iii. c. xxiii. Trias Tliautii. p. 155. 
 
 2 c
 
 b 
 
 194 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Indeed that llie Irisli, who have been ever remarkable for a tenacious 
 adlierence to their ancient customs, should preserve with religious 
 veneration that form and size of the primitive church, introduced by 
 the first teachers of Christianit)', is only what might be naturally ex- 
 iiected, and what Ave find to have been the fact. We see the result 
 of this feeling exhibited very remarkably in the conservation, down 
 to a late jjeriod, of the humblest and rudest oratories of the first 
 ecclesiastics in all those localities where Irish manners and customs 
 remained, and where such edifices, too small for the services of reli- 
 gion, would not have been deemed worthy of conservation but from 
 such feeling. And of this tenacity of ancient customs, as well as of 
 the repugnance of the Irish to innovation, we have a stiiking evidence 
 in the fact to Avliich I have already alluded, and shall have occasion 
 again to notice, that previously to the twelfth century, or, as I might 
 say, to the time of St. INIalachy, the Irish never appear to have named 
 churches after any but their own saints, who were, in most instances, 
 the original founders. But of this aversion to innovation, we have a 
 still stronger evidence in the reply which, according to St. Bernard, 
 the Irishman at Bangor made to that great innovator St. Malachy, 
 when he was about to erect a chiuxh there, not, as is usually sup- 
 posed, difierent in material from the chiu'ches with which the Irish 
 were abeady acquainted, but, as we may well believe, in an ornate 
 fashion, such as he had seen on the continent, and with the style of 
 which the Irish had not been familiarized. I have already alluded to 
 this passage, and given its purport in a translated form, as cited by 
 Harris at p. 123, but it so strongly illustrates the point, which I am 
 now arguing, that I cannot resist the temptation of presenting it to 
 the reader in St. Bernard's own Avords : 
 
 " . . . . visum est Malacliise debcre construi in Benchor, oratorium lapideum, instar 
 illorum qui [tjuce^ in alijs regionibus extructa conspexerat. Et cum coepissct iacere fun- 
 damenta, indigena: quidam mirati sunt, quod in terra ilia necdum eiusmodi aidificia 
 inueniretur. Varum ille nequam : sicut erat prssumptuosus & insolens, non modo 
 miratus est, scd & indignatus. Ex qua indignatione concepit dolore, & peperit in- 
 iquitatem. Et factum susurro in populis, nunc secreto detraliere, nunc blaspbemare 
 palam, notare leuitatem, nouitate liorrere, sumptus exaggerare. Istiusmodi venenatus 
 sermonibus soUicitans & iuducens multos ad probibendiun. Sequimini me, inquit, 
 & quod non nisi per nos fieri debet contra nos fieri non sinamus. Itaque cum pluribus, 
 quibus suadere valuit, descendit ad locum, repcrtum conuenit liominem Dei, primus 
 ipse dux verbi, qui erat principium mali. O bone vir, quid tibi visum est nostris
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IKELAXO. ly5 
 
 banc iuducere regiouibus lumitati? ? Scoti suinus, no Galli. Quirnain Icuitas hicc ? 
 quid opus crat opere tam supcrlluo, tarn superbo ? vndc tibi pauperi & inopi suniptiis 
 ad perficicnduiu ? quis pcrfectum videbit ? Quid istud pra;siunptionis, inchoarc quod 
 non queas, non dico perficere, sed nee vidcre perfcctuni ? <|uaM<iuam unieiitis mugis 
 est qua prudentis conari cjuod modum excodit, vincit vires, superat facultatcs ; Cesso, 
 cessa, dcsiue a vesauia hac : alioqui nos no sinimus, non sustiuenius. Hoc dixit pro- 
 dens quid vellet, non quid posset considerans. Nam de quibus praesuinebat, & secuiu 
 adduxerat, viso -s-iro mutati sunt, & iam non ibant cum co. Ad qucm vir sanctus tola 
 libertate vtens : Miser, inquit, opus quod inchoatum vides, & inuides sine dubio perli- 
 cietur, pertectum vidcbunt nnill i. Tu vero quia non vis, non videbis, & quod non vis, 
 niorieris : attedito tibi ne in pcccato tuo moriaris. Ita est, ille niortuus est, & opus 
 comisletum est, sed ille non vidit, qui vt prsclati sumus, anno eodcm niortuus est." — 
 Vita Malachice, cap. ix. Florilegium Insulm Sanctorum, p. ,'571. [^recU' 373.] 
 
 Tliough this chui'cli is called an oratory by St. Bernard, — an \\\> 
 pellation not to be wondered at, as applied by one accustomed totlie 
 ample and magnificent abbey churches then common on the conti- 
 nent, — that it was nevertheless a church of much greater size, as well 
 as greater architectural splendour, than those generally erected in 
 Ireland up to this period, can scarcely admit of doubt, as the remains 
 of the abbey chiu-ch of Bangor, extant in the last century, which, there 
 is every reason to believe, Avas erected in St. Malachy's time, sufll- 
 ciently indicated. Indeed, with the exception of the great cliurcli of 
 the primatial see of Armagh, which, — if Colgan's translation of tlie 
 Irish Tripartite Life of St. Patrick can be relied on (whicli, however, in 
 this instance I doubt), — was originally built of the length of one hun- 
 dred and forty feet, the cathedral and abbey cliurches of Ireland, 
 anterior to the twelfth centmy, appear to have rarely or never ex- 
 ceeded the length of sixty feet. This was the measurement prescribed 
 by St. Patrick for the church oiDomlinach mor, now Donaghpatrick, 
 near Tailteann, in Meath, and which, there is every reason to be- 
 lieve, was also the measm-ement of the other distinguished churches 
 erected by him throughout Ireland, and imitated, as a model, by his 
 successors. Such also, there is reason to believe, was the usual size of 
 the earliest churches erected by the Britons and Saxons, for it is a 
 curious fact that the first Christian chiu'ch erected in Britain, and 
 which was traditionally ascribed to the apostolic age, was exactly of 
 the size generally adopted in Ireland after its conversion to Chris- 
 tianity, namely, sixty feet in length, and twenty-six in breadth. Tliis 
 fact appears from the following inscription on a brass plate, whicli, 
 previously to the Reformation, was aflixcd to a pillar in the more mo- 
 
 2 c 2
 
 1 06 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 dern church at Glastonbury, and published by Sir Henry Spelman in 
 liis Concilia (vol. i. p. 9). 
 
 Slnno post pnssioncm iomtnt xxx\\ tiuolfccim snncti tx qutbus 3JosrpIj ab 
 arimatljia primus crat, i)uc urncrunt* (jul rcclcsiam f)uius rcgnt pn'mnni in 
 l)oc loco constvuxcrunt. qui djristi [quam cl)ristus] in f)onorcm sue matris 
 \' locum pro corum scpultura picscnciah'tcr ticbicnuit. sanclo tauitr mcncucn= 
 cium arcijicpiscopo Ijoc tcstantc. ®ui iiominus ccclcsiam illam bciicarc liis- 
 poncnti in sompnis apparuit ^'^ cum a proposito rcuocauit. nccnon in signum 
 quolr ipse ifominus ccclcsiam ipsam prius cum cimitcrio ticliicavat: manum 
 cpiscopi aigito pcrforauit. $r sic perforata multis uiljentitius in crasttno appa- 
 ruit. postca ucro itiem episcopus, tomino reuelantc ac sanctorum numero in 
 caticm crcscente : qucntiam canccllum in orientali parte ijuic ecdesie a&iecit ^ 
 in f)onore beatc uirginis consecrauit. GTuius altare inestimabih' sapljiro in per= 
 petuam !)utus rei memoriam insigniuit. ®t ne locus aut quantitas prorsus 
 [prioris] ecdesie per tales augmentacioncs obliuioni trabcrctur: erigitur ftcc 
 columpna in linea per ijuos orientales angulos eiusiJem ecdesie uersus meri- 
 iiiem protracta ic pretiictum canccllum ab ea abscintientc. <Qt erat eius longi- 
 tuijo ab ilia linea uersus occtljentem. l.v. pc&um. latituiio uero eius. x.xbi. pcium, 
 iJistancia centri istius columpne a puncto meijio inter preliictos angulos. .vlbii|. 
 pebum. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to state, that it is no part of my purpose 
 to express an opinion respecting the degree of credibility, due to the 
 account thus given of the origin of the chiu'ch of Glastonbury. I 
 may, however, remark, that the legend is at least of great antiquity ; 
 and that, in less sceptical times than the present, it was undoubtingly 
 received, is sufficiently shown by Ussher in the second chapter of his 
 Primordia. I do not, however, see any reason to doubt the tradition, 
 as far as regards the size of the chiuxh, its material, or its early an- 
 tiquity ; nor will it perhaps be deemed wholly idle to suppose, that 
 the general adoption of this size originated either in reverence of this 
 model, or of some similar one, derived from the primitive Christians 
 before Christianity was adopted by the emperors, and made the state 
 religion in Greece and Eome. Be this, however, as it may, it is an 
 interesting fact, that the earliest Christian church in Britain, the 
 erection of which was ascribed, in the legendary traditions of the 
 middle ages, to the very time of the apostles, should agree so exactly 
 with those first erected in Ii'eland; and, moreover, that this chiu'ch,
 
 OF THE ROUXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. 1(j7 
 
 wliicli appears from the whole cm-rcut of the ecclesiastical liistor}- of 
 the British Islands, to have been the fii-st erected in Britain, should 
 have been at a place recognized as an Irish ecclesiastical establish- 
 ment, and in which, according not only to the Saxon and En'dish 
 authorities, but to many Irish ones also, one of the first teachers of 
 Christianity in Ireland, — a Saint Patrick, — hes interred, and where 
 his memory was honoured as the patron of the place. 
 
 Having now treated, as fully as seemed necessary, of the various 
 characteristics of the early churches, whose styles indicate, with cer- 
 tainty, the antiquity ascribed to them by history and tradition, I have 
 next to treat of those of less certain date, and in which ornament has 
 been employed. This is, however, a portion of my subject, which I 
 confess myself unable to illustrate as satisfactorily as I could wish, 
 because the historical evidences are too generally wanting, which 
 would give certainty to the investigation. In the absence of such 
 evidences, I can only draw conjectm-al conclusions from a comparison 
 of characteristic architectural ornaments, found in tliein, with those 
 found in churches in England and elsewhere, the ages of which have 
 been determined ; and even such conclusions unist be drawn with 
 timidity, till the question is finally settled, Avhether the oi'nameuts, 
 generally supposed to be characteristics of Anglo-Norman architec- 
 ture, had not been used in England and other countries in times 
 anterior to the Norman conquest. One point, at least, of great impor- 
 tance I trust I can determine with certainty, namely, that the Irish, 
 anterior to the eleventh century, not only built decorated churches, 
 but also used some of the ornaments, now generally supposed to be 
 characteristic featui-es of the chiu-ches erected in England by tlie 
 Anglo-Normans ; and, indeed, if we put faith in some of our ancient 
 documents, — and I cannot conceive why we should not, — it woidd 
 appear that, occasionally at least, they erected ornamented churches 
 at a much earlier period. Thus in the Life of St. Bridget, by Cogi- 
 tosus, the following description of the church of Kildare shoAvs that, 
 in the time of that ancient writer, it was not only decorated in its 
 interior, but had at least one ornamented entrance doorway. Tlie 
 original is as follows : 
 
 " Nee de miraculo in rcparatione Ecclesise tacendum est, in qua gloriosa amborum 
 hoc est Episcopi Conlaeth & huius Virginis Sanctic Brigida? corpora a dextris, & h si- 
 nistris altaris decorati in monumentis posita ornatis, vario cultu auri & argenti, & gem-
 
 198 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 iiirtruin, & pretiosl Inpidis atque coronis aurcis & argentcis desuper pendentibus, requi- 
 fscunt. Ecclosia namque crescente numero fidelium, & vtroque sexu, solo spatiosa 
 & in ahum niinaci proceritate porrocta, ac dccorata pictis tabulis, tria intrinsecus 
 habens oratoiia ampla, & divisa parietibus tabulatis, sub vno culniine maioris domus, 
 in qua vuus paries decoratus, & imaginibus dcpictus, ac lintcamiiiibus tectus, per lati- 
 tudinem in orientali Ecclesia; parte, a parietc ad alterum parietem Ecolesia; se tetendit ; 
 qui in suis extremitatibus duo habet ostia ; & pervnum ostiu in dextra parte positum 
 intrant in Sanctuariura ad altare sunimns Pontifcx cum sua regulari scliola, & his 
 qui sacris sunt deputati ministeriis sacra & Dominica immolare sacrificia : & per alte- 
 rum ostium in sinistra parte parietis supradicti & transversi positum Abbatissa cum 
 suis puollis & viduis fidclibus tantum intrant vt convivio corporis & sanguinis fruantur 
 lesu Christi. Alius vcro paries pavimentum doinus in duas a?quales divides partes a 
 parte Orientali vsque ad transversum in latitudine parietem extensus est. Et haec 
 tenet Ecclesia in se multas fenestras & \niam in latere dextro ornatara portam, per 
 quam saccrdotes & populus fidelis masculini generis sexus intrat Ecclesiam ; & alteram 
 portam in sinistro latere, per quam virginum & fidelium foeminarum congregatio in- 
 trare solet. Et sic in vna Basilica maxima populus grandis in ordine, & gradibus, & 
 sexu, & locis diuersis, interiectis inter se parietibus, diverso ordine, & vno animo Do- 
 minum omnipotentcm orant. Et cum ostium antiquum porta; sinistralis, per (juod 
 solebat S. Brigida Ecclesiam intrare, ab artificibus in suis esset cardinibus situm, totam 
 concludore portam instauratam & nouam non potuit. Quarta enim portoe pars aperta 
 sine c5clusione & patefacta apparebat. Et si addita & iuncta ad altitudineni ostij 
 quarta pars fuisset, tunc totam concludere portam posset altam & instauratam. Et 
 cum artifices alterum mains nounm facere ostium deliberarent, quod totam conclu- 
 deret portam ; ant tabulam facere iunctam in vetus ostium, vt postea sufficere posset ; 
 prajdictus doctor, & omnium prasuius artifex Hibernensium, prudcuti locutus est 
 consilio : In hac superuentura nocte orare Dominum iuxta S. Brigidam fideliter de- 
 bemus, vt ipsa nobis de mane quid in opere hoc acturi sumus provideat. Et sic orans 
 iuxta monumcntum S. Brigidaj totam nocte transegit. Et mane surgens oratione prae- 
 missa ostium antiquu trudeus ac ponens in suo cardine, ianuam conclusit totam, nee 
 aliquid defuit de ipsius plenitudine, nee vlla in eius magnitudine supcrflua pars re- 
 perta est. Et sic S. Brigida illud ostium extendit in altitudineni, vt tota porta iUa ab 
 eo sit conclnsa, nee in ea vllus locus patefactus vidcatur, nisi cum ostium retruditur 
 vt Ecclesia intretur. Et hoc virtutis Dominica?, oculis omnium videntium, miraculum, 
 Ulam ianuam & valuam mauifeste patet." — Florilegium, p. 199 ; and Trias Tliaum. 
 pp. 523, 524. 
 
 As portions of the above description have been variously under- 
 stood by learned writers, I consider it necessary, before I offer any 
 observation npon it, to give a translation of it as literal as possible : 
 
 " Nor is the miracle, that occurred in repairing the church, to be passed over in si- 
 lence, in which repose the bodies of both, that is, Bishop Conlaeth and this holy virgin 
 St. Bridget, on the right and left of the decorated altar, deposited in monuments adorned 
 with various embellishments of gold and silver and gems and precious stones, with 
 crowns of gold and sUver depending from above. For the nimiber of the faithful of both
 
 OF THE KOUXD TOWERS OF IRELAND. \[)\) 
 
 sexes increasing, the cluirch, occupying a spacious aroa, and fk-vatL-d to a nK-nacing 
 height, and adorned witli painted pictures, having within three oratories large and sepa- 
 rated by partitions of planks under one roof of the greater lioiisf, wherein one parti- 
 tion — decorated and painted with figures, and covered with linen hangings extended 
 
 along the breadth in the eastern part of the church, from the one to the other party wall 
 
 of the church, which [^partUion^ has at its extremities two doors, and through the one 
 
 door, placed in the right side, the chief prelate enters the sanctuary accompanied by liio 
 regular school, and those who are deputed to the sacred ministry of ofFering sacred 
 and dominical sacrifices : through the other door, placed in the left part of the parti- 
 tion above-mentioned, and lying transversely, none cnt<T but the abbess witii her 
 virgins and widows among the faithful, when going to participate in the banquet of tlie 
 body and blood of Jesus Christ. But another partition dividing the iiavement of tlie 
 house into two equal parts, extends from the eastern [recto western'] side to the trans- 
 verse partition lying across the breadth. Moreover this church has in it many windows, 
 and one adorned doorway on the right side, through which the priests and the faithful 
 of the male sex enter the church, aud another doorway on the left side, through which 
 the congregation of virgins and women among the faithful are used to enter. And thus 
 in one very great temple a multitude of people, in diiferent order and ranks, and sex, 
 and situation, separated by partitions, in dili'erent orJi'r, and [/"'/] willi one mind 
 worship the Omnipotent Lord. And when the ancient door of the left passage, through 
 which St. Bridget used to enter the church, was placed on its own hinges by the work- 
 men, it could not fill up the passage when altered and new ; for the fourth part of 
 the passage appeared open and exposed without any thing to fill it up. And if a fourth 
 more were added and jomed to the height of the gate, then it could fill up the entire 
 height of the passage now lofty and altered. And when the workmen were deliberating 
 about making another new and larger door to fill up the passage, or to prepare a board 
 to be added to the old door, so as to render it sufficiently large, the before-mentioned 
 principal and leading artisan of all those in Ireland spake a prudent counsel : ' We 
 ought this night to implore the Lord faithfully beside St. Bridget, that she may pro- 
 vide for us against morning what measures we ought to pursue in this business.' And 
 praying thus he passed the whole night beside the monument of St. Bridget. And 
 rising early and prayers being said, on pushing and settling the ancient door on its 
 hinge he filled the whole aperture ; nor was there any thing wanting to fill it, nor any 
 superfluous portion in its height. And thus St. Bridget extended that door in height, 
 so that the whole passage was filled up, nor does any part appear open, except when 
 the door is pushed back in entering the church. And this miracle of the divine ex- 
 cellence is quite plain to the eyes of all beholders who look upon the passage and door." 
 
 It is bat fair to acknowledge that not only tlie antiquity of tliis 
 Life of St. Bridget has been doubted by some learned men, but even 
 its authenticity denied by others, in consequence chiefly, if not alto- 
 gether, of the very details given in the jireceding description of the 
 church of Kildare, and which in the opinion of the learned Basnage, 
 the editor of Canisius, " smelt of a later age." But, though I not only 
 freely acknowledge that there is great reason to doubt that the work of
 
 200 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Cogitosus was, as Colgan, Vossius, Dr. O'Conor, and others, — even tlie 
 judicious Ware, — supposed, of the sixth century, but shall even prove 
 that its real age is the early jiart of the ninth, I by no means concur 
 in the sweeping scepticism of Dr. Ledwich as to the truth of the de- 
 scription of the church, which he regards as altogether fanciful, and 
 posterior to the twelfth century ; nor can I acknowledge that the rea- 
 sons assigned by him for this opinion have any force whatever. Dr. 
 Ledwich writes, that "what evinces this work of Cogitosus to be sup- 
 posititious, is liis Description of the Monuments of St. Bridget and 
 Conloeth on the right and left of the altar at Kildare. They were not 
 only highly finished with gold and silver ornaments, with gems and 
 precious stones, suspended gold and silver crowns, but the wall of 
 the chancel was painted with portraits. These latter, says Basnage, 
 the editor of Cauisius, smell strongly of later ages. The architecture 
 of the chiu-ch is the work of fancy, and could not exist earlier than 
 the twelfth century, for the Irish, as I have akeady shown, had no 
 stone edifice in the sixth." — Antiquities of Ireland, second edition, 
 pp. 352, 353. 
 
 These objections however, which betray a great want of anti- 
 quarian research, are, as I shall show, of very little weight; and 
 Dr. Lanigan, who considered the work of Cogitosus as anterior, at 
 least, to the ninth century, had no need, in arguing in support of 
 its antiquity, to have supposed that the church of Kildare was alto- 
 gether a wooden structiu-e, — a supposition which the text will by no 
 means authorize, and which the evidences I have already adduced, 
 relative to the antiquity of stone churches in Ireland, will show to be 
 an assumption Avholly improbable. It will also be seen from the same 
 evidences, that the plan and general form of this church, which 
 consisted of a nave and chancel, was exactly that commonly adopted 
 in the abbey and cathedral churches in Ireland, and that the de- 
 viation from the usual custom in having two lateral doorways, instead 
 of a single western one, is pointed out as a peculiarity necessary from 
 the circmnstance of the chm'ch having been designed for the use of 
 two religious communities of different sexes, who had distinct and 
 separate places assigned them, according to the almost universal 
 practice of ancient times. See Bingham's Origines, &c. Book viii. 
 c. 5, sect. G. — The necessity for this separation of the sexes also led 
 to the division of the nave, by a wooden partition, into two equal
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 0(|I 
 
 portions, wliicli avltc entered by the lateral doorways already men- 
 tioned ; and it led again to the piercing of tlie wall, or partition, 
 wliicli separated the nave from the chancel, with a doorway on eacli 
 side of the chancel arch, in order to admit the entrance, into the 
 chancel, of the bishop with his chapter on the right or south side, 
 and of the abbess with her nuns on the left or north side. Another 
 peculiar feature, noticed in the description of this churcli, is its 
 having a number of windows, whereas, as I have already shown, the 
 Irish churches were remarkable for the fewness of such apertures ; 
 but, in the notice of such a peculiarity, thoi-e is as little to e.xeite a 
 suspicion of the truth of the general description, as in the others I 
 have already commented upon, inasmuch as the verv arrangement of 
 the church into a double nave necessarily recpiired a (l()ul)le number 
 of windows to light it. 
 
 If indeed, as Dr. O'Conor well remarks, he had described these 
 windows as having been glazed, it might have afforded a historical 
 argument against the supposition that he lived in the sixth or seventh 
 century, inasmuch as glass was not usual in the windows of cluux-hes 
 in England till the close of the latter ; but even that would be no 
 evidence to prove that he did not flourish previously to the twelfth, 
 as the use of glass might have been introduced into Ireland long 
 before that age through the intercourse of the Irish with Italy and 
 Gaul, or the constant influx of English and other illustrious foreigners, 
 who visited Ireland for education. But, as Cogitosus makes no men- 
 tion of glass in the windows of the church of Kildare, it is to me an 
 evidence not only of the truth of his description, but also of its 
 antiquit}^, though as I have already stated, and as I shall presently 
 prove, that antiquity is not so great as many have imagined. It is 
 evident, at all events, that if he had been, as Dr. Ledwich asserts, 
 fabricating a fanciful description of this church, while glazed win- 
 dows were still of rare occurrence, he would not have neglected so 
 important a feature of splendoiu'. 
 
 But, according to Dr. Ledwich, what evinces the work of Cogi- 
 tosus to be supposititious is his description of the monuments of St. 
 Bridyet and Conlaeth on the right and left of the altar at Kildare : 
 " They were not oidy highly linished willi gold and silver orna- 
 ments, with gems and precious stones, suspended gold and silver 
 •crowns, but the wall of the chancel was painted with portraits." If, 
 
 2 D
 
 202 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 lunvever, Dr. Ledwicli had been better acquainted with the antiquities 
 of Ireland, which he undertook to ilhistrate, he would not have seen 
 in any of these particulars featiu'es inconsistent with the tmth of his- 
 tory. The custom of adorning the shrines of saints, in the manner 
 described by Cogitosus, is of higher antiquity than the time of St. 
 Bridget, and was derived from the primitive Christians, who thus 
 decorated the tombs of the martyrs. See Buonarotti, Osservazioni 
 sopra alcuni Frammenti di Vetro, pp. 133,134. — And that the Iiish 
 ecclesiastics, from the first introduction of Christianity into the coun- 
 try, not only possessed the art of manufacturing all the sacred utensils 
 belonging to the altar, in an equal degree of excellence with the co- 
 temporaneous ecclesiastics abroad, can be proved by an abundance 
 of historical evidence. The three artificers of St. Patrick, named 
 Asicus, Biteus, and Tassach, who fabricated such utensils with ad- 
 mirable art, are noticed by Flann of the Monastery, and in the most 
 ancient Lives of St. Patrick ; and it is not improbable that specimens 
 of their works may still remain. Thus also in an ancient Life of the 
 celebrated artificer St. Dageus, who flourished in the early part of the 
 sixth centiuy, as quoted by Colgan, it is stated that he fabricated not 
 only bells, croziers, crosses, &c., but also sArme*; and that, though 
 some of those implements were without ornament, others were co- 
 vered with gold, silver, and precious stones, in an ingenious and 
 admirable manner. This interesting passage is as follows : 
 
 " Idem enim Episcopus, Abbatibus, alijsque HiberniK Sanctis, campanas, CJ^nbala, 
 baculos, cnioes, scrinia, capsas, pixides, calices, discos, altariola, chrismalia, libi-orum- 
 que coopertoria ; qusedam liorum nuda, quEedam vero alia auro, atque argento, gem- 
 misque pretiosis circumtecta, pro amore Dei, & Sanctorum honore, sine vllo terreno 
 pretio, ingeniose, ac mirabiliter coposuit." — Acta Sanctorum, pp. 374 and 733. 
 
 In like manner, the memory of Conla, a celebrated artificer in 
 brass of the fifth or sixth century, is preserved in the Life of St. Co- 
 Ivimbkille, by O'Donnell, as the manufacturer of a shrine remarkable 
 for its beauty, which was preserved at Dun Cruthen in Ardmagilligan, 
 near the eastern shore of Lough Foyle, in the present comity of Lon- 
 donderry, about the commencement of the sixteenth century ; and 
 Colgan tells us, that so great was the fame of this artificer, that it 
 had given origin to several popular sayings. His words are as 
 follows : 
 
 " Prsstantia illius artificis fecit locum diuersis prouerbiis Hibernis familiaribus.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 203 
 
 Quando enini volunt quempiam tanquam bonuin auriliccin scu wrariuiu artificom lau- 
 dare, dicunt ; Nee ipse Conla, est eo prcestantior artifex. Item quando volunt ostenck-re 
 alicjuid esse irreparabile, vel inemendabile ; Nee hoc emendaret ofiarius Artifex Conla.'^ 
 —Trias Thaum. p. 451, col. 2, n. 82. 
 
 It would, indeed, appear from tlie number t)i' references to shrines 
 in the authentic Irish Annals, that previously to the irruptions of 
 the Northmen in the eighth and ninth centiu-ies, there were few, if 
 any, of the distinguished churches in Ireland, which liad not costly 
 shrines, containhig the rehcs of their founders and other celebrated 
 saints. Thus the Annals of Ulster, at the year 794, and of the Four 
 Masters, at the year 790, record that Rachrainn was Iniriu'tl l)y 
 plunderers, and its shrines opened and stripped ; and again, at the 
 year 793, that Inispatrick was burned by foreigners, Avho carried away 
 the shrine of St. Dachonna ; and again, at the year 804, that L'lidia 
 was devastated by the king, Aodh Oirdnighe, " against Duncan," in 
 revenge for the violation of the shrine of St. Patrick. Thus also the 
 Annals of Inisfallen record that in the year 810 Benchor was de- 
 vastated, and the shrine of St. Comgall broken, by the Gentiles 
 [Danes] ; and that in the year 830 the shrine of St. Patrick was 
 broken, and carried away by the Danes. 
 
 Many other passages to the same effect might be adduced, if it 
 were necessary. The same annalists also record about this period 
 the making of several shrines : in the Annals of the Four JNIasters, 
 for example, at the year 79fi, it is stated that the relics of St. Ronan, 
 son of Berach, were put into an ark or shrine, whicli was ornamented 
 with gold and silver. And, to come more innnediately to the jDoint, 
 the Annals of Ulster, at the year 799, mention the placing of the 
 relics of St. Conlaeth, bishop of Kildare, in a shrine of gold and sil- 
 ver, as described by Cogitosus : 
 
 "A. D. 799. Positio Reliqiiiarion Conlaio h-i Scpln oip 7 aipjir." 
 " A. D. 799. The placing of the relics of Conladh in a shrine of gold and silver." 
 — See also Ware's Bishops, at Kildare. 
 
 Thus Ave have the most indisputable historical evidence not only 
 of the existence of one of the two shrines noticed by Cogitosus as 
 preserved at Kildare in his own time, but also of the costliness of its 
 materials ; and it will surely not be doubted tliat the religious com- 
 munity of Kildare, Avho paid this reverence to tlie relics of tlieu- first 
 bishop, would have had a similar, if not a still more splendid shrine, 
 
 2 D 2
 
 204 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 to preserve the relics of the great founder and patroness of their 
 establishment. 
 
 The preceding record enables us also to determine -with groat 
 exactness the period at which Cogitosus wrote, which, it will be 
 seen, could not have been earlier than the ninth century, as so many 
 learned persons have thought ; while, on the other hand, it is equally 
 certain that it must have been before the j^ear 835, in which the 
 Ainials of Ulster, and others of equal authority, record that Kildare 
 was plundered by the Gentiles [Danes], — on which occasion, if we 
 believe O'Halloran — and it is at least a fair inference — the shrines of 
 St. Brigid and St. Conlaeth were carried away. Thus : 
 
 " A. D. 835. Cealooapa do opjjain do ^ennciB o Inbip t)eaae, 7 po lopcaoap 
 leic na cille." 
 
 " A. D. 835. Kildare was plundered by the Gentiles of Inbliir Deaa?, and they 
 burned half the church." 
 
 Indeed, as Dr. Lanigan well observes, Cogitosus could not have 
 written in the manner he has, even after the year 831, when Kildare 
 was plundered by Cellach, son of Bran, as recorded in the Annals of 
 Ulster and of the Four Masters, inasmuch as he (Cogitosus) states that 
 the city of Ivil dare and its subui'bs were an inviolable asylum, in 
 which there could not be the least apprehension of any hostile attack : 
 
 " . . . . Maxima hasc Ciiiitas & Metropolitana est; in cuius suburbanis, quas Sancta 
 certo limite designauit Brigida; nullus carnalis adversarius, nee concursus timetur 
 hostium." — Trias Thaum. p. 524, col. i. 
 
 Having now, as I trust, satisfactorily proved the fact that shrines, 
 such as Cogitosus describes, were really in existence at Kildare in the 
 early part of the ninth century, when it is certain that writer must 
 have flomished, I shall only observe, in connexion wdth this part of 
 his description, that in the shrine of St. Aidan, first bishop of Ferns, 
 noAv in my possession, — and which some of the most skilful antiquaries 
 in Great Britain have assigned to a period not later than the ninth 
 century, but which is probably of a much earlier date, — we have still 
 remaining sufficient monumental evidence that the description of the 
 shrines at Kildare, furnished by Cogitosus, was in no degree imaginary 
 or exaggerated. 
 
 The other particulars to which Dr. Ledwich objects, as being 
 altogether fanciful, are as little open to just criticism : we have, in- 
 deed, no corroborative evidence of the facts stated as to the crowns,
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 205 
 
 wliicli were suspended over the shrines, or oi" ihe pahilcd liirures on 
 the partition wall, which divided the nave from the chancel, or of 
 the linen hangings which screened the sanctuary; nor should we 
 have had even these descriptive notices, so valuable as illustrating 
 the state of the arts in Ireland at this remote time, but that Cogi- 
 tosus had found it necessary, in order to give a colouring of truth to 
 a legendary miracle, to connect with it a circumstantial description 
 of the church, the acciu-acy of which could be tested by every one. 
 We know, however, from foreign authorities, that all such embellish- 
 ments were in use on the continent long before the ninth century, 
 and there is no reason to assume that they were unknown to, or im- 
 used, by the Irish, lieg/ui, — called arecpavafxara by the Greeks, — 
 were commonly suspended in various parts of the early churches, 
 as will be found noticed in Ciampini's work, De Coronis, &c., 1. i. 
 c. 14, and 1. ii. p. 90. A singular fact is recorded by Du Cange re- 
 specting this description of crown : 
 
 " . . . . apiid Byzantinos a Patriarclia in a?de Sopliiana, en infionxiii x.cti ^EyaAn irvy- 
 ^»ti htT-TTonxii lopTD, coronabantur Imperatores aliqua ex iis corollis, quae supra sacram 
 meusam pendebant, quce peracta solennitate in suum remittebatur locum, ut pluribus 
 narrat Constantinus Porpliyrogenitus .... cujus ritus originem Constantino Magno 
 adscribit." — Constantinopolis Christiana, 1. iii. 43. 
 
 St. Paulinus describes a crown suspended over the tomb of IMartin 
 of Torrrs, and the same usage is also noticed by St. Gregory of Toiu-s 
 (1. i. c. 2). We can be at no loss, therefore, to account for the intro- 
 duction of the custom into Ireland, as the pilgrimages of the Irish to 
 that tomb are noticed by Jonas, a disciple of Coliunbanus, and in the 
 Annals of the Benedictines, by Mabillon (1. i. p. 293). The linen cloths 
 or veils {Untenmenta), which screened the sanctuary, &c., form ano- 
 ther feature in this description, which to me rather indicates its au- 
 thenticity than the contrary, such veils having been suspended in all 
 the ancient churches, and this as early as the foiu"th centvu-y. — See 
 Ciampini, 1. ii. pi. 26; see also Anastatius in Bibliotheca Pair urn, 
 tom. xii. Duxandus writes : 
 
 " Velum, in ecclesia triplex suspenditur, jyrimum quod sacra operit — altenim quod 
 sacrarium a clero dividit — tertium quod clerum a populo secernit." — Duraudus, lib. i. 
 Ration, c. 3, n. 35. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Gunn, a writer of much learning, while commentino- 
 on the preceding passage of Durandus, writes thus :
 
 206 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " During the office of tlie ambo, the veil — ' quod sacra operit' — and ^vhich was 
 suspended across the sanctuary, ' quod clerura a populo secernit,' was closed. This 
 mass being over, the catechumeni retired, and the missa fidelium or the service of 
 tlie altar succeeded. ' The sacrifice is brought forth ; and when Christ the Lamb of 
 God is offered, wlien you hear this signal given, let us all join in common prayer ; 
 when you see the veils withdrawn, then think you see Heaven opened, and angels 
 descending from above.' (Chrysostom. Homil. 3. in Ephes. Bingham, b. 8, c. 6, sec. 8.)" 
 Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture, p. 141. 
 
 Indeed, there is no more reason to doubt that such veils were 
 usual in all the ancient Irish churches of distinction, which consisted 
 of nave and chancel, than that chancelled partitions were used, of the 
 existence of which we have the following evidence in Cormac's Glos- 
 sary, luider the word caincell, a chancel: 
 
 " Cctiiicell, CI ccinceUa, .i. clicic: cpann-cainjel, .i. cpann-cliar inpin, .i. cliar, 
 IP in cpann icip laechaiB 7 cleipciB po copiiiailep pom boi pial cempuiU c-Sold- 
 man ; up ip cliac a ainm, con pocpoib clap; unoe oicicup cpocainjel, .i. cpo- 
 cliac." 
 
 " Caincell, a cancella, i. e. a latticed partition (a chancel) : crann-chaingel, i. e. a 
 wooden partition, i. e. a latticed partition, the division between the laity and clergy 
 after the similitude of the veil of Solomon's temple ; for it, with its partition of boards, 
 is named clialh ; uncle dicitur crochaingel, i. e. a latticed division." 
 
 As to the paintings, or painted figures, — which Dr. Ledwich in- 
 (;orrectly calls portraits, — if that learned writer had called to mind 
 the description which his favourite author, Giraldus Cambrensis, gives 
 of the celebrated manuscript of the Four Evangelists, preserved at 
 Kildare, and ascribed to St. Bridget's time, he woidd have seen no- 
 thing remarkable in the circumstance of the wall of the chancel 
 having been adorned with painted representations of the human figiu-e. 
 And though this famous manuscript is not now to be found, the praise 
 bestowed on its caligraphy and illuminations will not appear extra- 
 vagant to those, who have seen the nearly cotemporaneous manuscript 
 of the Gospels, called the Book of Kells, now, fortunately, preserved 
 in the Library of Trinity College, DubUn, — a manuscript which, for 
 beauty and splendom-, is not surpassed by any of its age known to 
 exist : indeed, in looking at this exquisite piece of penmanship, it is 
 diflicult to avoid thinking that it is the very manuscript, so elabo- 
 rately described by Giraldus in the following words : 
 
 " Inter vniuersa Kyldarise miracula, nil mihi miraculosius occurrit : quam liber 
 ille mirandus, tempore virginis (vt aiunt) Angelo dictante conscriptus. Continet hie 
 liber quatuor Euangelistarum iuxta Hieronymum concordantiam : vbi quot pagina'
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 20? 
 
 fere sunt, tot figur» diverste variisque coloribus distinctissinia'. Ilic uiaiestalis viil- 
 tum videas diuinitus impressum : liinc mysticas Euangelistarum formas : nunc senas, 
 nunc quatcrnas, nunc binas alas liabentes. liinc aquilani, inde vituluni, liinc liDniinis 
 facieui, inde leonis, aliasque figuras pene infinitas : qnas si suporficialitoi- & vsiiali 
 more minus acute conspexeris, litura potius videbitur (piam lijratura. Jscc vllani at- 
 tendens prorsus subtilitatem : vbi nihU tanien prater subtilitatcni. .Sin autcin ad 
 perspicacius intuendum oculorum acieni inuitaueris : & longe penitius ad artis arcluuui 
 transpenetraueris : tarn delicatas & subtiles, tam actas & arctas, tarn nodosas & vincu- 
 latim colligatas, tamque recentibus adhuc coloribus illustratas notare poteris intricatu- 
 ras : vt vere Lgec omnia Angelica potius quam humana diligentia iam asseucraucris esse 
 composita. Hajc equidem quanto frequentius & diligcntius intueor : semper quasi 
 nouis obstupeo, semperque magis ac magis admiranda conspicio."* — Tojjoff. H/b. Dist.2, 
 c. 38, p. 730. Francofurti. fol. 1G03. 
 
 I have now examined, at greater length perhaps than many would 
 deem necessary, this remarkable description of 'the church of luldare. 
 But I felt it a duty to sustain to the utmost of my abiUty, consistently 
 with a regard for truth, the authenticity of a document, so valuable, 
 as showing the state of the arts in Ireland previously to the Danish 
 devastations : and, moreover, it was essentially necessary to my pur- 
 pose to do so, before I made any attempt to ascertain the ages of 
 those architectural remains in Ireland, in which ornament has been 
 employed. 
 
 It will be remembered that in this description Cogitosus tells us, 
 that at least one doorway of the church was ornamented ; whether 
 the other was so or not cannot be clearly ascertained from the context, 
 but the affirmative is highly i^robable. It does not indeed necessarily 
 follow that these doorways were thus ornamented as early as St. 
 Bridget's time ; on the contrary, the probable inference would be, 
 that the embellishments were added at the time of the enlargement 
 of the doorway : but this enlargement must have taken place before 
 the ninth century, which is sufficient for my purpose. It is greatly 
 to be regretted that we have not this ancient doorway to refer to, 
 as an example of the style of decoration then in use ; but this regret 
 may possibly be diminished by the consideration, that we have in the 
 adjacent Round Tower an example of an ornamented doorway, which 
 may be supposed, vsdth every appearance of truth, to be of cotcmpo- 
 
 * Dr. O'Conor, quoting this passage, adds : " nee Appelles [Apelles] ipse similia 
 efficere posset, et manu potius non mortali efFormatge ac depictte videntur." But this 
 passage is not to be found in the edition to which he refers. — See Ber. Hihern. Scrip- 
 tores, torn. i. Ep. p. 177.
 
 208 iNQriin- into tiik oraoiN and uses 
 
 rancmis, or at all events, not later date. It is, of course, by no means 
 my object in this place to enter on the (juestion of the antiquity or 
 use of this tower; it will be sufficient for my present purpose to 
 show, that tliere is every reason to believe that its erection was not 
 posterior to that of the church described by Cogitosus, to which it 
 belono'ed hi tlie time of Giraklus, and that its ornamented doorway, 
 if an insertion of later date than the original construction of the 
 
 Tower, which there is no reason to believe, — could not with any 
 
 faii-ncss be referred to a later period than the erection of the orna- 
 mented doorway of the church. That this tower was, in the twelfth 
 centur\', considered as of great antiquity, even so great as the time 
 of St. Bridget, most plainly appe?ars from a story, told by Giraklus, 
 of a hawk, Avhich was thought to have frequented its summit from 
 the days of the patroness. The story is as follows : 
 
 " De Falcone Kyldarice quasi domestico ^- mansueto. 
 
 " A tempore BrigidsB falco quidam egregius locum istum frequentabat, qui ec- 
 clesiastics TURRis summitati insidere consueuerat. Vnde & a populo auis Brigidtc 
 vocabatur, & in veneratione quadam a cunctis habebatur. Hie ad nutum ciuium sen 
 militum castrensium tanquam mansueta & ad hoc domestica, anates & alias aues, tarn 
 campestres, quam fluuiales circa planiciem Kyldarise cum intuentium non modica de- 
 lectatione persequi solebat : & ad terram ab aere innata velocitate coercere. (Quis 
 euim locus miseris auiculis relinquebatur, cum homines terram & aquas, auis ini- 
 mica, grauisque tyrannus aerem obsidebat ?) Mirum de hoc alite : quod circa tem- 
 plum quod frequentabat, parem non admittebat : sed amoris tempore procul inde 
 secedens, & apud montana de Glindelachan ex consuetudine parem inueniens, naturfe 
 indulgebat. Quo completo, iterura ad Ecclesiam solus reuertebatur ? Viris Ecclesias- 
 ticis & tunc pra^cipue cum intra ecclesiarum sinus & septa diuinis deputantur officiis, 
 signuni praiferens honestatis. In ipso discessu primo Domini Comitis loaunis ab Hi- 
 licrnia, aucm (qua per tot durauerat sa>cula, & delectabiliter Brigidaj locum illus- 
 traucrat) demiun pranlaj, quam ceperat, minus caute insidentem, & humanos accessus 
 parum euitantem, baculo, quern gestabat, rusticus quidam petiit. Ex quo patet, casvim 
 in secundis fore metuendum, & vitse diuturnse delectabili & dilectte, parum esse confi- 
 dendum."_7V</)0(/./r/6.Dist.2, cap. 37, pp.729, 730. Francofurti, fol. 1603. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that, from the phrase " ecclesi- 
 (isticee turn's" in the preceding story, Cambrensis could have meant 
 none other than the present Round Tower of Ivildare, for it is the 
 very phrase which he elsewhere employs to designate the Romid 
 Towers in the legend, so often quoted, respecting the submersion 
 of the city in Lough Ncagh: and though this legend is no more 
 sufficient to prove the tower to be of St. Bridget's time, than the
 
 OF THE UOUNIJ TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 20!) 
 
 legend of the towers in Lougli Neagli w^ould prove tlieni to be vi' the 
 first century, still it is suflieient to show, thut the tower of Kildare 
 was considered to be of great antiquity in the twelfth centur}% and 
 thus fix an early period for the style of ornament we fuul on its 
 doorway, — a period not to be questioned except on the gratuitous 
 assumption of a newer doorway having been inserted at a later period ; 
 but the fallacy of such an assumption is easily detected by an exami- 
 nation of the tower itself, wliich ■will leave no doubt on llie mind 
 that the doorway, as well as the other apertures, which are in a 
 corresponding style, though entirely devoid of ornament, are equally 
 original and integral features of the structure. 
 
 For the satisfaction of the reader I annex a drawing of this very 
 interesting doorway, together with an outline of the ornaments on 
 the capitals of its inner columns, and the diagonal pannelhng on the 
 
 ■^:,<«^l 
 
 u..-u_l__;.l_ 
 
 ,i 
 
 
 .^^ 
 
 
 soffit of its inner arch ; and it will, I think, be at once seen, that in 
 its general character, as Avell as in the style of its ornaments, not- 
 withstanding the chevron or ziz-zag moulding on one of the cornices, 
 it presents feat\u-es not to be found in any decidedly ascertained 
 
 Anglo-Norman remains. 
 
 2 E
 
 •) 1 INQUIRY IXTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 I am aware, liowevor, tliat willi most architectural antiquaries the 
 presence of the zig-zag moulding will be considered a decisive evi- 
 dence of its being the work of the Anglo-Norman era ; but I am 
 strondy incUned to believe, that tlie prevalent opinion relative to the 
 j^eriod at which this and other ornaments came into use in England, 
 thoufh such opinion cannot be said to have been adopted hastily, is 
 nevertheless an erroneous one ; and I think I shall be able to show, 
 that we must come to the conclusion, that the use of such ornaments 
 was, at all events, of earlier age in Ireland, or be forced to throw his- 
 torical evidences wholly aside as of no consideration. It may, indeed, 
 be assumed that the existing Tower of Ivildare is not that to which 
 Cambrensis alludes, but an erection of even later date than his time. 
 But though such an assumption is, I think, still less probable than 
 that which I have already combated, yet I am forced to acknowledge, 
 that a discovery made in this Tower while this sheet is going through 
 the Press, — and which must sooner or later determine the question 
 either way, — may with many appear to give it probability. On a re- 
 cent examination of its interior area in search of sepulchral interment, 
 undertaken by my friend the Eev. Mr. Browne of Kildare, instead of 
 human bones, as expected, five or six ancient coins were found ; and, 
 from their position, — under flags which appeared to form the original 
 floor of the Tower, — there is every reason to believe that they must 
 have been deposited there at the original erection of the Tower. 
 The true age of these coins therefore becomes a question of the 
 highest importance in this Inquiry ; but, contrary to what might be 
 expected, it is unfortimately one, not easily determined, like all others 
 connected with the origin of these buildings. 
 
 These coins are of that rare and curious class known to numis- 
 matists by the name of Bracteati, — by which is understood, thin 
 laminar pieces, usually of silver, struck only on one side, — and are 
 
 without legends of any kind, as will be seen in the annexed wood-cuts, 
 representing the three which are least defaced.
 
 OF THE ROUND TO\yERS OF IRELAND. 211 
 
 These coins would appear to be oi" very iiupiu'e silver, as they 
 are thickly coated with a deep green rust, formed of the oxide ol' 
 copper, and are so much corroded that it is almost impossible to touch 
 witliout brealdng them. Through great care, however, three of them 
 have been sufficiently preserved to enable me to present with accu- 
 racy their devices, which, it will be seen, are crosses of a simple cha- 
 racter placed within a circle, around which are radiating lines instead 
 of letters : the weight of each, when perfect, was about seven grains. 
 
 If then we should adopt the opinion respecting the origin of 
 bracteate coins, expressed by the learned Sperlingius in his work, 
 " De Nummorum Bracteatorum et Canorum Ori^i/ie etProgressu" 
 namely, that this class of money is not earlier than the close of the 
 twelfth century, — or that of ]\Ir. Lindsay of Cork, in his " T'^iew of flic. 
 Coinage of Ireland" who thinks that none of the bracteate coins 
 found in Ireland are anterior to the time of AYilliam the Conqueror, — 
 it would follow, either that the present Roiuid Tower of Kildare 
 cannot be that of which Cambrensis speaks, but an erection subse- 
 quent to his time, or, that the floor, under which those coins Avere 
 found, is not the original one, — a conclusion which I apprehend most 
 persons will be disposed to reject, and which, though the fact is not 
 wholly impossible, it is far from my intention to uphold. Maintain- 
 ing, as I do, the opinion that this Tower could not have been erected 
 after the time of Cambrensis, and consequently, from his allusion to 
 such a Tower at Kildare, that its age must have been considerable 
 in the twelfth century, I confess it appears to me, that, while the 
 conclusions of the Avi'iters to whom I have alluded, respecting the 
 antiquity of the bracteate coins, is open to doubt, the discovery of 
 pieces of that description under the floor of this Tower should rather 
 be taken as an evidence in favour of their earlier antiquity, than that 
 the erection of the Tower should be referred to so late a period as 
 they assign to them. Nor do I think that this inference is at all 
 weakened by what has been written either by Sperlingius or Mr. 
 Lindsay : for the bracteate coins of the northern nations, which the 
 former shows to be of the twelfth and succeeding centuries, and 
 which present legends from which their dates have been ascertained, 
 are very different from those discovered in the Tower of Kildare. 
 And though Pinkerton seems to have adopted the opinion of Sper- 
 lingius, as to the age and origin of these coins, he has, on reflection, 
 
 2 E 2
 
 212 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 deemed it prudent to acknowledge, in a note, that " some are sup- 
 posed to be of tlie tenth century." 
 
 rinkerton might well make such an acknowledgment, for there are 
 not wanting learned wTiters, Avho place the origin of this description 
 of coin in the seventh century, and one, M. Tillcmann Frize, — Milntz- 
 Spiegel, 1. iii., — who assigns them an antiqiuty anterior even to the 
 Christian era. Others, however, as Olearius, Ludwig, and Doederlin, 
 have come to the conclusion that this kind of money originated in 
 Germany, after the discovery of the silver mines in that country in 
 the tenth century ; and this opinion derives some support from the 
 fact, that bracteates of the Emperor Conrad II., who died in 1024, and 
 of Werner, bishop of Strasburgh, who died in 1029, have been found 
 in a small earthen run in the abbey of Gengenbach in 1736. These, 
 I believe, are the earliest German bracteates known ; but it is the 
 opinion of M. Schoepflin, that, though no earlier bracteates of the 
 bishops of Strasburgh have been discovered, the right of coining 
 money, which had been granted to them in 870byLothaire le Jeune, 
 the son of Loms le Debonnaire, had been exercised by them uninter- 
 ruptedly from that period. M. Schoepflin is, however, of opinion, 
 that the bracteate money had an earlier origin, and a different birth- 
 place from what has been assigned to them by the German writers ; 
 and as bracteates have been found, coined by the first tAvo propagators 
 of Christianity in Denmark and Sweden, — namely, Harold, king of 
 Denmark, who lived in the tenth century, and Biorno, Idng of SAveden, 
 who hved at the close of the eighth and commencement of the ninth, 
 — he considers that the origin of this description of money should be 
 assigned to Sweden, and that it thence passed into Denmai'k, and 
 lastly into Germany ; and he attributes the Lightness and thinness of 
 this description of money to the scarcity of silver in the north at the 
 period of its origin. In these conclusions of M. Schoepflin, the 
 French Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres appear to con- 
 cur, as will be seen in the following extract from their report on 
 his paper, given in the twenty-third volume of the History of the 
 Academy, pp. 215-6 : 
 
 " II resulte de cet expose, fait d'apres M. Sclioepflin, que les monnoies bracteates 
 sont originairement Suedoises, & que I'epoque en doit etre fixee a la fin du VIII'. 
 siecle ; & qu'ainsi on se trompoit a la fois sur le lieu & sur le temps de leur origine, 
 placee par les uns trop baut, & trop bas par les autres." 
 
 i
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 213 
 
 As the antiquity of this species of" inouey on the continent seems 
 thus clearly traced to the eighth centiuy, it now remains to deter- 
 mine, if possible, its antiquity in Ii'cland. 
 
 The opinion relative to the origin of minted money in Ireland, 
 whicli has been hitherto, as I may say, universally adopted by nu- 
 mismatists, is, that it originated with the Danes in the tenth, or 
 possibly in the nintli century ; and in this opinion, I confess, that I 
 myself concurred, till my attention was more particularly drawn to 
 the subject, by the discovery of the pieces of bracteate money in the 
 Round Tower of Kildare. I now, however, see considerable reason 
 to doubt the correctness of this opinion, and to believe that the 
 Danes, far from being the introducers of minted money into this coun- 
 try, may, with greater probability, have themselves derived the art 
 from the Irish, and not from the Anglo-Saxons, as generally supposed. 
 In the first place, it should be borne in mind that the type usually 
 found on the Danish coins is a peculiar one, and that, though it is also 
 found on some of the coins of the Saxon king, Ethelred II., A. D. 979, 
 many of which appear to have been minted in Ireland, it does not 
 occur on earlier coins of the Saxon princes, and hence these coins 
 of Ethelred are usually designated as of the Irish type. On the other 
 hand, coins of this type, both bi-lateral and uni-lateral, of the rudest 
 manufactiu-e, and without letters, are found abundantly in Ireland, and 
 obviously claim a higher antiquity. With respect to these rude coins, 
 
 we must therefore come to either of the two following conclusions : 
 
 first, that they were imitations by the Irish princes of the better 
 minted money of the Danes, and consequently of cotemporaneous or 
 later date ; or, secondly, that the type of the well-minted Danish and 
 Irish coins of the tenth centiuy was derived from this ruder and 
 more ancient original. This latter conclusion appears to me to pos- 
 sess by far the greater probability, because ^ve cannot adopt the 
 former without supposing the Irish, at the time of the first Danish 
 irruptions, not only to have been inferior to their invaders in their 
 knowledge of the arts of civilized life, but also to have been unable 
 to keep up with them in the progress which they subsequently made, 
 — a conclusion, which, though hitherto generally adopted, is utterly 
 opposed to every thing that history tells us I'especting the civilization 
 of the two nations. It should also be borne in mind, that, from the 
 intercourse carried on by the Irish Avith the Saxons, whom they con-
 
 214 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 verted to Christianity, as well as witli the French, Belgians, and Ger- 
 mans, they must have been intimate with the various arts as practised 
 amongst these nations ; and that, as we know that they were at 
 least equally acquainted with htcrature and the fine arts, and that 
 their very celebrity in the former caused their country to be visited, 
 for the piu-pose of instruction, by many of the most distinguished in 
 those nations for rank and love of learning, it would be strange in- 
 deed if they should have been ignorant of the use of minted money, 
 then common amongst those nations, or that, knowing, they should 
 have neglected to adopt it. 
 
 I am aware that it may be objected that the Irish at this period 
 used for money rings of gold and silver.and ingots of various forms and 
 decrees of weight; and I am far from denying that this description of 
 money, which was, no doubt, derived from a very remote period, was 
 continued in Ireland even to the close of the twelfth centvuy. This, 
 indeed, is a fact established by all our ancient authorities, and par- 
 ticularly by our authentic Annals and Brehon Laws, as an example 
 ■will sufficiently prove. Thus in the following record, in the Annals 
 of the Foiu: INIasters, the payment of fines by weight is distinctly re- 
 corded : 
 
 " A. D. 1029. amlcioib, mac Sicpiocca, cijeapna ^cill, do epjabdil do TTIcir- 
 janiain Liu Riajain, ci^eapna 6pea^, 7 do ben du ceo oe^ bo piiapcclaio cipp, 7 
 peace pichic each ni-6peirneac, 7 rpi pichec uin5e o'op, 7 cloiDeum Caplup, 7 
 aiccipe ^aieal eiccip f-aijnib 7 Cec Cuino, 7 cpi picic uinje o'aipjec 51I iria 
 unja geiinleac, 7 ceirpe picir bo pocail 7 impioe, 7 ceirpe h-aiccipe o'O'Riajam 
 pein ppi fich, 7 Ian loj bpajacc an cpep aiccipe." 
 
 " A. D. 1029. Amlaff, son of Sitric, lord of tbe Danes, was captured by Malion 
 O'Rian-ain, lord of Bregia, who exacted twelve hundred cows as his ransom, together 
 with seven score British horses, and three score ounces of gold, and the sword of Car- 
 lus, and the Irish hostages both of the Lagenians and Leth Cuinn, and sixty ounces 
 of -white silver (or money) as his fetter-ounce, and eighty cows for word and suppli- 
 cation, and four hostages to O'Riagain himself as a security for peace, and the full 
 value of the life of the third hostage." 
 
 It also appears from innumerable passages in our ancient autho- 
 rities that the precious metals tluis valued by weight, and used as a 
 circulating medivim, were, as I have already said, sometimes in the 
 form of ingots, but perhaps more frequently mauufactiu'ed into rings 
 for the neck, called munforcs, and for the arms and legs, called 
 fuilfrhe; and hence the epithet of " exactors of rings," so frequently
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 215 
 
 applied by their poets to tlie northern Wiirriors, wlio infested Ireland 
 in the ninth, tenth, and eleventli centimes. 
 
 This custom is very interestingly illustrated in the following pas- 
 . sage — explaining the name R/gh, wluch was anciently applied to the 
 river Boyne — in an ancient manusci'ipt of the Brehon Laws, preserved 
 in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin : 
 
 " Rij mna Nuuoac, .1. fonaipc, .1. cumoach do pcul^ilj oip no bio imu luirii dki 
 D-cionacal do p'teoaib." — H. 3, 18, p. 545. 
 
 " The Riffh of the wife of Nuada, i. e. great, i. e. she was used to have her hand (or 
 arm) covered with rings of gold for bestowing them on poets." 
 
 This woman was the wife of Nuada Neacht, a i^oet, and king of 
 Leinster in the first ccntiu-y ; and she is said to have given her name, 
 Boann, to the river Bo}aie. 
 
 So also, from various passages found in the Irish annals, we find 
 that these rings were of fixed weights ; as at the year 1150, when 
 the monarch Muirchertach O'LoughUn, among other things, presented 
 the abbot of Derry ^\ath a gold ring, which weighed five iingas or 
 ounces; and at the following year, when the same abbot received 
 from Cu-Uladh O'Fljmn, chief of Sil-Cathasaigh, a gold ring weigh- 
 ing two ounces ; and gold and silver rings, as well as tores and ingots 
 of the precious metals of fixed weights, are found in abundance in 
 the country at the present day. 
 
 But, while the precious metals were used as a circulating medium 
 in large unminted pieces, or rings, of this description, it is obvious 
 that a smaller and more convenient species of money must have been 
 indispensably necessary for the ordinary purposes of excliange ; and 
 it would be strange indeed, if, while every other country in Europe, 
 immediately after its conversion to Christianity, adopted the use of a 
 small denomination of minted money, tlie Irisli alone should have 
 neglected a usage so necessary to a people, who had made any ad- 
 vances in civilization, till taught it by a people confessedly less civi- 
 lized than themselves. It is this consideration, which induced me 
 to doubt the generally received opinion that money was first coined 
 by the Danes in Ireland, and to believe it more probable that the 
 type of the Danish coins was not derived from cotemporaneous Saxon 
 money, but more directly from an earlier Irish original ; and, if I mis- 
 take not, the evidences which I have now to adduce, and which
 
 21G INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 these doubts iiuluocd nie to searcli for, will go far towards establish- 
 ing such a conclusion. 
 
 In the first place, it occurred to me that if the Irish had had 
 minted money similar to that in use in the neighbouring covmtries, 
 evidences of such a fact would necessarily be found in the ancient 
 laws of the country, and that those laws would also furnish evidence 
 as to its weiglit and value ; and I Avas the more sanguine that such 
 evidences might be found, from a recollection of the interesting letter 
 A\Titten about the year 790 by Alcuin to the celebrated St. Colcu, 
 master of the school of Clonmacnoise, in which he tells him that he 
 had sent fifty sicli of silver to his brethren of the alms of Charle- 
 magne, and fifty sicU as his own alms ; thirty sicli of the king's alms 
 to the southern brethren of Baldhuninega, and thirty sicli of his own; 
 twenty sicli of the alms of the father of the family of Areida, and 
 twenty of his own ; and to every hermit three sicli of pure silver, that 
 they might all pray for him and for king Charlemagne, that God 
 would preserve him for the defence of his church and the glory of 
 his name. The original of this passage, — as published by Ussher in 
 his Sylloge, pp. 51, 52, and Colgan, Acta SS., pp. 379, 380, — is as 
 follows : 
 
 " Misi cliaritati tuK aliquid dc oleo, quod vix modo in Britannia invenitur ; iit 
 dispensares per loca necessaria Episcoporum, ad utilitatem lionunum vel honorem Dei. 
 Misi quoq; quinquaginta siclos fratribus de eleeuiosyua Caroli Kegis : (obsecro ut pro 
 eo oretis :) & de mea eleemosyna quinquaginta siclos: & ad Australes fratres Baldliuni- 
 vega, triginta siclos de eleemosyna Regis, et triginta de eleemosyna mea, & viginti siclos 
 de eleemosyna patris famUia! Areidce, & viginti de eleemosyna mea, & per singulos 
 Anaclioritas tres siclos de puro argento : ut illi omnes orent jiro me, & pro Domino 
 Rege Carolo, ut Deus ilium conservet ad tutelam sanctae sua; EcclesiEe, & ad laudem 
 & gloriam sui nominis." — Sylloge, p. 52. 
 
 I confess that to me this passage, written before the Danes had 
 coined money in Ireland, affords a strong presumption that minted 
 money was not only known but in use in Ireland at the time when 
 it was wTitten, and that the money designated as sicli must have 
 been a description of coin then current not only in France but also 
 in L-eland. It is true that Colgan, and after him Harris and Arch- 
 dall, state that a siclus or shekel in silver was a coin about half an 
 ounce in weight, and of the value of sixteen pence ; but this, as I 
 shall prove, was obAiously an error, arising out of the supposition 
 that by the term siclus was meant a piece of the size and value of
 
 OF THE ROUND TO WEKS OF IRELAND. 217 
 
 tlie Hebrew shekel, wliereas it is certain tliat no coin of this kind was 
 I'urrent in Europe duiing the middle ages. The real meaning of the 
 word siclus, as understood by tlie Irish, and tlic value of the coin 
 which it designated at this period, are, however, distinctly pointed 
 out in a tract of the Brehon Laws, relating to fines and amercements, 
 preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, class II. 3, 18, 
 p. 426, col. h, and in wliich the fine upon the owner of a cow that 
 has killed a bondsman, or bondswoman, is thus stated : 
 
 " tTluo muj no curiial po oip in af, opjaip ano, ap penned) bep aj. Cpiclia pi^ul 
 n-aipjiD ino. Sicolup quapi pcpiputup, o p6 teir-pinjinoe jabap ino o coixich 
 in comaip, 7 na pe leic-pinjinoe ip cpi lun-pinjinne in pcpepaill." 
 
 " If it be a bondman or bondwoman tliat has been killed by the cow, tlie cow is 
 forfeited (till reparation be made by the owner). Thirty sigah of silver is the line. 
 Sicolus quasi scr/ju/li/s, from six half ph/ffinns being its value from the beginning of 
 enumeration, and these six half phiginns make the three full pinginns of the screpall.'''' 
 
 The value of the same coin is given in another MS. in the same 
 Library, H. 3, 1 7, P- t)4ii, somewhat differently, thus : 
 
 " SicuUi)^ qiKipi pepelicop, 6 pe lec-penoin^ib gubap in o co) ach in romdp; 
 no pe tec-penoinje ip cpi lan-penoinj, no. cpi Inn penoing ip pcpepall." 
 
 " Sicidus quasi seselicos, from six ha\i pennings being its value from the beginning 
 of enumeration [the lowest denomination] ; the six ha\i pennings make three full pen- 
 nings, and the three full pennings make one screpall." 
 
 From the above passages then it clearly appears that the word 
 aigal was a term synonymous -with screpall, and innumerable evi- 
 dences might be adduced from the Irish laws, and other equally 
 ancient authorities, to prove that the word screpall was the desig- 
 nation of the denarius or pe nil//, which, was the largest denomination 
 of money then cirrrent in France and England, and which, I tliink, 
 was also current in Ireland, though under a diiferent name. It is a 
 well-known fact that the largest silver coin current in Europe in the 
 middle ages, — and which in France was called denier, from the Latin 
 denarius, and known to numismatists by the name penni7ig or petin//, 
 — Avas usually of the weight of from twenty to twenty-four grains : 
 and that such also was the weight of the Irish screpall, or sigal, will 
 clearly appear from the following passage in a tract of the Brehon 
 Laws, entitled Fodhla Feibe, preserved in the Book of Ballymote, 
 fol. ISl, h, b, in which the following curious table of weights is 
 
 given 
 
 2 F
 
 218 INQUIRY INTO THE OltlGIN AND USES 
 
 " Ip e reo in meao rosbup in nnoe pn do spun cpuirneacra a ,iu pt'ip a dp 
 cp. meccon; cei^pi c. [correctly, nol c] 7 li! m.li ; uaip ui. spamni i. 7 cuij ceo 7 
 h. comrpom mnji ; uc.p cearpa jpainoi k. ec cpuirneccoa comrpom in pjpea- 
 buill uipjiD. Cearpa h-aoaim rt. ec 1 n-^puine, 7 comrpom uii 11. ec uinje in cinoe 
 pin, 7 ni h-o'n ^abaino aoamna." 
 
 " This is the quantity* which that bar raises [i. e. weighs or balances] of grains of 
 wheat which grew in a soil of three rootsf ; sixty thousand and four hundred [cor- 
 rectly nine hundred] ; for five hundred and seventy-six grains is the weight of an 
 ounce ; for twenty-four grains of wheat is the weight of the screaball of sUver. 
 Twenty-four atoms in a grain, and seven score ounces in that bar, and its material is 
 not from the smith." 
 
 It is scarcely worthy of observation that, by some error of the 
 transcribers of this tract in copying the numerals, this table is not 
 consistent with itself, but in that portion of it relating to the screpa// 
 of silver there can be no error, and its accuracy in this particular can 
 be proved : and from the weight thus assigned to the screpall, or 
 sig-al, as it was otherwise called, it would appear that the Irish ap- 
 plied these terms to denote the denier of the middle ages ; and, indeed, 
 tlie terms themselves seem clearly to be of foreign, and most probably 
 ecclesiastical, introduction into the Irish language. It appears, how- 
 ever, that the Irish had also two vernacular terms which they applied 
 to a piece or denomination of the same weight, namely the words 
 puincne and oifing, or oiffing, as thus stated in Cormac's Glossary 
 under the word puincne : 
 
 " puincne, .1. pcpepall meoi inBice, ip e pin )'cpepall ^aeoal oin, .1. oipin^." 
 
 " Puincne, i. e. the screpall of the notched beam, i. e. the screpall of the Gaels, i. e. 
 oyf«y." 
 
 Thus also in O'Clery's Vocabulary of Ancient Irish "Words, under 
 the word puincne : 
 
 "Puincne, .1, p^peaball .1. rpi pin^inne." 
 " Puincne, i. e. a screball, i. e. three pence." 
 
 And hence the word screaba/l is explained in Shaw's and O'Reilly's 
 
 * This passage is also given in an ancient vellum manuscript in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin, H. 3, 18, but somewhat less correctly. Both, however, agree 
 in making the weight of the screpall of silver to be twenty-four grains of wheat. The 
 weight of the whole bar, according to the table, should be 69120, which is equal to 10 
 Roman Lihrcp. 
 
 ■f dp cpi meccon, land of three roots, i. e. the richest soU, which, according to the 
 Irisli notion at the present day, is always knowai by the presence of three weeds, re- 
 markable for their large roots, namely, the thistle, the ragwort, and the wild carrot.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 2 1 [) 
 
 Dictionaries as "a three-penny piece," and llie word o/'JiNg, by 
 O'Reilly, as " a tribute of three-pence." 
 
 Seeing then, that the screpall contained three pinginns, and 
 weighed twenty-four grains, it would follow that the pinginn should 
 weigh eight grains ; and such is the weight assigned to it in an ancient 
 tract of the Brehon Laws, on vellum, preserved in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin, II. 4, 22, fol. ()(i, in which tlie following 
 ciu'ious passage occurs : 
 
 " Dinnpu, .\. corinip. t)innpa clcipoi^e, .i. comu)' bip con luce claioep in claip, 
 Di uinji ip6 pil inn, .i. boinjio mem in I'lmn. "Oiniipa cepou do oepr utna; pe 
 uinji aim, 7 pcpepall a I05. j^mjinn ip pii'i m uingi pmn I'lmct ; 7 leic-pinginn ip 
 piu an uinji oepj iiiiia ; 7 coriilo^ in oepj uma 7 in poaii, 7 occ n-jjpcmni cpuirne- 
 acca coiiirpom nu pinjmni aipjio ; 7 ceicpe Dinnpa do Iuuidi ap oinnpu pinn uma, 
 ap ip DO luaioe do niche|i in racli." 
 
 " Dinnra, i. e. a weight [measure, or share]. Ih^dinnra of the delver, that is, the 
 share which tliose wlio dig the pit do get, that is, those wlio dig the copper ore, con- 
 tains two ounces. The diintra of the cerd [artificer] is of red copper [or bronze] ; 
 contains six ounces, and is worth a screpall. A pinginn is the value of an ounce of 
 fair copper [or bronze] ; and \\a!^i a. prnginn is the value of an ounce of red copper [or 
 bronze] ; and the red copper is of the same value as the sdan [tin] ; and eight grains 
 of wheat is the weight of the pinginn of silver ; and four dinnras of lead are of the 
 same value as one diiinra of fair copper, for it is of the lead the tath [solder ?] is 
 made." 
 
 From the preceding evidences it at least appears certain that 
 while the Irish had in use amongst them, from a very remote period, 
 a mode of estimating the value of animals, and other property, by 
 ingots or rings of gold and silver of fixed weights, they had also, for 
 the claily purposes of traffic, two small pieces of silver, namely, the 
 screpall or si gal, weighing twenty-four grains, and the pinginn, 
 weighing eight grains, which, there is every reason to believe, were 
 coins ; for, as the names, by which they were known, are obviously 
 of foreign introduction into the Irish language, and were undoubtedly 
 denominations of coined money in foreign countries, we have every 
 right to conclude that they were similarly applied to coined money 
 in Ireland. But if we find pieces corresponding with these in Aveight, 
 and indicating by their types an early antiquity, the fact seems placed 
 beyond dispute. Such pieces we do find in our rude bi-lateral coins, 
 and in our bracteates, which are struck only on one side, and may be 
 considered as peculiarly Irish, being of a type wholly unlike the 
 
 2 F 2
 
 •220 INQriRY INTO THE OHIGIN AND USES 
 
 bractoato money of any other nation. Were such names indeed found 
 in Irisli authorities previously to their application to coins in other 
 countries, it might justly be concluded that they were mere deno- 
 minations of weights of metals; but no such terms occur in the 
 authentic documents of earlier date. There is no mention of screpalls 
 or ])in<iiiuis in the Book of Rights, nor in the most ancient Lives 
 of St. Patrick, in which, liowcvcr, we find most distinct reference to 
 the valuation of property by gold and silver in weight, as the follow- 
 ing remarkable passage from the Annotations of Tirechau will suffi- 
 ciently show : 
 
 " Dippojjel Cummen ocup 6ped)an Ochrep n-QcliiD co n-a peilb, icep pio 
 ocup tnaj ocup lenu, co n-u lliup ocup a llubgopc. Ogoilep oin ou Chummin lech 
 in ooppi po, in uoim, in ouinni, con piccaoap a peuic ppie, .1. .111. unjai apjaic, ocup 
 cpann apjic, ocup muince, .111. n-unjae co n-opocli oip pen-mepib penaipocib, I05 
 Irirli unjtie oi muccib, ocup I05 leich ungcie Di chuipib." — Book of Armagh, FoL 17, 
 h, 1. 
 
 " Cuinniin and Brethan purchased Ocliter n-Achid witli its appurtenances, both 
 ■wood and plain and meadow, with its fort and its garden. Half of this wood, and 
 liouse, and dun, was mortmain to Cummin, for which they paid \_fro'ni~\ their treasure, 
 viz. three ounces of silver, and a bar of silver, and a collar, three ounces of the base gold 
 of the old dishes of their seniors, [i. e. ancestors], the equivalent of half an ounce in 
 hogs, and the equivalent of half an ounce in sheep." 
 
 It is to be observed, indeed, that the pieces corresponding with 
 sigals or screpalls found in Ireland, even when in good preservation, 
 but seldom weigh more than twenty-one or twenty-two grains ; and 
 in like manner that those corresponding with the jringinns, which 
 are all bracteates, seldom weigh more than seven; and that such was 
 the usual weight of the latter, in the ninth century, would appear 
 from the following passage in Cormac's Glossary, under the word pi- 
 sire, the ancient Irish name for the ouncel, or steel-yard. 
 
 " PiI''Pe, •!• Pip-aipe, .1. cpano leran-ceno bip oc comap oen pinjmne rorhaip, .1. 
 comrpomm .on. n-^paine pip-cpuirnechrci. pip, om, cnnm in cpamo, no in cama'in ; 
 pip, Din, 0111m 00 pinjino; oen pmjino, om, aipe in chpauio pm." 
 
 " Pisire, i. e. pis-aire, i. e. a broad-headed beam, which is for weighing onepinginn 
 of weight, i. e. the weight of seven grains of pure wheat. Pis, then, is the name of 
 the beam or the trunk, and;./* is, also, a name for thepingimi; because one pingh.n 
 IS what that beam weighs." 
 
 The evidence furnished by the preceding passage is further cor- 
 roborated by the following curious notice, in an ancient sermon on 
 the betrayal of Christ by Judas, preserved in the Leabhar Breac, in
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 221 
 
 the Library of the Royal Irish Academy, in wliicli the writer enters 
 into a calcuhxtion of tlie value, in Irish money, of the thirty pieces 
 which Judas was paid for his treachery : 
 
 " Cpom, qin, ooBqica na cennaijecca, in cun r:e\'za a cerpuime oo'ii cechpci- 
 tncro unjo. In xxx. n-cnjijennce cucpac luociioe pop Bpac Cpipc do Juonp cinpecc- 
 ncich, .1. occ penjinoe co leir, lap nuni\ip coiccliino, ip eb pil in cec aipxenc oib, 
 lap na pcpibeno la ppuirib na n-Gbpaioe." — Fol. 73, a, b. 
 
 " Gi'eat, indeed, the foulness of tlie purchase, when the fourth ounce wanted a 
 quarter. The thirty argoitei [j-lenarii'\ which the Jews gave the unfortunate Judas 
 for betraying Christ : i. e. eight pinginns and a half, after the general enumeration, 
 is what is in each aiyenteus of them, according to the writings of the learned among 
 the Hebrews." 
 
 According to the previous calculation, if we allow sixty grains to 
 each of the argentei, which is the usual weight of the Roman arge/i- 
 teus, or denarius, then cm-rent in Jerusalem, it will be seen, that the 
 unga, or oimce, contained fom- himdi-ed and eighty grains, and the 
 pinginn, or penny, seven grains and one-seventeenth. 
 
 Should it be objected, that if the Irish had had minted pieces of 
 these denominations, previously to the Danish irruptions, allusions to 
 them would be made in the authentic annals of the country, the answer 
 is, — that the annals relating to those early times are so brief and 
 meagre, that they preserve to us little beyond the dates of battles, 
 and of the deaths of distinguished men ; and that though the word 
 ai]i5eo, i. e. silver, — the only one used to designate money of any 
 description at the present day, Uke the French argent, from the cir- 
 cumstance of the ancient minted pieces being of silver only, — does 
 frequently occui', — as in the metaphorical notice in the Annals of 
 Tighernach, at the year 718, of a ppoj-p ajigaio, which Mageoghegan 
 translates, " a shower of money ," — yet as the word in its hteral sig- 
 nification denotes silver simply, no certain inference can be drawn 
 from it either way. Yet, in some instances, it is difficult to doubt 
 that this word was applied to minted money, as in the following pas- 
 sage in the Annals of Ulster, at the year 946 : 
 
 " A. D. 946. Can ino InnpaiDij pacpaij o'apgac 51I o Ceniul Cojain do pu- 
 rpaij." 
 
 " A. D. 946. The full of the Innfaidkech Patraig of white silver [or white money] 
 was given by the Cinel Eoghain, to St. Patrick." [i. e. to Joseph, his successor.] 
 
 As the relic here c-dWed Innfaidhech, but more correctly Fin )i/ui-
 
 ■>■>•) INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 dhevli by the Four Masters, in tliuir record of this donation, — and 
 whicli, according to the ancient poem by Flann of the Monastery, 
 and the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, was made by Mac Cecht, one 
 of iliL' saint's smiths or artificers in ii-on, — ^was a bell, as I have shown 
 in my Essay on ancient Irish Bells, it is not easy to imagine it to 
 have been filled with any other kind of tribute collected among the 
 numerous tribe of the Cinel Eoghain, than pieces of silver, each of 
 small value, then in circulation. When, however, at a later period, 
 our annals become more detailed, we find in them passages which 
 show the use both of the screpall and pingmn, as the following ex- 
 amples will sufficiently prove. Thus, in Mageoghegan's translation of 
 the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at the year 1009, we have the following 
 entry : 
 
 A. D. 1009. " There was great scarcity of Corne and Victualls tliis year in Ireland, 
 insomvicli that a hoop [i. e. a quarter of a peck] was sold for no less than five groates, 
 which came (as my author sayeth), to a. penny for every barren." [i.e. cake.] 
 
 It is to be regretted that Ave have not the original Irish of this pas- 
 sage, to ascertain the Irish word whicli Mageoghegan has translated 
 groate ; but it can scarcely be doubted that it must have been one 
 of the Irish terms for the screpall, or larger silver coin in use amongst 
 them, as that denominated groat did not come into use in Ireland till 
 the reign of Edward III. 
 
 Thus also, in the Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1031, 
 distinct mention is made of the pinginn, as being then in general 
 circulation at Armagh, and there is every reason to believe it Irish 
 and not Danish money : 
 
 "A. D. 1031. plairbepcach na Neill do roioectcc 6 Roim. Qp ppi pemeap 
 plaicBepcaij po juiBcI on connpao olmop i n-Qpomcichti, arhail ay poUup ip in 
 pane: 
 
 " Seipeoach do 5pan copca, 
 No cpian o'uipnib Dub-copcpa, 
 No DO oepcnaib oapach ouinn, 
 Ho DO cnoaib palac pionn-cuiU, 
 po jciibre gan cacha cinn 
 1 n-Qpomacha ap aon pmjinn.'' 
 
 "A. D. 1031. Flaithbhertach O'Neill returned from Rome. It was during the 
 reign of Flaithbhertach that the very great bargain was used to be got at Armagh, as 
 is evident in the verse :
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 223 
 
 " A shesheaijh (measure) of oaten grain, 
 Or a third of [of a measure] black-red sloes, 
 Or of the acorns of the brown oak, 
 Or of the nuts of the fair hazlc hedge, 
 Was got without stiff bargaining 
 At Armagh for one pinginn.'''' 
 
 This Flaitlibhertach O'Neill, whose father, Muirchcrtach, king oi' 
 Aileach or Ulster, was slain by Ainlalf the Dane, in 975, succeeded 
 his brother Aodh, in the year 1005, and died in 1036, after having 
 made a pilgrimage to Rome. 
 
 The preceding passages seem to me quite sufficient to prove that 
 the words pinguin and screpall, among the Irish, were applied to 
 coins, and that the weight of the former was usually seven grains, 
 and of the latter about twenty-one grains ; and as we find in Ireland 
 two classes of ancient coins which, when in good preservation, cor- 
 respond Avith these weights, we have every reason to conclude that 
 they are the denominations of money so often referred to in the 
 ancient Lish authorities. These conclusions mirfit be strengthened 
 by many additional evidences from those authorities ; but fearing to 
 prolong this digression to a tedious extent, I shall only add one more, 
 relative to the pinginn, or seven-grained piece, which is more imme- 
 diately the subject of this disquisition. It is found in a very ancient 
 Glossary, on vellum, in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, as an 
 explanation of the word pinginn, and also in several copies of Cor- 
 mac's Glossary, written in the ninth century : 
 
 " P'^^S'""' ^l^T' po'iunj, .1. papp in uncio ; uel benninj, .i. a n-injnaif a 
 beann aca, .i. cpuinn." 
 
 ^'■Pinginn, c\VLa.A pan-Jing, i. e. part of an ounce ; or, benn-ing, i. e. it wants benns 
 (points), i. e. [it is] round.'''' 
 
 If it be considered that the application of the word penning to 
 a coin amongst the Saxons must have been famihar to Cormac, it 
 will be obvious that he could hardly have explained the meaning of 
 the word in this manner if he did not intend to intimate that it was 
 applied to a coin minted by the Irish also ; nor would he have given 
 such derivations for it, if he supposed it had its origin amongst the 
 Danes in Ireland. 
 
 But though the custom of minting money may, on the preceding 
 evidences, be conceded to the Irish, it may still be argued that this 
 custom was derived from the Danes in the ninth centiuy ; and to
 
 ■)-2 [ INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 settle this question, the auliquity of the pieces remaining to us must 
 be tested by a comparison of the types on them with those on tlie 
 coins of other countries, whose ages have been determined. 
 
 The opinions of those numismatists, who conclude that the Danes 
 were the introducers of coin into Ireland, is founded upon the sup- 
 position, which I belie\e to be wholly erroneous, that the Pagan 
 Danes were vastly more advanced in civilization than the Irish, a let- 
 h'vvd and Christian people, whom they came to plunder, and, if pos- 
 sible, to conquer. Hear Mr. Pinkerton on this point : 
 
 " The Danes, a wise and industrious, as well as victorious people, being much 
 more advanced in society [than the Irish] when they settled in Ireland, were the 
 founders of Dublin, Limeric, and other cities ; the seats of little Danish kingdoms, 
 whore arts and industry were alone known. Their frequent invasions of England, and 
 neio-hbourhood to that opulent kingdom, made them acquainted with coinage. And it 
 is clear, from the form and fabric, that the old rude pennies, found in Ireland, are 
 struck by the Danes there. These pieces have no resemblance of the old Gaulic or 
 liritisli ; or even of the skeattas, or English pennies ; but are mere rude copies of 
 those of the eighth or ninth centuries, executed by artists who could neither form nor 
 read letters, and ther;;fore instead of them, put only strokes, I II II I." — Essay o>i 
 Medals, vol. ii. pp. 133, 154. 
 
 This assumed superiority of the Danes is wholly gratuitous, as no 
 remains of that people have been discovered in Ireland, that would in 
 any degree authorize it. It cannot be said that Irish artists in the 
 eighth or ninth century could not form or read letters, for I have 
 myself collected several hundred well-sculptured Irish inscriptions of 
 those very centuries, while, on the other hand, not a single Danish 
 inscription has been ever discovered in Ireland. And if the rude 
 imitations of the Saxon money, to which Pinkerton alludes, were 
 made in Ireland in the eighth or ninth century, they must have been 
 made by the Irish, as they always present Christian devices ; and we 
 have the authority of the Irish annals, acquiesced in by Ware, that 
 the Irish Danes were first converted to Christianity about the year 
 948, and that the first of them recorded as Christians lived in the 
 time of Godfrid, son of Sitric, who succeeded Blacar II. as king of 
 Dublin in that year. And certain it is that the earliest ascertained 
 Danish money, minted in Ireland, is that of the brother of Godfrid, 
 Sitric III., 98!), while according to Mr. Pinkerton himself, we have 
 well struck pieces of an Irish king Donald, who, that writer states, 
 is probably Donald O'Neill, g.56 ; so that we would have greater
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 225 
 
 reason to suppose that tlic type on those coins of the Litter, winch 
 resenibks that on the coins of DonakI, Avas derived from it, tlian 
 that the coins of DonakI were struck in iniitatitMi of those of Sitric. 
 Nor can it be fairly supposed that the usual type on the coins of 
 Sitric was derived from a Saxon prototype ; for, if we look for such 
 among the money of the Saxon princes, ^ve find it only on the coins 
 of Ethelred II., 979, 1015,— which for their peculiarity, are known 
 among niunismatists as coins of the Irish type, — and it is remarkable 
 that many of them Avere minted in Dublin. Doctor Ledwich has, in- 
 deed, been rash enough, in opposition to Ware and the whole body 
 of our annals, to assert, in the first edition of his Antiquities nflre- 
 l(tn(l, that the Danes Avere christianized in Ireland in the time of 
 Sitric I., 893 ; and in the second edition he ventures to assert, that 
 they Avere Christians even in the time of Ivar I., 870, and this on no 
 other evidence than that he finds a cross on a coin, which he says Avas 
 minted in Dublin, and Avhich exhibits the legend, '' I/'arusIieD_i/Jli/i." 
 But, as there Avere more Ivars than one, he should have given some 
 reason for ascribing this coin to Ivar I., Avho, according to all tlie 
 Irish annals, was a pagan, rather than to Ivar II., Avho was a Christian : 
 besides, no such words as Re Di/flin appear in the legend on the coin 
 to Avhich he refers, and even if they did they Avould not prove it a 
 coin of the first Ivar, as Ivar II. Avas also king of Dublin. Indeed it 
 is noAV generally acknowledged to be a coin of Ivar or Ifars II. 993 ; 
 for, as Mr. Lindsay Avell observes, " the coins formei'ly assigned to 
 Ifars I., bear such a strong resemblance to those of Sihtric III., as to 
 render it nearly certain that they ought to be assigned to Ifars II." — 
 Vieir of the Coinage of Ireland, p. 12. 
 
 With much greater appearance of probability Dr. O'Conor, avIio 
 repudiates the assertion of Dr. Ledwich, finds on a coin, published in 
 Gibson's edition of Camden, an inscription, A\diich, he thinks, proA'es 
 it to be a coin of Aedli Finnliath, monarch of Iieland from the A'ear 
 863 to 879, and the last Irish monarch who bore the name " Aed," 
 Avhich appears on the coin in question. His words, — Avhieh are given 
 in a note on an entry in the Annals of Ulster at the }'ear 93(i, re- 
 cordino- a memorable battle foutiht between Athelstan, kincr of the 
 Saxons, and Amlatf, king of the Danes, — are well worth transcribing, 
 and are as folloAvs : 
 
 "Amlafo nonnnlll nuiniiuuu argi'iitum [nrgcntcum] trilpimnt, editura a GUjscmo, 
 
 2 G ^
 
 •2H] INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Caimlen Op. v. 1, Tab. iii. No. 34, p. li)5. — At, iminmus iste nullam exhibet notam 
 Clironicam, pricter nonifii Aiiilafi Regis Dublinii, et insignem crucis ; et cum alii I'ue- 
 ruiit Aiulafi po.<terioit's, cavcndum est iie luiic tribuatur, quod ajque tribui potest suc- 
 cessori. Fulluulur certe qui Sitricuin I Cliristiana' Eelifrioni noinen dcdisse contendunt, 
 ex alio nuinmo, crucem exhibente, cum Sitrici nomiue insculptam ; quasi vero alii 
 non fuerint Sitrici posteriores, quibus potiori jure tribui possit, quam prime, qui 
 Ecclosiis Hilieriiia- fuit hostis iul'ensissiinus ! — Ledicichiiis, in Opere cui titulus '■An- 
 tiquities, &c. Dublin 1 790,' Annales nostros, quos nee videre licuit, nee, si vidisset, ex 
 lingua; antiqua; ignorantia, intelligere posset, ex isto tamen nummo, non dubitat 
 eastigare I ' This coin of Sithric I, is the earliest inscribed coin that has hitherto 
 occurred. It is valuableybr correcting our Annalists. The cross on it evinces that the 
 Danes were now Christians.' p. 126. At, etsi concedamus esse Sithrici I, quod in- 
 certum est, ergone sequitur esse antiquissimum, et errasse Annales nostros, qui Dauos, 
 regnante Sitltrico I, Ethnicos fuisse affirmant ? — Oportebat primo omnes extantes ex- 
 plicasse. Extant nonnulli editi a Gibsono, et hactenus inexplicati, quorum unum de 
 certo affirmo, esse saltem Aedi Regis Hibernia;, qui floruit ab anno 863 ad 879. Is enim 
 ultinms fuit istius nominis, et nummi characteres sunt aed — rii — midin. i. e. AED 
 REX MIDEXSIUM — Monendi sunt Scriptores nostri, ne, absque gravissima causa, 
 ab his Annalibus discedant ; recentiores sunt qui tempora, et nomina Eegum miser- 
 rime confundunt. Asserere non vereor, neminem adhuc, ea qua decet doctrina, et 
 diligentia, de re nostra numismatica scripsisse. Plurimi sibi nomen Antiquarii arro- 
 gare student, pauci merentur." — Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores, torn. iv. pj). 262, 263. 
 
 I mav here remark, however, that Dr. O'Conor is in error iu as- 
 cribing tliis coin, the legend on which plainly reads rii midin, i. e. 
 Kixc; OF MEATH, to the monarch Aedh Finnliath, for that prince, 
 who was the head of the northern Hy-Niall, and had been king of 
 Aileach, or Ulster, before he became monarch, was never king of 
 Mcath ; and if he had struck this coin when monarch of Ireland, 
 it woidd have borne a different legend. This coin, which certainly 
 bears an Irish tj^e, may, with far greater probability, be ascribed to 
 Aedh, the son of Maelruanaidh, who was the thirty-second king of 
 Meath of the southern lly-Niall race, and was slain by his relative 
 Domhnall, son of Donnchadh, about the year 922, after a reign of one 
 year. 
 
 But, without attaching much weight to these facts, I would ask, 
 is it fair to ascribe all those nider and more antique-looking coins, 
 which are often without inscriptions, and when inscribed hitherto un- 
 intelligible, to the Danish rather than to the Irish princes, — or, to sup- 
 pose them, if struck by Iiish princes, — as is sometimes conceded, — to 
 be but bungling imitations of the better minted coins of their invaders, 
 struck at so late a period as the eleventh and twelfth centuries ? To
 
 OF THE KOUXl) TOWERS OF IRELAND. 227 
 
 me it seems at least as fair to ascribe sucli pieces to the Irish as 
 to the Danes, and I think tliat the probabiUty is greater that their 
 antiquity is anterior to that of tlie well-minted money with U'gible 
 legends than posterior to it. But, whatever uncertainty there may 
 be as to the true originators and exact date of those heavier coins, 
 which agree in weight with the Saxon and other pennies, or deniers, 
 of the middle ages, it appears to me that tlie resl pennies of Ireland, 
 — the bracteate pieces of seven grains, — have, at present, every claim 
 to an Irish origin, or at least to an origin not immediately derived 
 from either the Danes or Saxons. They do not seem to have been 
 immediately derived from the Saxons, because that people appear to 
 have had no such money, — at least, none such has been as yet found; 
 nor could they have been derived from the Danes, if the generally 
 received opinion be true, that they derived their knowledge of money 
 from the Saxons ; and it may be remarked, that the earliest bracteate 
 coins struck in Denmark are those of Harold, 9-15. It is true that the 
 name penning, or pinginn, njiYAiedto these pieces by the Irish, seems 
 to be of Teutonic origin, and it might have been derived from the 
 Saxons by the Irish, though applied to a piece differing, not indeed 
 in size, but in weight and thickness, from the Saxon penning. And 
 till continental bracteates be found of earlier date than those whose 
 ages are now determined, this would seem the most probable conclu- 
 sion, as the derivation of the name from the Irish language, given by 
 Cormac in the ninth century, clearly shows that the word must have 
 been long in use in the countrv at the time, and could not have been 
 adopted into the language from a recent introduction of this descrip- 
 tion of money by the Danes. 
 
 Tliat these coins are indeed of Irish mintage is the opinion of Mr. 
 Lindsay; but, while he allows the merit of striking the bracteate 
 pieces to the Irish princes, from the absence of any resemblance 
 betvv'eeu their types and those found on the Danish coins, he comes 
 to the conclusion, — from a resemblance which, he thinks, he dis- 
 covers between their tjqies and those of the English pennies sub- 
 sequent to the reign of William I., — that their dates should be 
 assigned to the early part of the thirteenth century. His words are : 
 
 " A comparison of tlaese types, witli tliose of the English coins, to which I have 
 drawn tlie attention of the reader, will lead us to conclude, that they have been in 
 general copied from English coins, commencing with William I. or II., and ending 
 
 2 G 2
 
 •_>28 
 
 IXQUIHY INTO THE OKIGIX AXD USES 
 
 with Jiilin, oi- perlmps lluiiry III., iukI to assign as the probable period of tlieir luiii- 
 tngf, the early part of the thirteenth century ; and as the Danes had then no power 
 over, or intercourse with Ireland, it is not likely they were struck by that people, 
 and still less by the English, who had then a very different coinage of their own, and 
 never appear to have struck Bracteate coins in their own country ; and we may there- 
 fore, conclude, that they are genuine and unquestionable specimens of the coins of the 
 native Irish princes, and although a very poor description of coin, highly interesting, 
 as forming a distinct and hitherto unknown class, in the annals of the coinage of Ire- 
 land." — View of the Coinage n)' Ireland, p. 24. 
 
 As examples of bracteate coins, in which Mr. Lindsay fmds this 
 imitation of the ty^QS on the coins of Stephen, Harold, and Henry I., 
 I annex engravings of three bracteates, formerly in the collection of 
 tlie Dean of St. Patrick's, and now in the Museum of the Royal Irish 
 Academy, the two former of which have been given by Mr. Lindsay 
 in Plate IV. of his work : 
 
 I confess, however, that I can see no such resemblance between these, 
 or any other Irish bracteates, and Anglo-Norman prototj'pes, as would 
 authorize the conclusion at which ]\Ir. Lindsay arrives. That amid 
 a great variety of tjq^es, consisting of crosses, and ha\dng smaller 
 ornaments within their angles, a few should bear some resemblance 
 to tyi^es fomid on the reverses of coins of the Anglo-Norman kings, 
 is not to be wondered at ; it Avould be strange, indeed, if some such 
 coincidence did not occasionally occur : but it is too much to infer 
 from a remote similarit}', which may be piu-ely accidental, that all 
 those Irish bracteates, which present no such sunilarity of type, must 
 be of cotemporaneous date Avith those in which Mr. Lindsay thinks he 
 discovers it ; and he is obho-ed himself to acknowledo;e 
 that he has found nothing like the type on one of those 
 bracteates, except on coins of Offa, 757, and Coenwulf, 
 794. In the bracteate piece represented in the annexed 
 engraving, the original of which also is in the Dawson 
 Collection, we have an unequivocal example of that Xj^q, Avliich may 
 be regarded as pecuharly Irish ; and that Uv. Lindsay could find no
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 229 
 
 resemblance between this coin and any oftliose of the Angio-Norman 
 kings, we have sufficient evidence in the fact that he pnblishes it 
 without a comment. In lilvc manner, if we compare the bracteate 
 pieces, found in the Tower of Kildarc, witli tlie coins of the Sa.xon 
 and Anglo-Norman kings, we shall find that they bear the greatest 
 resemblance, in two instances, at least, to coins of Eadwald and the 
 Mercian kings, Ofla and Coenwulf, as in the annexed examples : 
 
 and this appears to me to point to the true date of those pieces. I am 
 aware, indeed, that an objection may be made to the antiquity I thus 
 assign to them, from the double cross which appears upon one of 
 them, inasmuch as the double cross is not found on the Anglo-Saxon 
 coins of the heptarchic Kings, nor indeed on those of the sole mo- 
 narchs earlier than the time of Etheked II. But, as I have already 
 shown that the type on some of the coins of Ethelred is itself most 
 probably derived from Ii'eland, no conclusion, I think, can be fairly 
 grounded on this circu.mstance. There is scarcely a variety of cross, 
 which is not to be found as a typical ornament in oiu" most ancient 
 manuscripts, even in those of the sixth century, as well as on oiu- 
 ancient sepulchral monuments anterior to the tenth; and among 
 these a double cross is of the most common occiu-rence ; it is, there- 
 fore, but natural to expect that the Irish Avould use on their coins 
 the same variety of crosses as they employed on their sepulchral and 
 other ornamented monuments. 
 
 In fine, it appears to me that the conclusion so generally adopted, 
 that the Ii'ish owed the use of minted money to the Danes, is wholly 
 gratuitous, and rests on no firmer basis than do those opinions, which 
 assign the erection of our ancient churches, stone crosses, and other 
 monuments, to that people, — opinions, which I shall prove to be 
 utterly erroneous. It is quite certain that the Danes minted money 
 in Ireland; not indeed, as is supposed, in the ninth century, but in the 
 tenth and eleventh ; however, as they do not appear to have pre- 
 viously coined money in their own country, and as the types on Avhat
 
 230 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 seem to be their earliest coins, struck in Ireland, do not appear to 
 liave been borrowed from the earlier or cotemporaneous Anglo-Saxon 
 coins, but from the still ruder money without inscriptions, found 
 abundantly in Ireland, it seems to me a more natural and philosophical 
 induction, — and more in accordance with the historical evidences 
 which I have adduced, — that such rude pieces are generally of Irish 
 mintage, and anterior to the Danish irruptions, than that they are 
 Danish, or Irish imitations, cotemporaneous Avith, or of a later age 
 than the better minted coins of the Danes. 
 
 I think it probable, however, that the pi)i<}//uis, or bracteates, are 
 of greater antiquity in Ii-eland than the screpaUs, as they appear to 
 have been in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark : and am also of 
 opinion that those rude pieces without legends, whether screpaUs or 
 /linaifms, were very probably for the most part, if not whollv, eccle- 
 siastical, — their tA'pes having usually a religious character, and being 
 most commonly found in the localities of ancient ecclesiastical esta- 
 blishments : as for instance, that ciuious hoard of coins found at 
 Glendalough in 1639, of Avhich Sir James Ware published a few ex- 
 amples, and concerning which Ledwich remarks, that " the mintage is 
 extremely rude, and bespeaks the infancy of the art, and the unskil- 
 fulness of the workman." But, according to this learned writer these 
 coins must have been Danish, — and why ? Because, " As it [Glen- 
 dalough] was built by the Danes, and much resorted to for devotion, 
 Ave cannot admire at finding much of their money there." These as- 
 sertions of Doctor LedAvich are really amusing. It Avas truly a sin- 
 gular species of devotion Avhich these pious Avarriors exhibited at 
 Glendalough, — bidlt, according to Doctor LedAvich, by themselves, 
 in the ninth century, — that they plundered and devastated it in the 
 years 830, 833, 886, 977, 98-2, 984, 985, 1016 ! I should also notice, 
 as another remarkable instance of the discovery of coins at a cele- 
 brated religious establishment, the " minores denarii, quasi oboli," 
 — most probably the bracteate pennies, found near Kilcidlen in 1305, 
 
 of Avhich mention is made in au Exchequer record of 33 EdAv. I. 
 
 See Harris's Ware, vol. ii. p. 206. According to M. SchoepHiu, the 
 ecclesiastical bracteates Avere the most common in Germany, Avhere 
 they were knoAvn by the same name as in Ireland : " Ce sont les 
 monnoies de cette espece qu'on trouve designees dans les chartes 
 d'Allemagne, sous le nom de panniugi, derive du mot Tudcsque
 
 OF THE nOUXD TOWEKS Or IRELAND. 231 
 
 pfenning^ — Histoire do V Acndeniic Rojjdle ties Inscriptions ef 
 Belles-Lettres, torn, xxiii. p. 218. 
 
 If these arguments liave any weight, it will nt)t perha[)s be an 
 improbable conjecture, — that the bracteate pinginns, or pennings, 
 found at Kildare, were ecclesiastical coins minted there. And, in 
 connexion with this conjectux'e, it may be worthy of remark, that in 
 the Irish Annals at the year 962, where it is stated that a vast num- 
 ber of the seniors and ecclesiastics of Kildare had been made cap- 
 tives by the Danes, it is added that they were redeemed by Niall 
 O'lleruilbh, — who was probably the Erenach of the place, though 
 of Danish descent, as his name would seem to indicate, — with his 
 own money. The passage is thus given in the Annals of Ulster : 
 
 "A. D. 963. Ceall oapa do apcam do ^allaiB, peo mipepabile rniipubili] 
 piecace mipeprup tyr. cpia Niall li-Ll n-6puill3, peoeniprip omnibup clepicip pene 
 ppo nomine tDomini, .1. Ian in DU151 moip Sancc ftpijci, 7 Ian in oepraiji ip e do 
 puagell Niall Diib oia apjac pepin." 
 
 Thus translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A.D. 963. Kildaria spoliata ab Alienigenis, sed miserabili pietate [mirabili] mi- 
 sertus est Niall, iilius Erulbii, redemptis omnibus Clericis pene, pro nomine Domini, 
 i. e. quotquot capere potuit domiis magna S. BrigidK, et Nosocomium, quos emit Niall 
 ab eis, pretio argenti, eodem tempore." 
 
 The preceding translation by Dr. O'Conor is not, however, strictly 
 correct, for the words ajijar pepm, which he renders, j^re^jo argenti, 
 eodem tempore, should be expressed by propriis pecuniis, and it is 
 so rendered by Colgan in his translation of the record of this trans- 
 action, given in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 962, as 
 follows : 
 
 " A. D. 962. Ceall oapa oo apccain do ^hallaiB, 7 b]ioio liiop do ppuicib 7 do 
 cleipciB DO jabuil DOiB ann, 7 Miall Ua h-Gpuilb oia B-piiapclao. 6an an roij^e 
 moip Suncc 6pi5De, 7 Idn an oepcije ap eao do puaiciU Niall dioB oia apgao 
 boDem." 
 
 " A. D. 962. Nortmanni Kildariam foede depopulati, senionim & Ecclesiasticorum 
 plurimos captivos tenuerunt : ex quibus tot personas pro/trijs pecuniis redemit Nellus 
 Olierluibh, quot in magna S. Brigidai domo, & Ecclesia simul eonsistere poterant." — 
 Trias Tliaum., p. 630. 
 
 But whether the money here referred to was minted at Kildare or 
 not, it is certain that ecclesiastical money was in use in Ireland at a 
 later period, as it is stated in Mageoghegan's translation of the Annals 
 of Clonmacnoise that money was coined there in the year 1 1 70. This
 
 •232 INQIIHV IN'TO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 wa.s in the ivign of Rodoric O'Conor ; but we Icaiu from tlie Lenhhar 
 (inhlmlit of tl^e O'Clervs, an autliority of great value, that money 
 Avas also minted there'in the reign of his father Turlogh ; and it 
 is by no means improbable that money was coined there at a much 
 earlier period, tliougli the records of such mintages have not been 
 preserved, or at least not yet discovered. 
 
 On tlu' wln.le, then, I have, T trust, adduced sufficient evidences 
 to show the great probability, if not absolute certainty, that coined 
 money was in use in Ireland previously to the Danish irruptions, and 
 tliat the discovery of bracteate pinginiu in the Round Tower of Kil- 
 
 (lare, which there is every reason to believe were placed there, 
 
 either accidentally or by design, cotemporaneonsly with its original 
 erection, — affords no presumption at variance with the antiquity which 
 I am disposed to assign to that edifice, or to the style of architectnre 
 which it exhibits, namely, the close of the eighth, or beginning of 
 t!ie ninth century, when the description of the churcli of Kildare 
 was written by Cogitosus. Indeed, were I disposed to venture on 
 assifTninfr this doorwav to an earlier period, nay, even to the age of 
 St. Bridget, to which the legend in Cambrensis would seem to refer 
 it, there is, I think, nothing in its style of architectui'e which Avoidd 
 invalidate such a supposition, as there is no feature in its decorations 
 of which earlier examples may not be found in the corrupted archi- 
 tecture of Greece and Rome. Of the triangular, or rather ogived 
 label, or canopy, whicli appears above the architrave or semicircular 
 moulding on its external face, an example is found over a semi- 
 circular-headed doorway of a temple on a coin of the Emperor Licinius, 
 A. D. 301 ; and another example, exliibiting an ogived or contrasted 
 arch, occurs in the SyriacMS. of the Gospels, transcribed in the )X'ar 
 586, and preserved in the Mediceo-Laiirentian Library at Florence. 
 ( )f the chevron moulding, which ornaments the architrave of the se- 
 cond of the two recessed arches, abundant exainples are found, as 
 ornaments on arch mouldings, in the Syriac MS. already referred to; 
 and a remarkable example of the use of this ornament on a very an- 
 cient arch at Chardak, in Syria, is noticed by the Rev. Mr. Arundel 
 in his r/.svV to f/ie Set^en ClnirrJies of Asia, p. 103 : it is also figured 
 as an arch ornament in the exquisitely executed illuminations in the 
 Book of Kells, — a manuscript copy of the Gospels, undoubtedly of the 
 sixth century, which, as I have already noticed, is now preserved in
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 233 
 
 tlie Library of Trinity College, Dublin ; and I need Jiardly remark, 
 that it also appears as a frequent decoration on the mouldings Avhicli 
 cap the Corinthian modillions in the palace of Dioclesian at Spalatro, 
 erected between the years 290 and 300. In like manner, of the 
 lozenge panuelling, enriched wdth rosettes, which decorates the soffit 
 of the innermost recessed arch, examples are found on the fragments 
 of Eoman architecture discovered in the subterranean galleries of 
 Poitiers, — which fragments the most eminent antiquaries of France 
 consider to be of the close of the third centiu-y. — See Meinoires de 
 la Societe des Antiquaries de V Quest , tome premier, p. 57- 
 
 To the preceding remarks I shoidd add, that this interesting 
 doorway is built of a hard, siliceous sandstone, of light colour, and 
 that 'the ornaments are carved in very low relief Its general form 
 may be described as consisting originally of four concentric arches, 
 one recessed beyond the other, and resting on romid pilastres, or 
 semi-columns, with flat imposts or capitals. The ornaments on the 
 external arch have been long destroyed, and their place was supplied 
 with rude masonry at the commencement of the last century. The 
 ornaments on the recessed arches are also much injured, and the 
 foui'th, or innermost arch, is the only one now remaining in tolerable 
 preservation. The external arch is seven feet two inches in height, 
 and three feet eight inches in Avidth ; the second arch is six feet ten 
 inches in height, and three feet two inches in width ; the third arch 
 is six feet seven inches in height, and two feet ten inches in width ; 
 and the foirrth, or innermost arch, is five feet eight inches in height, 
 two feet one incli in width, and one foot three inches in depth. The 
 entire depth of the doorway, or thickness of the wall, is four feet ; 
 and the height of its floor from the ground is fifteen feet. The floor 
 of this doorway is raised by a step of eight inches in height at the 
 innermost arch, and it is probable that the other divisions may have 
 been raised above each other by similar steps, as I shall presently 
 show an example of such an arrangement in a doorway of similar 
 construction. 
 
 The opinions which I have thus ventured to express as to the 
 age of the doorway of the Round Tower of Kildare, and consequently 
 as to the antiquity, in Ireland, of the style of architecture ■which it 
 exhibits, Avill, I think, receive additional support from the agreement 
 of many of its ornaments with those seen in the better preserved, if 
 
 2 H
 
 234 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 not moiv bcautifvil, doorway of the Round Tower of Timalioe, m the 
 Queen's County,— a doorway which seems to be of cotemporaneous 
 erection, and which, like that of Kildare, exhibits many peculiarities, 
 that I do not recollect to have found in buildings of the Norman 
 times, either in England or Ireland. The general appearance of this 
 doorway will be seen in the annexed sketch : 
 
 As this doorway, which is the finest of its kind remaining in Ire- 
 land, is of the highest interest, not only on account of the richness, 
 and, as I conceive, antiquity of its decorations, but also from its high 
 state of preservation, it will be desirable that I should endeavour to 
 illustrate its several featui'es as clearly as possible, both by drawings 
 and verbal descriptions. 
 
 This doorway, like that of Kildare, is formed of a hard siliceoiis 
 sandstone, and may be described as consisting of two divisions, sepa- 
 rated from each other by a deep reveal, and presenting each a double 
 compound recessed arch, resting on plain shafts with flat capitals. 
 As in the doorway of the Tower of Kildare, the carving is all in 
 very low relief, and its height from the ground is the same with that 
 of the doorway of that Tower, namely, fifteen feet. The general
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 235 
 
 >;|. 
 
 arrangement of its several compartments will be best understood fi'om 
 tlie annexed ground plan, to which I add a vertical section, to sliow 
 ^ . _^- the manner in which the 
 
 floor rises towards the inte- 
 rior by a succession of three 
 steps. 
 
 On its external face the 
 outer arch rests on a sill pro- 
 jecting from the face of the 
 wall, and is ornamented on 
 each side Avith two semico- 
 lumns and other mouldings. 
 The capitals of the shafts are 
 decorated with human heads; 
 and the bases, which are in 
 better preservation than the 
 capitals, present, at their al- 
 ternate eastern angles, a si- 
 milar human head, and, at 
 their alternate western an- 
 
 [»;^^5t^«a 
 
 tiSipS?®*^' 
 
 gles, 
 
 a figure not unlike an 
 hour-glass. The architrave, on its external face, is more simply de- 
 corated, but on its soffit it presents an ornament, p--^.^.^,.,^.^,™.^. — , 
 which may be described as a pellet and bead 
 moulding, as shoA\m in the annexed sketch. The 
 measvirement of the shafts of this external arch, 
 including the bases and capitals, is five feet eight 
 inches. The breadth, at the spring of the arch, is three feet nine 
 inches, and at the base, four feet; and the entire height of the 
 arch is seven feet six inches. The jambs of this outer division 
 splay by an obtuse angle to the second or recessed arch, which is 
 ornamented somewhat similarly to the first, except that the soffit 
 of the arch is more highly enriched, presenting a diagonal pannel- 
 ing, which forms a chevron moulding at its corners. The jambs of 
 this second arch, which are one foot three inches in width, are 
 rounded into semi-columns at their angles ; and, though their bases 
 present no decorations, their imposts, or capitals, — if such they may 
 be called, which are more of the nature of friezes, — are ornamented 
 
 2 u 2
 
 ■_>3() 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 in a very elogiint style ol" design, and are fortunately in a high state of 
 preservation. These junibs, including the bases and capitals, are five 
 feet in height, and one foot three inches in depth. The width of the 
 arch at top is two feet six inches, and at bottom two feet nine inches ; 
 and the entire height from the floor to the vertex of the arch is six 
 feet three inches. The floor of this recessed arch, or sub-arch, is 
 raised by a step nine inches in height above the external one. 
 
 Of the capitals, or impost mould- 
 ings, that at the west side presents at 
 each angle a human head, with thick 
 moustache, lank whiskers, and curl- 
 ing, flowing beard. The hair of each 
 head is divided in the middle of the 
 forehead; and, passing over the ear, 
 forms, by a mutual interlacing in the 
 intervening space, a kind of cross 
 of complicated and graceful tracery. 
 The capitals on the east side pre- 
 sent a design, similar, but diifering in some of the details, — the 
 whiskers of the heads beins; curled, and the interlacino- of the hair 
 forming a cross, less complicated but equally graceful. 
 
 The reveal, which divides the outer 
 compound archway from the inner 
 one, is on each side six inches m 
 depth, and seven inches and a quarter 
 in breadth, and is without ornament 
 of any kind ; but the inner compound 
 archway is equally ornamented with 
 the outer one. Like the outer arch- 
 way, this compartment consists of two 
 parts, or concentric arches, the floors 
 of which, like those of the outer arch- 
 way, rise over each other by steps 
 nine inches in height. The front arch 
 of this division is four feet three inches 
 in height, from its floor to the spring 
 of the arch, seven inches in depth, 
 and five feet six inches in height, from the floor to the vertex of the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 ■2:M 
 
 arch. Its width is two feet six inches at tlie capitals, and two I'eet 
 nine inches at the bases. The inner arch, or sub-arch, measures one 
 foot six inches in width at its capitals, and one foot nine inches at 
 its bases, and four feet four inches, in height, from the floor to the 
 vertex of the arch. The jambs are three feet seven inches in height, 
 and one foot three inches in breadth. At the base of the jamb on the 
 Avest side there is a fourth step, nine inches in height and five in 
 breadth, and running parallel with the wall ; but its use it would 
 now be difficult to conjecture. 
 
 The outer division of this inner archway, as in the first compoinid 
 archway already described, presents a semi-column 
 at each of its angles, with a human head as a ca- 
 pital. The head at the west side exhibits the hair 
 arranged in massive ciuis over the forehead, while 
 the space at the back of the head and imder the 
 cheek is filled with a flowery interlaced ornament, (Z 
 which springs from an angidar moulding at each f ,..m 
 side of the semi-circular shaft, as shown above. [;; :;M 
 The head, forming the capital at the east side, 
 exhibits the hair divided over the forehead, a plain moustache, aiid
 
 238 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 m. 
 
 the hair arranged in straight plaits under the chin, from ear to ear, 
 as showi in tlie annexed wood cut. 
 
 The bases of the shafts present an equal dissimilarity in design 
 as the capitals. That on the west side ex- 
 hibits above the plintli an ornament, in de- 
 pressed reliei; of tlie figure represented in 
 the annexed drawing, and over it a liuman 
 head rudely carved in low relief, ha\dng the 
 moustache and beard arranged in stiff and 
 straight plaits. The base of the correspond- 
 in" shaft at the east side is less ornamented, 
 and exhibits a sort of bulbous figiu'e resting 
 on a high plinth, as sufficiently shown in the 
 general view of this doorway, given in p. 234. 
 The architrave of this arch is without orna- 
 ment on its face, but its archivolt is richly 
 decorated with a triple-chevi-on moulding. 
 The sub-arch, or recessed division of this 
 archway, is sculptiu'ed in a style altogether 
 different from that of the outer archway, ^^ ifi^ 
 
 being not in relief, as are all the other carv- 
 ings of this interesting remain, but in depressed lines, and of a sim- 
 pler design. The jambs are rounded into semicircular shafts at both 
 their angles. The ornaments on the capitals are carried from the 
 
 true capital to its abacus, as shown in 
 the preceding engraving. The bases of 
 the semicircular shafts at tlie angles are 
 H bulbous figures, like that already de- 
 scribed on the eastern shaft of the outer 
 archway; and the intermediate spaces 
 are ornamented with crosses, formed 
 by a check in alternate depression and 
 relief, as shown in the annexed engraving. 
 The architrave of this archway presents a simple round moulding, 
 with angular fillets on each side, and the soffit is carved into lozenge 
 pannels. 
 
 Though I cannot in this, as in the preceding instance, adduce any 
 historical evidence in support of the antiquity of the doorway, — for I
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 ■239 
 
 should be afraid to veuture on ascribing its erection to the time of 
 St. Mochua, the original founder and patron saint of Timahoe, who 
 flourished, not indeed in the fifth century, as Archdall erroneously 
 states, but in the sixth, — yet it will, I think, be seen that it presents 
 no architectural features differing from those in the doorway of the 
 Eound Tower of Kildare, which are not obviously derived, like the 
 latter, from the debased Roman architecture of the Lower Empire, and 
 which it would be hazardous in the extreme to deny may be of a 
 very eaiiy age, — earlier, at least, than any Norman examples of the 
 kind, noticed as remaining in England. 
 
 Of capitals decorated with human heads 
 we have examples as old as the sixth century, 
 in the Syriac MS. of the Gospels already re- 
 ferred to. They are used in the earliest 
 examples of Romanesque architecture in the 
 German churches, of Avhich a beautiful ex- 
 ample, remarkable for its similarity in de- 
 sign to some of those at Timahoe, is found 
 in St. Ottmar's Chapel at Niirnberg, assigned 
 to the tenth centmy. 
 Of the bulbous, or tun-shaped bases, an example may be seen on a 
 representation of a temple, figiu-ed on a coin of the tyrant Maxentius ; 
 and their similarity in style of design to the rude baluster columns of 
 the oldest Saxon churches in England, as those of Bricksworth and 
 Earlsbarton in Northamptonshire, can scarcely fail to strike the archi- 
 tectiu-al antiquary. The strongest evidence 
 in favour of the antiquity of this doorway 
 may, however, be drawn from the construc- 
 tion and general style of the Tower, as in the 
 fine-jointed character of the ashlar work in 
 the doorway and windows; and still more in 
 the straight-sided arches of all the windows, 
 which, with the exception of a small qua- 
 drangular one, perfectly agree in style with 
 those of the most ancient chiu'ches and Round 
 Towers in Ii-eland, and with those of the churches in En "land now 
 considered as Saxon. 
 
 In the opinions which I have thus hazarded, — so opposite to the
 
 240 INQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 jroncrally, if nol uuivcrsiUy adopted conclusions of eminent historical 
 antiquaries, as to the civilization of the Irish previously to the Danish 
 irruptions, and still more, of arcliitectiu-al antiquaries, as to the anti- 
 quity of cirnamental architecture in the British Islands,— I am sensi- 
 tively aware that I am running the greatest danger of being deemed 
 rash "and visionary. But confiding, as I do, in the honesty of my pur- 
 pose, wliich is solely to inciuire after truth in a spirit of candour, 
 such' an anticipation presents to me no terrors; and I feel confident that 
 tliose who are best qualified to judge of the difficulties of my under- 
 taking will not censure the expression of opinions, however novel, 
 which are ofl'ered for consideration in such a spirit, and which, even 
 if erroneous, being based on evidences which I submit to be tested 
 by the U'anied, nuist equally tend to the discovery of truth, as if they 
 had been themselves incontrovertible. 
 
 Impressed, as I am, with the conviction that the style of archi- 
 tecture variously denominated by antiquaries Romanesque, Tudesque, 
 Lorabardic, Saxon, Norman, and Anglo-Norman, belongs to no par- 
 ticular country, but, derived from the corrupted architecture of 
 Greece and Rome, was introduced wherever Christianity had pene- 
 trated, assuming various modifications according to the taste, intel- 
 
 lio-ence, and circumstances of different nations, — I think it only 
 natural to expect tliat the earliest examples of this style should be 
 found in a country supereminently distinguished, as Ireland was, for 
 its learning, and as having been the cradle of Christianity to the 
 north-western nations of Europe, in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and 
 ninth centuries. Neither should it, I think, be a matter of wonder 
 that more abundant examples of this style, though on a small scale, — 
 such as might be expected in a kingdom composed of many petty, 
 and nearly independent lordships, — should remain in Ireland, than 
 in those more prosperous and wealthy countries, in which such hum- 
 ble structirres would necessarily give place to edifices of greater size 
 and grandeur. 
 
 The supposition that the style of architecture exhibited in some 
 of the Irish Round Towers, — as shown in the preceding instances, — 
 and in many of the chm'ches, of which I shall presently adduce 
 examples, was derived from the Anglo-Normans, is one in the highest 
 degree improbable : in the general form, size, and arrangement of 
 these Irish churches there is to be found as little agreement with the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 241 
 
 great Norman chiu'clies, as there is in our Round Towers with their 
 square ones. An equal and a more important dissimilarity will be 
 found in their ornamental details ; and I must greatly deceive myself 
 if those exhibited in the Irish chiu-ches will not be acknowledged as 
 indicating an antiqiuty far less removed from the classical model. 
 The theory advanced by Dr. Ledwich, — which had great inlhience in 
 its day, — that oiu" most ancient ornamented architectural remains 
 should be ascribed to the Danes, appears to me still more objection- 
 able, and scarcely worthy of notice. It is utterly opposed to the 
 history of both nations. There is not a single authenticated monu- 
 ment of the Danes in Ireland, or in their OAvn country, which would 
 support such a conclusion ; and any knowledge of the Christian arts, 
 which the Danes possessed, must have been derived from the people 
 from whom they received the doctrines of Christianity. Neither could 
 I easily believe that the architectural remains, of which I shall pre- 
 sently adduce examples, any more than the two I have just noticed, 
 were erected during the sway of that people in Ireland. Their 
 domination in this country was a reign of terror, and, as the oldest 
 of our annalists says, " second only to the tyranny of hell." No place 
 Avas so sacred as to afford a refuge from their sacrilegious fmy. They 
 carried fire and devastation into the Christian communities, seated in 
 the most secluded valleys, and on the most remote islands ; and it 
 could hardly have been during such a period of calamity that the 
 ecclesiastics would have employed themselves in the erection of 
 buildings of a more costly character, and requiring more time to com- 
 plete them, than those already existing in tlie country. I do not deny, 
 however, tliat some buildings, and these too of an ornamented cha- 
 racter, may have been erected by the Irish, during those intervals of 
 repose which followed the defeats of the Danes by Malachy I. in the 
 ninth century, and by Brian and Malachy II. in the tenth ; and par- 
 ticularly in such districts as were under tlie immediate protection 
 of those vigorous and Avarlike monarchs. Of the erection of build- 
 ings in such places our annalists record a few instances ; but the 
 remains of these edifices, whenever they are to be found, are, as I 
 shall hereafter show, different in character from those of whose erec- 
 tion we have no direct evidence, and which I am disposed to refer to 
 earher times. 
 
 But if we are without absolutely conclusive historical evidences to 
 
 2 I
 
 .242 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 prove the age of sucli cluu-ches, exliibiting ornamented architecture, 
 as are presumed to be anterior to the Danish devastations, there is, at 
 least, no want of such historical evidences as will strongly support 
 such' a conclusion; and the early antiquity which I have ventured 
 to assign to the ornamented doorways of the Towers of Kildare and 
 Timahoe, will derive much j)robabmty from a comparison of their 
 details Avith those of the ancient ornamented church at Rathain, or 
 Kalnn. near Tullaniore, in the King's County,— details, which would 
 
 appear to be of the same age. 
 
 jiiA 
 
 vm 
 
 and Avhich, from historical evi- 
 dence, there is every reason to 
 beheve to be of the eighth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Of this building, which is 
 still used as a parish church, 
 the chancel only appears to be 
 ancient, and even this has suf- 
 fered the loss of its original east 
 window. The chancel arch, 
 however, still remains, as also 
 a circular window richly orna- 
 mented, which lighted a cham- 
 ber placed between the chancel 
 and the roof The chancel is 
 stone-roofed, as we may well 
 believe the entire church to 
 have been originally. It is in 
 the ornaments of the chancel 
 archway, however, that the si- 
 milarity in design and execu- 
 tion to those in the Tower of 
 Timahoe is chiefly found. This 
 archway, as will be seen from 
 the annexed drawing, consists 
 
 of three rectangular piers at 
 
 '^^"■^^''-'"~~^" each side, rounded at their an- 
 
 gles into semi-columns, which support three semi-circular arches 
 entirely unornamented, except l^y a plain architrave on the external
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 243 
 
 
 one. The capitals, on Avliicli the greatest riclmess of ornament is found, 
 are those on the third, or innermost of these piers at each side ; and, 
 
 hke those at Timahoe, these or- 
 naments, though similar in design, 
 are dissimilar in detail, and their 
 bases differ in like manner. The 
 resemblance of these ornaments 
 to those at Timahoe will, I think, 
 be at once obvious. The height 
 of the piers in this archway, from 
 the floor to the spring of the 
 arches, is six feet five inches ; and 
 to the vertex of the innermost 
 arch, ten feet two mches. 
 
 Though not essentially neces- 
 sary to my purpose in this com- 
 parison, I trust I shall be excused for introducing in this place a 
 more detailed notice of the remarkable round window already re- 
 ferred to, and which seems to me to be not only the most curious 
 of its kind remaining in the British Isles, but also, I have little doubt, 
 the most ancient. 
 
 As the details of this window will be sufficiently seen in the illus- 
 tration given on next page, it is only necessary to remark, that the orna- 
 ments are in very low relief, or, as I might say, inciso, or in hoUoAv ; and 
 that it measures about seven feet six inches in the external diameter 
 of the circle, and is placed at the height of about twenty-two feet 
 from the ground. I should add, that the masonry throughout this 
 interesting building is ofa very superior character, — the stones, which 
 are polygonal, being fitted to each other with the greatest neatness 
 and art, — and that the material is the celebrated limestone of the 
 district. 
 
 I have now to inquire into the probable age of this structure. 
 The monastery of Rathain, — which Archdall and Lanigan erro- 
 neously place at Ratli}me, in the barony of FertuUagh, and coimty of 
 Westmeath, — was originally founded, about the close of the sixth 
 century, by the celebrated St. Carthach, or Mochuda, afterwards the 
 first bishop of Lismore. In this monastery, which became one of the 
 most celebrated in Ireland, Carthach ruled, for a period of forty years, 
 
 2 I 2
 
 244 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 a community of monks, said to liave flocked to him from various 
 parts, both of Irehmd and Great Britain, and which finally increased 
 to the number of 867, all of whom provided for themselves and the 
 ])oor by the labour of their hands. But, notwithstanding the sanctity 
 of his character, the envy and jealousy of the monks or clergy of 
 a neighbom-ing establishment effected the expulsion of himself and 
 his monks from Ratliain in the year 630, by the jirince of the country, 
 Blathmac, the son of the monarch Aedli Slaine ; and, after having 
 wandered for some time from place to place, he ultimately formed 
 a second religious establishment, not less celebrated in our histories, 
 at Lismore, which from his time became the seat of a bishop. St. 
 Carthach died on the 14th of May, in the year 637, and was buried 
 at Lismore. 
 
 It is not, however, to this distinguished man that I am disposed 
 to attribute the erection of the present church at Rathain, but to one
 
 OF THE ROUXI) TOWERS OF IRELAND. 245 
 
 wlio flourished nearly two centuries later, and whose name has been 
 also venerated as that of the patron of the jilace, — an honour never 
 paid to any but founders of churches. From the expressive silence 
 of our annals, it would appeal-, that, after the expulsion of St. Car- 
 thach and his monks, there was no religious community settled at 
 Rathain till towards the middle of the eighth centiuy. Colgan, in- 
 deed, labours, on the douljtfid and contradictory authority of some 
 of the Irish Calendars, to fix here, as St. Carthach's successor, a St. 
 Constantine, who, according to some, had been originally a king of 
 the Britons, and to others, a king of the Picts. But the evidences 
 adduced in support of this statement are wholly insufficient to esta- 
 blish its truth ; and the first abbot of Eathain after St. Carthach, who 
 appears in our authentic annals, is St. Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh, whose 
 name appears in the Irish Calendars at the 1st of October, and who, 
 according to the Annals of the Four Masters, died on the 1st of Oc- 
 tober, in the year 758, but more correctly, according to the accvirate 
 Annals of Tighernach, in 763. And that this Ua Suanaigh was the 
 founder of a new establishment at Rathain appears sufliciently plain 
 from the fact, that, in the Irish Annals, the later abbots of Rathain 
 are not called successors of St. Carthach, but of Ua Suanaigh, as in 
 the following instances, from the Annals of Clonmacnoise and the Four 
 Masters : 
 
 "A. D. 1113. t)ia|imaicr Ua Cealluij, coiiiapBu Ui Shuanaij, o'ecc." 
 
 " A. D. 1113. Diarmaid Ua Ceallaigli, successor of Ua Suanaigh, died." 
 
 " A. D. 1136. SaepKpecac Ua Ceallaij, corhapba Ui Suanaij, o'ecc." 
 
 "A. D. 1136. Saerbhretliacli Ua Ceallaigli, successor of Ua Suanaigh, died." 
 
 " A. D. 1139- mmpcepcach Uu tTlaoilihuaio, cijeapiiu F^ap j-Ceall, do lopc- 
 
 cao d' pepoiK Ceall, .1. do Uib 6uainirii, 1 cempull T2airne." 
 
 "A. D. 1139. Muirchertach O'Molloy, lordofFeara Ceall, was burned by the Feara 
 
 Ceall themselves, namely, the O'Luainimhs, iu the church of Rathain." 
 
 "A. D. 1141. Domnall, mac Ruaiopi Ui mhaoilrhuaiD, cijeapna peap 5-Ceall, 
 
 DO riiapBao la muincip 6uainim 1 l?pacain h-1 Suanaij." 
 
 " A. D. 1141. Domhnall, son of Euaidhri O'Molloy, lord of Feara Ceall, was slain 
 
 by the IMuintir Luaininih in Rathain Ui Suanaigh." 
 
 "A. D. 1153. Uainicc oaii ^uog Ua 6piain co n-a ploccaib co l?airin Ui 
 Shuoiiai j I1-1 poipirin Chonnucc, &c." 
 
 "A. D. 1153. Tadhg O'Brien marclied with his forces to Raithin Ui Shuanaigh 
 to relieve Counacht, &c." 
 
 " A. D. 1 166. 5'°^^*^ ''"^' nuoiii Ua Ceallaij, coitiapba Ui Shuanaij li-i IJacham, 
 o'ecc."
 
 246 INQUIRY INTO TUE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " A. D. 1 IGG. Giolla na naomh O'Coallaigli, successor of Ua Suanaigh at Rathain, 
 died." 
 
 I may also mention, as a fact corroborative of this conclusion, that 
 an ancient stone cross at Rathain, which was probably erected as well 
 to mark the bounds of the sanctuary, as for a memorial of the re- 
 erection of the cluu'ches there, was called Ua Suanaigh's Cross, as 
 appears from a very curious notice in the Leab/mr Breac, iol. 35, p. b, 
 relative to the punishment by death and forfeiture of lands of some 
 families of the Cineal Fiacha, for violating the guarantee of Ua Sua- 
 naigh, and offering insult to his cross. 
 
 If then to these evidences we add the fact, that the Irish autho- 
 rities are silent as to the re-erection of chvirches at Rathain at a later 
 time, or as to any devastations by the Danes that would create a ne- 
 cessity for such re-erection, the inference is, I think, only natural, 
 that this chiu-ch, as its style of ornament seems to me to indicate, was 
 erected about the middle of the eighth centiury. 
 
 In addition to the chm^ch which I have now noticed, there are 
 also at Rahin the ruins of two smaller churches, which attest its for-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 247 
 
 mer importance ; and it is not improbable that there anciently existed 
 here a group of seven small churches, such as are usually found at other 
 celebrated religious establishments in Ireland. Of these churches, 
 one is greatly dilapidated, and retains no ornamented featiu'e ; but 
 the other, which is nearly entire, is worthy of an ampler notice in this 
 place, on account of its very perfect and beautiful doorway, the or- 
 naments of which, though possibly not of equal age with those of 
 the principal church, already described, indicate at least a very con- 
 siderable antiquity. The general architectiu'al character of this door- 
 way Avill be sufficiently understood from the preceding engraving, from 
 which it will also be seen that its jambs have the incUnation inwards, 
 so characteristic of the earlier Irish architecture. 
 
 In height, this doorway measures, externally, five feet four inches 
 from the bases to the tops of the imposts, and six feet seven inches 
 to the vertex of the arch ; and in width, two feet six inches between 
 the capitals, and two feet nine inches between the bases. In form, 
 the church is a simple oblong, measuring externally thirty-nine feet 
 by twenty-three ; and its massive polygonal masonry is of the earliest 
 Christian style. It was lighted by two windows, one, as usual, in the 
 centre of the east wall, and the other at the upper end of the south 
 wall : the former is quite ruined, and the latter is a restoration of the 
 fifteenth century. It is built throughout of the 
 limestone of the district, and the ornaments on 
 its doorway are remarkable for their sharpness 
 and beauty of execution. As is usual in the archi- 
 tecture of this class, the ornaments on the bases 
 of the semi-columns diifer in their details, those 
 on the south side being plain mouldings, while 
 ' those on the north j^resent the figure of a ser- 
 
 pent, as shown in the accompanying engraving. 
 
 To the same age as the remains at Rahin, we may, I think, witli 
 every appearance of probability, assign the interesting fragments, — 
 for we unfortunately possess no more, — which remain in the seques- 
 tered valley of Glendalough. I have already, to some extent, laid 
 before the reader the characteristic features of the more ancient 
 and unornamented churches in this interesting locality : those which 
 I have now to notice are obviously of a later age, but yet, as I 
 conceive, anterior at least to the repetition, by the Danes, towards the 
 
 ^ — 
 
 =•>
 
 •248 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 close of the tenth century, of those devastations, which had been 
 committed in the ninth, namely, the interval between the years 886 
 and 977. Tliese fragments belong to three churches, namely, 1. the 
 small chapel or oratory, popularly called the Priest's House, or Priest's 
 Church, from the circumstance of its having been used for a consi- 
 derable period as a cemetery for the Roman Catholic clergy of the 
 district ; 2. the chancel of the Cathedral ; 3. the chancel of the small 
 abbey church, now poixUarly called the Monastery. 
 
 Of the first of these buildings there now unfortunately exist but 
 very slight vestiges ; but I am enabled to illusti-ate, to some extent, 
 the ornamented portions of its architecture, as existing in 1779, by 
 means of drawings, made for the late Colonel Burton Conyngham in 
 that year, by three competent artists, Signor Bigari, Monsieur Be- 
 ranger, and ]\Ir. Stephens. The form of this small chapel was that 
 of a simple oblong, measuring externally nineteen feet six inches 
 in length, and twelve feet three inches in breadth. It was built 
 with considerable art, and in a style of masonry quite different from 
 that usually foiuid in the most ancient churches of this country, — the 
 stones being aenerallv of small size, and the masonry around the door 
 and Avindow ashlar work. 
 
 The principal ornamented feature wliich distinguished this biuld- 
 
 ing, and to which I have seen nothing similar in any other Irish 
 ecclesiastical remain, was an arched recess, placed on its east front, 
 as represented in the prefixed copy of Beranger's drawing. 
 
 The arch, which, it will be seen, presented a well-decorated archi-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 24!) 
 
 trave, rested on narrow cohunns with capitals equally enriched witli 
 sculpture, and the recess, which it enclosed, was perforated in the 
 centre by a narrow, imornamented window, having obviously a semi- 
 cii'cular head, but which was not in existence when the drawing 
 was made. The sides of this Avindow were not, as is usual, inclined, 
 nor does it appear from the drawing that its jambs had the usual 
 internal splay ; but the sides of the arch were splayed outwards, as 
 well as the arch itself Tliis arch measured, at its outer angles, 
 seven feet four inches in breadth, and six feet eleven inches in 
 height to its vertex. The semi-columns, or pilasters, were three 
 feet three inches in height, including the capitals, which measiu'ed 
 eight inches and a half, and the bases, which measured five inches. 
 The architrave was nine inches in breadth, including the cornice, 
 which was two inches. 
 
 The several features of this architectural front will appear from 
 the annexed engravings, all of which have been copied from Mon- 
 sieur Beranger's drawings, with the exception of the last, which has 
 been recently sketched from the fragments still remaining. 
 
 The two first represent the sculptures on the two faces or sides 
 of the capitals, which, it will be seen, are of unequal lengths, as well 
 as dissimilar design. 
 
 y^Qdag^^^ 
 
 Dr. Ledwich, who has treated of the architectural ornaments 
 at Glendalough, has not offered any explanation of the artist's inten- 
 tion in these sculptvires, — if he had any beyond a merely ornamental 
 one, — nor can I attempt to explain them : but I may i-emark that in 
 the latter the similarity of design Avhich it presents to some of the 
 capitals of the doorway of the Kound Tower of Timahoe can hardly 
 
 2 K
 
 •250 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 fail to strike the reader, and lead to tlie conclusion that they are, if 
 not of the same age, at least of periods not very fiir removed from 
 each other. The execution of this sculpture is, indeed, better, and 
 the relief bolder tlmu in tliose of Timahoe, but the idea is the same 
 in both, namely, a tracery formed by the intertwining of the long hair 
 ol" the head, which forms the proper capital of the column. 
 
 Of the engravings which follow, the first represents the orna- 
 ments on the face of the architrave and cornice, and I should observe 
 that the archivolt had an ornament corresponding with that of the 
 architrave ; the second is a plan of the mouldings of the pilasters, or 
 
 4 Inches. 
 
 mouldings at the angles ; and the third shows in detail the existing 
 remains of these mouldings, with one of theu- bases. 
 
 The only other ornamented feature in this chapel was its doorway, 
 which was placed in the south wall. This doorway, which Avas in a
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 251 
 
 ruined condition even when sketched by Colonel Conyngham's artists, 
 ■was a simple oblong, one foot eight inches and a half in -width, and 
 about six feet in height, as we may conclude, for it was too mueli 
 injured to be measured accui'ately. Though quite plain in its jambs, 
 it was surmounted by a triangular pediment, in the tympaiumi of 
 which, formed of a single stone, was the sculptured bas-relief repre- 
 sented in the annexed wood-cut, taken from a drawing recently made 
 on the spot : 
 
 The stone is now broken, as marked in the drawing, but the two 
 pieces are preserved in a neighbouring house. This is the only 
 example of a pedimented lintel, which I have met with in Ireland, 
 nor do I know of any other of the middle age architecture either in 
 England or France, except one in the latter country, namely, over the 
 Byzantine portal of the church oi Notre Dame du Port at Clermont- 
 Ferrand, and which is supposed to be of the eleventh centiuy. — See 
 Les Arts an Moi/en Age. 
 
 I cannot pretend to explain the subject represented in this curious 
 piece of sculpture, nor, indeed, is it essential to my purpose to do so; 
 but, as Dr. Ledwich has seized upon it to support those pecuhar pre- 
 judices, the exhibition of which so greatly disfigures his work, I feel 
 it a duty, at least, to expose the errors, whether proceeding from 
 ignorance or dishonesty, into which he has fallen, in his description 
 of it. Dr. Ledwich says : 
 
 " Among the remnants of crosses and sculptures is a loose stone, shewing in 
 relievo three figures. The one in the middle is a Bishop or Priest sitting in a chair, 
 and holding a Penitential in his hand. On the right a Pdgrim leans on his staff, and 
 on the left, a young man holds a purse of money to commute it for penance." — Anti- 
 quities of Ireland, p. 177, second edition. 
 
 ■2 K 2
 
 252 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The cnnclusions drawn from these assertions have been ably an- 
 swered by Dr. I.auiguu in liis Ecclesiastical History, vol. iv. pp. 398, 
 399, and tlio preceding drawing will show that the assertions of 
 Dr. Ledwich are utterly erroneous. Whether the principal or central 
 figure be, as he says, a bishop or a priest, I cannot venture to deter- 
 mine, but I think it most probably represents a bishop, — and this, 
 St. Kevin, the patron of the place. There can, however, be little, if 
 anydnuhi, that thefigm-e on the right, which Ledwich calls a pilgrim 
 leaning on his staff, is also a bishop, or an abbot, holding his crozier, 
 or pastoral staff, and that the figure on the left, which he describes as 
 a young man holding a purse of money, is also an ecclesiastic, but 
 of lower grade, — the aipcijie, or porter and bell-ringer, holding in 
 his hand, not a i)urse of money, but a quadrangular bell, such as we 
 see represented on many stone crosses in Ireland of the ninth and 
 tenth centuries : and these figures appear to me to be of great value 
 and interest as evidences of the early antiquity of the little building 
 to which this sculpture belonged, for both the bell and the staff ex- 
 hibit forms, which were unquestionably not in use in the twelfth 
 century. The crozier is of the form of the simple shepherd's crook, 
 as found in all the existing croziers of the primitive saints of the 
 Irish Clnu'ch, of which there are four specimens in my own collec- 
 tion ; and that this form was no longer retained in the twelfth cen- 
 tury is sufficiently proved by the crozier — also in my collection — of 
 Cormac ISIac Carthy, King of IMunster and Archbishop of Cashel, 
 who founded the stone-roofed chapel at Cashel in the year 1129, 
 which crozier exhibits the usual enriched circular head, characteristic 
 of those of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. 
 
 In like manner, the quadi'angular-shaped bell, which appears in the 
 hand of the other figure, exhibits that peculiar form which charac- 
 terizes all the consecrated bells, which have been presei'ved in Ireland 
 as having belonged to the celebrated saints of the primitive Irish 
 Church ; and there is every reason to beheve that this quadrangular 
 form gave place to the circular one nov/ in use, previously to the 
 twelfth century. Indeed, we see a remarkable example of the transi- 
 tion to the latter form in a bell, formerly in the collection of the 
 Dean of St. Patrick's, and now in the Museum of the Academy, which, 
 as an inscription in the Irish character carved upon it clearly shows, 
 is undoubtedly of the close of the ninth centiu-y.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 253 
 
 Thus again in tlie diagonally-knotclied band or fillet, — which en- 
 circles the head of the central figure, and which seems to be the base of 
 a low mitre, of which the upper portion is obUterated, — we find an 
 ornament very similar to that on a mitre represented on a sculptured 
 figure of St. Leger, in bas-relief, given by Montfaucon, in his Mon. 
 Framboise, tom. i. p. 347, and which that learned antiquary considers 
 to be a work of the close of the seventh century. 
 
 If then to the evidences, which this interesting piece of scvilpture 
 aflbrds in favour of the early antiquity of this little cluu-ch, be added 
 the Romanesque character of the ornaments, and the great impro- 
 bability that a structure of this ornamental character would have 
 been erected during that calamitous period when Glendalough was 
 exposed to the frequent devastations of the Northmen, it will appear 
 highly probable that it was erected either previously to the Danish 
 irruptions, or, at least, diu-ing that period of repose already referred 
 to, which intervened between the years 886 and 977. 
 
 I have next to notice the curious fragments of ornamented archi- 
 tecture, which were formerly to be seen in the chancel of the ca- 
 thedral, but of which there is 
 now scarcely a vestige remain- 
 ing. As in the preceding in- 
 stance, however, through the 
 drawings made for Colonel Bur- 
 ton Conyngham, now in my pos- 
 session, aided by sketches made 
 by myself a few years since, I 
 am enabled to preserve a tole- 
 rable memorial of these inte- 
 resting features. These features 
 are confined solely to the in- 
 terior of the east window of 
 the chancel, — of which a geo- 
 metrical drawing is given in a 
 preceding i^age, — and a sculp- 
 tm^ed fascia, or frieze, connected with it on either side. 
 
 Of the ornaments on the exterior face of this window, I have un- 
 fortunately no memorial, as they were wholly effaced previously to 
 the visit of Colonel Conyngham's artists in 1779- The several fea- 
 
 1
 
 254 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 tures on its interior face Avill be more distinctly seen in the annexed 
 engravings of its details ; of wliicli the two first represent the sculp- 
 tures on the frieze, as drawn by Monsieur Beranger ; and I need 
 scarcely add, that they appear obviously to be of cotemporaneous 
 age witli those of the Priest's House, already given : 
 
 Of the illustrations which follow, the first represents the chevron 
 moulding on the archivolt, and the second is a section of the pilasters. 
 
 / 
 
 ^ / 
 
 3V0* 
 
 The height of this window, on its inner face, from the sill to the 
 vertex of the arch, was fourteen feet, and its width six feet three 
 inches ; and externally it was about seven feet in height, and one foot 
 in width. The pilasters, including their bases, were ten feet in height; 
 and the capitals, or frieze, eight inches. 
 
 Dr. Ledwich, who is ingenious in his explanations of Irish alle- 
 gorical de\'ices, thus describes the sculptiu-es on this frieze : 
 
 " The Eastern window is a round arch ornamented with a chevron moulding. The 
 sculptures of the impost mouldings are legendary. On one part a dog is devouring a 
 serpent. Tradition tells us, that a great serpent inhabited the lake, and it is at this 
 day called Lochnapiast," [correctly XocA Ma j»e;s?e] "or the serpent loch, and beinn- 
 destructive of men and cattle was killed by St. Kevin. In another part the saint ap- 
 pears embracing his favourite "Willow, and among the foliage may be discovered the 
 medicinal apple." — Antiquities of Ireland, second edition, p. 176.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 255 
 
 How far Dr. Ledwicli may be right or wrong in tlie preceding 
 explanations of these sculptures, I miist leave the reader to deter- 
 mine, as I am myself unable to offer any elucidation of them. 
 
 That these features, and indeed the whole of the chancel, are of 
 later age than the nave, or body of the church, will be at once obvious 
 on an examination of the building. The greater antiquity of the nave, 
 which, indeed, there is every reason to believe, if not of St. Kevin's 
 time, is of an age very closely following it, is sufficiently indicated by 
 the Cyclopean character of its masonry, — of which I have given an 
 example at page 187, — audits massive doorway, placed in the centre 
 of the west front, which is similar to some of the most ancient church 
 doorways in Ireland, except that the weight upon the lintel is taken 
 off by a semicircular arch, as shown in the annexed wood-cut : 
 
 Moreover, in the chancel there is no massive masonry in any part of 
 the walls, and the stones, of which they are composed, seem all to 
 have been boulders or surface stones ; and those forming the quoins 
 in the east angles are of granite, not mica slate, — the stone of the dis- 
 trict,^as in the angles of the nave. Besides, the walls of the chancel
 
 25(5 INQUIRY IXTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 are not bonded into those of the nuvc, as they unquestionably would 
 have been had both been built at the same time. In addition to 
 these facts, I need only observe the extreme improbability, that the 
 same architects, who introduced decorated architecture in and around 
 the princii)al window, would leave the great entrance doorway with- 
 out any ornament whatever. 
 
 The last, and perhaps most interesting of the ornamented archi- 
 tectural remains at Glendalough, which I have to notice, are those 
 found in the chancel of the Church of the Monastery, situated about 
 a mile to the east of the old city, and which is called by Archdall 
 and other modern writers, but without sufficient authority, the Priory 
 of St. Savioiu-. This small chancel, which was originally stone-roofed, 
 had lain for ages concealed from observation, in consequence of the 
 falling-in of the roof, until, about the year 1770, the rubbish was 
 cleared out by Samuel Hayes, Esq., of Avondale, in the county of 
 Wicklow. Its interior measurement is fifteen feet six inches in length, 
 and eleven feet five inches in breadth, and the walls are three feet in 
 thickness. At its east end it has a stone bench or seat, one foot 
 eight inches in breadth, and extending the length of the Avail, like 
 that in the little chapel called the Priest's House, already described ; 
 and at a distance of two feet from that seat stood an isolated stone 
 altar, — since destroyed, — five feet in length, two feet eleven inches 
 in breadth, and about foiu feet in height. In its south wall are three 
 niches, one foot six inches in depth, one of which appears to have 
 been for a piscina, and the two others were probably ambrys, or 
 lockers. Of these niches the first is one foot six inches in breadth, 
 the second two feet eight inches, and the third tAvo feet four inches. 
 At the upper end of the north wall there is a similar niche, but of 
 smaller size, being only one foot four inches in breadth, and one foot 
 two inches in depth. This chancel was lighted by a single window, 
 placed in its east end ; but this was destroyed previously to the year 1770. 
 
 The nave connected with this chancel, and which appears to 
 have been without ornament, was about forty-two feet in length, and 
 about twenty-six feet in breadth, and seems to have been entered by 
 a doorway placed at the eastern extremity of the south wall, near the 
 chancel arch. On its north side there appears to have been a range 
 of apartments for the use of the officiating clergy of the place, but 
 their divisional walls cannot now be traced.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 257 
 
 The most interesting feature, however, of this ciuious structure 
 is its chancel archway, of which only the piers ■with their semi- 
 coliunns on each side remain ; but a great number of the sculptured 
 stones, which formed its compound arch, are still to be seen scattered 
 about the cemetery. It is to be lamented, however, that many others 
 of them have been carried away within the last few years ; and as 
 such barbarous devastation of these ruins is too likely to be con- 
 tinued, — since there is, unfortunately, no care taken to prevent it, — I 
 feel it an imperative duty to preserve, so far as is in my power, 
 every memorial of fragments so interesting to the history of art in this 
 country. 
 
 f^?^'! 
 
 This archway is a compound one, consisting of three receding 
 piers with semi- columns, the arrangement of wliich will be sufficiently 
 imderstood from the prefixed illustration, recently drawn, and the 
 ground-plan, which is given at the close of this description. Its 
 breadth, at its innermost arch, is ten feet, and its height to the vertex 
 was eleven feet : the height of the semi-columns is six feet one inch 
 and a half, of which the capitals measure nine inches and a half, the 
 shafts four feet, the bases eight inches, and the plinths eight inches. 
 
 2 L
 
 258 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The devices on the capitals on the south side are shown in the 
 liuuexed details, of which the three first represent the faces of the 
 
 capital of the innermost recessed arch, marked A on the ground -plan; 
 and the cut which follows, which is copied from a drawing of Be- 
 ranger's, presents the whole of this design in a continuous line. 
 
 It is a portion of this sculpture that Dr. Ledwich describes as 
 exhibiting '• the head of a young man and a wolf; the long hair of 
 the former elegantly entwined with the tail of the latter." And he 
 gravely adds, " There was a singular propriety in joining the tail of 
 this animal with the young man's ghbb, to indicate the fondness of 
 the one for the pursuit of the other." 
 
 The capital to the column on pier B has been recently carried 
 away, but its design is shown in the following illustration from a 
 drawing of Beranger's, exhibiting in a continuous line the design on 
 the two sides : 
 
 Dr. Ledwich displays even more than his usual ingenuity in ex- 
 plaining the subject of this sculptm'e : " A ravenous quadruped," — 
 he should have used the plural, — " a wolf, devom-s a human head :
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 259 
 
 the head is a living one ; the hail", whiskers, aud beard give it a 
 savage appearance. Tlie animal is easily discovered by the following 
 story : — One of the sailors of King Harold dreamed, that a woman 
 of gigantic size appeared to him, riding on a wolf, who had in his 
 mouth the head of a man, the blood of which flowed from his jaws. 
 When he had swallowed the head, the Avomau put another into his 
 mouth, and so on with many more, all of them he devoured, and then 
 she began the sons; of death." 
 
 The capitals of the outer pier, marked C in the ground-plan, are 
 represented in the annexed illustrations, showing their two sides or 
 faces. 
 
 ■;Ti|||[W53)W 
 
 The ornament which constitutes the principal feature on these 
 capitals does not occur on any others in Ireland ; but it is, as I shall 
 hereafter show, very common on Irish tombstones of the ninth and 
 tenth centuries, and in manuscripts of a still earlier age. The columns 
 on the opposite side of the arch are without capitals or ornament. 
 
 The illustrations which follow show the various ornaments on the 
 
 
 bases of the columns. Those prefixed exhibit the two faces of that 
 of pier B : they are no less peculiar than the capitals. 
 
 2 L 2
 
 •260 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Tlu.^c which iV.lluw represent the two faces of that of pier C, on 
 ,ho outer oohnnn. and are equally remarkable in their character. 
 
 I 
 
 The base of the column on pier A is svifficiently shown in the 
 general view. The bases of the piers on the north side of this arch- 
 way present an equal variety of device with those on the south, as 
 will be seen in the following illus- 
 trations, of wliich the first repre- 
 sents the base of the innermost 
 pier, or that opposite pier A in 
 the plan. Dr. Ledwich gives a re- 
 presentation of a portion of the 
 scidpture on this base, as a spe- 
 cimen of what he calls " Runic 
 knots, composed of the segments 
 of circles, their arcs and chords 
 intersecting each other." And he adds that, " There is scarcely a 
 carved stone, cross, or other remnant of antiquity, during the time 
 
 of the Danish power, but exhibits a knot of some kind." But, what 
 proof is there that such knots or figm-es are Eunic ? A single Runic 
 inscription has never yet been found in Ireland; and the interlaced 
 traceries, which he calls Runic, are found in all classes of ancient
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 2G1 
 
 Irish nionuinents, und are equally common in Irish manuscripts, 
 which are acknowledged to be of earlier antiquity than the period of 
 Danish rule in Ireland. The last illustration, given on the preceding 
 page, shows the design on the two faces of the base of the central 
 })ier, or that facing pier B : the base of the third column is defaced. 
 Of the arch-mouldings only a few stones remain, but these are 
 sufficient to prove that they were ornamented with a profusion of 
 sculpture, as will be seen from the folloAving illustrations, of which 
 the three first are copied from geometrical sketches by Monsieur Be- 
 ranger, and obviously belonged to one compartment of the arch : 
 
 
 at 
 
 The three which follow, are from sketches of other arch-stones, re- 
 cently made, but which do not correspond in size or character of 
 ornament with each other. 
 
 r-r^Tim 
 
 Some (jf the most curious and beautifully executed sculptiu-es are, 
 however, those supposed to have formed the architrave of the win-
 
 2(i2 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 dow, or ratlier perliaps of au arched recess ou the external face of the 
 east wall, similar to tliat on the Priest's House already described. 
 These scidptures are thus described by Archdall, from the notes 
 written by the artists for Colonel Conyngham : 
 
 " On the removal of some heaps of rubbish from vinder the ruins of this arch, a few 
 stones beautifully carved were found, many of them belonging to the arclies, and some 
 to the architrave of the window ; the architrave is twelve inches broad, and a pannel 
 is sunk, ornamented lozenge-wise, and an ovolo forms the lozenge vrith a bead riinning 
 on each side ; the centre of the lozenge is decorated on one side in bas-relief, with a knot 
 delicately carved ; on tlie otlier with a flower in the centre, and mouldings corresponding 
 to the shape of the lozenge. The half-lozenge, at the bottom of the pilaster in one, is 
 filled with a bas-relief of a human head, with a bird on each side pecking at the eye 
 [mouth], and the other by a dragon twisting its head round and the tail turned up 
 between its legs into the mouth. Here is another stone, apparently the capital of a 
 column ; two sides of it are visible, both are ornamented with a patera, but each side 
 in a diiferent manner ; one consists of a flower of sixteen large leaves, and fifteen 
 [sixteen] small ones, relieved the eighth of an inch, and the other of six leaves branch- 
 ing from the centre, with another leaf extending between their points." — Monagticoa 
 Hibernicum, p. 771. 
 
 Most of the stones above referred to still exist, and are here 
 represented from recent sketches. 
 
 \'X^'--y ^ 5»--^; 
 
 Dr. Ledwich, who finds illustrations of the Danish mytholocry in 
 most of these sculptures, makes the following observations on this 
 one, of which he gives a very inaccurate representation : 
 
 " Two ravens picking a skull. This bird was peculiarly sacred to Odin ; he is 
 called the king of ravens. In the epicedium of Kegner Lodbrog is recorded an en- 
 gagement of the Danes and Irish at Vedrafiord, or Waterford. 
 " In heaps promiscuous was piled the enemy : 
 Glad was the kindred of the falcon. From 
 The clam'rous shout they boded an 
 Approaching feast. Marstein, Erin's king whelm'd 
 By the irony sleet, allay'd the hunger of the 
 Eagle and the wolf, the slain at Vedra's ford became 
 The raven's booty.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 263 
 
 " The three daiigliters of Lodbrog worked a real'au on the standard of Ilingar and 
 Hubba, with many magical incantations, which was to be invincible. This ensign, 
 common among the Nortlierns, was supposed to give omens of victory or defeat : if it 
 gajdy fluttered in the wind, it presaged success, but if it hung down motionless, it 
 portended misfortunes. It is plain from many Abraxas in Chifflet, and many passages 
 adduced in Cuper's Harpocrates, that the raven was an Egyptian hieroglyphic, and 
 had a predictive virtue." — Antiquities of Ireland, pp. 208, 209- 
 
 Whether the birds in this sculpture represent ravens or not, I 
 shall not take upon me to decide. They are certainly not so like 
 those birds as Dr. Ledwich has represented them ; but, even sup- 
 posing them to be ravens, it by no means follows that the sculptiu'e 
 is Danish, or illustrative of Danish mythology. It is extremely pro- 
 bable that the raven was as much a bird of omen with the pagan Irish 
 as Avith the pagan Danes and other nations ; it is still considered so in 
 the popvilar superstitions of the Irish, and Piac, the Irish name of 
 the bird, was a usual name for men in Ireland both in Pagan and 
 Christian times. But it would nevertheless be an absurdity to sup- 
 pose that the ravens, represented in this sculpture, have any con- 
 nexion with pagan superstitions. 
 
 In the next illustration, which is that described by Archdall as 
 " a dragon twisting its head round, and the tail turned up between its 
 
 ■^_jjU->2™'^ 
 
 legs into the mouth," Dr. Ledwich recognizes another Danish symbol, 
 which he thus describes : 
 
 " A wolf in a rage, with his tail in his mouth. The ferocity of this animal, and 
 his delight in human blood, are the chief themes of Scaldic poetry. Odin, the ruler of 
 the gods, as he is stiled in the Edda, is constantly attended by two, named Geri and 
 Freki, whom he feeds with meat from his own table." — lb. p. 208. 
 
 In the next illustration, which represents 
 another of these stones as now broken at 
 one side, Dr. Ledwich could find nothing 
 emblematic of the mythology of the Edda, 
 and therefore has omitted it altogether. Not 
 so, however, in the case of the two following, Avhich he describes as
 
 •2()4 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Runic knots, but avIucIi appear to me as nothing mere than orna- 
 mental crosses, of wliich innumerable examples may be found m our 
 most ancient manuscripts, and on sepulcliral monuments. 
 
 The manner in which these stones lay upon each other will ap- 
 pear from the annexed diagram, as drawn by Monsieur Beranger ; 
 and it should be remarked, that the angle of the two sculptui'ed 
 faces of these stones is much greater than a right angle, as in those 
 of the arch on the Priest's House already noticed. 
 
 The two illustrations which follow represent the two sides of the 
 stone, described, erroneously as I think, by Archdall, as being appa- 
 
 jp 0009000 ->? Do:;. ^ J-ig^ jaa - ^t^Na^5 
 
 5pb<?Qooi3aoopooooaoo6'oooo6c-ooooiJoooooco5' 
 
 rently the capital of a column. I should rather suppose it to be a 
 portion of an architrave ; and the following cut seems to me to repre- 
 sent another stone of the same architrave. It shows the two faces of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 265 
 
 the stone, and is copied, on a reduced scale, from a drawing by 
 Beranger, together with its section, which accompanies it. 
 
 It is not easy to determine the situations in the building of the 
 two stones represented in the illustrations which follow. The first 
 would appear to be an arch-stone, and the second a portion of the 
 architrave of the east window. They are engraved from sketches 
 recently made. 
 
 The small cut annexed, Avhich represents another sculptiu'ed 
 stone at the monastery, not now to be found, is copied from Dr. 
 Ledwich's Antiquities of Ireland ; and as the 
 author gives no account of it, I am unable to de- 
 termine its situation in tlie building, or whether j V ^'^ V ""^ 1^ I 
 it was the ornament of a frieze or capital. I 
 think it, however, most likely to be the latter ; and its singularly 
 classical character makes it too interesting to be omitted in these 
 notices. 
 
 To the preceding illustrations I have only to add the ground-plan 
 of one side of the chancel archway, already referred to, and coupled 
 with it a sketch of one of the sepulchral crosses of Glendalough, which 
 I give as a cotemporaneous specimen of the use in such monuments of 
 Avhat Dr. Ledwich calls Runic knots. This cross is of mica slate, the 
 stone of the district, and is situated in the cemetery of the Eefert, or 
 
 2 M
 
 •2(36 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 burial-place of the kings, near the upper lake, where many stones 
 sculptured in a similar style may be found. 
 
 ^'^^^% 
 
 % 
 
 It should be stated that the sculptured stones in this church, as 
 well as those in the little church called the Priest's House, though 
 generally supposed to be of sandstone, are in reality of clay slate, 
 while those on the east window of the cathedral church are all of 
 an oolitic sandstone, more resembling Caen than Portland stone ; 
 and that no stone of this latter description is found in tlie province 
 of Leinster, or perhaps in Ireland. And, respecting the merits of these 
 sculptures generally, it may be observed, that however barbaric they 
 may be considered as to their style of design, their execution, at 
 least, exhibits no small degree of art. 
 
 That these sculptures have but little resemblance to the decora- 
 tions usually found in Anglo-Norman architecture in England, will, I 
 think, be at once obvious to the architectural antiquary ; and I shall 
 presently show that they have as little simiUtude in taste of design to 
 the ornaments usual in Irish churches of the eleventh and twelfth 
 centuries. Dr. Ledwich, who perceived this want of simihtude in the 
 Glendalough ornaments to those of Saxon or Norman architecture in 
 England, states it as his opinion that their origin " is certainly Danish;" 
 and that the " specimen is unique in Ii'eland." " Here," he remarks, 
 " are no traces of Saxon feuillage, no Christian sjanbols, or allusions 
 to sacred or legendary story: the sculptures are expressive of a 
 savage and uncidtivated state of society. Had there been a mixture
 
 <)V TIIK IIOUXD TOWKHS OF IHKI.ANl). 
 
 2G7 
 
 of styles, something might be allowed I'or the caprice of the carver, 
 but the design and execution being uniform, the whole must be 
 consigned [assigned] to a particidar people and era." This strange 
 opinion, as I have sho'wn, he endeavours to sustain by references to 
 legends in the mythology and history of the northern nations. But his 
 evidences, I have no doubt, will be deemed insufficient to sustain 
 such a conclusion, and his arguments wholly unworthy of notice. 
 It is certainly not among the northern nations of Europe, who had 
 no stone architecture previously to their conversion to Christianity, 
 that we are to look for the prototj^oe of a style of decoration, which 
 obviously had its origin, however moulded by local caprice, in the 
 debased architecture of Greece and Rome. 
 
 Among the many other ornamented churches in Ireland, the styles 
 of which appear to indicate a very early antiquity, and of which we 
 have historical notices to support such antiquity, one of the most 
 ciurious is the church called TeampuU Finghin, or Fineen's Church, 
 at Clonmacnoise. Of this interesting building a portion only i^e- 
 mains, namely, the chancel, and a Round Tower attached to it at its 
 south-east jtmction with the nave ; but the foundations of the walls of 
 the nave may still be traced with sufficient certainty to detennine its 
 original form and extent, as shown in the annexed ground-plan, 
 made for Colonel Conyngham by Monsieur Beranger in 1779, when 
 this building was less riuned than it is at present. 
 
 The only ornamented portion of this church remaining is its 
 chancel archway. Its doorway, which, there can be little doubt, was 
 ornamented in a similar style, has long since disappeared ; and even 
 of this archway, which appears to have consisted originally of three 
 concentric arches, the innermost was destroyed, and its place is 
 
 2 M 2
 
 2()8 
 
 INQUIRY INTO TUE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 supplied by a plain arch of black marble. The outer arch is only 
 ornamented with plain fdlet and band mouldings, but its columns 
 present as capitals human heads in a quite Egyptian 
 style of design ; while the inner, or recessed arch, 
 presents, both on its face and archivolt, the usual 
 chevi-on, or ziz-zag ornament, executed in low reUef, ' I 
 and on the capitals of its columns a figure somewhat 
 resembling the Irish crown. It may be remarked also ■ 
 that the bases of the columns in this sub-arch have the 
 bulbous character, noticed in some of the preceding examples, and 
 are stilted in a curious fashion, so as to form a 
 trijale base, as shown in the annexed illustrations. 
 The measiu'ements of this archway are, in 
 breadth, at the base of the outer arch, nine feet 
 two inches ; at the base of the second, seven feet 
 two inches; and at the base of the third, six feet: 
 in height, at the outer arch, ten feet to its vertex; 
 at the second arch, nine feet; and at the third, 
 eight feet four inches. The height of the columns, 
 including the capitals and bases, is five feet foiu' 
 inches. 
 
 I have akeady stated that there exist historical 
 evidences, which go far to support the antiquity I 
 am disposed to assign to this curious structure; 
 but I must, at the same ime, confess, that there is 
 also evidence seemingly authentic, which, if cre- 
 dible, would place the date of its erection as late 
 as the close of the twelfth centiuy. This evidence 
 is foimd in a document, which purports to be a 
 Eegistry of Clonmacnoise, and w^hich, as it states, 
 was transcribed by direction of Bishop Muircheartach O'Muiridhe, 
 from the original entries, which were in the Life of St. Elieran, 
 " feai'ing least it might be obscured or lost." The original MS. of 
 this Registry, as Archbishop Ussher, in his Report on the Diocese of 
 Mcath, addressed to King James's Commissioners, states, was in exis- 
 tence in his time, " but had lately been conveyed away by the practice 
 of a lewd fellow, who hath thereupon fled the country." Transcripts of 
 it were, however, in the possession of the archbishop, and of his
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 2G2 
 
 friend Sir James Ware, who had it transhxted into English by tlie cele- 
 brated Irish antiquary, Duald Mac Fii-bis; and the original autograph 
 of this translator is preserved among Ware's manuscripts, in the 
 British Museiun, No. LI. of the Clarendon Collection, 4796. In this 
 document, — which contains an account of the various lands granted to 
 the See of Cluain by the several provincial kings and principal chief- 
 tains, as a purchase for the right of themselves and their descendants 
 to be interred in a portion of the cemetery appropriated to their 
 use, — the following notice is given of the payment made by INIac 
 Carthy More (Fineen) for the place of sepulture of the Mac Carthys : 
 
 " Tlius liatli Mac Carthy .i. Great, Fiuyn M'^Cartliy, paid for liis sepulture, viz. 
 for the proportioa of nyue cells, or chapels, 48 dales for every chapell : — the chapells 
 were these, — Kiltkyrari in Desmond, Killcluain, and Killcorpain, and Killatleibhe, and 
 the other five kills, or cells, cannott be reade ; and there was so a discord between 
 Gerald na Corn, from whom the Geraldins discend, and IMacarty ]\Iore, that the said 
 Gerald tooke choice place of Macarty in Tempoll Finyn in Cluain, and hath given for 
 the same, in Dun Domnall in Conallagha, sixe dayes there and six dayes given in 
 mortmaine by Kydelagh to the church of Dun Domnall in Kidelagh, his owne towne, 
 so as there are 12 dales in Dun Domnall east and west, and the head of a mill and the 
 greate Hand in mortmaine to y" said church, and y^ parte of the waterweares lie- 
 longing to the greate Hand is the black weare, and in the parish of Dun Domnall, 
 are but sixe quarters, or sixe plowlands, and the whole doth belong to y^ church, 
 together w"' all kind of tithe in those sixe plowlands ; and allso y"^ baptising ; and 
 the said Gerald payed out of his owne part of Athfara four fatt beeves and 48 dales in 
 Killcluayn, whereof there are 4 dales in Bregoig, and 48 dales in Kill Dacire, and 48 
 dales in Killcyugh, and 48 dales in Kill Drochuyll, and sixe dales in Crumaigh, and 
 the baptising, together w"" the tithes of that towne of Crumaigh ; and Gerald gave 
 this in mortmain to y'' church called TeanipuU Finyn in Cluain.'' 
 
 From the preceding document it might very naturally be con- 
 cluded, that the church called Temple Fineen owed its name and 
 erection to a Fineen Mac Carthy More ; and such seems to have 
 been the inference drawn by the learned Sir James Ware, who, in a 
 ground plan of the cemetery of Cloumacnoise, calls this church 
 Temple Finian, or Mac Carthy's Church : and hence the general sup- 
 position that it owed its origin to a chief of that family, as stated in 
 the published pedigree of the Count Mac Carthy, compiled by Mon- 
 sieur Laine, genealogist to Charles X. of France. If then such an 
 inference were correct, it would follow that this chiu'ch could not be 
 of earher date than the thirteenth century, as, in the first place, the 
 epithet More, or Great, — which was applied to the chief of the senior
 
 270 IN'QriRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 branch of the Mac Carthys, to distinguish him from the chief of 
 anotlicr branch, wlio Avas called Mac Carthy Eeagh, — was not so ap- 
 plied until after the time of Cormac Finn, king of Desmond, who died 
 in the year 1215 ; and, in the second place, no chieftain of the name 
 of Fin"hin, or Fineen, is foimd as a Mac Carthy More before that 
 period. Such an inference would, however, be wholly opposed to 
 historical truth, and the tradition of the place, which assigns its 
 erection to St. Finian of Clonard, the instructor of St. Kieran ; for, 
 \vithout dwelling here on the suspicious character of this document 
 (which I shall have occasion to notice hereafter), or on the evidence 
 which the architecture of this church aflbrds of a far earlier antiquity, 
 we have the authority of Tighernach, — the most ancient and accurate 
 of our annalists, who flourished before the name Mac Carthy was 
 applied to a family, — that the Finghin, after whom this church was 
 called, was a saint of the primitive Irish church, after whom a holy 
 well in the immediate ^■icinity of the church was called Tiprait 
 Fingen, as will appear from the following passage : 
 
 "A. D. 758. ^opman, comapba ITIoclica f^ujbai, .1. mac C"opbaiD, comapba 
 pncpciij: ip pe po bai bliaoain pop uipci cippaic pinjen u Cluain mac Noip, 
 ocup (.ID bach a n-ailicpi 1 Cluam." 
 
 " A. D. 758. Gorman, combarba of Mocbta of Lugbadh [Loutli], i. e. the sou of 
 Torbacb, combarba of Patrick : it is he tbat was a year on the -water of Tiprait 
 Fingen [St. Fineen's Well] at Clonmacnoise, and died on bis pilgrimage at Cluain." 
 
 The well, alluded to in the preceding passage, still bears the 
 name given to it by the annahst, and is held in the greatest vene- 
 ration ; and the grave of St. Finghin himself, situated beside the 
 church, is still used as one of the principal penitential stations of 
 this distinguished sanctuary. But still further: — in the C/iron icon 
 Scotorum, — which is only a copy of the Annals of Tighernach, omit- 
 ting such entries as do not relate to the Scoti, or Irish people, — we 
 have an entry at so early a date as the year 1015, which proves 
 that a church, dedicated to St. Finghin, then existed at Clonmacnoise, 
 and would lead to the conclusion that it was not then of recent con- 
 struction. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " A.D. 1015. ^aor mop ip in pojmup, do na ppic peo nci pariiail ip in aimpip 
 pi, DU a D-copcaip oaip mop Pe^lepa Pmjm b-i 3-Cluain mac Noip." 
 
 " A. D. 1015. A great wind [storm occurred'] in the autumn of this year, the like 
 or similitude of which had not been found [observed] at this time, by -which -was 
 prostrated the great oak of Regies Finghin at Clonmacnoise."
 
 OF THE UOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 271 
 
 That this churcli became the cemetery of the Mac Carthy family 
 ill the twelfth or thirteenth century, I see no reason to doubt ; I 
 even thiiilc it not improbable that the name Finghin, which does 
 not previously appear in their histoiy, — but which after that period 
 became so common amongst them, — may have been originally adopted 
 from a feeling of veneration for the saint, in whose church they were 
 interred. But that they have any claim to the erection ofthis curious 
 structure I think I have sufficiently disproved ; and I have only to 
 add, that, as the Annals of Clonmacnoise, — which are so circumstan- 
 tial relative to the erection of the buildings there, and to the injuries 
 which happened to them, — are wholly silent as to any erection or 
 restoration of the church, called Temple Fineen, or Regies Finghin, 
 there appears to me no reason to doubt that the existing ruin is the 
 remains of that church, which the annalist refers to as in existence in 
 the year 1015, and which was then appai-cntly of a respectable an- 
 tiquity. 
 
 The Round Tower, which is attached to this church, and forms 
 an integral, and undoubtedly, a cotemporaneous part of the struc- 
 ture, will be described hereafter ; but I should state here that the 
 entrance doorway ofthis Tower is placed within the chancel, and on 
 a level -mth its floor. I should remark also, that this chancel was 
 lighted by a single round-headed windoAv, placed in its east wall, of 
 very simple construction, and small size ; and that there is a curiously 
 ornamented piscina in the south wall, still in perfect preservation. 
 
 Among the many other churches, of which there are ruins at 
 Clonmacnoise, the great church may, with propriety, be here noticed, 
 not only as a building erected in the beginning of the tenth centmy, 
 as can be proved from the most satisfactory historical evidence, but 
 also, as exhibiting vestiges, sufficient to show that it had been originally 
 ornamented. The erection of this church is thus recorded in the 
 Chronicon Scotorum, and a similar entry is to be found in the An- 
 nals of the Four Masters, at the same year. 
 
 " A. D. 909. iDaniiliaj Cluana mac noi)^ do oenarii la pianii, mac niaoil- 
 ]^ec)ilainn, 7 la Colman ConaiUech." 
 
 " A. D. 909. The Cathedral of Clonmacnoise was built by Flann, son of Maoil- 
 sechlainn, and by Colman ConaiUech." 
 
 The persons here recorded were Flann, monarch of Ireland, who 
 died in the year 916, and Colman, abbot of Clonmacnoise and Clonard,
 
 272 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 in the record of whoso death, at the year 92G, in the Chronicon 
 Saifontm, and 924 in tlie Annals of the Fom- Masters, we have an 
 additional evidence that this chiu'ch was erected by him : 
 
 " A. D. D'iG. Colman, nine Clililhi, ppincepp Cluann mcic Noip, 7 Cluana 
 Ipaipo, o'ej. Ip leip do pineo oaiiiilinj Cluciiia nuic Noip. Do ConuiUib Pluip- 
 cemned." 
 
 " A. D. 926. Colman, son of Ailill, chief [abbot] of Clonmacnoise and Clonard, 
 died. It was by liiin tlie catlicdral of Clonmacnoise was erected. He was of the Couaille 
 Muirthennie." — Chron. Scot. 
 
 " A. D. 924. Colman, mac QilelLa, abbao Cluaiici lopoipo 7 CUiana mac 
 Noip, eppcop 7 Doccop ejnaiD, o'ej. Qp leip 00 ponnub Daimliucc Cluana 
 mac Noip. t)o ConuilliB niuiprem»\e a cenel." 
 
 " A. D. 924. Colman, son of Ailell, abbot of Clonard and Clonmacnoise, a bishop 
 and sapient doctor, died. It was by him the Cathedral of Clonmacnoise was built. 
 lie was of the tribe of Conaille Muirthemne." — 4ww. ^uat. Mag. 
 
 We have also Avhat may be considered a further evidence of the 
 period of the erection of this church in the splendid stone cross at 
 Clonmacnoise, Avhicli is unquestionably coeval with it, and which 
 affords in itself an evidence, that the Irish at this period were not 
 ignorant of the art of sculpture, and therefore not incompetent to 
 apply it to architectural purposes. That such crosses were erected 
 as memorials of the founders of distinguished churches in Ireland 
 is proved by one at Tuam, inscribed with the names of Toirdhel- 
 bhach O'Conchohhair, or Turlogh O'Conor, monarch of Ireland in 
 the early part of the twelfth century, and the archbishop, Aedh 
 O'Hoisin, by whom the cathecbal church of Tuam was rebuilt ; and, 
 in Uke manner, by a similar cross at Cashel, which is obviously co- 
 temporaneous with a beautiful chiu-ch there, called Cormac's Chapel, 
 which was erected about the same period as the cathedral at Tuam. 
 The style of these crosses is, — as I shall hereafter show, when I come 
 to speak of the churches of Cashel and Tuam, — of a more complex cha- 
 racter than that of the cross at Clonmacnoise, which is of that simple 
 form, which may be now considered to be as peculiarly Irish as the 
 Round Towers themselves. Any doubt, however, which might be 
 entertained respecting the age of this cross, or the pm'pose for which 
 it was erected, will at once be removed by the fact, that the names 
 of the abbot Cohnan and of the monarch Flann appear engraved in 
 compartments upon it ; and though these inscriptions are now greatly 
 effaced, enough remains to enable a judicious Irish scholar, familiar
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWKKS OF IRELAND. 273 
 
 witli this class of inscriptions, Aviiich is still nnmcrous in Ireland, to 
 determine Avhat the entire inscriptions originally were. The first of 
 them occiu's on a tablet on the west front of the cross in the lowest 
 compartment of the shaft, and should unquestionably be read as 
 follows : 
 
 "ORoic t)0 F^ctiMt) mac maicsechcamD." 
 
 "A PRAYER FOR FLANN, SON OF MAELSECHLAINN." 
 
 The second inscription is foiuid on a similar tablet, on the east 
 side of the cross, which nearly faces the western door of the chnrcli, 
 and, like the former, occupies the lowest compartment of the shaft: 
 this inscription, which is less injured than the preceding, very plainly 
 reads as follows : 
 
 " 0R01C DO COr.maN tJORROlNDl IN CUOSSQ QR IN Rl F^^CtlNt)." 
 " A PRAYER FOR COLMAN WHO MADE THIS CROSS ON THE KING 
 
 FLANN." 
 
 Should it be objected that this cross was erected by the abbot 
 Colman as a sepulchral monument to the monarch Flann, and not 
 in commemoration of the erection of the church, — I would reply, 
 that it is highly probable that it was intended for both purposes, as 
 the abbot Colman survived the monarch eight years ; and a cross of 
 this kind, which would have taken the sculptor a considerable time 
 to finish, might very well have been commenced diiring the life-time of 
 the monarch, and have, moreover, been intended to serve as much as 
 a memorial of the erection of the church as a sepulchral monimient 
 of its royal founder. But, however this may be, the sculptures on 
 the west side of the cross evidently relate to the history of the original 
 foundation of Clonmacnoise by St. Kieran, and are very clearly in- 
 tended to be a memorial of the erection of its srreat chiu'ch to his 
 honour, while the sculptures on the other sides represent the prin- 
 cipal events in the life of our Saviour, as recorded in the Scripture; 
 and hence the cross was subsequently known by the appellation of 
 the Cros na Screapfra, i. e. the Cross of the Scriptures, under which 
 name it is thus noticed in the Annals of Tighernach at the year 1060 : 
 
 " A. D. 1060. li-6ille 7 h-Ui pocepcai do apjain Clunna mac Noip, co pucpac 
 bpuic moip 6 Cpoip na Scpepcpa, 7 cop Tnapbtto Dip ann, .1. mac leijmD, 7 oclac 
 eili : CO poipip t)ia 7 Ciapan t)elBna 1 n-a ii-Diaij, cop laippec a n-up ann, im 
 pijoarhna li-Ua Pocapca, ap ip ei]'iDe po mupb in mac leijuio. t)o pocc cpa a 
 m-bpuic epoch n-eipji do lo ap na rriapac co Cluain cpe pepruib Ciapam." 
 
 2 N
 
 274 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " A. I). lOfiO. Tlie Elians and the lly-Foccrtai plundered Clonmacnoise, and carried 
 away many captives from Cros na Screaptra, and slew two persons there, i. e. a student, 
 and another youtli : but God and Ciaran incited the Delvins in pursuit of them, and 
 tbcy slaughtered them, together with the heir apparent of Hy-Focarta, for it was he 
 that had killed the student. Their captives also returned to them at rising time on 
 the day following to Cluain through the miracles of Ciaran." 
 
 I sliould confess, however, that, if we are to trust Dr. Ledwich, 
 this cross, — of two sides of whicli he gives a very inaccurate repre- 
 sentation, and couples with them two sides of another cross at Clon- 
 macnoise, as if they Avere the remaining sides, — is no older than the 
 close of the thirteenth century, at which time, he says, the cathedral 
 church was re-edified by Odo, or Hugh, the dean of the place. His 
 remarks on this subject would be unworthy of notice, if the cha- 
 racter which he obtained by his show of research, and plausible 
 assumption of love for trutli, did not cause his audacious misrepre- 
 sentations to be received with respect by the learned, and render it 
 a duty to expose them. His description of this cross is as follows : 
 
 " The other ornamented cross is at Clonmacnois. The stone is fifteen feet high, and 
 stands near the western door of Teampull Mac Diarmuid. Over the Northern door of 
 this church are three figures : the middle St. Patrick, in pontificalibus, the other two 
 St. Francis and St. Dominic, in the habits of their Orders. Below these are portraits of 
 the same three saints and Odo, and on the fillet is this inscription : ' Dons Odo Decanus 
 Cluanni, fieri fecit.' Master Odo, Dean of Clonmacnois, caused this to be made. This 
 inscription refers to Dean Odo's re-edifying the church, and must have been about 
 the year 1280, when the Dominicans and Franciscans were settled here and held in 
 the liighest esteem, as new Orders of extraordinary holiness.. The figures on this Cross 
 are commemorative of St. Kiaran and this laudable act of the Dean. Its eastern side, 
 like the others, is divided into compartments. Its centre, or head and arms, exhibit 
 St. Kiaran at full length, being the patron of Clonmacnois. In one hand he holds an 
 hammer, and in the other a mallet, expressing his descent, his father being a carpenter. 
 Near him are three men and a dog dancing, and in the arms are eight men more, and 
 above the Saint is a portrait of Dean Odo. The men are the artificers employed by 
 Odo, who show their joy for the honour done their patron. On the shaft are two men, 
 one stripping the other of his old garments, alluding to the new repairs. Under 
 these are two soldiers, with their swords, ready to defend the church and religion. 
 Next are Adam and Eve and the tree of life, and beneath an imperfect Irish inscription. 
 On the pedestal are equestrian and chariot sports. On the North side is a pauper 
 carrying a child, indicating the Christian virtue. Charity. Below these a shepherd 
 plays on his pipe, and under him is an ecclesiastic sitting in a chair, holding a teacher's 
 ferula, on the top of which is an owl, the symbol of Wisdom, and its end rests on a 
 beast, denoting Ignorance. The other sides are finely adorned with lozenge net-work, 
 nebule mouldings, roses and flowers." — Antiquities of Ireland, pp. 75, 76. 
 
 On this extraordinary description it is scarcely necessary to re-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 275 
 
 mark, that Dr. Lcdwicli is as uuicli in error with respect to the a^e 
 of the north doorway of the cathedral and its inscription, as he is 
 with respect to that of the cross itself The doorway is not, as he 
 states, a work of the thirteenth century, but unquestionably of the 
 fifteentli, as the style of its architecture, and the character of the let- 
 ters in the inscription, will at once prove to any person acquainted 
 ■with the antiquities of this period. The cathedral church of Clon- 
 niacuoise was, indeed, re-edified in the thirteenth, or, more probably, 
 in the beginning of the fourteenth century, but not by Dean Odo, the 
 builder of the north doorway, — which is in a different style, — but by 
 Tomultach IMac Dermott, chief of Moyhurg, who, as the Registry of 
 Clonmacnoise states, " hath repaired or built the great church, upon 
 his oAvn costs, and this was for the cemetery of the Clanmaolruany." 
 This Tomultach Mac Dermott, according to the Irish annals, died in 
 the year 133G. 
 
 But, though the church was thus re-edified, we still find in the 
 sand-stone capitals of its great western doorway remains of a more 
 ancient church, as their style and material, which are different from 
 those of every other ornamented portion of the building, sufficiently 
 show ; and that such capitals belonged to the doorway of the original 
 church, I can See no solid reason to doubt. The general form of this 
 doorway, as re-edified in the pointed style of the fourteenth century, 
 may be seen in a plate of it given inHarris's edition of Ware's Bishops ; 
 the character of its capitals will appear in the annexed illustration, 
 copied from a sketch made by myself, previously to its recent de- 
 struction. 
 
 In the still perfect doorway of another chiu-ch at Clonmacnoise 
 we have a specimen, which, though but of little interest, as exhibiting 
 
 2 N 2
 
 •2H\ 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 oniamem, is worthy of notice hero, as a Avork of tlie close of the tenth 
 centviry, -wiion tlie power of the Danes in ]\Ieath was broken for a time 
 at the decisive battle of Tara, in 974, by the valour of the monarch 
 Maolseachlainn. This doorway occui's in the sepulchral chapel of the 
 O'Conors of Connaught, which, from the Registry of Clonmacuoise, 
 apjiears to have been erected by Catlial, the son of Conor, king of 
 Connaught, who died in the year 1010. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " Thus have the O'Connors theii' part of that cemeterie, and they gave this for their 
 sepulture place, i. e. a place for sixe little cells belonging to Cluain and fortie eight 
 dales to every cell, viz. Tobar Ilbe 48 dales, Tamhnach 48 dales, Killmuicky 48 dales. 
 Kill ni'=. Teig 48 dales, Tuillsge 48 dales. Kill O'Gealba 48 dayes ; and the O'Connor 
 who bestowed these lands was called Cathal O'Connor." 
 
 Templeconor is now used as the parisli church, but all its featiu^es, 
 except this doorway, have been destroyed. It appears, however, from 
 
 the reports of the old inhabitants of the place, that its windows were 
 in the same style as the doorway, and without ornament. This church 
 measm-es externally forty-five feet in length, by twenty-seven in 
 breadth, and the walls are four feet in thickness. 
 
 Taking our ancient authorities as a guide in this Inquiry into
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 277 
 
 the age of ornamented cliurches, I may next notice tliose of Killaloe 
 and Inislicaltra, in Minister, as buildings said t(i liavc been erected, 
 or re-erected, in tlie tenth century, by the monarch Brian Bonunha, 
 as thus stated by Keating : 
 
 " Q]^ e 6pinn ^oy ruj |^loinnce po peac ap peapaib ©ipionn, ay a n-nirionnccip 
 j^cic pil cpeab pci leir dioK. Qp leip map an j-ceaona do co^bao cempuU CiUe 
 t)alua, ajup reaiTipiiU Innpe Ceallcpac, ajupoo h-acnuaiDioocloicceac Cliuuma 
 5p^i>ie." — Keatitifl^s History of Ireland, — Reign of Brian BorumJia. 
 
 " It is Brian also that gave distinct surnames to the men of Ireland, by which 
 every separate tribe of them is known. It is by him likewise tlie church of Cill 
 Dalua, and the church of Inis-Cealltrach were erected, and the steeple of Tuaim Greine 
 was renewed." 
 
 Should it be objected, that a more ancient authority than that of 
 Keating ought to be adduced in proof of these erections, I must con- 
 fess that I am unable to find one, as the Life and Actions of Brian, by 
 Mac Liag, his secretary, — from which Keating, as well as Mac Cuxtin, 
 Avho also states these facts, most probably derived his information, — 
 has not fallen into my hands ; but I )nay remark, that I consider the 
 authority of Keating, on matters of this kind, as quite sufficient, for it 
 is well known to all Irish scholars that his work is only a faithful com- 
 pilation, as he states, from the original manuscripts of the country : 
 an examination of the existins; churches at Ivillaloe and Inislicaltra 
 becomes therefore of the highest importance in this Inquuy, and I 
 shall accordingly treat of each separately. 
 
 At Killaloe, then, we have two ancient buildings, namely, the ca- 
 thedral and a small stone-roofed church, situated immediately to the 
 north of it, of which the wood-cut on the next page represents the west 
 front. That the cathedral church is not of Brian's time is, however, 
 sufficiently obvious from its architectural details, which clearly belong 
 to the close of the twelfth centiuy ; and its re-erection is attributed, 
 with every appearance of truth, to Donnell More O'Brien, king of 
 Limerick, who died in the year 1 194. Yet, that a more ancient church, 
 and one of considerable splendour, had previously existed on its site, 
 is evident, from a semicii'cular archway in the south wall of the nave, 
 now built up, and which is remarkable for the richness of its embel- 
 lishments in the Romanesque or Norman style. It is true that this 
 archway, — of which a drawing and description will be found in the 
 Thii'd Part of this Inquiry, — does not appear to be as old as the time of
 
 278 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Brian; and the tradition of llie place has probably a foundation in 
 initli, w hicli considers it as the entrance to the tomb of Muireheartach 
 O'lirien, king of Ireland, who died on the Stli of March, 1120, and 
 who, as AVarc tells us, " was a great beneflictor to the church of 
 Killaloe, and pursuant to his commands, while living, was buried 
 there :" but this very supposition implies the existence of an earlier 
 cathedral chiuxh on the site of the present one. 
 
 
 ,?-%3 
 
 \swKllr ■ ■ "f 1 — ' — ! — "■"k \i y Jiiii 1., _- 
 
 "'^•w/i 
 
 
 The question then naturally suggests itself, is the other church the 
 remains of that erected by Brian two centuries previously ? Tliat this 
 church is as ancient as Brian's time cannot indeed be doubted, and it 
 would furnish an unquestionable proof, — if proof Avcre wanted, — of 
 the use of ornamented architecture in Ireland in the tenth century.
 
 OF TIIE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 27!) 
 
 But I confess tliat I feel very strongly inclined to believe that its 
 erection should be assigned to a much earlier age ; for, in the first 
 place, — without attaching much weight to the tradition of the place, 
 which ascribes the erection of the present cathedral church tt) Brian 
 Boruniha, and of this stone-roofed chiu'ch to St.lNIolua, or his successor, 
 St. Flannan, — it is scarcely possible to sup]iose that the cathedral 
 church, erected within his own hereditary principality by so powerful 
 a numarch as Brian, would liave been of dimensions so much smaller 
 than those of most of the cathedral churches of the earliest antiquity, 
 or so remarkable for the simplicity of its architectural features. The 
 nave of this church, which is all that at present remains, is inter- 
 nally but twenty-nine feet four inches in length, by eighteen feet in 
 breadth, and the chancel was only twelve feet in breadth,— as appears 
 by small portions of its Avails still remaining, — and could not have 
 been of much greater length. In fact this little church, in all its fea- 
 tures, with the exception of its ornamented door-way, is perfectly 
 identical in style with many of the earliest chiu'ches and Round 
 Towers of Ireland ; as will appear from the annexed illustrations. 
 
 
 ■^SM^^^c-^^'^O 
 
 representing the windows which lighted the apartment placed above 
 the nave, within the sloping sides of the roof, and of which that in 
 tlie west gable has a semicircular head, and that in the east, the
 
 280 
 
 INQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 triiincjular, or straiglit-sidcd arch. Tlic cliancel arch, which is wholly 
 without ornament, lias incUned jambs and chamfered imposts, and 
 measures in height eiglit feet six inches from the floor to tlie vertex 
 of the arch, and in breadth about four feet six inches, immediately 
 below the imposts. 
 
 I have already remarked that the doorway of this church is orna- 
 mented, and 1 sliould add, that there is no reason to believe it to be 
 of later date than the other parts of the building ; and undoubtedly 
 
 \«.^-^^j[jJ^Mi_ >^m 
 
 3^~^.:»«^N\ 
 
 "% 
 
 
 
 as its ornaments are very different in character from those found on 
 buildings which I wovdd assign to the tenth and eleventh centuries, 
 it would militate very much against such conclusions if this church 
 could be proved to be of Brian Borumha's time. But, as I have
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 281 
 
 already remarked, I see no just reason to assign it to so late a period, 
 nor is there "any thing in its ornamental details, which may not, as 
 I conceive, be with greater propriety assigned to a far earlier age. 
 It will be seen from the prefixed sketch that the capital of the pillar, 
 on the north side, presents a rude imitation of the Ionic scroll, while 
 that on the south side presents two figures of animals resembling 
 lambs ; and, that the architrave exhibits none of the ornaments con- 
 sidered as characteristic of Norman architecture. 
 
 I shoidd certainly not ascribe the erection of this church to St. 
 Molua, the first patron of the place ; the original church of this saint 
 I take to be that of which there are considerable remains, situated 
 on an island in the Shannon, immediately opposite the cathedral : 
 but the conjecture will not, I trust, be deemed rash, that this church 
 may owe its erection to JNIolua's disciple, St. Flannan, who was son 
 of Toii'dhealbhach, king of Thomond, and who, according to Ware, 
 was consecrated first bishop of this see at Rome by Pope John TV., 
 about the year 639- That a man habituated to the sight of the 
 Roman chiu-ches of this period should have a disposition to imitate, 
 to some extent, their ornamented features, is only what might be 
 expected ; and that he was supplied with the means to do so appears 
 from the fact stated by Ware, that " while he sat here, his Father, 
 T/ieodorick, endowed the church of KiHaloe with many Estates; and 
 dying full of Years, was magnificently interred in this Church by his 
 Son F/annan." 
 
 But, however this may be, the reasons which I have assigned for 
 doubting that the stone-roofed church at Killaloe owes its origin to 
 the illustrious Brian, will, I think, be greatly strengthened by an 
 examination of the church of Inishcaltra, which this monarch is also 
 said to have built, — or rather rebuilt, as a church had existed there 
 from the seventh century. As this chia-ch may fairly be considered in 
 part, if not wholly, of Brian's time, some agreement should be found 
 between the style of its architectural features and those of the church 
 of Ivillaloe, if they were really cotemporaneous structures, — but it will 
 be seen that no such agreement exists. In point of size indeed there 
 is but little difference, — the length of the nave of the church of Inish- 
 caltra, internally, being but thirty feet, and the breadth twenty-one 
 feet, and the chancel being a square of about fifteen feet. These 
 measurements, however, appear to be those of the original churcli (if 
 
 2 o
 
 282 
 
 INCiLIKY INTO TIIE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 St. Caimin, which was erected in the seventh century, as it appears 
 to me obvious from the character of the masonry, and of some of the 
 featm-es in the nave, tliat the kxtter, though unquestionably re- 
 modelled, was never wholly destroyed. 
 
 As is usual in Irish churches, the ornamented portions of this are 
 chiefly found in its western doorway and chancel arch, tlie general 
 features of Avhich will be seen in the annexed illustration. 
 
 
 /I'Cvli.'.!^*' » 
 
 Of the chancel itself only portions of the side walls remain, and 
 those Avails, which are of ashlar masonry, are of a totally different 
 character from those of the nave, and are probably cotemporaneous 
 with the ornamented features of the latter, — or, at least, Avitli some of 
 them, as indeed some doubts may be entertained that these features 
 are themselves of cotemporaneous age. The entrance doorway, of 
 which a portion only now remains, consisted externally of three 
 concentric and receding semicircular arches, ornamented on their 
 faces with the chevron moulding, — not, however, carved in relief, but 
 in hollow lines, as in the round Avindow at Rahin, already described. 
 The piers of these arches were rectangular, but rounded at their 
 angles, so as to form slender semi-cylindrical shafts, Avith angular
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 283 
 
 mouldings on each side, and havintr, in capitals, well-sliapod liiunaii 
 faces carved in low relicl'. 
 
 The interiox- face of the doorway was only ornamented wiih a 
 single semicolumn at each side, the capital of whirl i was a simple 
 scroll. This doorway was two feet seven inches in width at the 
 spring of the innermost arch, and two feet nine inches at the base , 
 and in height, to the spring of the arch, five feet two inches, and to 
 its vertex, six feet six inches. 
 
 The chancel arch, which is less distinguished for ornament than 
 the doorway, is also triple-faced, or formed of three concentric and 
 recessed arches on its Avestern face, and is double-faced on its eastern 
 or inner side ; but the arches consist simply of square-edged rib- 
 work, and the ornamental sculpture is confined to the piers, which 
 are rounded into semi-columns, and adorned with capitals, as repre- 
 sented in the annexed illustrations, which show a front and side 
 view of the piers. 
 
 This archway is ten feet three inches in width between the 
 jambs ; and in height, — from the present level of the floor, which is 
 considerably raised, — five feet six inches to the top of the capitals, 
 and eleven feet to the vertex of the arch. 
 
 Whatever doubt may exist as to whether the doorway and chancel 
 arch of this church be of cotemporaneous architectui-e, there is, at 
 least, no reason to suppose that either of them is later than Brian's 
 time, when the church is stated to have been rebuilt, or restored. 
 But it appears to be equally certain that Brian's restoration was con- 
 fined to the chancel, — which, as I have already stated, is in a totally 
 
 2 () 2
 
 284 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 difTerent style of masonry from tlic nave, — and to one or both the 
 ornamental features already described. The masonry of the nave, 
 throughout, seems clearly to belong to the original church of St. 
 Caimin, though, perhaps, the windows, or at least one of them, may 
 have been inserted in Brian's time. Of these windows, which are in 
 the south wall, one has a semicircular head, and is ornamented with 
 an architrave, very similar in style to that of the doorways of many 
 of the Round Towers, as shown in the annexed illustration. The 
 
 other, Avhich appears original, has a horizontal head and inclined 
 sides, as shown above. There is also a small triangular window, 
 
 formed of three stones, and placed 
 in the middle of the west gable, 
 towards its summit, which, as far 
 as I know, is imique in form in 
 Irish architectixre. 
 
 I have now, as I trust, adduced 
 sufficient evidence not only to prove 
 the existence in Ireland of orna- 
 mental architecture, of an age anterior to the Anglo-Norman invasion 
 of the country, but to lead, with every appearance of probability, to 
 the conclusion that such architectiu-e existed here previously even to 
 theNorman conquest of England. This latter conclusion will, I think, 
 be greatly strengthened, if not satisfactorily estabUshed, when it is 
 shown that those Irish churches exhibiting ornamental architecture.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 •285 
 
 which we know from historical evidences to liiive been erected in 
 the eleventh and twelfth centuries, are not only very different in 
 their style of decoration from those presumed to be of earlier date, 
 but have a remarkable agreement in their details with those of the 
 known Norman structures in England and France. To prove such 
 agreement it may be proper to adduce one or two examples of sucli 
 churches in this place, and many others will be found in the Third 
 Part of this Inquiry. 
 
 Such an example, then, is found in the entrance porch, or door- 
 way, of the church of Freshford, or Achadh ur, in the county of 
 Kilkenny, a church originally erected by St. Lachtin in the seventh 
 eentmy, but rebuilt towards the close of the eleventh, or commence- 
 ment of the twelfth, as a perfectly legible inscription on its doorway
 
 •28G INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 clearly proves. This inscription is contained in two bands, encircling 
 the external face of the inner arch,— the letters, as is usual in all 
 ancient inscriptions, being indented, — and is as follows : 
 
 1. Ill I lie lower band : 
 
 " OR DO Neim igiN cuirc acus X)0 marhj^amaiN u chiai?- 
 meic 6as in oeRNao T cempucsa" 
 
 i. e. " A PRAYER FOR NIAM DAUGHTER OF CORC, AND FOR MATH- 
 GIIAMAIN O'CIIIARMEIC, BY AVHOM WAS MADE THIS CHURCH." 
 
 2. In the upper band : 
 
 "OR t)0 sitte mochocmoc u cecucai t)o ri^ni" 
 
 i.e. "A PRAYER FOR GILLE MOCHOLMOC O'CENCUCAIN WHO MADE IT." 
 
 It is to be regretted that neither our annals nor genealogical books 
 preserve the names of any of the persons recorded in this inscription, 
 so that it is impossible to determine exactly the period at which they 
 flourished ; but it is obvious, from the surnames applied to the three 
 individuals concerned, that they could not have lived earlier than the 
 eleventh century, Avhen the use of hereditary surnames was generally 
 established in Ireland. And that the Mathghamhain, or Mahon, 
 O'Ciarmaic, whose name is here inscribed, was a chieftain of the 
 district, might be naturally inferred from the inscription itself, even 
 if no other historical evidence existed ; but this inference is rendered 
 certain by a passage in the Book of Lecan, fol. 96, b, in which we 
 find a Leinster family, of this name, mentioned as one of the six tribes 
 descended from Fergus Luascan, who was the son of Cathaoir Mor, 
 monarch of Ireland in the second century, and the ancestor of almost 
 all the distinguished chieftain families of Leinster. It appears, more- 
 over, from the following passage in the Annals of the Four Masters, 
 at the year 1087, that a Conall O'Ciarmaic was then a chief of some 
 distinction in the Leinster army. 
 
 " A. D. 1087. Cach Raclia Goaip eccip ^aijniB ctjup piopa rDuvnan, co po 
 paeimiD pia muipcheapcach Ua TT)-6piain a^up pe B-peapaib niuriian pop Ca\p^\h, 
 ujup pop mac tDoiiinaiU, mic TTlaoil na m-bo, ajup ap DiapmcuD Ua iii-6piain, 
 ajup ap Gnoa, mac tJiapmaon, co po lao ap mop ann pin pop ^^aijnib, im mac 
 niupcliaba Ui Doiiinaill, im rijeapno li-Ua n-'Dpona, ajiip im ConuU Ua Ciap- 
 maic, a^up im ua NeiU ITlaije oa con, ec petiqui." 
 
 " A. D. 1087- The battle of Rath Edair [was fought] between tlie Lagenians and 
 the men of Munster, in which the victory was gained by Jluircheartach O'Brien and 
 the men of Munster over the Lagenians, and over the son of Domhnall, son of Maol na
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 287 
 
 m-bo [king of Leinster], and over Diarmaid O'Brien, and Enda, son of Diarmaid, and 
 a great slaughter was therein made of tlie Lagenians, togetlier with the son of Mnr- 
 chadh O'Domhnaill, lord of Hy-Drone, and Conall O'Ciarniaic, and O'Neill of Magh 
 da chon, and others." 
 
 I may also remark, that the name O'Ciarmaic is still numerous 
 in the county of Kilkenny, though usually metamorphosed into the 
 English name Kirby by those speaking English. The name of tlie 
 female in this inscription is probably that of the wife of JMathghanihaiu, 
 or Mahon, as it was the custom anciently in Ireland, and indeed still 
 is to some extent, for married women to retain their paternal names. 
 An instance of this usage is also found in an inscription on the tomb 
 of Maeleachlainn O'Kelly, in the abbey of Knocknioy, in wliieh in- 
 scription his wife is called by her maiden name Finola, the daughter 
 of O'Conor. Of the name O'Cuirc, which is now anglicised Quirk, 
 there were two chieftain families in Ireland, as appears from the 
 Bookof Lecan, fol. 105, b, and fol. 115, b, — one seated in the territory 
 of Fothart Airbreach, in Leinster, and the other in Muscrai2:he Chuirc, 
 now the barony of Clanwilliam, in the county of Tipperary ; but it 
 would be idle to conjecture to which of these families this Lady 
 Niam belonged. 
 
 Of .the third name, which is undoubtedly an Irish one, it is only 
 necessary to remark, that as it was clearly that of the architect, it may 
 not have belonged to the district, as professional men of that descrip- 
 tion exercised their art wherever they found employment ; and that 
 many of them Avere of distinguished celebrity in their day is suffi- 
 ciently proved from records of their deaths, which have found place 
 in the authentic Irish annals^ 
 
 " It would be scarcely worth while, as a characteristic example of the charlatanism 
 of some of the Irish antiquaries of the last century, to notice here a copy with a 
 translation of the preceding inscription, which was originally published in the Antho- 
 loqia Hihernka, by Mr. Beauford, one of the original contributors to that work, and 
 also to Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, if his interpretation of it had not 
 found its way into Gough's edition of Camderi's Brilannm, and other topographical 
 works of character. The article to which I refer is as follows : — 
 
 " No. 2 is an inscription over the door of the old church of Freshford, in the county 
 of Kilkenny. It is in old Irish, engraven on several stones, as shewn in the drawing, 
 and runs thus : 
 
 " 'Aodos M'Roen ocas cuce cneabdocum doiamrac ncibnisan cuirce. acos dor 
 eacleag amarc mearg use acos elar sni deorsoich en argis.' 
 
 " In modern Irish —
 
 288 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The erection of this chui'ch may then, with every appearance of 
 certainty, be referred to a period not much earlier than the close of 
 the eleventh, or beginning of the twelfth century ; and that the gene- 
 ral character of this doonvay, as well as its ornaments, has a nioi-e 
 di'cided resemblance to those of the Norman chiu-ches in England, 
 than any of those previously noticed in this work, will, I think, be 
 at once obvious from the prefixed outline. This resemblance is found 
 
 not only in the greater richness of its decorations, and the boldness 
 of its sculptvire, which is in high relief, but also in the forms of its 
 capitals and bases. And I should also notice, as a characteristic of 
 Irish architectm-e, of this period at least, the grotesque lions' heads, 
 which are sculptm-ed on the soffit of the external arch, immediately 
 over the imposts. 
 
 The next example, which I have to addvice, is a church of pro- 
 bably somewhat later date than that of Freshford, and whose age is 
 definitely fixed by the most satisfactory historical evidence. It is the 
 beautiful and well-known stone-roofed church on the Rock ofCashel, 
 called Cormac's Chapel, one of the most curious and perfect churches 
 
 " ' Aoda M'Roen agus coiglie flath teampall talamh as dlightlieacli deaglais coirce 
 agns dorais ea clocli amairc sleas iisa agus e fearann do shin devirseacli en archios.' 
 
 " That is— 
 
 " ' The Priest, M'Eoen, and chief, gave to this church the glebe of arable land ; 
 and, over the door placed this stone, as a true token ; and, with this favour, the land, 
 slaves, and tribiite.' 
 
 " There being no date, the time of this gift cannot be determined. Freshford (in 
 Insh. Ac/i(uUim; or Waterfield) was an ancient monastery of regular canons in the "tli 
 century, and at present is called the Prebend of Aghour." — Vol. i. p. 351.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 289 
 
 ill the Norman style in the British empire. The erection (^f this 
 cluirch is popularly but erroneously ascribed to the celebrated king- 
 bishop Cormac ]Mac CuUenan, who was killed in the battle of 
 Bealach Mughna, in the year 908 ; and it is remarkable that this 
 tradition has been received as true by several antiquaries, whose 
 acquaiiilance with Anglo-Norman architecture should have led them 
 to a diil'erent conclusion. Dr. Ledwich, indeed, who sees nothing 
 Danish in the architecture of this church, supposes it to have been 
 
 erected in the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century, by some 
 of Cormac's successors in Cashel ; but he adds, that it was " prior 
 to the introduction of the Norman and Gothic stjdes, for in every 
 respect it is purely Saxon." Dr. Milner, from whose reputation as a 
 writer on architectural antiquities, we might expect a sounder opi- 
 nion, declares that " the present cathedral bears intrinsic marks of 
 the age assigned to its erection, namely, the twelfth; as does Cor- 
 mac's church, now called Cormac's hall, of the tenth." — Milner s 
 Letters, p. 131. And lastly, Mr. Brewer, somewhat more cau- 
 tiously indeed, expresses a similar opinion of the age of this building: 
 
 2 p
 
 290 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " This edifice is said to have been erected in the tenth century ; and 
 from its architectural character few will be inclined to call in ques- 
 tion its pretension to so high a date of antiquity." — Beauties of Ire- 
 land, vol. i., Introduction, p. cxiii. 
 
 A reference, however, to the authentic Irish Annals would have 
 shown those gentlemen that such opinions were wholly erroneous, 
 and that this church did not owe its erection to the celebrated 
 Cormac Mac Cidlenan, who flourished in the tenth century, but to 
 a later Cormac, in the twelfth, namely, Cormac Mac Carthy, avIio was 
 also king of Munster, and of the same tribe with the former. In the 
 Munster Annals, or, as they are generally called, the Annals of Innis- 
 fallen, the foundation of this cluuxh is thus recorded : 
 
 " A. D. 1127. Sluaj mop le Coipoealbach Ua ConcuBnip 50 piacc Copcaij, 
 7 d F^in ap cip, 7 coblac ap muip cioincul 50 Copcaij, 50 n-oeapnaiD fim 7 
 Donncha mac Caproij 50 n-a rhuincip Copmac, mac muipeaoaij, ITI15 Capraij, 
 D'airpiojao, 50 mo h-eijion do doI a n-oilicpe 50 6iop mop, 7 bacall do jabail 
 ann ; 7 Donnca, mac muipeaoaij, riieij Caprai^, do piojuo n-a piajnaipe. 
 • »»*»» Xy(^ Cheumpul a 6iop mop, 7 ceampul a 5-Caipiol, le Copmac." 
 
 "A. D. 1127. A great army was led by Turlough O'Conor to Cork, he himself 
 going by land, and a fleet by sea round to Cork, and he and Donough Mac Carthy 
 with his people caused Cormac, son of Miiireadhach, son of Carthach, to be dethroned, 
 so that he was obliged to go on a pilgrimage to Lismore, and take a staff there ; and 
 Donogh, son of Muireadhach, son of Carthach, was inaugurated in his presence. 
 ****** Two churches [were erected] at Lismore, and a church at Cashel, by 
 Cormac." 
 
 Thus also, in the same annals, we have the following record of 
 the consecration of this church seven years afterwards : 
 
 "A. D. 1134. Coipmp^ao ceampuiU Copamnic mac Capraij a 5-CaEpiol leip 
 an Qpoeppoj 7 h-eppojaib na muman, 7 le macib Gpeann, loip laoc 7 cleipeac." 
 
 "A. D. 1134. The consecration of the church of Cormac Mac Carthy at Cashel 
 by the archbishop and bishops of Munster, and the magnates of Ireland, both lay and 
 ecclesiastical." 
 
 And again, in the same annals, the erection of this church is thus 
 distinctly stated in the following record of Cormac's death, at the 
 year 1138 : 
 
 " A. D. 1 138. Copmac, mac TTIuipeaDai^, mac Capcai j, mac Saopbpeiri^, mac 
 Oonnclia, mac Ceallacam Caipil, T?ij (Deapmurhan, 7 lomcopnamach ITluman 
 uiLe, 7 an ouine ba cpaibcije, 7 ba calama, 7 ba peapp pa biuio, 7 pa eaoach, lap 
 g-cumoacb ceampuill Copamaic a 5-Caipiol, 7 do ceampuU a ^lop mop, do 
 mapboD le tJiapmaio Sumach h-Ua Concubaip Ciappuioe, aip paoparii Coip- 
 oealbaij li-Ui 6piairi, a cliamain, 7 u cai]iDiop Cpiopc, 7 a alcpom a b-peall."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 291 
 
 " A. D. 1 138. Cormac, son of Miiireadhach, son of Carthach, son of Saorbhretliacli, 
 son of Donougli, son of Ceallaclian Casliel, king of Desmond, and a man who had con- 
 tinual contention for tlie sovereignty of the entire province of Munster, and tlie most 
 pious, most brave, and most liberal of victuals, and clothing, after having built [the 
 church called] TeampuU Chormaic, in Cashel, and two churches in Lismore, was 
 treacherously murdered by Dermot Sugach O'Conor Kerry, at the instigation of 
 Turlough O'Brien, who was his own son-in-law, gossip, and foster-child." 
 
 The consecration of this church is also recorded in all the other 
 Irish Annals, except those which are defective about this period : — 
 thus, for example, in Mageoghegan's translation of the Annals of 
 Clonmacnoise, at the year 1135 : 
 
 " A. D. 1 135. There was a great assembly of Leath Moye in Cashell at the conse- 
 cration of the church of Cormac Mac Carthie King of Cashell." 
 
 Thus also in the Annals of Kilronan, Avhich are preserved in the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin : 
 
 "A. D. 1134. Coippecao cempoiU Copmaic." 
 
 Thus acjain in the Chronicon Scotoriiin: 
 
 "A. D. 1134. Coippecao cempoill Copmaic i j-Caipiol la mairiB imoa." 
 "A. D. 1134. The consecration ofCormac's church at Cashel by many dignitaries." 
 
 Thus again in the continuation of the Annals of Tighernach : 
 
 "A.D.I 134. Coippejao ceampuiU Copmac a g-Caipiol tnaidiib imoa, loip 
 laech 7 cleipeach." 
 
 " A. D. 1 134. The consecration of the church of Cormac at Cashel by many chiefs, 
 both lay and ecclesiastical." 
 
 And, lastly, thus in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1134. Ceampull do ponao la Copbmac, mac Plic Caprui^, pi Caij^il, 
 DO coippeccoD la peatiao clepecich n-Gpeno i n-aoin lonao." 
 
 " A. D. 1134. The church which was built by Cormac, the grandson of Carthach, 
 King of Cashel, was consecrated by a synod of the clergy of Ireland [assembled] in one 
 place." 
 
 The preceding authorities will, I think, leave no doubt as to the 
 true age of this structure, and therefore an examination of its charac- 
 teristic features will not only enable us to obtain an intimate know- 
 ledge of the style of architecture prevalent in Ireland in the early 
 part of the twelfth century, but also to mark the differences between 
 that style and those found in buildings, which, there is every reason 
 to believe, should be assigned to earlier periods. 
 
 It may indeed be objected, that the word cumoac, which is used 
 by the annalists to express the erection or foundation of this church, 
 does not literally bear that signification, but rather a restoration or 
 
 2 p 2
 
 292 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 covering of the building, as the word is employed in that sense to 
 denote the covering or casing of a book ; and, in fairness, I should 
 confess that, in the translation of the Annals of Inisfallen, preserved 
 in tlie Library of the Royal Irish Academy, the word curhoac is 
 rendered doubtfully " built, or restored ;" and I should also add, that 
 the verb cumoaijnn is explained in O'Brien's Dictionary as signify- 
 ino- " to keep or preserve, to maintain or support, also to build, rather 
 to roof and cover a building." But this latter part of the explanation 
 is an inference of Dr. O'Brien's, and it is not warranted by any au- 
 thority found in Irish manuscripts. In these documents the word 
 cumDac is beyond question employed to denote the erection as well 
 as the foimding of a building, and sometimes the bviilding itself; as 
 in the following example in Cormac's Glossary, at the word Qicoe : 
 
 "Qicoe, .1. ecDoe "^pece aeDipiciuin 6acine, .1. cumoac." 
 
 " Aicde, i.e. ecdoe Irecte ix'^oui'] Gro3ce, cedificium Latine, i. e. cumoach." 
 
 And, in like manner, the verb curhoaijim is used to translate the 
 Latin condo, with which it is very probably cognate, as in the foUow- 
 ino- example from the Book of Ballymote, in which condita est is 
 translated po cumoaijeaD : 
 
 ''■Roma condita est, .1. po curiiDaijeaD in 1301171." — Fol. 3, b, a. 
 
 In its general plan, as above shown, Cormac's chapel exhibits 
 many points of resemblance with the earlier stone-roofed churches 
 of the Irish, as in its simple division into nave and chancel, and in 
 the crofts or apartments placed over them ; but, in most other re- 
 spects, it is totally unlike them, and indeed, taken as a whole, it 
 may be considered as unique in Ireland. For example, there is no
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 293 
 
 east window in the chancel, which has at its eastern end an arched 
 quadrangular recess, or apsis, apparently designed to receive an altai-, 
 or perhaps a throne, and which forms externally a third division to 
 the church. 
 
 Another peculiarity iu this structure is the absence of an original 
 entrance doorway on the west side, — for the present one is obviously 
 of later date, — and its having both a northern and southern entrance : 
 but the most remarkable of these peculiarities is its having a square 
 tower at each side of the termination of the nave, at its junction 
 with the chancel, and thus giving the chiu'ch a cruciform plan. These 
 towers are of unequal heights, that on the south side, which wants 
 its roof, being about fifty-five feet in height, while the other, in- 
 cluding its pyramidal roof, is but fifty feet. The southern tower is 
 ornamented with eight projecting belts, or bands, — the lowest being 
 but three feet from the ground, — and a projecting parapet, which 
 is apparently of later erection. The northern tower is similarly or- 
 namented with bands, but ex- 
 hibits only six of them. The 
 southern tower contains with- 
 in it a spiral staircase of stone, 
 leading to the crofts already 
 spoken of, where it terminates ; 
 and the upper portion of this 
 tower was occupied by small 
 apartments over each other, 
 the uppermost of which was 
 lighted by four small qua- 
 drangular apertures, as if this 
 apartment had been intended 
 as a look-out station. There 
 is also a small aperture be- 
 tween each of the belts, ex- 
 cept the sixth and seventh, 
 to light the staircase. The 
 northern tower has neither staircase nor upper apertures ; but it was 
 divided into a series of apartments, the floors of which rested on ofisets 
 and joists, the holes for which were left in the ashlar work. 
 
 In the ornamental details of the building a similar peculiarity will
 
 294 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 be found to distinguish tliem from those in churches of earlier date. 
 Externally the walls are decorated with blank arcades of semicircular 
 arches, arranged in two stories,— resembling very much the churches 
 sculptured on the marble fonts in Winchester cathedral, and in the 
 neiylibouring one of East Meon, as figured by Dr. Milner and others, 
 
 and the lower of these arcades is carried round the southern tower. 
 
 Internally the side walls are decorated with similar arcades, except 
 that, in the nave, the arches do not spring from cokunns, but from 
 square pilasters. These pilasters have impost mouldings resting on 
 billets, and are ornamented with the lozenge, hatched, checked, star, 
 and other mouldings, characteristic of the Norman style ; and the 
 arches exhibit the zig-zag movilding both on their faces and soffits. 
 Above these arcades the north and south walls of the nave are 
 ornamented with a series of stunted semicolumns, resting on a pro- 
 jecting string-course chamfered underneath ; and from the capitals 
 of these spring square ribs, which support and decorate the semi- 
 circular roof 
 
 The entrance doorways are also riclily ornamented, both on their 
 shafts, capitals, and arches, and they present, moreover, very curious 
 grotesque sculptvires on their lintels. The ornaments on the south
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 295 
 
 doorway, which exhibits on its lintel a figure of a grotesque animal, 
 will be sufficiently understood from the annexed illustration, which 
 represents the doorway, as at present, built up. 
 
 The north doorway, which was obviously the grand entrance, is 
 of greater size, and is considerably richer in its decorations. It is 
 ornamented on each side with five separate columns and a double 
 column, supporting concentric and receding arch mouldings, and has 
 a richly decorated pediment over its external arch. The basso re- 
 lievo on the lintel of this doorway represents a helmeted centaur, 
 shooting with an arrow at a lion, which appears to tear some 
 smaller animal beneath its feet. The design of this sculptm^e, and 
 the general character of the doorway, will be seen from the illustra- 
 tion on the next page, and ovitliues of its capitals will be found on 
 pages 298-300. 
 
 In addition to these doorways, there are two others in the nave, 
 leading to the towers, but considerably less ornamented than those 
 already noticed. That on the south side is only ornamented in its 
 architrave ; but that on the north, which is of much greater size, has 
 two semicolumns on each side, and its innermost arch moulding is 
 enriched with the chevron ornament.
 
 296 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 The clifincel arch is composed of four recessed divisions, and 
 two of its shafts are twined, or fluted, spirally. The arch mouldings 
 are also richly sculptured, one exhibiting the usual chevron, and 
 another a series of human heads, Avhich extend also along the faces 
 of the piers. At present this arch exhibits, to some extent, the 
 horse-shoe form; but this is only an accident, resulting from "the 
 pressiu'e of the Avail. 
 
 The chancel is ornamented, in its side walls, Avitli an arcade like 
 those of the nave, but of a richer character, the arches being sup- 
 ported by columns ; and the apsis, or quadrangular recess for the 
 altar, is similarly ornamented, its arcade, however, being open, and 
 its columns enriched with fluted, spiral, and chevron mouldings. 
 The ceiling of the chancel is groined Avith ribs, springing from the 
 angles, and is ornamented Avith four human heads at their point of 
 intersection. Grotesque human heads are also placed immediately 
 beneath the vaiilt on the east and Avest Avails ; and the Avhole of the 
 vaulted roof, as well as the sides of the chancel, appear to have been 
 richly painted in fresco, in which the prevailing coloiu^s used were 
 red, yelloAv, broAvn, and Avliite. In the small side recesses curtains 
 Avere represented, and arches were depicted on the ceiling. These 
 frescoes are obviously cotemporaneous Avith the building. 
 
 The apartments placed above the nave and chancel are on diffe- 
 rent levels, the floor of the apartment over the chancel being six feet
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 207 
 
 six inclies lower tliau that of the apartment over tlie nave ; and tlie 
 communication between these apartments is by a plain semi-circular 
 headed doorway, within which is a flight of six stone steps. The 
 smaller apartment, or that over the chancel, is lighted by two small 
 windows, round externally, but square, and splaying considerably 
 internally : these are placed in the east wall, and are about ten inches 
 in the diameter of the circle. The larger apartment, or that placed 
 over the nave, is also lighted by two windows on the east side ; these 
 windows are oblong and semi-circular headed on the outside, but 
 square, and splayed considerably on the inside, and are each inclosed 
 in a low and semi-circular headed niche. This apartment is also 
 lighted on its south side by two square windows, which are of modern 
 construction, but may possibly occupy the place of more ancient aper- 
 tures. At the west end, in a wide recess, there is an original fire- 
 place, with a flue passing through the thickness of the wall ; and on 
 each side are small flues, extending round the side walls, close to 
 the present level of the floor, and which were evidently intended to 
 heat the apartment. 
 
 In both these apartments the side walls converge from their bases, 
 so as to form a sharp-pointed arch ; and, in the larger apartment, a 
 series of corbels project from the side walls, at the height of about 
 six feet from the level of the floor, apparently for the purpose of 
 supporting a wooden floor, and thus forming a second apartment, 
 which Avas lighted by a square window placed at the summit of the 
 east gable. The formation of the roof of this apartment is worthy 
 of notice, inasmuch as it exhibits a considerable knowledge of the 
 art of construction. It consists of two distinct layers of stone, of which 
 the external one is formed of sandstone ashlar, and the internal one 
 of squared blocks of calc tufia, — a construction admirably calculated 
 to lessen the superincumbent weight, and obtain a greater security 
 against moisture, without decreasing the stability of the building. 
 
 I have described the general features of this curious building with 
 a minuteness which, I fear, may be deemed tedious, but which its 
 importance seemed to me to deserve ; and luider this impression, I 
 shall now present the reader with detailed illustrations of its most 
 characteristic sculptures, including those on its capitals, which, as 
 will be seen, present a singular variety in their designs, and are 
 never in any two instances exactly similar to each otlier. I shall 
 
 2 Q
 
 i>9S 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 begin ^vith a selection of tlie capitals of the shafts of the great nor- 
 thern doorway, which, as I have already observed, is the richest 
 architectural feature in the building. The richest of these capitals 
 are those which decorate a double column on each side. 
 
 -^ 
 
 1 .t:-^:v-; 
 
 In the curious capital next represented we have an interesting 
 example of the intersecting semicircular arches, which, by forming 
 acute arches, gave, in England, according to the ingenious theory so 
 zealously advocated by the late Dr.Milner, the first suggestion of the 
 pointed style of architecture, and which was afterwards so generally 
 adopted in Europe, and refined into a beautiful and harmonious 
 system. This theory is, however, I believe, now very generally re- 
 jected, even by English antiquaries, who have thus given a proof that 
 they do not love the glory of their countrj' better than truth ; and I 
 
 have only alluded to it here in consequence of the cotemporaneous 
 example which this capital affords of an acquaintance with this form
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 299 
 
 in Ireland, and which is the more curious inasnuich as no example 
 of its architectural use occurs in this country. Similar instances oi" 
 its use, as an ornament on capitals, occiu' in England, as in Applcton 
 church, Berks, circa 1190. 
 
 Tlie capitals which follow are those of the single columns in the 
 same doorway, and are but little varied in their designs. 
 
 L 
 
 M 
 
 The next two are more remarkable, particularly the second, which 
 in its subdivision into small shafts, has an approximation to the clus- 
 tered column of the pointed style. 
 
 The capitals of the smaller north doorway, or that leading into 
 the northern tower, are ornamented, like those of the larg^er doorway, 
 chiefly with varieties of the Norman truncated and inverted semicones, 
 with escallopped edges ; but they present one exception worthy of 
 notice, namely, an imitation of the Ionic volute : and I should also 
 
 2 Q 2
 
 300 INQUIRY IXTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 observe, that the shafts of two of the cokimns of this doorway are 
 
 / 
 
 semi-octagonal. The six capitals which follow are those of the 
 
 seraicolumns wliich decorate the south side of the nave, and which 
 
 ■^fir; 
 
 support the ribs of the ceihng ; these are arranged in the same order 
 as in the building, proceeding from east to west. The six which
 
 OF THE ROUND TOAVERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 301 
 
 next follow are those of the north side, proceeding I'rom Avest to 
 east ; and it will be observed that the fourth of these ca])itals was 
 
 never finished. The next three illustrations represent the capitals of 
 
 the outermost double semicolumns of the chancel arch, and which are 
 
 of a different style of design from any of the preceding : and the two 
 followhig illustrations represent the capitals of the double semi-
 
 ;502 IXQUIRV INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 columns placed on the faces of the piers of the innermost divisions of 
 
 this arch. These capitals are of the more ordinary Norman types, as 
 
 If 
 
 l-.,,y. 
 
 v-V 
 
 , /'^yll 
 
 m 
 
 are also those of the chancel, of which the two illustrations at the 
 top of the next page will serve as examples. 
 
 o.oooj p,c 
 
 f,;r .■• 't 
 
 ll,. 
 11 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 v1 
 
 'm 
 
 ^^ES 
 
 S—SEB-S— 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^M 
 
 fe=rB^ 
 
 '_ 
 
 ^^W 
 
 
 r 
 
 -^^" 
 
 ■^ 
 
 'J 
 
 ..Mi 
 
 
 
 ii,. 
 
 
 
 
 
 The two illustrations following these are given as characteristic
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 303 
 
 examples of the bases of the shafts, the first representing the bases of 
 
 the single shafts of the nave, and the second, those of the double shafts 
 on the piers of the chancel arch. 
 
 In describing the smaller doorway, at the north side of the nave, 
 entering the north tower, I should have noticed the sculptured label. 
 
 or dripstone, terminations, on its interior face, as peculiarly charac- 
 teristic of the Norman style ; and of these I now annex illustrations.
 
 304 
 
 INQUIHV INTO THE OKIOIN AND USES 
 
 Similar grotesque ornaments terminate some of tlie mouldings of the 
 larger doorway, but on its external face. 
 
 Of the two following illustrations, the first represents one of the 
 
 decorated ai'ches of the blank arcade which ornaments the sides of 
 tlie nave ; and the second, one of the arches of the open arcade which 
 f)rnaments the apsis, or recess, at the end of the chancel. 
 
 Tlie two following illusti'ations will serve as examples of the most 
 
 p 
 
 t5 
 
 peculiar of the windows of this building, the first representing one 
 of the small round windows at the east end of the croft over the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEKS UE IKELANl). 
 
 305 
 
 chancel; and the second, one of the obk)ng apertures oftlie soutli 
 tower, splaying externally, and curved at the sill. 
 
 I should not conclude this description ofCormac's Chapel with- 
 out noticing a curious quadrangular recess, which is placed in the 
 north Avail, between the doorway and the tower. This recess is at 
 present occupied by a tomb, and was obviously intended originally 
 for such a purpose ; and according to the popular tradition, it was 
 the place of the tomb of the founder, Cormac Mac Carthy. The 
 present tomb, however, is obviously not the original one, which, as 
 I was informed by the late Mr. Austin Cooper, had been removed 
 into a small chapel in the north transept of the Cathedral, more than 
 a ceutmy since, after the abandonment of that noble edilice to ruin 
 in Archbishop Price's time, and where, divested of its covering stone, 
 it still remains, and is now popularly called " the Font." 
 
 S-iv~-i — - 
 
 iSejIiipii??^; 
 
 <rfm 
 
 
 T'i)iu[^? ..-D { 
 
 It is said that the covering stone of this tomb was ornamented 
 with a cross, and exhibited an inscription in Irish, containing the 
 name of Cormac, king and bishop of Munster, and that this sc\ilp- 
 ture and inscription were ground off its surface by a tradesman of 
 the town, who appropriated the stone as a monument for himself and 
 family ; and I may remark, that the probability of these traditions 
 being true, is greatly increased by the character of the interlaced or- 
 naments, which are sculptured on the front of the tomb, and which 
 
 •J. R
 
 ;!()(; 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 are obviously of the twelfth century, and similar in style to those 
 on the base of the stone cross now remaining in the cemetery adjacent 
 to the Chapel, and vnth which it is obviously cotemporaneous. I 
 should further add, that the length and breadth of this tomb is such 
 as to fit it exactly to the recess from which it is said to have been 
 removed. But, strong as these circumstances appear, there is yet a 
 
 fact to be stated, which may throw some doubt on tlie truth of these 
 traditions, or at least so far as they relate to the tomb having been 
 that of the founder of the cluu'ch, namely, that, on the opening of the 
 tomb, there was discovered a crozier of exceedingly beautiful work- 
 manship, and which, from its form and style of ornament, there is 
 every reason to believe must be of cotemporaneous age with the 
 Chapel. It is certain, at all events, that its age cannot be many years 
 later ; and I may remark, that a perfectly similar head of a crozier, 
 which is preserved among the antiquities in the INIuseum of Cluny,
 
 OF THE HOUND TOWJiUS 01'' IRELAND. 307 
 
 is ascribed by the learned author of " Les Arts ait Moi/en Age" 
 to the commencement of the twelfth century. Tlie Cashel crozier, 
 after having been in the possession of the Cooper family, of Cashel, 
 for a considerable period, passed into my possession at the sale of 
 the museum of the late Dr. Tuke, it having been purchased by him 
 at the sale of the library of the celebrated Joseph Cooper Walker, 
 author of the Memoirs of the Irish Bards, and other Avorks, and to 
 whom it had been given by Mr. Austin Cooper. The question then 
 naturally arises, was Cormac Mac Carthy, the founder of this Chapel, 
 a bishop as well as a king, or, are we to reject the tradition, and 
 adopt the alternate conclusion that the moniunent must have been 
 the tomb of some cotemporaneous bishop ? 
 
 As this is a question which has been already made a subject of 
 interesting controversy, it is greatly to be regretted that tlie onl}' 
 evidence that could perhaps have settled it, — namely, the inscription 
 upon the tomb, — should be irrecoverably lost ; for, under existing 
 circumstances, much may be said on either side without leading to 
 any satisfactory conclusion. It will be recollected that in one of the 
 passages already cited, — that from the Annals of Innisfallen, at the 
 year 1127, — it is stated, that on his expulsion from the throne of 
 Cashel in 1127, Cormac was obliged to take refuge in Lismore, 
 where he was forced to receive a bachall, or crozier : but though 
 there is nothing improbable in the circumstance that a deposed prince, 
 of his high character for piety, should have received the episcopal 
 rank to reconcile him to his fallen condition, the statement in the 
 Annals is not sirfRcient to establish that such was the fact, as the 
 word bachall is used in the Irish authorities not only to denote the 
 crozier of a bishop, abbot, or abbess, bvit also the penitential staff of 
 a pilgrim. But there is another historical evidence of much higher 
 authority, because a cotemporaneous one, which would go far indeed 
 to establish the fact that Cormac had received an episcopal crozier, 
 and enjoyed the dignity of a bishop, when he was restored to his 
 throne. This evidence is found in the last of the following entries in 
 a manuscript copy of the Gospels, written in Ireland, and now pre- 
 served amongst the HarleianMSS. in the British Museum, — n, 1802. 
 
 At the end of the Gospel according to St. Matthew : 
 
 " Op DO nicielbpijce qui pcpibpic hunc libpum. If mop in jnim Coptnac 
 niac Capclictij oo mupbao o Uaipoelbacb li-ua 6piain." — Ful. 60. 
 
 2 R 2
 
 .■)08 INQUIRY IXTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Pray lor Maolhriglite y/// sci-ijjsil liunc Ubrum, Great the deed, Cormac Mac Car- 
 tliaig to be killed by Tairdelbliach O'Brien." 
 
 At the end of the Gospel according to St. Luke : 
 
 " Op DO mcielb|n^ce qui |xpibpic hunc libpum ri^uni" unno aecacip puae. ]ii 
 ocipa blicioain lapp m ^oerhui;^ moip pin." 
 
 ■• Pray Ibr Maelbrighte (jui scripsit hunc librnm, xx°Bui.° anno wtatis suw. This 
 was the second year after the great storm." — Fol. 127, b. 
 
 At the end of tlie Gospel according to St. John : 
 
 " 0(7 DO ITlaelbpigre b-Lla niaeliianaij, qui pcpibpir bunc libpuni, .1. in 
 n-QpD mncba, ocup ip in ampip Oonnchacha h-Lla CepbciiU apoplj QipjiaVl po 
 pcpibaD,.i.in bliaoain can pepioe oeac popKal. 6naip, .1. ip in bliaoainpo niapbao 
 Copmac mac Capoaij;, pijepcopniuman 7 b-6penn up chenu in n-a ampip. Qcecic 
 po h-aucem pi5pa b-Gpenn ip in n-ampip peiii, .1. nimpcepcac, mac NeiU Lli 
 f,oclainD, Qiliuch ; Cu Ulao, mac Concbobuip, pij Uluo; Plupcach Lla tllael- 
 pecblaino, pij ITliDe ; t)iapmaic ITlac rDupchaoa, pig tagen ; Concbobop Llii 
 6piain, pi^niuman; Caipoelbacb Lla Concbobaiji, pi^ Connaclir; ^lUa ITlac 
 tiac, mac mic Ruaiopi (.1. mac ino ip oana do lb 6ipim), b-i comapbap pacpaic. 
 6ennach ap cecli oen legpap ppip in libup pa ; — gebeo paicip ap anmain in pcpi- 
 baeoa, — uaip ip mop bacecep ecip copp 7 cpoccao ic." — Fol. 156, b. 
 
 " Pray for Maelbrighte h-Ua Maeluanaig, qui scripsit hunc Ubrum, i. e. at Armagh, 
 and in the time of Donnchat O'Cerbhaill, chief king of Airgiall, it was written, i. e. the 
 year on which the sixteenth was on the Calends of January, i. e. the year in which 
 Cormac Mac Carthaig, royal bishop of Munster and of all Ireland also in his time, hath 
 been killed. These are the kings of Erin at this time, i. e. Muirchertach, son of Niall 
 O'Lochlainn, of Ailivich ; Cu Ulad, son of Conehobhar, king of Ulad ; Murcath Ua 
 Maelshechlainn, king of Meatli ; Diarmait Mac Murchada, king of Leinster ; Con- 
 chobhor Ua Briain, king of Munster ; Tairdelbhach Ua Conchobhair, king of Con- 
 naught; Gilla Mao Liac, the grandson of Ruaidhri (i. e. the son of the poet of the 
 Hy-Briuin), in the successorship of Patrick. A blessing on every one who shall let 
 this book pass \_witkout censure], — let him repeat a pater for the soul of the scribe, — 
 for it stands much in need of indulgence both in its text and commentaries." 
 
 This interesting passage has been already published by Dr. O'Brien 
 in his Irish Dictionary, vmder the word Curmac or Cormac, and also 
 by Dr. 0' Conor inhis RerumHibernicarum Sc?-iptores,Prolegomeim, 
 p. cxliii, who also gives a fac simile of the original ; and botli these 
 writers show, from collateral authorities, that the entry was written 
 in the year 1138. That Cormac was really a royal bishop, as he 
 is here called. Dr. O'Conor seems to have entertained no doubt; 
 but, in fairness, I should acknowledge that his predecessor, Dr. 
 O'Brien, who correctly translates pi-epcop TTluman, royal bishop of 
 Munster, gives it as his opinion that the writer, Maelbrighde, " had no
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 309 
 
 other foundation for stj'ling Cormac Roijttl Bislinp o/Mu^ister tluui 
 because he had repaired the cathedral cluircli of Casliel and two 
 chiu'clies at Lismore, and was otlierwise reputed a man of a pious 
 and holy life, which is the character St. Bernard gives of iiini in iiis 
 book De Vita S. Malachioe, according to Malachy's reports to him 
 concerning Cormac, to whom he was doctor and director during his 
 retreat at Lismore, after his dethronement by the faction of his bro- 
 ther Donos^h." 
 
 But this reasoning of Dr. O'Brien, though it has received the cor- 
 roborative support of the usually judicious and critical Dr. Lanigan, 
 is far from being satisfactory, as there is no example to be found in 
 Irish authorities for such a loose application of words, so simple and 
 significant ; and as to the silence of St. Bernard with respect to the 
 episcopal rank of Cormac, it can scarcely be considered of sufficient 
 weight to upset the direct authority of a native and cotemporaneous 
 ecclesiastical writer, because it is obvious that if Cormac were a 
 bishop at all, he could have been only so in the then Irish and irre- 
 gular way, which St. Bernard would have been the last to ackno-\v- 
 ledge or recognize, and of Avhich he thus speaks : 
 
 •' Verum mos pessimus inoleuerat quorundam diabolica ambitione potentum sedem 
 sanctam obtentum iri ha?reditaria successione. Nee enim patiebantur Episcopari, nisi 
 qui essent de tribu et familia sua. Nee parum proeesserat exeeranda successio, de- 
 cursis iam hac malitia quasi geuerationibus quindecim. Et eo vsque firmauerat sibi 
 ius prauum, imo omni morte puniendam iniuriam generatio mala et adultera, vt etsi 
 interdum defecissent elerici de sanguine Ulo, sed Episcopi nunquam." — Vita Maluclike, 
 cap. vii. 
 
 The argiunents of Dr. Lanigan add but little weight to those of 
 Dr. O'Brien, and are, in some instances, unworthy of his learning. 
 The following are his remarks on this difiicult question : 
 
 " Dr. O'Conor (Ber. Hih. Scriptor. 2 Proleg. 141) ealls Cormac M'Cartliy not only 
 king but bishop of Munster. He quotes Maelbrigte, (of wbom see Not. 94 to Chap. 
 XXI.) who styles him rig escop Mitman. But if cscop mean bishop, as Dr. O'Conor 
 thinks, it eannot in this passage be taken in a strict literal sense. Escop is not in 
 several Irish dictionaries, ex g. those of Lhuyd and O'Reilly, who have no other word 
 for bishop than enshng or easf/iig. O'Brien, however, has, besides eashog, also eascop. 
 Yet, admitting that rig escop signifies king bishop, either Maelbrigte was mistaken, or, 
 what is more probable, he gave Cormac the title of bishop in an honorary manner on 
 account of his piety and attention to ecclesiastical matters, similar to that, in which 
 Constantine the Great was styled bishop. Or, perhaps, escoj} indicates an allusion to 
 his having taken a pilgrim's staff at Lismore (see Not. 57 to Chap, xxvi.)
 
 310 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " That Corinac Mac-Carthy was not a real bishop is evident from the Annals of 
 Innisfallen, wliich often make mention of him, as a king, a warrior, &c. Had he been 
 also a bishop, it is impossible but that we would find him so called somewhere in said 
 Annals. Or would not St. Bernard, who speaks so highly of him, have told us that 
 he was not only a king but a bishop ? Keating relates {History, ^c, B. 2, p. 103, 
 Dublin ed.) his murder; and Lynch {Cumhr.eter. cop. 21) treats of him rather mi- 
 nutely ; but neither of them has a word about his having been a bishop." — Ecclesiastical 
 History of Ireland, vol. iv. p. 108. 
 
 In reference to these remarks I may observe, that Dr. Lanigan's 
 doubts as to the meaning of the word epcop are quite puerile, for 
 there cannot be a question that it is one of the okler Irisla forms of 
 the modern word eapbog, which in ancient inscriptions, and manu- 
 scripts, is generally written eppcop, and which, is but a corruption of 
 the Latin episcopus. And if, as Dr. Lanigau conjectures, the word 
 escop had any allusion to Cormac's having taken a staff at Lismore, it 
 must have been to an episcopal staff, and not that of a pilgrim, unless 
 he could show that the word escop was applied to a pilgrim. Nei- 
 ther can the silence of St. Bernard, as I have already remarked, be 
 considered sufficient to settle the question, for though Dr. Lanigan 
 deems such silence sufficient to overturn the assertions of Colgan, 
 Ware, and Harris, in the case of the second usurpation of the arch- 
 bishopric of Armagh by Nigel, in opposition to St. Malachy, — indeed 
 St. Bernard goes even farther, and states that Nigel was obliged to 
 remain quiet during the remainder of his life, — yet the fact of that 
 second usurpation is most clearly proved by the Irish annals. 
 
 Neither, again, can any great weight be laid on the fact that the 
 Annals of Innisfallen and the other annals are silent as to king 
 Cormac having been a bishop, because it should be recollected that 
 the old Annals of Innisfallen, Avhich should justly be regarded as a 
 valuable authority, are defective at the period in which he flourished, 
 and the Dublin Annals are only a compilation made subsequently to 
 the year 1459. It is, indeed, a singular fact, that in our most ancient 
 annals, that portion of them which would have preserved to us the 
 events of Cormac's time, by a strange fate, are defective ; and the 
 oldest authority which I have found, namely, the continuator of 
 Tighernach, throws no light upon the subject. And it is no less re- 
 markable that, in the annals of later age, the death of Cormac is 
 stated in such a way as to leave it optional with the reader whether 
 he should consider him a bishop in reality, or only in a figurative
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 311 
 
 sense. Thus in the Annals of Kih'onan, wliich were compiled in 
 Counaught in the fifteenth century : 
 
 " A. D. 1138. Copmac, mac liiej Cappchaij;, aipopi^ t)epmvinian 7 epf) pi^ 
 n-Gp. in-ci peiniep cip cpabuio 7 up fionacul peo 7 moine do cleipcibo 7 cellaib, 7 
 lip lapmcipc ne^lapoaj^Da u lelifiiiiB, 7 a niiiDniiB, do t)Iiiu, 7 do ruicim ti mea- 
 Buil Ui Cutioimimain : 7 bennciciic le na cimnuin."' 
 
 "A. D. 1138. Cormac, grandson of Cartliacli, chief king of Desmond nnd bishop 
 king of Ireland in his time for piety and the bestowal of jewels and wealth to the clergy 
 and the churches, and for ecclesiastical wealth to God, in books and implements, fell 
 treacherously by Thomond: and a blessing on his soul." 
 
 Thus, also, in the Annals of tlie Four Masters : 
 
 "A. D. 1138. Copbmac, mnc muipeaoaij, mic Capchaij, cijeapna t)eopmu- 
 man 7 eppoj pijb Gpenn 1 nu peniieap ap cioonacal peo 7 maome do cleipciB 7 
 ceallailj, peap leapai^re cuach 7 ecclap, do riiapbuo 1 net ri^ pein 1 K-pioll la 
 Coipoealbacli, mac tJiapmcioa Ui-6piain, 7 Ici do liicic Lli Ciioncliobaip Cicip- 
 paije." 
 
 " A. D. 1 138. Cormac, son of Muireadhach, son of Carthach, lord of Desmond and 
 bishop king of Ireland in his time for his bestowal of jewels and wealth to the clergy 
 and to the churches, the improver of territories and churches, was treacherously slain 
 in his own house by Toirdhealbhach, the son of Diarmaid O'Brien, and by the two 
 sons of O'Conor Kerry." 
 
 Here it ^\dll be perceived that in both these entries, if Ave put 
 a comma after the word eppog, we must clearly understand that 
 Cormac was truly a bishop ; while, on the other hand, if we choose 
 to suppose the words eppos and pig to form a compound term, and 
 connected Avith the remaining clauses of the sentence, we may con- 
 sider him as only honoured with the title of bishop for his piety and 
 liberality to the Church, as Drs. O'Brien and Lanigan have sup- 
 posed, — and not as a bishop-king virtually, as Dr. O'Conor under- 
 stands the words of the entry in the Annals of the Four Masters, 
 but which in fairness I must state he does not translate correctly, as 
 will appear from a comparison of his version with the strictly literal 
 one akeady given : 
 
 " A. D. 1138. Cormacus filius Bluredachi filii Carthii, Princeps Desmonise, et Epis- 
 copus Eex Hibernife durante regimine suo, Donator munerum pretiosorum et divi- 
 tiarum Clero et Ecclesiis, optimus Consiliarius Clero et populo, occisus est dolose in 
 domo propria, a Tordelbacho filio Diarmitii O'Brian, et a duobus filiis O'Conori Ee- 
 gionis Kerry." 
 
 On the whole, however, the evidences appear to me to favour 
 the conclusion that Cormac was really a bishop, as well as king, of
 
 ;;i2 INHillUY INTO THE OUIGIN AND USES 
 
 Minister; and particularly when we take into consideration the facts, 
 
 that it was a usual circumstance amongst the Munster princes to 
 
 step from the church to the throne, as in the case of the celebrated 
 C()rmac Mac Cullenan, and his successor, Flahertach Mac Inmui- 
 
 nen ; that we have evidence in the old Annals of Innisfallen, or 
 
 IMunster, that both Cormac's father and grandfather had been comh- 
 arbas, or successors, of St. Ailbhe in Emly, and that the former was 
 also king of the Eoganachts, or Desmond ; — that Cormac was but 
 a second son, and succeeded to the throne on the fatal illness of his 
 elder brother, Tcige, in 1106, and was therefore likely to have been 
 previously provided for in the Church, as his predecessors had been ; 
 
 and lastly, that the church built at Cashel by Cormac — Saint 
 
 Cormac, as Lynch styles him — was always called Temple Cormac, — 
 thus retaining the name of its individual founder, which no church 
 in Ireland, within my knowledge at least, ever did, when such founder 
 was not an ecclesiastic, — and hence, as I conceive, the popular tradi- 
 ticm which has so long ascribed its erection to the royal bishop 
 Cormac Mac Cullenan, to disprove which I have been led into this 
 somewhat tedious digression. 
 
 As many of my readers may desire to see a representation of 
 the crozier, which has principally led to the preceding investigation, 
 I annex an outline of its head or crook, the only part which, from 
 the durability of its material, now remains, the staff having been of 
 wood This head is formed of copper, and measures twelve inches 
 in length, and five in the diameter of the crook, or circular head. 
 The crook, or upper portion of the crozier, represents a serpent, 
 terminated by a double faced head. Its surface is covered with a 
 sunk lozenge carving, filled with a vitreous enamel of a blue colour, 
 and the intervening elevations of Avhich are gilt, — a design obviously 
 intended to represent the scales of the reptile. Within the curve is 
 a human figure, standing, with one leg placed on the neck of the 
 serpent, and the other on the back of a double-faced wingless dragon, 
 which he has pierced in the back with a spear, which the dragon 
 bites. This human figure is di'essed in a simple tunic, tied round the 
 waist ; and the feet are covered with buskins, which extend above 
 the ankles. This figure had wings fastened to the shoulders and to 
 a central bar, which connects the figure with the circle ; but these 
 wings have been detached and lost. Both the figures vv-ere gilt, and
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 313 
 
 their eyes, as well as those of the serpent, are formed of small gems ; 
 and the sides of the dragon are ornamented with a line of turquoises, 
 placed at equal intervals from each other. Tlie bowl, or middle 
 portion, which is hollow, is en- 
 circled by a central belt, or- 
 namented with nine turquoises 
 and nine sapphires, placed al- 
 ternately and at equal distances 
 from each other, the inter- 
 vening spaces being filled with 
 sculptured beads. Above and 
 below this belt there are figures 
 of fom- di'agous, gilt, and with 
 eyes formed of gems. The tail 
 of each of these animals is 
 brought round the head of the 
 other, so as to form a very 
 symmetrical ornament; and the 
 surrounding ground is filled 
 with a blue enamel. Imme- 
 diately above the bowl, and 
 encirchng the upper portion of 
 the staif, is an ornament re- 
 sembling the Irish crown, con- 
 sisting of eight radii, orna- 
 mented above the fillet with 
 the same number of gems. The 
 lower portion of the head, 
 or cylindrical socket, is orna- 
 mented with a very graceful 
 pattern, composed of leaves, or flowers, in three vertical ranges. The 
 ground in these ornaments is also of a blue enamel, but the stems are 
 gilt, and the flowers are filled with an enamel of white and red, now 
 a good deal decayed. These ranges are separated from each other by 
 three figures of a fish, the well-known mystical symbol of the early 
 Christians ; and these figures are each ornamented with a range of 
 seven gems, — turquoises and sapphires alternately, — placed at equal 
 distances along the back. 
 
 2 s
 
 314 INQUIRY INTO TUE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Independently of any other consideration, this crozier is of the 
 liighost interest as a speriinon of the jewellery art in Ireland before 
 the arrival of the English ; and, like the coteinporaneous archiepis- 
 copal crozier of Tuam, it may, perhaps, as a work of art, challenge a 
 comparison Avith any Christian moniunent of the same class and age 
 now remaining in Europe. 
 
 Having now i)roved, as I trust satisfactorily, that the architectiu-al 
 features found in Cormac's Chapel are not only strongly marked 
 with the known characteristics of Norman architecture, and that these 
 characteristics are very different from those which distinguish build- 
 ings of vmdetermined age, but which I would assign to an earlier 
 period, it might be considered unnecessary to pursue this comparison 
 further, and particularly as several characteristic examples of this 
 Norman style of architecture of the twelfth century, equally well 
 marked, will be found in the Third Part of this Inquiry. I cannot, 
 however, resist the temptation to notice in this place the remaining 
 fragments of a chui'ch of somewhat later age, in which the same well- 
 marked peculiarities are found, and which was originally, as would 
 appear, of far greater splendour ; I allude to the cathedral church of 
 Tuam, which Ware states to have been rebuilt " aboiit the year 1152, 
 by the Archbishop Edan O'Hoisin, by the aid and assistance of 
 Turlogh O'Conor, king of Ii-elund." 
 
 I have not, indeed, been able to discover what authority Ware 
 had for this statement ; but that the cathedral was rebuilt by those 
 distinguished persons may be considered certain from the following 
 cotemporaneous inscriptions, on a slab of sandstone, found near the 
 communion table of the present choir, and which seems to have been 
 mistaken by Harris for a monument to the archbishop; for, in his 
 notice of O'Hoisin he states: "He died in 1161, and was buried in his 
 own cathedral, under a monument, on Avhich is inscribed an Irish 
 epitaph, giving him the title of Comarban or Successor olJarlath" 
 These inscriptions are as follows : 
 
 "OR t)o chomaR6a iaRf,aiche t)0 aet) u ossih cas in xye\i- 
 
 NQD IN ChROSSa." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR THE COMHARBA OF lARLATII, FOR AED O OSSIN, 
 
 BY WHOM THIS CROSS WAS MADE." 
 
 This inscription runs in two parallel vertical lines along the length of 
 the stone. A second, on the other side, runs horizontally, in a series
 
 OF THE HOLMJ TOWERS OF IKELAMJ. 315 
 
 of short lines, and is unfortunately in part obliterated : as far, how- 
 ever, as the letters can be deciphered with certainty it reads as follows : 
 
 "CTr t)ON RI5 t)0 C01RDe<',6UCh U ChONCh06ail? Ol? t)ON- 
 ChaeR* 00 •^]UA] CR LI Ch**** DO ****." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR THE KING, FOR TOIRDELBUCII U CIIONCIIUBAIR. 
 A PRAYER FOR THE ARTIST, FOR GILLU CHRIST U CH* * * * 
 
 FOR * * * *." 
 
 It may be doubted, however, that the date assigned to the erection 
 of the church of Tuam, by Ware, is the true one, and there is, I 
 think, greater reason to believe that it was erected many years ear- 
 lier, — or, at least, previously to O'lloisin's having received the pall 
 as an archbishop in 1152, or even to his succession to the archbishopric 
 in 1150. For though, in one of the inscriptions above given, he is 
 called the Comharba of larlatli, — Avhich might equally imply that he 
 was archbishop or abbot of Tuani, — yet m the following inscription. 
 
 souo^m:bont)abbaic):i.^" loeRiJ'' : ,, , 
 
 on the base of the great stone cross, now lying in the market-place, 
 he is distinctly called abbot ; and it is not in any degree likely that 
 this inferior title would have been applied to him after his elevation 
 to the archbishopric ; for in one of the inscriptions on the cross, or 
 crozier, of the archbishops of Tuam, or Connaught, — now, through 
 the liberality of Professor Mac Cullagh, preserved in the Museum of 
 the Royal Irish Academy, — his predecessor, Domhnall, the son of 
 Flannagan O'Dubhthaigh, is expressly called Gpij^op Connachr; 
 and that O'Hoisin was Comharba of St. larlath, or abbot of Tuam, as 
 early as 1134, is proved by an entry in the Annals of InuLsfallen at 
 that year, stating that he was sent by King Turlough O'Conor to effect 
 a peace between Munster and Ulster ; and indeed there is no reason 
 to doubt that he became abbot as early as the year 1128, on the death 
 of Muirges O'Nioc. 
 
 The above inscription reads as follows : 
 « OR DO U OSSIN : DONDa66aiD : tQS IN DeRNQD.'- 
 "A PRAYER FOR O OSSIN; FOR THE ABBOT, BY WHOM IT WAS MADE." 
 
 A second inscription on the opposite side of the same base, pre- 
 serves the name of the king, Turlogh O'Conor, as in that on the slab 
 already noticed, and reads as follows : 
 
 2 s 2
 
 31G 
 
 INQUIRY INTd THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 "OR DO riiOn?De^.6llCh UO CONChU6Un?. DON ********* 
 
 ^a\^caz-h ^.as in DeRNQD iNsae ******." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR TURLOGH O CONOR FOR THE «*»*♦»*** 
 lARLATH BY WHOM WAS MADE THIS ***** *." 
 
 That this cross was of cotemporaneous age with the church, and 
 was intended as a memorial of its founders, or rebuilders, there can 
 be no reason to doubt. Such was the Cross of the Scriptures at 
 Clonmacnoise, which, as I have already shown, was designed as a 
 memorial of the erection of the great chiu'ch there ; and such also 
 was the triple-shafted cross at Cashel, just noticed in connexion with 
 Cormac's Chapel, though the inscriptions on it are now wholly obli- 
 terated. It seems more probable, therefore, that this cluu'ch was 
 erected previously to 1150, when O'Hoisin became bishop, and be- 
 tween the year 1128, when he became abbot, and 1150, when he 
 succeeded as archbishop. But the precise year of its erection must 
 remain a matter of doubt, till some definite authority be discovered 
 to determine it. If, however, I might indulge in conjecture, I should 
 assign its erection to a period not very long after his succession to 
 the abbacy, and this not only from the perfect similarity of the inter- 
 laced tracery which decorates the base of this cross, — of one side of 
 which I annex a sketch, — to that on the archiepiscopal crozier of 
 
 Tuam, which, according to the Annals of Innisfallen, was made in 
 the year 1123, but also to the traceries on the base of the cross at 
 Cashel made in 1134, and still more with those on the tomb of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 317 
 
 Cormac, sculptured, as we may assume, in 1138. And I may add, 
 that in the general form of this cross there is an equal similarity 
 with that at Cashel, the arms in both instances being supported l)y 
 external and detached shafts, — a peculiarity of form not found in any 
 crosses of earlier date in Ireland. The cross of Tuam, however, is of 
 far greater magnificence and interest, and may justly rank as the 
 finest monument of its class and age remaining in Ireland ; and yet, 
 to the disgrace of the inhabitants of that ancient city, its shaft, head, 
 and base, though all remaining, are allowed to be in difl'erent loca- 
 lities, detached from each other. It is formed of sandstone, and 
 measures, in the pedestal, five feet three inches in breadth, and three 
 feet eight inches in height ; and in the shaft and head, ten feet in 
 length, or, including the base, thirteen feet eight inches. 
 
 Of the ancient church of Tuam the chancel only remains ; but, 
 fortunately, this is sufficient to make us acquainted with its general 
 style of architecture, and to shew that it was not only a larger, but a 
 more splendid structure than Cormac's church at Cashel, and not 
 unworthy of the powerful monarch to whom it chiefly owed its erec- 
 tion. This chancel is a square of twenty-six feet in external mea- 
 surement, and the walls are four feet in thickness. Its east end is 
 perforated by three circular-headed windows, each five feet in height
 
 318 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 and eighteen inches in width externally, but splaying on the inside to 
 the width of live feet. These windows are ornamented with the 
 zig-zag and other mouldings, both externally and internally, and they 
 are connected with each other by label, or stringcourse mouldings, 
 of which the external one is enriched with patera. In the south 
 wall there is a window similarly ornamented, but of smaller size. 
 
 But the great featui'e of this chancel is its triumphal arch, — 
 now eri'oneously supposed to have been a doorway, — which is, per- 
 Jiaps, the most magnificent specimen of its kind remaining in Ireland. 
 It is composed externally of six semicircular, concentric, and recessed 
 arches, of which the outer is twenty feet six inches in Avidth at its 
 base, and nineteen feet five inches in height ; and the inner, fifteen 
 feet eight inches in Avidth, and sixteen in height. The shafts of the 
 columns, — which, with the exception of the outermost at each side, 
 are semicircular, — are unornamented ; but their capitals, which are 
 rectangular, on a semi-circidar torus, are very richly sculptured, 
 chiefly with a variety of interlaced traceries, similar to those on the 
 base of the stone cross ; and in two instances, — those of the jambs, — 
 with grotesque human heads. 
 
 r 
 
 The imposts are, at one side, very richly sculptured with a scroll 
 and other ornaments ; and, at the other side, present a kind of in- 
 verted ogive ; and these imposts are carried along the face of the wall 
 as tablets. The bases are unornamented, and consist of a torus and 
 double plinth. The arch mouldings consist of the nebule, diamond 
 frette, and varieties of the chevron, the execution of which is re-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 319 
 
 markable for its beauty. I have only to add, that all the ornamental 
 parts of this chancel are executed in red sandstone. 
 
 During the short reign of Tmiogh's successor, INluircherlach Mac 
 Loughlin, and that of Turlogh's son, Roderic O'Conor, the last of the 
 Irish princes who claimed the sovereignty of Ireland, numy churches 
 were erected in the Romanesque style, of v?hich notices will be 
 given in the Third Part of this Inquiry ; and in several of these we 
 find a more refined taste of design and beauty of execution than in 
 those of earlier date. The material, also, selected for the ornamental 
 parts, is of a difix^rent and better kind, being usually of gi'ey limestone 
 or marble. Such, for example, was the beautiful abbey of Cong, of 
 which, as a characteristic architectiu-al example, I annex an out- 
 line of the capitals and arch mouldings of one of the doorways. I 
 
 \''# 
 
 Vi; 
 
 liave, indeed, found no authority to enable me to fix with precision 
 the date of the re-erection of this noble monastery, or ascertain the 
 name of its rebuilder ; but the characteristics of its style are such as 
 will leave no doubt of its being a work of the close of the twelfth 
 century, while its magnificence indicates with no less certainty the 
 pious bounty of the unhappy Roderic, who, in his later years, found 
 refuge and, as we may hope, tranquillity within its cloistered walls.
 
 320 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 In this beautiful abbey, as well as in other monastic edifices of 
 the same af^e, we find indications of that new and more harmonious 
 st}4e of ecclesiastical architecture denominated Gothic, which became 
 fully developed in France and the British Islands early in the thir- 
 teenth century ; and amongst the finest specimens of this latter style 
 erected in Ireland, many owed their origin to the Irish princes. But 
 the struo-ffle for dominion which thenceforth ensued between the Irish 
 and the Anglo-Norman chieftains, and which was for so many ages 
 continued in Ireland, was fatal to the progress of the arts ; and, with 
 very few exceptions, the architecture, sculptiu:e, and, — as exhibited 
 in our illuminated manuscripts, — painting, not merely ceased to keep 
 pace in improvement with these arts in England and other Christian 
 countries, but, as their monuments prove, gradually declined almost 
 to utter extinction. 
 
 But I have extended this section to a tedious length, and though 
 the evidences which I would Avish to adduce are still far from being 
 exhausted, I must endeavour to bring it to a close. I trust, however, 
 that enough has been adduced to prove the two following conclu- 
 sions : first, that churches of stone and lime cement, in a rude style 
 of architecture, were erected commonly in Ireland from a period 
 coeval with the introduction of Christianity ; and secondly, that or- 
 namented churches in the Romanesque, or, as it is usually called in 
 England, the Norman style, were not uncommon anterior to the 
 English invasion. I have also, wth Avhat success the reader must de- 
 termine, endeavoured to sustain the conviction which has forced itself 
 on my own mind, that much of this ornamental architecture remain- 
 ing in Ireland, is of an age anterior to the Norman Conquest of Eng- 
 land, and probably, in some instances, even to the Danish irruptions 
 in Ireland. I am aware, indeed, that in this latter opinion I run 
 every risk of being considered rash or visionary, and therefore I 
 trust I shall be excused if, in my desire to sustain it, I avail myself in 
 this place of another and more decided example of such early orna- 
 mental architecture, sketched for me by my friend Mr. Burton, since 
 the preceding sheets have been printed off; as, though this example 
 is but a rude one, its antiquity will hardly, as I conceive, be doubted. 
 This example is found in the doorway of the church of St. Dairbhile, 
 which is situated in the wild and hitherto httle explored district 
 within the Mullet, in the barony of Erris and Co. Mayo. The chui'ch
 
 OF THE KOUXD TOWERS OF IKELAM). 
 
 :i->l 
 
 is, in form, a simple oblong, measuring internally forty feet in length, 
 and sixteen in breadth, and is lighted at its east end by a small, mi- 
 adorned, semicircular-headed window, splaying considerably on the 
 inside ; and its doorway, which is also semicircular-headed, is placed 
 in the west wall In both instances, however, the arch is formed in a 
 single stone. The walls, which are constructed wholly of gneiss, or 
 stratified granite, are two feet seven inches in thickness ; and the 
 massive masonry, which is polygonal, is of the oldest character, the 
 
 ;;'';^:n'!!?';;';*Wrailll^'f^' 
 
 i/^^w^ 
 
 ^My -S) «>*■ 
 
 -f^-; 
 
 stones being luichiselled, except in the window and doorway, Avhicli 
 constitute the chief features of the building. This doorway measures, 
 at present, but four feet ten inches in height, two feet in width at 
 the spring of the arch, and two feet foiu- inches at the base ; and the 
 lintel, or arch-stone, is ornamented on each face with a rude architrave 
 in low relief, now greatly time-worn. The stones immediately b^'- 
 
 •2 T
 
 322 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 neatli these extend the entii-c thickness of the wall, and on one of 
 them we find a sort of tablet, enriched with simple interlaced tracery 
 slioAvai in the prefixed view of the doorway, as seen from the interior 
 of the cliurrh. 
 
 That this church is that erected by St. Dairbhile, whose name it 
 bears, and whose tomb is situated within its cemetery, I cannot 
 entertain the slightest doubt ; and, therefore, if I am not in error, it 
 must be regarded as a church of the sixth century, within which 
 St. Dairbhile unquestionably flourished. This fact appears from her 
 pedigree, as preserved in the Book of the Genealogies of the Irish 
 Saints, from which we learn that she was the fourth in descent from 
 the monarch Dathi, who was killed, according to the Chronicon 
 Scotorum, in the year 427, so that, allowing the usual number of 
 tliirty years to a generation, she must have lived about the middle of 
 the sixth century. If, indeed, we could give credit to a statement 
 in the Life of St. Farannan, as published by Colgan in his Acta 
 Sanctorum, at 25th of February, it would appear that she was living 
 at the close of this century, as her name is included in the list of 
 illustrious religious persons who assembled at Ballysadare to meet 
 St. Columbkille, immediately after the great Council of Druim Ceat, 
 in 590; but as some of the persons there enumerated were dead, and 
 others not born, at the time, the statement must be regarded as of 
 no authority, except as referring her existence to the sixth century, 
 in which Dr. Lanigan properly places her : St. Dairbhile was of the 
 second class of Irish saints, and her festivals are set down in the 
 Irish Calendars, at the 3rd of August and 26th of October. 
 
 If, then, in a church erected in the middle of the sixth centm-y, — 
 as I assume this of St. Dairbhile to be,— situated too in a remote 
 corner of the island, where we should least expect to meet with any 
 traces of ancient civilization, or knowledge of arts, we find an example, 
 however rude, of the use of architectural ornament requiring the 
 sculptor's aid, is it not a legitunate inference that it could hardly 
 have been a solitary example, and that ornaments of a higher cha- 
 racter must have existed in churches in more civilized parts of the 
 country, and be perpetuated, at least to some extent, from age to age ? 
 
 That I may be in error as to the exact ages to Avhich I have 
 assigned some of the examples adduced, is, lam satisfied, not wholly 
 impossible, as the style of a peculiar class of ornaments which they
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND, 
 
 323 
 
 exhibit, and on wliich I have grounded my opinions, may have been 
 continued, by imitation, to a Later ])eriod than that to which they 
 originally belonged ; and, to some extent, such a continuation is, I 
 have no doubt, the fact. But I have felt it difficult, if not impos- 
 sible, to resist the impression that buildings which exhibit a class 
 of ornaments, that differ in a remarkable degree from those usually 
 seen on the Norman buildings in England, but which have a perfect 
 similarity to those found in our illuminated manuscripts, jewelled 
 reliquaries, sculptured stone crosses, inscribed tombstones, and, in- 
 deed, in every ecclesiastical monument of antiquity preserved to us, 
 of ages prior to the period of the Norman Conquest of England, must, 
 in some instances, be cotemporaneous with those monuments. Of this 
 similarity of ornament a thousand evidences might be adduced from 
 the various classes of remains to which I have alluded, but I shall 
 content myself with a notice of a few of the more striking examples 
 of the characteristic ornaments found on those monuments, as well as 
 
 pooooocooocoooo^ 
 
 A^4,r' 
 
 o 
 
 on oiu' ecclesiastical buildings. Of these, one of the most general 
 and remarkable is that curious triangvdar figure, known among me- 
 dallists by the name oftrirji/efra, and wMch is formed by the ingenious 
 interlacing of a single cord or line. In the creation of varieties, almost 
 endless, of this figure, the Irish ceards, or artificers, as well as the 
 scribes, found an ample field for the exercise of their fancy in design, 
 
 2 T 2
 
 324 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 as will sufliciently appear from the first of the prefixed illustrations, 
 which represent two of the bosses of an ancient crozier in my own 
 
 cabinet, the crozier of the virgin and martyr, Damhnad Ochene, or 
 
 " The Fufitive," whose memory was venerated by the people of the 
 extensive region of Oriel, as being their chief patroness. This saint 
 is suiiposed by Colgan and Dr. Lanigan to be the same person as the 
 martyr St. Dympna, who is venerated as patroness at Ghent in Bra- 
 bant, and of whom a Legend, or Life, has been published by Mes- 
 sin^ham and tiie Bollandists, who suppose she flourished about the 
 close of the sixth century. U, however, she were the same person as 
 the Irish Damhnad, she must have lived at an earlier period, as her 
 cenealogy shows. But with this question I have no present concern, 
 and I have only to remark that the form, size, and ornaments of her 
 crozier, in its present state, indicate an age not later than the tenth 
 century. The triquetra appears on coins of the Dano-Irish kings, 
 Regnald and Anlaff, who flourished in the tenth century ; and on a 
 hitherto unpublished Irish bracteate penny, — which is probably eccle- 
 siastical, — in the collection of my friend. Dr. Aquilla Smith. It is 
 
 also a usual ornament upon the Irish stone crosses of that age ; and, 
 from its frequent appearance on all our ecclesiastical antiquities an- 
 terior to this period, would appear to have been used as a mystical 
 type of the Trinity. This figure is found on the doorway of the 
 smaller church at Rahen, and is also figured on one of the stones of 
 the chancel arch of the monastery at Glendalough, already given in 
 p. 264, and Avhich Dr. Ledwich considered as a Runic knot. That 
 it is not, however, an ornament derived from the Danes, but one in 
 use in Ireland long anterior to the irruptions of that people, is fully 
 proved by its frequent occurrence in the oldest of our manuscript 
 copies of the Gospels, even in those of the sixth and seventh centu- 
 ries ; and its mystical signification seems to be proved by the fact of 
 its being represented as an ornament on the breasts of three of the 
 four figures of the Evangelists, Avhich illustrate the copy of the Gos- 
 pels written by the scribe Dimma for St. Cronan of Roscrea, about
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 325 
 
 the close of the sixth century, and now preserved in the Library of 
 Trinity College, Dublin. Its anticiuity in Ireland is therefore un- 
 questionable, and the period in which it was most used as an ornament 
 on sepulchral monmnents, appears from tlu' inscribed tombstones at 
 Clonmacnoise to have been during the ninth and tenth centuries, 
 after which I have seen no example of it on such monuments. The 
 latest is that on the tombstone of Maelfinnia, who was probably the 
 abbot ilaelfinnia, the son of Spellan, and grandson of Maenach, of 
 Clonmacnoise, and whose death is recorded in the Chronicon Scotu- 
 rutn, at the year 992, and in the Annals of Ulster and of the Four 
 Masters at the year 991. Of this tombstone I here annex an outline : 
 
 The inscription reads : 
 
 •' OROic t)0 maecFiHNia." 
 
 "A PRAYER FOR MAELFINNIA." 
 Another characteristic ornament of more palpable meaning which 
 also occurs in some of our oldest churches, is that form of cross some- 
 times produced by the interlacing of two ovals, and at other times 
 more complicated, being formed by the intersecting of four semi- 
 ellipses and lines parallel to their major axes, of which an example 
 occurring in the monastery church of Glendalough has been already
 
 326 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 given at p. 264. Of the more simple of these ornaments there is 
 an example on one of the upper apertures of the Round Tower of 
 Roscrea; and though I do not recollect many examples of these 
 crosses on the inscribed tombstones, they are commonly introduced 
 as ornaments on the monumental stone crosses of the tenth century, — 
 as in the example of one of those crosses at Glendalough, given at 
 
 p. 266, and they are also common in the illuminated ecclesiastical 
 
 manuscripts of still earlier date. 
 
 But there is another form of cross which is found on some of the 
 sculptured stones of the monastery church at Glendalough, wliich, 
 with slight variations, is not vmcommou on the Irish inscribed tomb- 
 stones of the ninth and tenth centuries, and of which I here adduce 
 as an example that of Blaimac, abbot of Clonmacnoise, whose death 
 is thus recorded in the Chronicon Scotorum at the year 896 : 
 
 "A. D. 896. 6lacinac, ppmcepr Cluana mac Noip, .i. mac rainceoaich oo 
 6pe5mainib, o'ec." 
 
 " A. D. 896. Blathmac, chief" [Abbot] " of Clonmacnoise, i. e. the son of Tairce- 
 dach, of Breghmaine" [Brawney] " died." 
 
 6%.airhac"'" 
 
 Another and more common ornament on our inscribed tombstones 
 anterior to the twelfth century, and which is equally common in 
 our most ancient ecclesiastical manuscripts of the earliest date, is that 
 boss-shaped figure formed of radiating eccentric Hues, merging into 
 one another as they approach the margin, and leaving between them 
 pear-shaped spaces, generally three in number, but sometimes two or
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 327 
 
 four, or even a greater number. Tliis ornament is usually found 
 within a circle, wliich forms the centre of a cross carved on such 
 monumental stones, and, like the triquetra, may possibly be symbolic 
 of the Trinity. As an example of this ornament, in its most usual 
 and simple design, I annex an outline of the tombstone of Flann- 
 chadh, who was probably the abbot of Clonmacnoise of that name, 
 whose death is recorded in the Chronicon Scotorum, at the year 
 1003, and in tlie Amials of Ulster and of the Four Masters, at the 
 year 1002. The entry of his death in the latter annals is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1002. planochao Ua 'Ruaibne, coiriopba Ciupain, mic an c-prioip 
 [o'ecc]. t)o Chopca Dlocclia a cenel." 
 
 " A. D. 1002. Flannchadh Ua Ruaidhne, comliarba of Ciaran, son of the Artifex 
 
 [died]. He was of the race of Corca Mogha." 
 
 ^Vl 
 
 1 ^,\ '■ 
 
 4 
 
 
 "nos) 
 
 s^^ 
 
 The inscription reads : 
 
 "01301C t)0 p6aNNChat)h." 
 
 "A PKAYER FOR FLANNCHADH." 
 
 As an example of the more complicated figiu-e of this design, I 
 annex an illustration of the tombstone of the celebrated Suibhne 
 Mac Maelhumai, one of the three Irishmen who visited Alfred the 
 Great in the year 891, and whose death is recorded in the Saxon 
 Chronicle and by Florence of Worcester, at the year 892, by Ca- 
 radoc of Llancarvon at the year 889; and, in the Irish Annals, by 
 the Four Masters at the year 887, in the Chronicon Scotorum and 
 the Annals of Innisfallen at 890, and in the Annals of Ulster at the 
 year 890 or 891, the entry in which I here give, as presenting the 
 name nearly letter for letter the same as inscribed on the stone : 
 
 "A. D. 890, al. 891. Suibne ITIac ITIaele humai ancopica, ec pcpibu opcimup 
 Cluanu mac Noip Dopiniuic."
 
 328 
 
 INQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 •■ A. D. 8L)0 or 891. Suibue MacMaele humai, anchorita et scriba optimus Cliiana 
 Iliac Nois, dormivit." 
 
 The inscription rends : 
 
 " OROic DO svi6iNe iTiac mai6ae ?ivmai." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR SUIBINE, THE SON OF MAILAE HUMAI." 
 
 It is to be regretted that the works of this celebrated person, whom 
 Florence of Worcester calls " Doctor Scotorum perifisshnus," have 
 not been preserved to us, or at least are not fonnd in Ireland, and, 
 as Ware tells us, that even the titles of them are lost. 
 
 Such complicated combinations of this figure are not common on 
 the inscribed tombstones, for amongst all those at Clonmacnoise, 
 which I have drawn at various times, I have only met with two other 
 examples, and of these one was of cotemporaneous date with that of 
 Suibhne, and, as we may believe, the work of the same sculptor. I 
 allude to the tomb of the celebrated abbot and bishop, St. Coirpre 
 Crom, who, according to the Irish annalists, died on the 6 th of 
 March, 899. Like most monuments of this time, it is simply inscribed 
 with the bishop's name, and the usual request for a prayer, thus : 
 
 "OR t)0 COR6RIV ChRVmm." 
 
 "A PRAYER FOR CORBRIU CROMM."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 329 
 
 The other is thus inscribed : 
 
 " 67? DO rhatt^QN." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR TADGAN." 
 
 This tomb was probably that of Tadhgan, chief of Teffia at the 
 close of the ninth century, from whose eldest son, Catharnach, are 
 descended the ancient family of O'Catharnaigh, of Kilcoursey, now 
 Fox, and from whose second son, Duibhcen, the family of O'Duiginan 
 derived their name and origin. The tomb of this Duibhcen is also 
 at Cloumacuoise, and as it exhibits a good specimen of Irish monu- 
 mental carving, of an earlier date than those preceding, and at the 
 
 same time fiurnishes a remarkable evidence of the truth of the Irish 
 genealogies, I have been induced to insert a copy of it in this place. 
 It will be seen that the inscriptions on this stone commemorate two 
 persons, and should be read as follows : 
 
 2 u
 
 330 INQUIRY INTO TUE ORIGIN AITO USES 
 
 " OROIC t)0 CONQINS maC CON^haif,." 
 
 " oRoic t)0 t)U6ceN mac chaD^saN." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR CONAING, SON OF CONGAL." 
 " A PRAYER FOR DUBCEN, SON OF TADGGAN." 
 
 I have not been able to find in the Irish Annals an entry of the 
 (loath of Dubcen, the son of Tadgan, whose name occurs in the 
 second of these inscriptions, nor of his father, Tadgan ; but the pe- 
 riods at wliich they flourished may be determined with tolerable 
 accuracy from the records of the deaths of Agda, the son of Dubcen, 
 prince of Teffia, who, it is stated in the Annals of the Four Masters, 
 died in the chair of St. Kieran, after having spent a good hfe, in the 
 year 979, or, according to Tighernach, in the year 980 ; and of his 
 grandson, Gilla Enain, the son of Agda, who was slain in the year 
 977. The other inscription, which is less perfectly preserved, is 
 obviously older, and cotemporaneous with the carvings ; and, as it is 
 in the highest degree improbable that Dubcen would have been in- 
 terred in a grave appropriated to any but a predecessor of the same 
 family, we should naturally expect to find the name in the upper 
 inscription in the Irish annals at an earlier period, and among the 
 princes of Teffia. Accordingly, on a reference to these annals, we 
 find the death of Conaing, son of Congal, king of Teffia, recorded at 
 the year 822 in the Annals of Ulster, and at 821 in the Annals of the 
 Four ISIasters. 
 
 That many of the chiefs of Teffia should have been interred at 
 Clonmacnoise is only what might naturally be presumed, from the 
 celebrity of that place as a cemetery of the chiefs of the southern 
 Hy-Niall race ; and among other evidences of the connexion of this 
 family with Clonmacnoise, we find in the Annals of the Four Masters, 
 at the year 996, a record of the death of Dubthach, another son 
 of Dubcen, and grandson of Tadhgan, who was priest of Clonmac- 
 noise ; and from the following inscription upon the cumdach, or case 
 of the MS. Irish ritual, preserved in the library at Stowe, we find 
 that the artifex who made that case was another of the family, and a 
 monk of Clonmacnoise : 
 
 " t OR t)o DUNChat) u caccaiN t)0 mumciR ccuaNa Do 
 
 Rl^Nl." 
 " t A PRAYER FOR DUNCHAD O TACCAIN, OF THE FAMILY OF CLUAJN, 
 
 WHO MADE IT." 
 
 This Dunchad flourished previously to the middle of the eleventh
 
 OF TUE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 331 
 
 centmy, as appears from the other cotemporaneous inscriptions on 
 the case ; and, it may be presumed, was a great grandson of Tudligaii, 
 — as the prefixed to the name at this period must not be luiderstood 
 as meaning grandson, but descendant, as the use of family names was 
 then generally established in Ireland. Yet it is probable that this 
 family ordinarily had their biu-ial-place at the great rival monastery 
 of Durrow, which was anciently within their own territory, and 
 originally endowed, as Tighernach tells, for St. Columb, by their 
 ancestor, Aed, the son of Brendan, who died in the year 589. More- 
 over, we find from the Annals of the Four Masters and of Clon- 
 macnoise, that one of this race, Flann O'Tadhgain, was Erenach of 
 Durrow, where he died in 1022, — a clear proof of the continued 
 influence of the family in this monastery : and it is worthy of obser- 
 vation, that of the two monumental inscriptions yet remaining above 
 ground at Durrow, both apparently belong to chiefs of this family. 
 Of these, one bears the name of Cathalan, who was probably the son 
 of Catharnach, from whom the name O'Catharnaigh, the true family 
 name of the Foxes, was derived. The second may be ascribed with 
 greater certainty to a chief of this family, named Aigidiu, as no other 
 person of this name is referred to in the Irish annals. The period at 
 which he flourished is ascertained from an entry in the Annals of 
 Ulster at the year 955, and in the Annals of the Four Masters at 
 954, which records the death of Aedh, the son of Aicide, king of 
 TeflSa, who was killed by the Danes of Dublin and Leinster. Of this 
 monumental stone I annex an illustration, as a further example of 
 the style of ornaments in use in Ireland in the ninth and tenth cen- 
 
 turies, and which may interest the reader, from its historical con- 
 nexion with those already given of other members of the same family. 
 
 2 u 2
 
 332 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Examples of the use of the pear-shaped ornament in architecture 
 have been ah-eady given in tlie description of the monastery church 
 at Glendalough, p. 258, and the larger church at Rahen, p. 242. The 
 ornaments now described, — together with the interlaced tracery, 
 typical, as I conceive, of the cross, and which, with characteristic 
 varieties, is found in ecclesiastical antiquities of every age previously 
 to the thirteenth century, — are some of the principal varieties pecu- 
 liarly in use in Ireland anterior to the eleventh century ; and a cha- 
 racteristic example of their combination will be seen in the following 
 outline of one side of the leather case made to hold, with its silver 
 cover, the celebrated Book of Armagh, so well known to the readers 
 of Irish ecclesiastical history. 
 
 ,0 -; 
 
 s—7 ^S- 
 
 ri 
 
 
 pj 
 
 r~s 
 
 K, 
 
 ?0/ ^ 
 
 In the preceding illustration we are presented with the ornament 
 called the triquetra, the interlaced cross of two ovals, the cross formed 
 between four segments of circles within a circle, as well as several 
 varieties of the interlaced tracery forming crosses.
 
 OF TUE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 333 
 
 As a specimen of the triplicate, pear-sliaped ornament already 
 described, I annex the following outline of the lower side, or bottom, 
 of the same case : 
 
 I should remark, that the ornaments on this case are all in a kind 
 of basso relievo, produced by stamping the leather, — a fact which 
 may account for the irregularities which appear in tlieir forms, and 
 which would be produced by the unequal contraction of the leather 
 in drying, after it had been in a moist or soft state when stamped. 
 
 The history of the very remarkable and interesting manuscript, 
 of which this leather bag, or satchel, was the external case, is, I am 
 aware, sufficiently known to many of my readers, and particularly 
 those of the Academy, for whom I especially write ; but for others, 
 it may not be unnecessary or iminteresting to state, that this manu- 
 script was that celebrated book of the Gospels called the Canoin 
 Patraic, or Patrick's Canons, which was considered of such ines- 
 timable value, that its safe stewardship became an hereditary office of 
 dignity in a family connected with the church of Armagh, who de- 
 rived their name, Mac Moyi'e, or son of the Stewart, from this cir- 
 cumstance, and as a remuneration for which they held no less than 
 eight townlands in the county, still known as the lands of Bally Mac 
 Moyre, or Mac Moyre's Town. So great, indeed, was the veneration 
 in which this book, together with the crozier of Patrick, was held 
 by the Irish, that, as St. Bernard tells us, in his Life of St. Malachy, 
 it was difficult to persuade the people to receive or acknowledge any 
 one as the rightful Archbishop of Armagh but the possessor of them. 
 
 " Porro Niijellns videns sibi imminere fugam, tiilit secum insignia qiiredam fedis 
 illius, textum, scUicet Euangeliorum, qui fuitbeati Patritij, baculumque auro tectum 
 gemmis pretiosissimis adornatum : quern nomiuant baculum lesu, eo quod ipse Do- 
 minus (vt fert opinio) eum suis manibus tenuerit atque formauerit. Et hsec summse 
 dignitatis et venerationis in gente ilia. Nempe notissima sunt celeberrimaq ; in populis, 
 atque in ea reuerentia apud omnes, vt qui ilia habere visus fuerit ipsum babeat 
 Episcopum populus stultus et insipiens." — Vita Malachice, cap. v. 
 
 The subsequent history of this book is comprised in the following
 
 334 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 account of it, Avrittcn by tlic celebrated antiquary, Ilumpliry Lhwytl, 
 and published in i\\Q lierumHibernicai-U)a ^Scriptures, vol. i. 
 
 " Codex hie, ultra onme diibium, perquam antiquus est, sive manu ipsius S. 
 Patricii partim conscriptus, (uti liabetur ad calcem folii 24ti,) sive sit, quod mihi 
 verisiinilius videtur, alicujus postcrioris ffivi opus. Et forsan est illc ipse Textus Evan- 
 ffelionim, quern divus Bcrnardus, in Vita Malacliiro, inter insignia iEdis Ardmacluana; 
 numerat, et Textum ipsius S. Patricii fuisse narrat. Ab Usserio et Warseo Liber 
 Ardmaclianus, ab iudigonis vero Liber Canonum S. Patricii nuncupatur, a Canonibus 
 coiicordantium inter se Evangelistaruni, folio 2Gto incgsptis, sic (ut opinor) nominatus. 
 Liber hie ab Hibernigenis magno olim habebatur in pretio, adeo ut farailia ilia, 
 vulgo voeata Mac Maor, Auglice Mac Moyre, nomen suum a custodiendo hoc libro 
 mutuatuin habeat ; Maor enim Ilibcrnice Custos est, et Maor na Ccanon, sive C'ustos 
 
 Canonum., tota ilia familia communiter appellata fuit ; et octo villulas in agro 
 
 terras de Balli Moyre dictas, a sede Ardmachana olim tenuit, ob salvani hiijvis libri 
 custodian! ; in quorum manibus, multis jam retro sseoulis liber hie extitit, usque dum 
 Florentinus Mc Moyre in Angliam so contulit, sub anno salutis humana; 1680, ut 
 testimonium perhiberet, quod verear non verum, versus Oliverum Plunket Theologise 
 Doctorem, et regni hujus, secundum Romanes, Archiprsesulem, qui Londini immerito 
 (ut creditur) furea plexus est. Deficientibus autem in Moyro nummis, in decessu suo, 
 Codicem huno pro quinque libris sterl. ut pignus deposuit. Hinc ad manus Arthuri 
 Brownlowe gratissime pervenit, qui, non sine magno labore, disjuncta tunc folia debito 
 suo ordine struxit, numeros in summo libri posuit folia designantes, aliosque in mar- 
 gine addidit capita distinguentes, eademque folia sic disposita prisco suo velamine (ut 
 jam videre liceat) compingi curavit, et in pristina sua theca conservari fecit, una cum 
 bulla quadam Eomani Pontificis cum eodem inventa. Continet in se quajdam frag- 
 menta Vitas S. Patricii a diversis authoribus, iisque plerumque anonymis, conscripta. 
 Continet etiam Confessionem S. Patricii, vel (ut magis proprie dicam) Epistolam suam 
 ad Ilibernos, tunc nuperrime ad fidem conversos. Continet etiam Epistolam quam 
 scripsit Divus Hieronymus ad Damasum Papam, per modum Prooemii ad Versionem. 
 Continet etiam Canones decem, in quibus ostenduntur Concordanti« inter se Evange- 
 listarum, ac etiam breves caiisas, sive interpretationes uniuscujusque seorsim Evange- 
 lists!, necnon Novum Testamentum, juxta versionem (ut opinoi-) Divi Hieronymi, in 
 quo reperitur Epistolailla ad Laodicenses ciajus fit mentio ad Colossenses. InEpistola 
 prima Johannis deest versus ille, Tres sunt in ccdo, &c. Continet etiam Hebra;orum 
 nominum quaj in singulis Evangeliis reperiuntur explicationes, una cum variis variorum 
 argumentis ad singula Evangelia, et ad unamquamque fere Epistolam seorsim referen- 
 tibus. Continet donique Vitam S. Martini Episcopi Turonensis, (avunctili, ut fertur, 
 
 S. Patricii,) a Sulpitio Severo conscriptam Nota quod in Evangelio sec. Matthwum, 
 
 desiderantur quatuor (ut ego existimo) folia, scilicet a versu tricesimo tertio capitis 
 decimiquarti, usque ad vers. 5, capitis xxi — Nota etiam quod Epistola; Apostolorum 
 non sunt eodem ordine disposita;, quo vulgo apud nos hodierno die reperiuntur." — 
 Epist. Nunc. pp. Ivii. Iviii. 
 
 But though we have the high authority of St. Bernard for the 
 belief, at the time, that the Gospels in this work were those possessed, 
 
 I
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 335 
 
 or transcribed, by St. Patrick himself, the statement is as little entitled 
 to credit as, we may well believe, that other one of the crozier having 
 been originally that of oiu' Lord. There is no part of the manuscript 
 older than the close of the seventh century, or perhaps than the 
 eighth ; and the leather case, made for its protection, is of still later 
 date, its exact age being fixed by the following entry in the Annals 
 of the Four Masters, at the year 937, of which period its ornaments 
 are, in my opinion, decidedly characteristic. 
 
 " A. D. 1)37. Canom pncrptnc do cumoach la Doiincliuo mac plciino, pi 
 epeno." 
 
 " A. D. 937. The Canoin-Patraic was covered by Domichadh, son of Flaun, King 
 of Ireland." 
 
 It must not be supposed, however, that this leather case is itself 
 the cumdach noticed by the annalists, and which, no doubt, like our 
 other ancient cases for books, was formed of silver, and enriched with 
 gems. This leather case was only the covering of that more precious 
 box in which the manuscript was enshrined, but obviously cotempo- 
 raneous with it, and made as much for its preservation as to render 
 it easy of carriage. 
 
 As a specimen of earher and more beautiful work of this kind, I 
 am tempted to present an outline of one of the sides of the leather
 
 83fi INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 case of the sliriuc of St. Maidoc, or Aidan, the first bishop of Ferns, 
 the age of which, in the opinion oi' some of the most skiU'ul antiquaries 
 of Great Britain, can hardly be later than the eighth century. 
 
 It will be observed that the whole of the ornuincnt on this side is 
 ])roduced by the interlacing of a number of ilat bands, having a line 
 runninc down their centre, as well as five small circles, ornamented 
 witla a bead; and I should remark, that, unlike tlie case of the Book 
 of Armagh, the ornaments are produced, not ])y a stamp, but by a 
 carving in very low relief, or, as the French term it, graiu'; en crc.ux. 
 
 The two leather cases from which the preceding illustrations 
 have been copied, are, as far as I know, the only specimens of the 
 kind remaining in Ireland, or, as I should suppose, in tli(; British 
 Islands ; yet it cannot be doubted that such leather cases were 
 anciently as common in Ireland as the sacred books, shrines, and 
 other reliquaries, which they were designed to preserve, such cases 
 being necessary, in consequence of the usage of the Irish, to carry 
 the honoured memorials of their primitive saints from place to place 
 on necessary or important occasions : and hence these relique covers 
 are provided with broad leather straps fastened to them at each end, 
 by Avhich they could be suspended round the neck. 
 
 And these covers, as we may suppose, shared, in some degree, 
 the veneration paid by the people to the sacred treasures which 
 they contained. The reliquaries thus sent tlirough the districts of 
 the patron saints, most usually for the collection of dues or offerings 
 to the church, were generally known by the name of Minister, a 
 term signifying " a travelling relique," being compounded of the 
 words mionn, a relique, and aiprpe, of journey, — as it is explained in 
 an old glossary in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, H. 1, 15, 
 p. 975, though it would, with equal probability, appear to be derived 
 from the Latin ministerium, as being employed for the service of the 
 Church. But the leather cases made to carry such reliquaries, were 
 known by the term polaijie, which was applied, at least in later 
 times, to a satchel for books, as it is thus explained in an old MS. 
 Irish glossary preserved in Trinity College, Dublin, 11. 3, 18, po- 
 laipe, A. ainm do reig liubaip, " poluire, i. e. a name for a book 
 satchel." 
 
 The original application of the word, however, to the leather cases 
 in which the sacred Vjooks and reliquaries were carried, is proved by
 
 OK THE IiOI!NI) 'I'OWKKS OK lUKI.ANI). 8H7 
 
 niir most ancient autlioriticf*. 'J'Iiuh, in tlic; Ic^fcnd ol'Sl. I'uli'ick'w 
 contention -witli the Mii<fi at Tarn,, as ^nvi-n in the 'l"ri|)aititi' Life of 
 the saint, it is related how his I'avonrite disciph', tlie hoy Ijcncn, 
 escaped the machinations of Patrick's enemies, to whom he iipp('aic<l 
 as a fawn bearing a [)a<;k or l)iidget on his l)ac,k. And it i.s ai'tcrwanlH 
 distinctly stated that the object in reality thns caii'ied \)y lienen was 
 Patrick's book of the Scriptnres, — or in fact the Hook of Annagii 
 itself, for such this book was believed to be, at the time wlien thin 
 legend was written. 
 
 " Obtutibus <!nim ipsonjin solum apparuorurit ooto coriii 'iiiiii vim )]ii]riiilr<, in ciijiis 
 dorso videljatur aliqua sarcina jacf^re. Sic ergo tiiirificUH vir Hociji|ii<: i;uiii \>i-il\d (iiii:io 
 Benigno sacrum Bibliorum codiccm in JiuiiKfriH gr'Ktantf, |)(;r mcdioH huhtcH haiui & 
 incolumes Temoriam vsque perucnerurit, saluifico orationiM viri Dei priuHidio, vi-liil, 
 sacra a;gide, munitL" — Pars I. cap. LX., Trian Thaum., \). 1 2fj. 
 
 It may be objected that, in the preceding passage;, there is no 
 distinct reference to the polairn, or case in which the sacred volume 
 was carried; but it is obvious that the book could not have been 
 carried, as stated, on Benen's back, except in a case; and in an old 
 Irish version of this legend, preserved in the Leahhar Ihe.ar, the 
 case, or bag, carried by lienen on this occasion, is called the polairi' 
 of St. Patrick; and, indeed, 1 have no douljt that this was the word 
 used in the original Irish of the Tripartite Life, which Colgan has 
 translated sarcina. The passage to which I allude is as follows: 
 
 «' Grrloej 1 n-u n-Diaio, 7 ^n fino fop <t ftuxWuto, .1. 6inen fin, 7 potipc; 
 phfirpaic pop a mum." — Fol. 14, a, a. 
 
 " One fawn [app<aired] b'Jiind tli';m, and a wtiitc bird 'jh hih h}ioiild<;r, i. 1-. tliii 
 was Benen, and Patri/;k'« pdire on hi* back," 
 
 Thus also, in another version of this legend, pre«erved in the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin, II. 3, 18, p. .023, the same word 
 is ased, and glossed Vjy a commentator : 
 
 " lapnooe i n-a n-oea^aij, 7 g'Jiile pop a j^aUiino, .1. fJucp/iic 7 u oceap 7 
 6enen in-a n-oeaj^uig, 7 u polaipe [.1. ainm do reijj liubaip] pop a rnuin," 
 
 " A fawn after thc-m, and a ba^ on big ishouUc'r, L it. l''<itr'u:k and biu eiijht [c//rn- 
 pani//ni\, and 'Beaeu behind them, and hie jxiUiire [L e. a inauk. for a i><y./k fcatehc-l] on 
 his back." 
 
 It would apyjear, moreover, from the following fiassage in the 
 Annotations of Tirechan, in the l^x>k of Arxoagh, that the polaire, 
 as well as the minijster, was an article in some degree ne<x-ssary to 
 the episcopal character, as it is enumerated among the eccletiia^tical 
 
 2 X
 
 338 INQUUIY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 presents given to Fiac, Bishop of Sletty, when Patrick conferred the 
 episcopal dignity upon him. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " Dubbepc SpciD n-epfcoip F°'Pj Conine eppcop inpin cicup uoipcneo la 6015- 
 iiui, 7 Dubbepc pticpicc Cutncach du Piucc, aooii clocc 7 menpcip 7 bachall 7 
 poolipe; ec pucab moppepep laip oia muincip." 
 
 " He [Patrick] conferred the degree of bishop upon him [Fiacc], so that he was 
 the first bishop that was ordained among the Lagenians, and Patrick gave a Camtack 
 [a box] to Fiacc, viz. [i. e. containing] a bell, and a menstir, and a crozier, and a 
 poolirc; and he left seven of his people with him." 
 
 This same passage occurs in the MS. H. 3, 18, p. 526, glossing 
 the word iTieimpri|i by niinna aipcip, travelling relics, but omitting, 
 probably through an error of the transcriber, the word bacall ; thus : 
 
 " t)o bepc oan pacpaic cumcac oa Piacc, .1. doc, meniipcip, .i. mmna aipcip, 
 polaipe 7 popaccaib mop-peipep oia mumnrip leip." 
 
 " Patrick then gave Fiacc a cnmtach, i. e. a bell, a meinistir, i. e. travelling relics, a 
 polaire, and left seven of his people with him." 
 
 And here I may remark, that the learned Colgan has committed 
 an egregious oversight in his translation of the original Irish of tliis 
 passage in the Tripartite Life, in which these articles are enume- 
 rated, namely, in rendering the word muuy^ciji as if it were an 
 adjective in connexion with cloc, and, still worse, rendering the 
 word poolai]ie as the Epistles of St. Paul. 
 
 " Ecclesiam fedificauit primo S. Fiechiis in loco, qui ex eius nomine Donmach-Fiec, 
 .1. Ecclesia Fieci postea appellata est : eiqvie reliquit sacram snpellectilem, cymbaluni 
 nempe ministeriale, Epistolas Paulinas, et baculum pastoralem." — Pars 3, cap. XXII. 
 Trias Thaum., pp. 152, 153. 
 
 And I should remark that these words, menstir and poolire, in 
 the original passage in the Annotations of Tirechan, have received 
 an equally blundering, though different, interpretation in the Anti- 
 quarian Researches of Sir W. Betham, in which the first is rendered 
 " a mitre," and the second " a cloak (pallium)." I am not, of course, 
 so unreasonable as to expect that the author of the Etriiria Celtica 
 should have any acquaintance with historical facts of this late period; 
 these do not lie in the way of his researches : but my late ingenious 
 friend, Mr. Edward O'Reilly, who translated this passage for him, 
 should have known that no allusion to the use of the mitre at this 
 period, or for some ages after, is found in any of our ancient autho- 
 rities, — for Archdall's statement as to the mitre of St. Ailbhe, which, 
 he says, was burned in 1123, is founded on an erroneous translation
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 339 
 
 of the Irish word bearnan, whicli was unqiiestiouably applied to a 
 gapped, or broken, bell ; — and he should also have known that, as 
 St. Bernard tells, and as the whole stream of our ancient ecclesiastical 
 history proves, the use of the pallium was unknown in Ireland till 
 the middle of the twelfth century. St. Bernard's words are : " Metro- 
 politicte sedideerat adhuc et defuerat ah initio pallii usus." — Vita 
 3Ia lac /lice, cap. 10. 
 
 Sir William Betham, indeed, tells us that the word pallium, by 
 wliich the word poolire in the original is rendered, " is applied to the 
 veil, as taken by a female, and means nothing more here than a cloak, 
 not a pall, as now understood." But where is the authority to show 
 that a cloak, Avhich was not a pall, should be necessary to a bishop, 
 as well as a crozier and bell? — or does he wish us to suppose that the 
 cloak was intended as a veil for Fiach's wife ? 
 
 The prevalence of the use of these leather cases amongst the 
 ecclesiastics in Ireland anciently, may be inferred from the following 
 passage in the ancient life of St. Columbkille, preserved in the 
 Leabhar Breac, in the Library of the Academy, fol. 16, b, b. 
 
 " Oip ba bep ooputn cpofpa, 7 polaipe, 7 ciaja lebep 7 aiome eclapcacoa do 
 oenum, uc Diiic : 
 
 " Senaip .ccc. cpofpa bucioach, 
 NoioppuD .ccc. cippnic DO ba Dian, 
 .C. poluipe a!i, anachach. 
 La .c. bachall, la .c. ciaj." 
 
 " For it was a habit with him to make crosses and polaires, and book satchels, and 
 ecclesiastical implements, vt dixit [ywete] : 
 
 " He blessed three hundred miraculous crosses, 
 He blessed three hundred wells which were constant. 
 One hundred polaires noble, one-coloured. 
 With one hundred croziers, with one hundred satchels." 
 
 It will be seen from the preceding passage, moreover, that in 
 addition to the polaire, or leather case for containing reliquaries or 
 sacred books, the ancient Irish ecclesiastics used bags or satchels, 
 known by the name tiag, for the ordinary carriage of books ; and it 
 would appear, from several passages in the most ancient lives of the 
 Irish saints, that such satchels were also of leather, — as in the following 
 legend, which constitutes the eighth chapter of the second book of 
 the Life of St. Columba, by Adamnan : 
 
 2x2
 
 .UO INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Aliud luLi'aculum a;stimo uon tacendum, quod aliquando factum est per contra- 
 rium elementum. Multorum namque transcursis annorum circxilis post beati ad 
 Dominum transitum viri, quidani juvenis de cquo lapsus in tluniine mcrsus, et inor- 
 tuus, viginti sub aqua diebus permansit, qui sicuti sub ascella, cadens, libros in pellicio 
 reconditos saccule habebat, ita etiam post supra memoratum dierum numerum est 
 repertus, sacculum cum libris inter brachium et latvis eontinens. Cujus etiam ad 
 aridam reportato cadavere, et aperto sacculo, folium Sancti Columb.e Sanctis scriptum 
 digitulis, inter aliorum folia librorum non tantuni corrupta, sed et putrefaota, inven- 
 tum est siccum, et nullo modo corruptum, ac si in scrinio esset reconditum." — 
 Pinkerton's ViUe Antiquce Sanctorum, ■p'p. Ill, 112. 
 
 A similar example occurs in the same Life, in the next chapter, 
 and many others might be adduced from other Lives ; but the evi- 
 dences already given appear to me sufficient to illustrate the antiquity 
 of those curious leather cases for sacred books and reliquaries, called 
 jjolaire by the Irish, as well as to show the difierence between such 
 cases and the tiagha, or ordinary book satchels. I shall, therefore, 
 dismiss the subject with the following characteristically Lrish story, 
 which will, at least, serve to show the reverence which was paid to 
 the travelling reliquaries, the manner in which they were carried, and 
 the penalties which were inflicted for any dishonour or injury oflered 
 them. The passage occurs in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 10, b, a, and 
 in the Book ofLeinster, fol. 239, a, from which, as an older authority, 
 it is here given. 
 
 " pecc DO canic Semplan, pacapc Cipi oa jlap co dp Cporim do 6icc an 
 pinnae pi coipcib, ip ano boiOiapmaio oc jlanao upopocira roigi 7 a pluapac'n-a 
 laiiTi, luiD lapom a cu po na cleipcib, co po lecpao in pacapr. T?o buail in 
 I'ucupc in coin icippin. Ro buail imoppo GiapmaiD in pucapc oi'n cpluapaic, copo 
 bpip menipcip Coluim, po bui pop a mum, tDolluiD lapom f,accain, comapbo 
 Coluim, DO acpa in j;iiinia pm co plair h-Ua n-Dponci, .1. co Ruioen, macCainnen; 
 CO capcpac h-Ui t)poiia uii. cumala oOiapmaio do mumcip Coluim, 7 do Cacrain, 
 7 DO pac 6accain na uii. cumala pin do aipcinnech Cemopomma, .1. do Uamnach." 
 
 " On one time that Semplan, priest of Tir da glas, came on business to Tir Cronin 
 to Lice na sinnach, Diarmaid was clearing away the front-bridge of his house, having 
 his shovel in his hand, and set a dog at the clergymen, so that the priest was torn. 
 The priest then struck the dog. Diarmaid struck the priest with the shovel, and 
 broke the menistir of Colum, which was on his back. Lachtaiu, the comarb of Colum, 
 afterwards went to complain of this deed to the chief of Ui Drona, i. e. Euiden, the 
 son of Lainnen ; and the Ui Drona gave [adjudged] seven cunials'^ from Diarmaid to 
 the people of Colum, and to Lachtain, and Lachtain gave these seven cunials to the 
 airchinneach of Lemdruim [Lorum, County Carlow] i. e. Uamnach." 
 
 " The word cumal is explained in the commentaries on the Brehon Laws as three 
 cows, or an equivalent of that value.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 341 
 
 Thus also, in the following record in the Annals of the Fovu- 
 ]Masters, wc have an example of the expulsion of a chieftain from his 
 lordship for dishonouring the Cunoin Phutrdic, or Book of Armagh : 
 
 O 
 
 "A. D. 1179- Ua Ruaoucan, ciccheapna Ua n-eaclioach, do ^cc do jcilop cpi 
 ii-oiDci lap n-a lonnapbao, cpe pnpujao Canoine paqiaicc do, 5ap poime." 
 
 " A. D. 1179- O'Rogan, Lord of Iveagh, died of three nights' sickness, after his 
 expulsion, for having violated the Canohi-Patraic.'" 
 
 To the preceding observations 1 have to add, that while this 
 sheet was going through the Press, I have discovered the following 
 curious passage in the fragment of Duald Mac Firbis's Glossary of 
 the Brehon Laws, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dub- 
 lin, which, more distinctly than any of the passages already given, 
 explains the use to which the minister was applied : 
 
 " niinipceap, .i. mionna aipoip Biop ap aipoeap ip in cuair le caBaipc mionn up 
 cac." 
 
 " Ministear, i. e. travelling relics which are carried about in a district to administer 
 oaths to all." 
 
 I may fiu'ther remark that, from the v;se to which the mionna, or 
 enshrined rehcs, were thus applied, the same word came to denote 
 both a relic and an oath, and originated the verb mionnaim,, I swear. 
 The Irish Annals notice the iise of the principal relics of Ireland, 
 which were often transferred from their original localities, on solemn 
 occasions, to distant places, in order that rival chieftains might be sworn 
 upon them, to futiu-e peace and mutual fidelity ; and hence Mageoghe- 
 gan, and the other old translators of the Irish annals, render the 
 word miuna of their originals by the Enghsh word oat/ies, as, " the 
 coarb of St. ICieran mth Ids oafhes," " the coarb of St. Cokmib with 
 his oathes ;" by which they meant, the abbot of Clonmacnoise with 
 his relics, &c. And, as must be well known to most of my readers, 
 this ancient custom of swearing on the relics of the saints of the 
 ancient Irish Chiu'ch is still continued amongst the peasantiy in many 
 parts of Ireland, by whom it is often supposed that thieves would 
 exonerate themselves from the guilt of which they were suspected, by 
 a false oath on the holy Gospels, but would not dare to do so by 
 an oath on one of these ancient reliquaries. And hence, also, we 
 find the following curious inscription on an ancient reliquary in my 
 own Cabinet, and Avliich is in the form of a brass shoe or slipper, gilt 
 and richly ornamented. This shoe was popidarly known as St.
 
 842 INQUIBY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Bridget's slipper, and, no doubt, originally encased a real shoe, which 
 was supposed to have belonged to the great patroness of Ii-eland. 
 The inscription to which I have alluded is as follows, and clearly in- 
 dicates the use to which the reliquary was applied : 
 
 " HOC-EST * JURAMENTVM NATVEALE *." 
 From the following inscriptions, also on this reliquary, we find that it 
 was preserved in Loughrea, in the Coimty of Galway, where there is 
 still remaining, at a short distance from the Carmelite Friary, a small 
 chiu-ch dedicated to St. Bridget, in which, no doubt, this relic was 
 preserved. These inscriptions are : 
 
 "COCh ReiCh ANNO * DOMINI * 1410." 
 " S. * BRIGIDA VIRGO * KILDARIENSIS HIBERNI^ * PATRONA." 
 
 And over a head in relievo there is the following inscription : 
 
 "S * IbON * BAPTIST." 
 
 Of other ornaments found on our ancient churches, numerous 
 
 examples are also to be met with on the inscribed tombstones at 
 
 Clonmacnoise, but of which I shall content myself with a single 
 
 example from one now in my possession, and which may be interest- 
 ing as an instance of the simple customs of the times, the stone 
 having been originally a quern, or hand-mill stone. This stone exhibits 
 four of these ornaments, namely, the zig-zag, rope, bead, and Etruscan 
 fret ; and though it is not easy to fix its exact date, it will be sufS. 
 ciently evident, from the absence of a surname in the inscription 
 that it is at least anterior to the eleventh century. The inscription 
 is simply the name Sechnasach, which is not an uncommon one in
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 343 
 
 tlie Irish annals and pedigrees, and signifies one who shuns, or 
 avoids ; but the person whose name is here inscribed is probably 
 the Sechnasach, " Priest of Durrow," whose death is recorded in 
 Maseotrhetran's translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise at the year 
 928, and in the Annals of the Foiu- Masters at the year 931. 
 
 I have now brought this Dissertation on the Irish churches to a 
 conclusion. It has, indeed, extended to a length far beyond what I 
 had originally intended, but not, I trust, greater than the subject de- 
 manded ; for the ignorance of our antiquaries on this most important 
 class of our architectiu'al antiquities has been not only disgraceful in 
 itself, but the fruitful source of all those fantastic and erroneous 
 theories which have been advanced relative to the origin, uses, and 
 age of the Round Tower Belfries, and other classes of ecclesiastical 
 architectural remains, of which I have yet to treat. 
 
 That I may possibly err, in some instances, in the opinions offered 
 as to the age of some of the examples of decorated architecture 
 which I have adduced, I have already freely acknowledged ; but the 
 subject is now, at least, submitted to the learned on new grounds, 
 and whatever may be their ultimate decision upon a matter so inte- 
 resting, as illustrating the history of ecclesiastical ai'chitecture in 
 Europe, my object must necessarily be attained — that of leading 
 others to the discovery of truth — however I may myself have failed 
 occasionally to see it. 
 
 SUBSECTION II. 
 ORATORIES. 
 
 The class of antiquities of which I have next to treat, namely, 
 the duirtheachs, or dertheachs, has been, to modern Irish writers, 
 as much involved in mystery as even the Round Towers ; and yet it 
 is perfectly certain that, prior to the twelfth century, the buildings, 
 thus designated, were a class of churches, or religious edifices, essen- 
 tially differing from those noticed in our Annals under the appel- 
 lation of daimlding, as will appear from the following notices from 
 the Annals of Ulster : 
 
 " A. D. 824. ^.ofcac ITIaiji bile, co n-a oepcijib, 6 ^e"'^''^-" 
 
 " A. D. 824. Tlie burning of Magh bile, with its dertkec/is, by the Gentiles [Danes]." 
 
 " A. D. 8.39. f-opcao Qipoo niachae, co n-a oepdiijib 7 a ooimliaj." 
 
 " A. D. 839. The burning of Armagh, with its dertheclis and daimhliag."
 
 344 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 But, tliouo-h the notices of the duirtheachs, as a distinct class of 
 buildings, are as numerous in our Annals and other ancient autho- 
 rities as those of the daimliliags, or stone churches, modern writers 
 have failed to form a definite idea of the class of buildings which 
 the term denoted, and consequently have given very inaccm'ate 
 translations of the term, whenever it came in their way. This will 
 abundantly appear from the following examples : 
 
 In Peter O'Connell's MS. Irish Dictionary it is explained thus : 
 "Duipreac, a house of austerity, rigour, and penance." In the Dic- 
 tionaries of O'Brien and O'Reilly the word is thus explained : " Oeap- 
 reac, a certain apartment in a monastery calculated for prayers and 
 other penitential acts." In the older Glossary of O'Clery, we find 
 the name explained, " Diiipreac, .1. ceampall," — " Duirtheach, i. e. 
 a church." Dr. O' Conor, in his translation of the Irish Annals, 
 usually renders it hy Nosocomium, as I have already shown in p. 121, 
 and sometimes by Hospifiinn pauperiim, Hospitium peregrinorum, 
 and Nosoco)nium peregritiorum. And he thus explains the term in 
 a note in the Annals of Ulster, at the year 823 : 
 
 " Glossaria Hibernica coui'undunt Deartach et Doimliag, quas voces plane separant 
 Annales Ultonienses ad ann. 839- ' Dertighihh 7 Doimliag.^ Deartach proprie Nosoco- 
 mium, seu Hospitium ad usum peregrinantium, Doimliag Ecclesiam principalem, seu 
 Cathedralem significat." 
 
 As I have already shown, Colgan, who translates it posnitentium 
 cede [tedes], and domus pcptiifentiiim, is nearer to the truth, as it 
 does not appear that there was any other word in use amongst the 
 Irish to designate a chapel for penitential prayer. But, as I shall 
 presently show, this explanation is too limited ; and, indeed, it would 
 appear that Colgan had no accurate notion of the meaning of the word, 
 as he sometimes translates it ecrlesia, and sometimes, plurally, sacris 
 cedijiciis. — See his Annals of Kildare at the year 835, and his Annals 
 of Armagh at the year 890. But, that the word was understood by 
 the Irish themselves to signify an oratory, or consecrated chapel for 
 private prayer, will fully appear from the following passages in the 
 Irish Annals : 
 
 " A. D. 804. Cell Ackaidh cum oratorio novo ardescity — Annal. Ult. 
 
 Thus given in Irish by the Four Masters, under the year 800, 
 these annahsts being usually in error a few years in their dates about 
 this period :
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 345 
 
 " A. D. 800. CeciU achaio do lorcccio, co n-a oepclinij nui." 
 " A. D. 800. Ceall achaidh was burned, with its new derthach." 
 
 Again, in the Annals of Ulster at the year 808 : 
 
 " A. D. 808. Ignis celestis percussit rirum in oratorio N^o(/an." 
 
 Thus given in Irish in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 804. Cene do coiniub oo iiirii, la)' po mapbuo ocioine i n-oepclioij 
 Qeoain." 
 
 " A. D. 804. Fire came from heaven, by which people were killed in the derthach 
 of Aedan." 
 
 And again : 
 
 " A. D. 815. Oratorium Fobair combustum est." — Ann. Ult. 
 
 Thus in Irish in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 812. tDepcech Pobaip do lopcao." 
 " A. D. 812. The derthech of Fore was burned." 
 
 This fact being, as I conceive, satisfactorily proved, it remains now 
 to inquire what were the peciUiar characteristics which distinguished 
 the duirtJieach from other ecclesiastical structures, whether in mate- 
 rial, size, or use, or all these circumstances combined. First, then, of 
 their material. On this point we might expect to find a satisfactory 
 elucidation in the derivation given of the word by the old glossogra- 
 phers ; but imfortunately it appears that its etymology was as doubtful 
 to them as I have shown it to be to modern lexicographers. In 
 the oldest authority of the former class, that of the vellum MSS., 
 H. 2, 16, preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, we are 
 offered our choice of the following conjectural explanations : 
 
 "tJupchecb, .1. oaiprech, .1. rech oapach ; rio oeipchech, .1. cech 1 celjcep 
 D^pa ; no ouaipcech .1. cech a celjcep ouaip, pocail .1. Duap, pocal." 
 
 "■Durthech, i. e. dair-thech, i. e. a house of oak ; or deir-thech, i. e. a house in 
 which tears are shed ; or duccir-tliech, L e. a hovise in which words are poured out ; 
 i. e. duar, a word." 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to observe, that of these three etymolo- 
 gical conjectures, the first is the most likely to be the true one; for, 
 as we know that the word daimhiiag, which literally signifies a house 
 of stone, became the Irish name for the larger churches, which were 
 usually of this material, it is in the highest degree probable that in 
 the same manner the name duirtheach, literally a house of oak, woidd 
 be applied by the Irish to designate the smaller chapels, or oratories 
 of oak, if any were built of such material, which there is every 
 reason to believe were originally, for the most part, of oak wood. 
 
 2 Y
 
 346 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Nor is it to be wondered at, that in the erection of structures for 
 the use of rehgious persons, possessed of Httle or no wealth, a material 
 always at hand, and of little cost, should be used where stone and 
 lime cement might be remote, and consequently be obtained with 
 cost and difficulty. And that such class of structures was frequently, 
 if not generally, of this material, can be pi'oved from a number of 
 MS. authorities, from which 1 shall here select a few examples. 
 
 In an ancient tract of Brehon Laws, preserved in the Library 
 of Trinity College, DubUn, H. 2, 16, and also in the Book of Bally- 
 mote, and which, amongst other subjects, treats of the different 
 stipends given to poets, and the various artificers for their labours, 
 the following cuiious entry is found, relative to the payment of the 
 ollamh saer, or chief builder, who was required to be equally skilled 
 in the art of building in stone and in wood, and of which the highest 
 examples of his combined arts of stone-masonry and carpentry Avere 
 the daiinkUag and duirtheach. 
 
 " mao o6f,amh suao saem, saigit) co pici sec ih a t)iRi, 
 
 .1. mao oUaih oc a m-bici paioecc na paippi, .1. inopaijcep peo 7 pici 1 n-a einec- 
 lamn. 60 ap picio lao-pioe oo'n ollam ]xieip. OCUS CLIRCU^CID ITllS t)0, 
 .1. mi a Ian paepam bio 7 ponamoa, uaip cio cian o oligpeo in c-oUarii pcnp ni 
 buD mo ma pin do a oualgup a pechamlacliup, no paippi ilapoa no ber aji ap 
 neicliib e;i:amlaib, aoeicij lap in ujoap ni buo mo do na cuopoma pip in ollarh 
 pile, no pip in oUam m-bepla, no pip in pep lejino. ConiD e ni do poinoi in 
 c-ugoap oa ppim-oan do ber aici 1 pora, .1. cloch paippi 7 cpann paippi, 7 in oapa 
 oan ip uaiple Dib do ber aici i pora, .1. Damliaj 7 Dupcecli. t)a ba oej oppo 
 pin, .1. pe ba a ceccup oe, 7 a pecbamlacc do pegao ap na oanaib aile o pin 
 amach, 7 cuopumup a pepeo do bean alloj caca oana oib, .1. a pepeo pein. Se 
 ba ap ibpopacr, 7 pe ba ap coiccbijip 7 pe ba ap muiUeopacc; bean cpi ba 
 epcib pin pip nu Da ba oej puil aici 1 pora, coniD ,i:u. ba pin. Cerpi ba ap lon- 
 ^uib, 7 nil. bapcaib, 7 iiii. ba ax\ cupca ; bean do ba epcib pin pip na .;cu. ba 
 pomaino, coniD .;i:un. ba. Cerpi ba ap cpano lepcpa, .1. lana, 7 opolmaca, 7 oabca 
 oapach, 7 min-lepcaip oilcena, 7 oa ba ap puamaipecc; bo epnb pin pip nn .;cuii. 
 buaib pomainD conio ;cuiii. t)a ba ap roclipa, 7 du ba ap caiplib, 7 oa ba ap 
 clocanaib ; bo epcib pm pip in p;uiii. m-buaib pomaino, conio ;ci;c. m-ba. t)a ba 
 ap pinoaisecc, 7 oa ba ap cpopa, 7 oa ba ap caippri ; bo epcib pin pip na ;ci;c. 
 m-buaib pomaino, coniD ,i;,r. bo. t)a ba ap chigib plac, 7 oa ba ap pciacaib, 7 
 oa ba ap opoccib ; bo e)>cib pin pip in pichec bo pomaino, conio bo ap pichec 
 
 oo'n ollam paip amail pin, cona m-bec pin uile aici o'elaonaib." Col. 930. 
 
 " IF HE BE AN OLLAVE PROFESSOR OF TRADES, WHO IS EN- 
 TITLED TO TWENTY COWS AS HIS PAY, i. e. if he be an ollave who possesses 
 the mastership of trades, it is ordained that twenty-one cows be his pay. These are 
 twenty-one cows for the Ollave of trades. AND A MONTH'S REFECTION TO
 
 OF THE EOU>rD TOWERS OF IRELAND. 347 
 
 HIM, that is, a month is his full allowance of food and attendance, for although of 
 old the Ollave tradesman was entitled to more than this, in reward for the versatility 
 of his ingenuity, or for his perfect knowledge of dissimilar arts, still the author [of 
 this law] refused to allow him more than the ollave in poetry, or the ollave in language, 
 or the teacher. Wherefore what the author did was, to allow him two principal 
 branches of the art as from the beginning, i. e. stone-building and wood-building, 
 the most distinguished of these branches to remain as formerly, i. e. the Damhliag, 
 and the Durthecli. Twelve cows to him for these, i. e. six cows for each, and to 
 examine his original pay for the other departments, and to take a sixth part of the 
 established pay for each of these departments [when not exercised by one and the 
 same person] as his pay. Six cows for ibrorackt (making yew vessels ?), and six 
 cows for coicl/i/(/es (kitchen-building), and six cows for mdl- building ; take three cows 
 from these, which added to the twelve cows which he has fundamentally, and it 
 makes fifteen cows. Four cows for ship-building, and four cows for barque-building, 
 and four cows for curach-building ; take two cows from these, which added to the 
 fifteen above, will make seventeen cows. Four cows for the making of wooden vessels, 
 i. e. ians and drolmachs (tubs) and vats of oak, and smaller vessels in like manner, and 
 two cows for ruamairecJit (plough-making ?) ; a cow from these, added to seventeen 
 cows above, will make eighteen cows. Two cows for causeways, and two cows for 
 cashels, and two cows for dochans (stepping stones) ; a cow from these, added to the 
 eighteen above, will make nineteen cows. Two cows for carving, and two cows for 
 crosses, and two cows for chariots ; a cow from these to the nineteen above, makes 
 twenty cows. Two cows for houses of rods, and two cows for shields, and two cows 
 for bridges ; a cow from these added to the twenty above, makes twenty-one cows 
 for the Ollave builder, provided he has all his arts in proficiency." 
 
 It is greatly to be regretted that of the preceding curious passage, 
 which throws so much interesting Ught upon the state of society in 
 Ireland anterior to the twelfth century, Init two manuscript copies 
 have been found, and of these one is probably a transcript from tlie 
 other, for it seems in the highest degree probable that by the occa- 
 sional omission or change of a letter the sense of the original com- 
 mentary has been vitiated. Thus where it is stated that six cows 
 was the payment for kitchen-building, which is the same as that for 
 building a daimhliag, or duirtheach, it would appear much more 
 likely that the word originally used was cloicthiges, or belfry-building, 
 which, we may assiune, was a much more important labom" than the 
 other, and which, if the word be truly coicthiges, is omitted alto- 
 gether, though, as I shall show in the succeeding section from another 
 commentary on the Brehon Laws, ranked, amongst the Irish, as one 
 of the most distinguished works of the saer or builder. But till 
 some older or better copy of the passage be found, it must, of coiu'se, 
 remain as of no authority in reference to the Round Towers ; and I 
 
 2 Y 2
 
 348 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 have only alluded to it with a view to du-ccting attention to the 
 MS. copies of the Brehon Laws not immediately within my reach. 
 The next authority to which I shall refer, — for it is too long for 
 
 insertion is an account of the building of a duirtheach of wood 
 
 for St. Moling of Tigh Moling, now St. ISIuUin's, in the County of 
 Carlow, the artificer being the celebrated St. Gobban, whose repu- 
 tation as a builder, under the appellation of Gobban Saer, is still so 
 vividly preserved in the traditions of most parts of Ireland, and of 
 whom, in the ancient life of St. Abban, as published by Colgan, it is 
 prophetically said, that his fame as a builder, in wood as well as stone, 
 will exist in Ireland to the end of time. 
 
 "Quidam famosissimus in omni arte lignorum et lapidum erat in Hibernia nomine 
 Gobbanus, cuius artis fama vsque in finem sceculi erit in ea." — Acta SS. p. 619. 
 
 This account is preserved in an ancient Irish Life of St. Moling, 
 written on vellum, now in the possession of Mr. Hardiman; and 
 though, like most of the stories in the Lives of the Irish Saints, it is 
 strongly marked by the legendary character of such works, still it 
 may be received as sufficiently authentic as to the material of the 
 building there erected, and which is distinctly stated to have been 
 wood. Thus, according to the legend, when the artificer demanded 
 the payment agreed on with Moling for his labour, namely, the full of 
 the duirtheach of rye, the saint bid him tiu'u its mouth up, and it 
 should be so filled. This condition was at once complied with. 
 
 " Do beip ^oban rpac erpe a lam 7 a moin^ F^^'P) co po impoo in oaipdieach, 
 7 ntoeachaiD clctp ap a inao oe, 7 ni po cumpcaio oluru claip oib peach a ceile." 
 
 " Goban laid hold of it by both post and ridge, so that he turned the duirtheach 
 upside down, and not a plank of it started from its place, nor did a joint of any of the 
 boards move from the other." 
 
 Again, from the following note in the Felire Aenguis, at the 4th 
 of April, we learn that the duirtheach of St. Derbhfraich of Druim 
 Dubhain, near Clogher, in Tyrone, the mother of St. Tighernach of 
 Clones, was a wooden structure. Derbhfraich floiu'ished towards 
 the close of the fifth century. 
 
 " t)epbppaich, maraip Cisepnaij Cluana 6oip. Ip ppia apbepc Coechoamaip 
 DpomaDubdin in po, lap pemiuD in cpoino do dIuiji eci oc oenum a oepprije: 
 " ' Q Depbppaich, 
 
 Q macaip Chijepnaig noeim, 
 Coer 00 chobaip, nap ba mall, 
 tDluij in cpano hi pail in c-paeip.'
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 349 
 
 " Derbfraich, the mother of Tigliernach of Cluain Eois. She is called Coeclidamair 
 of Druim Dubliain here, for having refused to split the timber at the erection of her 
 Duirtheack : 
 
 " ' O Derbhfraicli, 
 
 O mother of holy Tighernach, 
 
 Go to help, be not slow, 
 
 Split the tree along with the carpenter.' " 
 
 But the strongest evidences in favour of this conclusion, that the 
 duirtheachs were usually of wood, are those supplied by the Irish 
 Annals, which so frequently record the burning of this class of 
 buildings by the Northmen, while the daimhliags escaped the flames. 
 Of this fact I have already given several instances ; and I shall only 
 now add the following remarkable record, from the Annals of Ulster, 
 which clearly shows that the duirtheachs at this period must have 
 been generally of wood : 
 
 " A.D. 891. Llencup magnu)^ in pepia rTlapcini, con oappcap pio-t'ip mop ip naib 
 cailbB, 7 con puc na oaupcaiji ap a lucpaijib, 7 na caiji olcena." 
 
 "A.D. 891. A great wind occurred on the festival of St. Martin, which pros- 
 trated a great quantity of trees in the woods, and carried the duirtheachs from their 
 places, and the [other] houses likewise." 
 
 And lastly, that the custom of building oratories of wood was 
 
 continued in Ireland even to the twelfth century, appears from St. 
 
 Bernard's Life of Malachy, in which the following notice of the 
 
 building of an oratory at Bangor by the latter is found : 
 
 " Porro oratorium intra paucos dies consummatum est de lignis quidem leuigatis, 
 sed apte firmiterqiie contextum, opus Scoticum pulchrum satis. Et exinde seruitur 
 Deo in eo sicut in diebus antiquis, simili quidem deuotione, etsi non pari numero." — 
 Cap. V. 
 
 The modicum of praise which St. Bernard bestows on this ora- 
 tory is of some interest, and we may well believe that such wooden 
 temples were not wholly without ornament or beauty. That tliey 
 were coloured with lime, or whitewash, appears certain from a pas- 
 sage in the Leabliar Breac, relating to the mystical significations of 
 the colours used in the vestments of a priest, and in which the 
 white, which was typical of purity, is compared to the colour of the 
 calx or lime on the gable of a duirtheach. 
 
 " Ip eao DO popne ni gel in can pejiip in pcicapc pciip, cupu immDepjcbap imme 
 ap pale 7 naipe, menip jenmnaio caicnemach a cpioe 7 a menma, amail uan 
 cumoe, no amail chailc pop benochobup ouupduje, no amailDacli jeipi ppijpein, 
 cennch n-epnail pecao, do Lie no mop, do aippipium in a cpioe." — Fol. 54, now 44.
 
 350 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " "What the white is intended for, when the priest looks upon it, is, that he should 
 blush at it with sensitiveness and shame, if he should not be chaste and pure in heart 
 and mind, like the froth of the wave, or like the cailc on the bendchohar of a duirtheach, 
 or like the colour of the swan before the sun ; without any kind of sin, small or great, 
 remaining in his heart." 
 
 But tliough it may tlius be considered as certain that the duw- 
 theachs, or oratories, were usually of wood, and that their name was 
 ori "finally significant of their material, in contradistinction fi'om those 
 larger churches built of stone, it by no means follows that they were 
 always erected of this material, or even that the word would not be 
 applied to stone oratories, after its etymology had been popularly 
 forgotten. And that oratories were indeed erected of the latter ma- 
 terial, at a very ancient period, not only in districts where wood was 
 scarce and stone abundant, — as in the rocky islands of Aran, where 
 so many ancient structures of this kind still remain, — but also in dis- 
 tricts where wood was abundant, appears certain from various pas- 
 sages in our Annals. Of these, I have already referred (p. 144) to 
 that cimous one in the Annals of Ulster, at the year 788, in which 
 the stone oratory at Armagh is spoken of, and from which we may 
 safely infer that the other duirtheaclis there were not, at that period, 
 of this material. And a similar inference may, indeed, be drawn 
 from all the notices which we have of other oratories built of stone, 
 for if such buildings were usually of this material, it would have 
 been unnecessary to distinguish them in this manner. 
 
 A still earlier example of a stone oratory, in the neighbourhood 
 of Armagh, — one even coeval with St. Patrick himself, and of which 
 some ruins yet remain, — is preserved to us in St. Evin's, or the 
 Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, as translated by Colgan. The passage 
 is as follows : 
 
 " Vnam autem ex his Crumtherim appellatam, mirs virtutis virginem, ab aliis 
 segragauit, et in cella siue lapideo inclusorio in monte vulgo Kenngobha vocato, Ard- 
 machffi versus orientem vicino, inclusit : curamque tradidit S. Benigno, vt singulis 
 diebus ad vesperum de cccnula ei curaret prouideri." — Trias Tliainn., p. 163. 
 
 I might adduce additional examples, but these are sufficient for 
 my purpose ; and I shall only add, that such notices of stone oratories 
 clearly indicate that it was not the usual custom to erect such struc- 
 tures of this material, for if it were, there would be no necessity to 
 distinguish such as were so, in this manner.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELA>rD. 361 
 
 2. Size. — That the duirtheachs were distinguished from the 
 daimhliags as much by their inferiority of size, as difference of mate- 
 rial, is quite obvious ; and it is highly probable that, as the stone 
 churches and other sacred edifices originally built by St. Patrick, be- 
 came the models for subsequent structures of those classes, there may 
 have been a similar model originally to regulate the size of the 
 duirthench. Such model, however, would be, in course of time, if 
 not forgotten, at least occasionally deviated from, when the means, , 
 or other cii'cumstances of the builders, made it necessary to do so. 
 Thus, amongst the existing stone biuldings of this class, as amongst 
 many of the ancient parish and abbey churches, we find a great want 
 of uniformity as to size ; but their average may be stated to be about 
 fifteen feet in length, and ten in breadth, interior measurement ; and 
 that this was about the usual size, we have an ancient evidence in a 
 fragment of tlie Brehon Laws preserved in the Library of Trinity 
 College, Dublin, H. 3, 17, p. 658, relating to the payment of artificers 
 employed in the construction o? duirtlieachs, daimliUags, and cloig- 
 theachs. But as I shall give the whole of this cm'ious document in 
 the following subsection, I need only refer to it here. Such is very 
 nearly the internal measurement of the duirtheach at Glendalough, 
 now popularly called the Priest's House, of which I have already 
 given sufficient illustrations, p. 248, et seqiien., and also of several 
 other stone oratories already noticed, as that of St. Mac Dara, on the 
 island of Cruach Mic Dara, off the western coast of Galway, noticed 
 in p. 190, and that of St. Cenannach, on the middle island of Aran, 
 in the Bay of Galway, noticed at p. 189. And I may add, that the 
 stone oratories on the great island of Aran are all either exactly of 
 these dimensions, or very nearly so ; as the TeampuU Beag Mliic 
 Duach, or the smaller church of St. Mac Duach, which is situated 
 near the greater church of the same saint, called his Teampull Mor, 
 and which is obviously of the same age ; St. Gobnet's oratory, which 
 measm'es externally eighteen feet in length, and thirteen feet and a 
 lialf in breadth ; Teampull na Som'ney, which is nineteen feet six 
 inches in length, and fifteen feet six inches in breadth ; and the ora- 
 tory of St. Benen, or Benignus, which is, externally, but fifteen feet 
 in length, and eleven feet in breadth. 
 
 Such also is usually the size of the remarkable stone oratories 
 in Kerry, built without cement, with the exception of tliat at Kil-
 
 352 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 malkedar, wliicli is sixteen foet fom- inches in length, and eight feet 
 seven inches in breadth. The most beautiful of these oratories, that 
 at Gallerus,. described, with illustrations, at p. 133, is, however, 
 exactly the prescribed measurement, and not ten feet in breadth 
 externally, as there inadvertently stated. 
 
 In the general plan of this class of buildings there was an equal 
 uniformity. They had a single doorway, always placed in the centre 
 of the west wall, and were lighted by a single window placed in the 
 centre of the east wall, and a stone altar usually, perhaps always, 
 placed beneath this window. That such oratories, as well as the 
 larger churches, were visually consecrated by a bishop, appears cer- 
 tain from a very ancient vellum MS. in the Library of the Royal 
 Irish Academy, giving the form in which a chiu-ch, or duirtheach, 
 Avas to be consecrated, and which, judging from the language, ap- 
 pears to be of very considerable antiquity; and many examples of 
 such dedications occur in the hves of the Irish saints who flourished 
 in Lombardy, Smtzerland, and other parts of the Continent, in the 
 seventh and eighth centuries, as published by Messingham, Colgan, 
 Surius, and the Bollandists. From these lives we may also infer 
 that the oratories erected abroad by these Irish ecclesiastics were 
 similar in size and material to those in their native country, — as in 
 the following example, from the Life of Columbanus, describing the 
 oratory erected by him at Bobbio : 
 
 " Vbi etiam Ecclesiam in honorem almse Dei genetricis, semperque Virginis 
 Maria;, ex lignis construxit ad magnitudinem sanctissiini corporis sui." — Miracula 
 S. Columbani Abbatis. Florilegium, p. 240. 
 
 I should also remark, that, in those lives, such oratories are often 
 designated by the term oraculum, a word which was also sometimes 
 applied to oratories in Ireland, imder the corrupted form oi Aireagal, 
 and anglicised Errigal, — as in Aireagal Dachiarog, now Errigal 
 Keeroge, in the County of Tyrone, and Aireagal Adhamhnain, now 
 Errigal, in Derry. 
 
 But, as I have already said, the duirtheachs were not always of 
 these very circumsciibed proportions, for it appears from several 
 entries in the Irish Annals that they were, at least occasionally, of 
 much greater size. Thus, in the Annals of Ulster, at the year 849, 
 there is a record of the burning of two hundred and sixty persons in 
 the duirtheach of Trevet, a number which certainly could not be
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 353 
 
 contained vrithin a duirtheach of tlie ordinary proportions, and which 
 would seem to require, not only a room of greater size, but that upper 
 chamber Avhicli is found in some of the buildings which appear to 
 belono: to this class. Moreover, we are not without evidences to 
 show that some of the duirtlieacJts ranked as of more importance than 
 others in their immediate vicinity, as the epithet mor, or great, applied 
 to them, clearly proves ; and, as the same epithet, when applied to 
 a stone church, was unquestionably intended to denote its greater size, 
 as compared with the contiguous churches, so we must also conclude 
 that it was applied to the duirtlieach with a similar object. The fol- 
 lowing example of such evidences will, however, suffice. It is found 
 in an account of the circumstances which occasioned the writing of 
 a poem for the Galls, or foreigners of Dublin, by the celebrated Irish 
 poet, Ruraann, who has been called, by the Irish writers, the Virgil 
 of Ireland, and whose death is thus entered in the Annals of Tigher- 
 nach at the year 747 : '' Ruman Mac Colmain Poeta optimus quievit!' 
 It I'efers to the building of the duirtlieach mor, or great oratory of 
 Rathain Ua Suanaigh, now Rahen, in the lung's County ; and the 
 original, which is preserved in an ancient vellum MS. in the Bod- 
 leian Library at Oxford, is said to have been copied from the Book of 
 Rathain Ua Suanaigh : 
 
 " Rumuno, mac Colmain, .1. mac pij Caejaipe, do ClannaiB Neill, pij-pibo 
 ©ipeno, ip e do pijne an Duan pa, 7 laio luapcacli ainm na h-aipce ap a n-epnao. 
 Ip e aobap imoppu a oenma do, .1. oia ailicpi camicc pe co Racan, i n-aimpip 
 jopca moipe. 13a bo meipci la luce an bade a cuioechc oo'n baili, con ann a 
 Dubpacap ppip in paep, po bin ic oenum m oupcaigi moip, oiulcao do oenum 
 ppip in pep n-odna ; coniD ann az bepc in paep ppi pep oia muincip, epij a 
 n-ajaiD TJumuino, 7 abaip ppip na cicceo oo'n bailiu, no co n-oepnao pe pano 
 I ni-bia aipim na pil do clapaib puno, do chum m oupcaiji ; conio ann do pom- 
 piom m pano pa: 
 
 " ' Q mu coimDiu ! cio do oen-pa, 
 ppip in aobup mup fa ? 
 Cum bup aicDi popceim oluru, 
 Na ;c.ceD clap pa ?' 
 
 " Ipeo pin po bui do clapaib ano, .1. mile cldp, 7 nl po pecao oiulcao ppip 
 ap pin, 6 pa paillpij t)ia do, cpia n-a eicpi, in lin cldp po bui oc un paep. 
 
 " t)o pome mop du nn do ^allaibh Qcha cliacli ap pin a cecdip, 7 a oubpacap 
 na 7>aiU, co nd cibpicip luach a Diiaine do ; conio aim do pom-|'iom m pano 
 ipopaic, CO n-ebaipc: 
 
 " ' nVeppa maoail ooneoch do gena, 
 7 ap pein bepac-pa emech do pjena.' 
 
 2 z
 
 354 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Co cuccao a bpech pein do ap pin ; coniD pi bpech pucpum, .1. pinjino cech 
 Dpoch^tiiU, 7 DO plnjinn cech oe-^ciiU, co nc'i ppich cicii ^^^lU ncic cue du pmjmo 
 DO, up nip piu pe ^ciU Dib opocli "^i-dl do ptio ppip pein icip, co n-ebpuc(ip ppip 
 na ^aill ino paipje do TnoloD, co pincaip in Dan bunu bui aicje. Conio ann 
 po niol-pom in paipge, 7 pe ap tneipce, co n-ebuip. 
 
 " 'Qnpcliine mop ap vnuij f.ip.' 
 
 " Co cue-pom imoppu in ecail pin leip co Cell beluij, ap IDuij Conpcancin, 
 ap ba DO cellaib Lla Suanaio in cell pin, 7 Mlaj Conpcancin uile. Cac max oan, 
 7 cec pepann Da peijeo Conpcancin ba pe ITIucucu. Conio oo Conpcancin 
 uinmnijcep m maj. Ip amlaiD bui cell belai;^ an can pin, 7 uii ppaicce do ^aHoib 
 ann, 7 ap a meic do pac l^umunn cpian a ecala oi, 7 cpian do pcoil, 7 cpian leip 
 pdin CO Raichen ; conio ann ip mapb, conio aonuchc a n-enleabaio pe li-Ua 
 Suanaiy, ap meo a anoipe la t)ia 7 la ouine.'" — Laud. 610, fol. 10, a, col. 1, 2. 
 
 " Riimann, son of Colruan, i. e. the son of the King of Laegaire, of the race of 
 Niall, royal poet of Ireland, was he that composed tliis poem, and Laidh Liiascach is 
 the name of the measiire in which he composed it. He came on his pilgrimage to 
 Rathan in a time of great dearth. It was displeasing to the people of the town that he 
 should come thither, and they said to the architect, who was making the great duir- 
 theack, to refuse admittance to the man of poetry. Upon which the builder said to one 
 of his people, ' Go meet Rumann, and tell him that he shall not enter the town, untU 
 he makes a quatrain, in which there shall be an enumeration of what boards there are 
 here for the building of the duirtheach. And then it was that he composed this quatrain : 
 " ' O my Lord ! what shall I do 
 About these great materials ? 
 When shall be seen in a jointed edifice 
 These ten hundred boards ?' 
 "This was the number of boards there, i. e. one thousand boards; and then he 
 could not be refused [admittance], since God had revealed to him, through the poetic 
 inspiration, the number of boards which the builder had. 
 
 " He composed a great poem for the Galls of Ath cliach (Dublin) immediately after, 
 but the Galls said that they would not pay him the price of his poem ; upon which he 
 composed the celebrated distich, in which he said : 
 
 " ' If any one wish to refuse me, let him, 
 And on him I will take revenge of daggers.' 
 
 " Upon which his own award was given him. And the award he demanded was a 
 pinginn from every bad Gall, and two jiingiims from every good Gall, so that there was 
 not found among them a Gall who did not give him two pinginns, because none of 
 them deemed it worth while to be styled a bad Gall [for the price demanded]. And the 
 Galls then told him to praise the sea, that they might know whether his was original 
 poetry. Whereupon he praised the sea, while he was in a state of inebriety, and com- 
 posed [the poem beginning] 
 
 " ' A great tempest on the plain of Lear,' [i. e. the sea]. 
 
 " He then carried this wealth with him to Cell Belaigh, in Magh Constantine, for 
 this was one of the churches of Ua Suanaigh, and the whole of Magh Constantine
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 355 
 
 belonged to him. For every plain and land which Constantine had cleared belonged 
 to St. Mochuda ; so that the plain was named after Constantine. At this time Cell 
 Belaigh had seven streets of Galls in it ; and Kumann gave the third of his wealth to 
 it, from its size, and a third to schools, and he kept a third with himself at Rathain, 
 where he died, and was buried in the same bed [i. e. tomb] with Ua Suanaigh, for his 
 great honour with God and man." 
 
 It is not necessary to the value of the preceding extract tliat it 
 should be considered as authentic liistory in every respect, for its 
 authority, as to the materials and more than ordinary size of the 
 duirtheach atRahen, can hardly be doubted, though some of the facts 
 stated, in connexion witli its erection, may be legendary, and opposed 
 to chronological history ; and that they are so, would seem, indeed, 
 to be the fact. Thus, it can hardly be true that Runiann was interred 
 in the same gi-ave with O'Suanaigh, as the latter, according to the 
 accurate Annals of Tighernach, did not die till 763, unless we sup- 
 pose a tomb to have been made for O'Suanaigh more than sixteen 
 years previously. And again, it is difficult to believe that Eumann's 
 poem, in praise of the sea, was written, as stated, for the Galls of 
 Dubhn, if by Galls we are to understand the Scandinavian invaders, 
 as we find no allusion to their devastations or settlements in Ireland, 
 in the Irish Annals, previously to the year 794. Yet the poem 
 ascribed to Rumann is unquestionably of very great antiqiuty, and 
 may be the composition of that poet, though not written on the occa- 
 sion stated. And, as the Irish applied the word Galls to all foreigners, 
 those alluded to may not have been the Danes, but the Saxons, who, 
 as we learn from Venerable Bede, infested Ireland long previously. 
 At all events, the story told in connexion with this poem, which 
 seems obviously to be the tradition preserved at Rahen, with respect 
 to the poet Rumann's connexion with that place, is, on many accounts, 
 of high interest, as furnishing an evidence, hitherto unknown, of the 
 fact stated in some of the oldest Lish calendars, but which I, in com- 
 mon with Dr. Lanigan, had heretofore doubted, namely, that a Briton, 
 named Constantine, was abbot at Rahen, and whose memory was 
 there venerated on the 11th of March. In the Festilogy of ^ngus 
 this Constantine is set down as Re.x Rathenice, which, as Colgan 
 understands, did not mean that he was king of the place, but that 
 having abdicated his kingdom, he became a monk there, or, as other 
 calendars state, abbot. So the Calendar of Casliel, as translated by 
 
 2 z 2
 
 856 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Colgan, has, " S. Constantinus ex Britannia ortus Abbas de Cut 
 Ratlidiii Mochuilda' in regione de Delbhna Efhra in Media" The 
 Mart}Tology of TaUaght, " Constantini Britunis, vel filij Fergussii 
 de Cnithenisr Marian Gorman. '■^Constantinus Brito :" and the 
 Scholiast of Marian adds : " Constantinus /ilius Fergussij de Cru- 
 f/ienis oriendus ; vel ivxta alios, Brito; Abbas de Rathenia S. Mo- 
 chud(s" So also the Martyrology of Donegal has the same words; 
 and Cathal Magiiire has the following notice of him : "Constantinus 
 Rex Britonum regnum abdicauit : et peregrinationis causa, venit 
 Ratheniam tempore S. Mochuddce. Fuit enim Comorbanus (suc- 
 cessor) S. Mochuddcs Rathenice, et ante Rex Albanioe: vel est Con- 
 stantinus filius Fergussij de Cruthenis oriundus." — See Colgan's Acta 
 Sanctorum, pp. 574, 575. 
 
 It would be foreign to my purpose to inquire more minutely into 
 the histoiy of this distinguished person, who, whatever may have 
 been his country, there can be little doubt, ^was really located at 
 Rahen or its vicinity, though not, as stated, at so late a period as to 
 have been the successor of St. Mochuda, Avho Avas driven from Eahen 
 in the year 630, — at least if he be, as Dr. O'Conor supposes, the Con- 
 stantino noticed in the Annals of Ulster at the year 587, and in those 
 of Tighernach at the year 588, in these words, — " Conversio Con- 
 stantini ad Dominum" and to whom Hector Boethius seems to 
 allude in his History of Scotland, L. 9, where he says : " Poenitentem, 
 abdicato regno, secessisse in Hiberniam, ibique, tonso capite, Christi 
 militifs se prcestitisse." 
 
 The passage is moreover curious for its reference to the seven 
 streets inhabited by the Galls, in the town of Cell Belaigh, as well as 
 for the allusion to the pinginns, or pennies, at this early period ; and 
 I may mention, as a curious fact, that in my own time there has 
 been found, in the immediate vicinity of Rahen, not only an exten- 
 sive hoard of pennies of the Saxon chief monarchs of the ninth cen- 
 tury, but also, subsequently, a consideral)le number of the pennies 
 of Egbert, 801-837, — circumstances Avhich would seem to indicate 
 that Saxons were established in this locality at an early period. 
 
 To return, however, from this digression. It is from a consi- 
 deration of the greater size of some of the Duirtheachs than of others 
 that I am inclined to refer to this class not only such curious build- 
 ings as Declan's Dormitory at Ardmore, in the County of Waterford,
 
 OF THE ROUND Tt)WEKS OF IRELAND, 357 
 
 and Molaisi's House on Devenisli Island, in Fermanacjli — buildiney 
 of very contracted dimensions — but also those similar buildings, 
 though of larger size, at Kells and Glendalough, — the first called 
 St. Columb's House, and the second St. Kevin's, — which have habi- 
 table apartments between the stone roof and the coved ceiling of the 
 oratory. That all these buildings are of a remote antiquity their 
 architecture sufficiently shows ; and that they may have been erected 
 by the celebrated personages whose names they bear, I see no good 
 reason to douljt. The great difference between some of these build- 
 ings and those which are unquestionably duirtlieaclis is, that they 
 combined within them, under the same roof, the double object of 
 an oratory and a dwelling, — a difference not very essential, and which 
 might have owed its origin to local circumstances. And the greater 
 size of St. Columb's House at Kells, and St. Kevin's at Glendalough, 
 might be attributable to the rank of the illustrious ecclesiastics for 
 whom they were erected. 
 
 Should it be objected tliat St. Kevin's House at Glendalough, 
 unlike that of St. Columb at Kells, had all the features which cha- 
 racterize a church for public Avorship, as nave, chancel, sacristy, 
 and belfry, the answer is, that it certainly had not all these features 
 originally ; the chancel, with its connecting arch, and sacristy, are 
 obviously subsequent additions, as an examination of the structure 
 clearly shows ; and it is extremely probable that the small, round, 
 tiuret-belfry, placed upon the west gable of the nave, was also added 
 at the same time. Illustrations of these curious structures will be 
 given in a subsection following, headed Houses. 
 
 3. Use. — It can scarcely be questioned that this class of buildings 
 were originally erected for the private devotions of their founders 
 exclusively ; and if there were any doubts of this, they would be 
 removed by the fact that, in the immediate vicinity of such oratories, 
 we usually find not only the cells, or the ruinsof them, which served 
 as habitations for the founders, but also the tombs in which they 
 were interred. And it is worthy of observation that in the great 
 island of Aran, in the Bay of Galway, — called Ara na Naomh, as 
 O'Flaherty says, from the multitude of saints interred there, — such 
 oratories and tombs usually belong to the most distinguished of the 
 saints of Ireland, Avho passed into it to spend the evening of their 
 life in prayer and penance, and to be interred there : and hence, I
 
 358 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 think, such structures came, in subsequent times, to be used by 
 devotees as penitentiaries, and to be generally regarded as such ex- 
 clusively. Nor is it easy to conceive localities better fitted, in a reli- 
 gious age, to excite feelings of contrition for past sins, and of 
 expectations of forgiveness, than these, which had been rendered 
 sacred by the sanctity of those to whom they had owed their origin. 
 Most certain, at all events, it is, that they came to be regarded as 
 sanctuaries the most inviolable, to which, as our annals show, the 
 people were accustomed to fly in the hope of safety, — a hope, how- 
 ever, which was not always realized. 
 
 SUBSECTION III. 
 BELFRIES. 
 
 The class of buildings of which I have now to treat, and which 
 gave origin to this lengthened Inquiry, though only holding the places 
 of accessories to the principal chiu'ches in Ireland, have yet, from the 
 peculiarity of their form, and the wild theories which have been 
 promxdgated respecting their age and uses, been regarded as objects 
 of greater interest and importance than even the ancient churches 
 themselves, or, indeed, than any other class of ancient monuments 
 remaining. The inconclusiveness of the arguments and evidences 
 which have been adduced to sustain the various theories assigning 
 them a pagan origin, have been amply discussed in the first Part of 
 this Inquiry, and to those who have accompanied me through that 
 investigation, as well as tlirough the preceding sections in tliis Part, I 
 can hardly imagine that it will appear necessary to occupy much 
 space now with evidences to prove either their Christian origin, or 
 the uses to which, by Christians, they were applied. I, at least, am 
 persuaded that to any one having a tolerable acquaintance with me- 
 dieval architecture, a sight of a feAv of these remains, or of accurate 
 detailed di'awings of them, would be alone sufiicient to convince 
 him, not only of their Christian date, but of the primary purposes for 
 which they were constructed. But, as I have to write not only for 
 such persons, but for those also who are less instructed in such know- 
 ledge, and, as a consequence, are, for the most part, imbued with 
 prejudices difiicult to be removed, it is necessary that I should pre- 
 sent them with such more direct evidences, on these points, as must 
 necessarily lead their minds to a conviction of the truth.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 359 
 
 Previously, however, to iny entering on those evidences, I feel it 
 necessary to impress on the memories of those who may still cling 
 with tenacity to the theory of the pagan origin of these structures, a 
 summary of the facts which, in refutation of that theory, I conceive I 
 have already established. 
 
 1. That not even the shadow of an historical authority has been 
 adduced to show that the Irish were acquainted with the art of con- 
 structing an arch, or with the use of lime cement, anterior to the 
 introduction of Christianity into the country ; and further, that though 
 we have innumerable remains of buildings, of ages antecedent to 
 that period, in no one of them has an arch, or lime cement, been 
 found. 
 
 2. That in no one building in Ireland assigned to pagan times, 
 either by historical evidence or popular tradition, have been found 
 either the form or features usual in the Round Towers, or charac- 
 teristics that would indicate the possession of sufficient architectviral 
 skill in their builders to construct such edifices. 
 
 3. That, previously to General Vallancey, — a writer remarkable 
 for the daring rashness of his theories, for his looseness in the use 
 of authorities, and for his want of acquaintance with medieval anti- 
 quities, — no writer had ever attributed to the Round Towers any 
 other than a Christian, or, at least, a medieval origin. 
 
 4. And lastly, that the evidences and arguments tendered in sup- 
 port of this theory by Vallancey and his followers, — excepting those 
 of the late Mr. O'Brien and Sir William Betham, which I have not 
 thought deserving of notice, — have been proved to be of no weight 
 or importance. 
 
 In addition to these facts, the four which follow will be proved 
 in the descriptive notices of the ancient churches and towers which 
 will constitute the Third Part of this Inquiry. 
 
 1. That the towers are never found unconnected with ancient 
 ecclesiastical foundations. 
 
 2. That their architectural styles exhibit no features or pecu- 
 liarities not equally found in the original churches with which they 
 are locally connected, when such remain. 
 
 3. That on several of them Christian emblems are observable ; 
 and that others display, in their details, a style of architecture univer- 
 sally acknowledged to belong to Christian times.
 
 360 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 4. That they possess, invariably, architectural features not found 
 in any buildings in Ireland ascertained to be of pagan times. 
 
 For the present, however, I must assume these additional facts 
 as proved, and will proceed to establish the conclusions as to their 
 uses originally stated ; namely, I. that they were intended to serve 
 as belfries ; and, II. 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 predatory attack. 
 
 These uses will, I think, appear obvious to a great extent, from 
 their peculiarities of construction, which it Avill be proper, in the first 
 
 "A 
 
 '^ 
 
 place, to describe. These Towers, then, — as will be seen from the 
 annexed characteristic illustration, representing the perfect Tower 
 on Devenish Island in Lough Erne, — are rotund, cylindrical struc- 
 tures, usually tapering upwards, and varying in height from fifty to
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 361 
 
 perhaps one hundred and fifty feet; and in external circumference, 
 at the base, from forty to sixty feet, or somewhat more. They 
 have usually a circular, projecting base, consisting of one, two, or 
 three steps, or plinths, and are finislied at the top with a conical 
 roof of stone, which, frequently, as there is every reason to believe, 
 terminated with a cross formed of a single stone. The wall, towards 
 the base, is never less than three feet in thickness, but is usually 
 more, and occasionally five feet, being always in accordance with 
 the general proportions of the building. In the interior the}^ are 
 divided into stories, varying in number from four to eight, as the 
 height of the Tower permitted, and usually about twelve feet in 
 height. These stories are marked either by projecting belts of stone, 
 set-oiFs or ledges, or holes in the wall to receive joists, on which rested 
 the floors, which were almost always of wood. In the uppermost of 
 these stories the wall is perforated by two, four, five, six, or eight 
 apertvu'es, but most usually fovir, which sometimes face the cardinal 
 points, and sometimes not. The lowest story, or rather its place, is 
 sometimes composed of solid masonry, and Avhen not so, it has never 
 any aperture to light it. In the second story the wall is usually per- 
 forated by the entrance doorway, which is generally from eight to 
 thirty feet from the ground, and only large enough to admit a single 
 person at a time. The intermediate stories are each lighted by a 
 single aperture, placed variously, and usually of very small size, 
 though in several instances, that directly over the doorway is of a 
 size little less than that of the doorway, and woidd appear to be 
 intended as a second entrance. 
 
 In their masonic construction they present a considerable va- 
 riety : but the generality of them are built in that kind of carefid 
 masonry called spawled rubble, in which small stones, shaped by the 
 hammer, in default of smtable stones at hand, are placed in every 
 interstice of the larger stones, so that very little mortar appears to be 
 intermixed in the body of the wall ; and thus the outside of spawled 
 masonry, especially, presents an almost tuiinterrupted surface of stone, 
 supplementary splinters being carefully inserted in the joints of the 
 undried wall. Such, also, is the style of masonry of the most ancient 
 churches ; but it should be added that, in the interior of the walls 
 of both, grouting is abundantly used. In some instances, however, 
 the Towers present a surface of ashlar masonry, — but rarely laid in 
 
 3 A
 
 362 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 courses perfectly regular, — both externally and internally, though 
 more usually on the exterior only ; and, in a few instances, the lower 
 portion of the Towers exhibit less of regularity than the upper parts. 
 
 In their architectural features an equal diversity of style is obser- 
 vable ; and of these the doorway is the most remarkable. When the 
 Tower is of rubble masonry, the doorways seldom present any deco- 
 rations, and are either quadrangular, and covered with a lintel, of a 
 single stone of great size, or semicircvdar-headed, either by the con- 
 struction of a regular arch, or the cutting of a single stone. There 
 are, however, two instances of very richly decorated doorways in 
 Towers of this description, namely, those of Kildare and Timahoe. 
 In the more regularly constructed Towers the doorways are always 
 arched semicircularly, and are usually ornamented with architraves, 
 or bands, on their external faces. The upper apertures but very 
 rarely present any decorations, and ai-e most usually of a quadran- 
 gular form. They are, however, sometimes semicircular-headed, and 
 still oftener present the triangular or straight-sided arch. I should 
 further add, that in the construction of these apertures very frequent 
 examples occur of that kind of masonry, consisting of long and 
 short stones alternately, now generally considered by antiquaries as 
 a characteristic of Saxon architecture in England. 
 
 The preceding description will, I trust, be sufficient to satisfy 
 the reader that the Round Towers Avere not ill-adapted to the double 
 purpose of belfries and castles, for which I have to prove they were 
 chiefly designed ; and keeping this double purpose in view, it will, 
 I think, satisfactorily account for those peculiarities in their struc- 
 ture, which wovdd be unnecessary if they had been constructed for 
 either purpose alone. For example, if they had been erected to 
 serve the purpose of belfries only, there would be no necessity for 
 making their doorways so small, or placing them at so great a dis- 
 tance from the ground ; while, on the other hand, if they had been 
 intended solely for ecclesiastical castles, they need not have been of 
 such slender proportions and great altitude. I shall now proceed to 
 a consideration of the evidences which have forced this conviction 
 upon my own mind. And first, with respect to their original use 
 as belfries. 
 
 1. It is most certain that the Irish ecclesiastics had, from a very 
 early period, in connexion with their cathedral and abbey churches.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 363 
 
 campan)lia,ov detached belfries, called in the Irish annals, and other 
 ancient authorities, by the term cloijferfc. 
 
 2. It is equally certain that, in all parts ol' Ireland where the Irish 
 language is yet retained, these Towers are designated by the same 
 term, except in a few districts, where they are called by the synonj-- 
 nious term clogn]-, or by the term cuilsreac, — Avhich, as I have 
 already shown, is only a corrupted form of cloigreac, by a transpo- 
 sition of letters very usual in modern Irish words. 
 
 3. It is also certain that no other building, either rovmd or square, 
 suited to the purpose of a belfry, has ever been found in connexion 
 with any church of an age anterior to the twelfth century, with the 
 single exception of the square belfry attached to a cluu-cli on Inis 
 Clothrann, or Clorin, — an island in Lough Eee, — and which seems 
 to be of earlier date. 
 
 4. And lastly. It is further certain that this use is assigned to 
 them by the uniform tradition of the whole people of Ireland ; and 
 that they are appropriated to this use, in many parts of the country, 
 even to this day. 
 
 To facts so demonstrative of this primary purpose of the Towers, 
 it is not easy to imagine an objection of sufficient weight to invalidate 
 them, nor have any been advanced. It has, indeed, been urged by 
 several, that their internal diameter at top is too small " for a bell 
 of moderate size to oscillate in ;" and by Dr. O'Conor, and others after 
 him, that the ancient Irish belfries must have been of wood, because 
 the annalists state that, like the churches, they were frequently burned 
 by the Northmen. Of these objections, however, the first is refuted 
 by the fact that bells of larger size than any Avhich the ancient Irish 
 ever possessed, are hung in many of the Towers at the present day ; 
 and the nullity of the second objection has been already fully de- 
 monstrated at p. G4. 
 
 I may, moreover, add here, — and particidarly as the passage to 
 which I am about to refer, had escaped my memory when I was 
 noticing Dr. O'Conor's arguments in the First Part of this Inquiry, 
 — that Dr. O'Conor, as far as this point is concerned, has refuted his 
 own arguments, and, indeed, acknowledged the appropriation of the 
 Towers, at a very early period, to the uses which I assign to them, 
 as their original ones. This will fully appear by a comparison of the 
 opinions stated in the following passage, which appears as a note in 
 
 3 A 2
 
 364 INQUIKY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 liis Annals of Tighernach, p. 89, -with the opinions already quoted 
 from his Prolegomena, p. 49 ; the former published in 1826, and the 
 latter in 1814, and which will show that within this period Dr. 
 O'Conor's opinions must have undergone a very material change. 
 
 " IIsBC a quodam vetere Hibernense scripta fuere, qui Turres Ecclesiasticos 
 Hiberuorum, eorumque intentum, acusum noverat, atqueab Anachoretis, Orieutalium 
 more viventibus, et campanas, aliasque res Sacras, Libros et Thesauros custodientibus, 
 liabitabantur ; iitpote a petra oonstructi ab imo ad summum, quia Ecclesiae, aliaque 
 a^dificia Hibernica, cum e ligno constructa essent, facillime et frequentissime combure- 
 bantur. Ante Campanilium usum invectum, constructi fuere turres isti, refercnte 
 Gratiauo Lucio, pag. 133. Postea tameu usus iuolevit, ut campanis in eorum culmine 
 appensis, campanilium vices gererent." 
 
 But, if there be any who may still doubt that the Irish cloictlieaclis 
 were stone structures, and distinct buildings from the churches, they 
 must be convinced of the fact by the following very curious pas- 
 sage, which occurs in a vellum manuscript in the Library of Trinity 
 College, Dublin, H. 3, 17, p. 653. This passage is, unfortunately, 
 but a fragment of a Commentary on a Brehon Law, relative to the 
 payment of artificers for the erection of the three chief buildings, 
 which are usually found grouped together in ecclesiastical establish- 
 ments, namely, the duirflieacli, daimhUag, and cloictheach, and hence 
 it should be premised that, as well from the Avant of the original 
 law, which it was intended to elucidate, as from the technical 
 character of the rules laid down, it is by no means easy to arrive 
 at a clear understanding of its entire meaning. But this is a matter 
 of little consequence to the present inquiry, as the passage will 
 clearly show, what is essential to my purpose, that the belfry was a 
 distinct building, constructed of stone ; and that there was a law 
 regulating not only the price of its construction, but determining its 
 height, as proportioned to the daimhliag, or stone church : 
 
 " mapa Duprac .u. qioijiD n-oec, no ip lu^a map, .i. cuic cpaijio .,r. in a par, 
 7 .;c. cpaijiD in a tecec, ip pamaipc np cac cpciijeo cnppna oe, no cip cac cpciij^eo 
 CO lee ap puc ; cona ruije aine pin; 7 mapa rpume plinneo, ip bo ap cac cpoijeo 
 ccippna oe, no ap cac rpoijeo gu ler ap puc. TTlapa mo e ma .u. cpoijiD .;t. ya- 
 mnipc ap oa cpian cpoijiD rappna oe, no ap cpoijeo ap uc: co na cujji ame pm. 
 ITlapa ruije plmneo, bo a\\ do cpian cpoijio cappna oe, no ap cpoijeo ap uc. 
 
 "to^ na n-Dupcac do pep dIijid pm; ocup a cpian do elaoam, 7 cpian ooaobup, 
 7 a cpian do aobup, 7 a cpian do biuo, 7 do ppircnam, 7 do jobnib ; 7 po'n 
 comae pe pecap a lep gabeino aichpejrap pm ooib, 7 lee m cpin do ^oibnib 
 cinaenup, .i. pepeo ; in .ui. aili a poino ap do icep biao 7 ppirjnam, aili ^t. ceccap
 
 OF TUE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 365 
 
 oe ; 7 oa paib peann na fiecap a lep ^obano, ippoino ap oo onn|MDe irep bicio 
 7 ppichjnam. Illupa ^iiiiiipniD aj a pecup u Icp cip 7 ac na pecap jobciiio, cpiaii 
 o'elaocmn, 7 cpiun do cip, 7 cpmii o'aobiip, 7 do biUD, 7 do ppirjnutn; a ler pioe 
 o'aobup ciimeiuip, .iii. ; in .111. cnli do biuo 7 do ppirhjjnnm, .1. aili .y. do ceccup oe. 
 
 " In DUnilii-i;^ : nia]'a cuje plinneo puil cup, coniloj e 7 in oupcac ip cucpumti 
 pip. Illupii riiijji; ciine pil aip, in c-uinni puiniie jubiip in cloc in ci cpunn, jjiipub 
 e in c-ainni pcimne pm do lan-lo^ bep puip ; 7 in c-ainm painne jobiip in cpnnn 
 m a cloic ^^iipiib e m c-oinm puinne pin do ler-lo^^ bep paip, 7 ip e pomn pucliup 
 up na annitinncub pciiiine )'in m poinii ceic ojj uri oupchnc. 
 
 " In cloiccech: 11 iclirup pioe do coimip, a comup pioe pe h-iccup in Daimliaj pe 
 n-u ciicpumuDc, 7 m iniupcpaio ti ca up a yaz, 7 ap a lereo in DUiniluij o pin imach 
 o chocorhup in cloccije imac, ipa piujuil ] loe pe aipoe in clocnje; 7 oa paib 
 imapcpaiD aip, .1. ap uipoe in cloccije pip in oaimliajj, ip comop loj pip, in cuc- 
 puniu loijioecca pin do rabaipc ap in cloccech." 
 
 " It" it be a duirtkeach of fifteen feet, or less than that, that is, fifteen feet in its 
 length, and ten feet in its breadth, a heifer for every foot of it in breadth, or for every 
 foot and a half in length ; this is when the roof is of rushes : but if the roof be of 
 slinn'^ [shingles], it is a cow for every foot of it in breadth, or for every foot and a half 
 in length. If it be more than fifteen feet, a heifer for [every] two-thirds of a foot of 
 it in breadth, or for [every] foot in length ; this is when the roof is of rushes : if the 
 roofbc of shingles, a cow for [every] two-thirds of afoot of it in breadth, or for [every] 
 foot in length. 
 
 " That is the price of the duirtlieacks according to law ; and a third of it for trade 
 [i. e. for the builder], and a third for materials, and a third for diet, and for atten- 
 dance, and for smiths ; and it is according to the right of the smiths when they are 
 required, that [third] is apportioned between them ; and half the third to the smiths 
 alone, that is, a sixth ; the other sixth to be divided into two parts between diet and 
 attendance, one-twelfth to each of them ; and if it be an apportionment /or a work in 
 which the smith is not required, to divide it [tlic third] into two parts between diet 
 and attendance. If it be a work for wdiich land is required [i. e. the site of which 
 must be purchased], and for which a smith is not recjuircd, a third for trade, and a 
 third for land, and a third for materials, and for food, and for attendance ; the half of 
 that [last third] for materials alone, [that is] a sixth ; the other sixth for diet and 
 for attendance, that is a twelfth for each of thein. 
 
 " The daimkliag: if its covering be of shingles, it is of equal price with the duir- 
 theach, which is proportioned to it. If its covering be of rushes, the proportion which 
 stone [work] bears to wood [work] is the proportion of fidl price that shall be for it ; 
 and the proportion wliich wood [work] beai's to stone [work] is the proportion of half 
 price that shall be for it ; and these proportions will be distributed according to the 
 ride applied to the duirtheack. 
 
 " The doictheach : its base to be measured ; that [again] to be measured with the 
 base of the daimhliag for [determining] its proportions ; and the excess of the length 
 and breadth of the daimkliag over it [i. e.] over the measurement of the cloictlieacli, 
 
 Slinn is now used to denote slates, but the word is rendered shingles by Ma- 
 geoghegan. The use of slates for roofing seems to be of no great antiquity in Ireland.
 
 866 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 that is tlie r\ilc tor tin.' lu'ight of tlie cloictheach ; and if there should be an excess, i. e. 
 in the heiglit of the cloictheach compared witli the daimhliag, which is of equal price 
 with it, a proportionate excess of price is to be paid for the cloictheach.'''' 
 
 Difficult of explanation as the preceding passage is, we may at 
 least safely infer from it that the c/oicf/ieacli, or belfry, was a distinct 
 building, constructed of similar materials with the daimhliag, and 
 having its height and the expense of its erection determined by a 
 certain rule bearing on its usual proportion to that of its accompany- 
 ing church. When this proportion was observed, the expense of 
 building each was the same ; and when the height of the Tower 
 exceeded that specified, its expense was increased accordingly. 
 
 It is not, of course, necessary to my purpose, to attempt an ex- 
 planation of the rule for determining the height of the belfry ; yet, as 
 a matter of intei'est to the reader, I am tempted to hazard a conjec- 
 ture as to the mode in which it should be understood. It appears, 
 then, to me, that by the measurement of the base of the Tower, must 
 be meant its external circimiference, not its diameter ; and, in like 
 manner, the measurement of the base of the daitn/iliag must be its 
 perimeter, or the external measiu-ement of its foiu- sides. If, then, we 
 understand these terms in this manner, and apply the rule as di- 
 rected, the result will very well agree with the measurements of the 
 existing ancient churches and towers. For example, the cathedral 
 church at Glendalough, as it appears to have been oiiginally con- 
 structed, — for the present chancel seems an addition of later time, — 
 was fifty-five feet in length and thirty-seven feet in breadth, giving a 
 perimeter of 184 feet. If from this we subtract the circumference of 
 the Tower, at the base, or foundation, which is fifty-two feet, we shall 
 have a remainder of 132 feet, as the prescribed height for the latter. 
 And such, we may well believe, was about the original height of this 
 structure ; for, to its present height of 110 feet, should be added from 
 fifteen to eighteen feet for its conical roof, now wanting, and perhaps a 
 few feet at its base, which are concealed by the accumulation of earth 
 around it. In cases of churches having a chancel as well as nave, the 
 rule, thus understood, seems equally applicable ; for example, the 
 church of Iniscaltra gives a perimeter of 162 feet, from which de- 
 ducting forty-six feet, the circumference of the Tower, we have 116 
 feet as the prescribed height of the latter ; which cannot be far from 
 the actual original height of the Tower ; for, to its present height of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 3G7 
 
 (.'ighty feet must be added ten or twelve feet for the upper story, 
 which is now wanting, fifteen feet for its conical roof, and a few feet 
 for a portion concealed at its base. 
 
 Additional evidences on this primary purpose of the Round Towers 
 would, I think, be superfluous ; and I shall therefore proceed, without 
 fiu'ther delay, to a consideration of the evidences which have led me 
 to conclude that these buildings were designed to combine with tlieir 
 primary object of belfries the secondary, though not less original one, 
 of ecclesiastical keeps. Previously, however, to entering on these 
 evidences, I should premise that they are by no means of so du'ect a 
 character as those adduced in support of my first conclusion. But 
 though only inferential, they will, I trust, be found scarcely less weighty. 
 1. That the Round Towers were designed, in part, for ecclesias- 
 tical castles, as well as belfries, must, as I think, necessarily be in- 
 ferred from some of the peculiarities found almost universally in their 
 construction, and particularly in their small doorways placed at so 
 great a height from the ground. It is scarcely necessary to remark, 
 that this obvious mode of securing safety is a common one in ancient 
 castles ; but I should observe, that the most ancient military towers 
 subsequent to Roman times, found in the British Isles, and which are 
 built with stone and lime cement, are invariably of this round and lofty 
 character, having their doorways small, and considerably elevated from 
 the ground, and their floors composed of wood. Such were the cas- 
 tles of Launceston, in Cornwall; of Brunless, in Brecknockshire; of 
 
 Dolbaddern, in Carnarvonshire, &c. 
 And even the Saxon, or Norman, 
 castle of Conisborough, in York- 
 shke, preserves, in some degi-ee, the 
 same peculiarities. 
 
 As an instance of this remarkable 
 agreement of the British castles with 
 the Irish Round Towers, I annex an 
 outline of the castle of Brunless, in 
 its present state, taken from King's 
 Munimenfa Antiqjia, vol. iii. p. 32, 
 a work in which much curious in- 
 formation will be found relative to the ancient British castles. U 
 we restore the outUnc of this castle to its probable original lieight, it 
 
 .;.Ti=£SSfe^?i4^fc-.=-
 
 368 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE OEIGIN AND USES 
 
 will be found to be almost identical, in most of its features, with 
 several of our Irish Towers, as shown in the annexed outlines of the 
 existing Hoimd Tower of Clondalkin, and of the Tower ofRosscar- 
 bery, copied from an ancient seal of the diocese, as piiblishcd in 
 Harris's Ware. 
 
 Mr. King is of opinion that this tower, or castle, as well as 
 others of the same description, was erected by the Silvu"es, or Dam- 
 nonii, diu'ing the occupation of the island by the Romans; and that its 
 form was derived from the Phoenician or Carthaginian traders : but 
 as the origin of the form of om^ Irish Roimd Towers shall be hiquked 
 into at some length in the concluding section of the Third Part of 
 this work, I will not occupy the reader's time with any remarks on it 
 in this place. I deem it important, however, to state that Mr. King 
 had no doubt that these British castles were designed for treasiu'ies 
 and places of refuge ; and that, though their inside, or timber work, 
 might be " bm'nt and refitted over and over again," they could, in 
 no other way, be injured by fire. 
 
 2. This secondary piu-pose may be still fiu-ther inferred from the 
 fact, that many of the remaining doorways of the Towers exhibit 
 abundant evidences of their having been provided with double doors; 
 and I may remark that this was in itself sufficient to satisfy the mind 
 of the most accomplished and scientific architect tliis comitry has 
 given birth to, the late Mr. Wilham Morrison, that this was one of 
 the purposes for which the Towers were designed. Having directed 
 his attention to an examination of some of the Towers, — with a view 
 not only that I might have the advantage of his judgment as to their
 
 OF THE KOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 369 
 
 construction, but also with the hope of satisfying him that my opinion^;, 
 as to theu- uses, had not been erroneous, as my himcnted friend hsid 
 previously believed, — I was favoiu'ed with the valuable opinion result- 
 ing from such examination, — " that the means resorted to for the pui-- 
 pose of preventing forcible entry, namely, by means of double doors, 
 fully establish their design for places of safety and defence." The 
 opinion which I have now quoted occiu's in a letter addi'essed to me 
 from Roscrea, in 1832. On his retvu-n to Walcott, his residence, near 
 Bray, shortly after, my friend favoiu-ed me with a letter, containing a 
 sketch, from the interior, of the doorway of the Tower of Roscrea, as 
 
 -U-' 
 
 it now exists, and another, with a section, of the same doorway re- 
 stored, for the piu'pose of exhibiting the manner in which this door- 
 way had been provided with double doors. Of these 
 interestuig sketches it affords me great pleasiu-e to 
 lay copies before my readers, as well as the explana- 
 tions which accompanied them. 
 
 In the first the letter a exhibits a semicircular 
 groove, being the remains of a stone socket-hole, 
 since chiselled off, but leaving the section of the 
 original circular hole. 
 -^ — , In the second, — a restored view, — the same letter 
 
 '.__ exliibits a projecting stone socket to receive the 
 upper ii'on of the door. 
 Pivot hole. 
 
 Projecting stones, to receive iron bolts. 
 
 3 B 
 
 c.
 
 370 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 d. Aperture in a stone at either side of the doorway, to receive 
 a moveable door, placed in time of siege. 
 
 e. Bolt hole. 
 
 /'. Rabbet, or stop, to receive the door, and prevent it from being 
 pulled out. 
 
 The letter which accompanied these sketches is in itself so curious 
 and characteristic of the inquiring mind of its author, that I feel re- 
 luctant in abridging it, and shall therefore present it to the reader in 
 its original integrity. 
 
 " My dear Petrie, 
 
 " I am really ashamed at not having ere now sent you the sketches ; 
 but, in truth, I have been so tormented at once with busuiess and ill health, that it 
 was out of my power to do so ; you now have them in a sort of way, which your know- 
 ledge of the subject and ingenuity will, I trust, enable you to unravel. I have made 
 you two views of the doorway, as it is ; and a restoration, showing what I conceive to 
 have been its original state. The value of this specimen, as it strikes me, is the 
 proof it affords, first, that the Towers have been, at a certain and very remote period, 
 employed as places of defence, or safety, which is fully established by the means 
 here resorted to, to prevent forcible entry ; and secondly, and most important, that at 
 a subsequent period those defences have been designedly removed, owing either to the 
 increased security of the country, or the increased veneration shown to its religion : it 
 •may be that its members were desirous of thus evincing their confidence and security ; 
 or it might be, that a successful spoliator thus deprived the possessors of the means of 
 future defence against renewed attack. But be that as it may, it affords, I she mid 
 think, a satisfactory refutation of the argument founded on the occasional absence of 
 such defences : having, from whatever cause, been here carefully removed, it is fair to 
 infer that like motives have induced a similar removal elsewhere, thus accounting 
 for [their] occasional absence. 
 
 " Believe me, dear Petrie, 
 
 " Your's very faithfully, 
 
 " William Morrison. 
 " Walcott, Thursday, 19 \July\ 1832. 
 
 " p. S. At Rattoo, as I remember, the bolt-holes for fastening the exterior, and 
 
 removeable door exist, whilst there does not remain any apparent means of hanging, 
 or securing, the interior door ; further, I believe, the inner jambs are not chiselled to 
 receive a door ; it must, however, be presumed, that where the exterior door, placed 
 necessarily in an innermost position, was deemed indispensable, that the interior one, 
 which could occasion no inconvenience, and have effectually answered any purpose of 
 a door, would not be omitted ; if you conceive it hung within the interior face of the 
 wall from projecting sockets of stones, subsequently removed, the difficulty is got over. 
 It may be urged that the Towers are unprovided with offensive means of defence ; 
 but to employ such means might have been held inconsistent with the religious cha- 
 racter of their possessors, — or such a garrison might have been unwUling to excite 
 increased irritation in its assailants ; or, which is most likely, a sufficient means of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 371 
 
 offence was thouglit to be afforded by the upper windows, as tlie door alone could bo 
 
 pregnable, and a stone ftilling seventy feet would be no soothing application to n Dane's 
 back." 
 
 Amongst the letters of my friend I find anotlier, wliicli I consider 
 worthy of publication, not only as affording another example of the 
 custom of double doors in the Towers, but also as giving his valuable 
 opinion on the fact that the Tower and its accompanying church are 
 cotemporaneous structures. The buildings described in this letter are, 
 the church and Kound Tower of Dysart, in the County of Limerick. 
 
 " Newcastle, Wednesday, 29 \_May, 1832]. 
 " My dear Petrie, 
 
 " I hope you will consider the promptness with which I have attended 
 to your commission, as some proof of the satisfaction it affords me to contribute, in 
 any manner within my power, to your wishes. On reaching Limerick yesterday I 
 immediately set out for Dysart, as my first object, whence it is distant twelve miles, 
 of which I found it necessary to walk the last four across the country. The accom- 
 panying sketches will, I believe, afford you all the information which you can require. 
 The construction of the Tower at Dysart is quite similar to that at Eattoo, only differ- 
 ing in the quality of the material, which is somewhat more massive ; it bears a strong 
 resemblance to the Etruscan masonry of Italy, a mode of building likewise adopted in 
 some of the early Greek churches, of which you have a good representation in one of 
 the plates of the 'Unedited Antiquities of Attica.' The adjacent church is, manifestly, 
 coeval with the Tower, the mode of building and the forms perfectly corresponding. 
 The coverings of its opes are gone, but from what remains there can be no doubt of 
 their having been finished as those of the Tower, the entrance being semi-circularly 
 arched, and the windows either arched or covered with horizontal lintels of long stone. 
 " You observe that the Tower is divided into stories, as at 
 Rattoo, but with this difference, that here there is a window to 
 each story, and that the intermediate corbelle stones are omitted. 
 " The door of entrance bears you out in your opinion, and 
 establishes the fact of the Tower having been employed occa- 
 sionally as a place of defence. There are, you observe, bolt-holes 
 for double doors (a, a, a, with corresponding ones opposite), the 
 one exterior of the other, but there is not any apparent means for 
 the hanging of the door itself ; the form of the ope, however, 
 would supply this seeming deficiency ; narrowing to the exterior 
 a timber frame might have been inserted, and wedged to the inside, 
 to which the door might have been hung, with leather hinges. 
 The narrowing of the ope would itself prevent the frame being 
 drawn out ; and the bolts and wedges insured its not being 
 driven in. 
 
 " There is no appearance of more than the one church in the immediate vicinity ; 
 about half a mile off there is another, but it is of a much later period, — pointed 
 opes, splayed reveals, iSrc. 
 
 3 B 2
 
 372 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " You shall hear from nio again frnni Carlow, if I can obtain tlie information you 
 
 require there. 
 
 " Your's ever, 
 
 " William Morrison." 
 
 I have annexed a copy of Ms sketch of the section of this door- 
 Avay, as a necessary illustration of the description in the preceding 
 letter ; and sketches of the details of the Tower will be found in the 
 Third Part of this work. 
 
 To this portion of my evidences I do not feel it necessary to add 
 another word. 
 
 3. An examination of oiu' ancient literatui-e leads strongly to the 
 conclusion that the Irish people so generally recognized this use of 
 the Round Towers as a primary one, that they but very rarely applied 
 to a tower, erected for defence, any other term but that oicloicfheac/i, 
 or belfry. Thus, for example, in an Irish translation of an old Life 
 of Charlemagne, preserved in the Book of Lismore, we find the term 
 cloictlieach thus applied : 
 
 " X)o Bi lapla na Cauoaine u n-impepecc an impep po, 7 do puachai^ in r- 
 impep lie ap a ber oipeaii qiocuipeac, 7 do cuip m c-impep mopan ecla ann ap a 
 peabup; inntip jup reic in c-iapla 7 a ben a njlenncaib pupaij 7 acoiUcib oiampa, 
 7 DO ponjxic cloicceac ooib pern a n-a coioeloaip ap ecla il-piapc in papai^. Oo 
 chuaiD in c-impep Dimam po do oenaiii piaoaija papai^ pern, 7 copla chum cloicri^ 
 an lapla po h-e ip in n-ol^ri, 7 do b' eicin do comnuiji do oenum ann in oijci pi. 
 (Do bi ben in lapla coppac, 7, ^16 do bi, do pinoi umla 7 ppirolurii an impepi 7 a 
 muinncepi in 015CI pin." — Fol. 119, h, a. 
 
 " The Earl of Laudaine \_Lauden ? ] lived in the empire of this emperor, and the 
 emperor hated him on account of his being upright [and] mercifid, and the emperor 
 was much afraid of him for his goodness ; so that the earl and his wife fled into 
 desert vaUeys and into solitary woods, and made for themselves a cloictheach, in which 
 they slept, through fear of the many monsters of the forest. This vain emperor set out 
 to hunt in his own forest, and happened [to arrive] at the cloictheach of this earl in 
 the night ; and he was obliged to tarry there for the night. The wife of the earl was 
 pregnant, and, although she was, she did homage to and attended ujjon the emperor 
 and his people [on] that night." 
 
 In the following example from an ancient tract in the Leabhar 
 Breac,yfe find the word cloictheach apphed synonymously with co|i, 
 to a tower. 
 
 "6a mop, cpa, Diumup 7 aoclop 7 bocapach in pij cholaij pin, uaip ip e Dop 
 
 ^ni in Diumup na Depnao pemi piam, .1. cop aipjic oen-jil do oenam do pein ; 7 ba 
 
 oepmaip mec 7 lechac 7 aipoe in cuip pin, 7 ba h-aipoe h-e inoac cije in baile o 
 
 ein imach, 1 n-a cloicrech jel-apo. Mo puiDijeD lapum jemma jloinioe 7 leaju 
 
 lojmapa ano : 7 do pijne in pi puiDiujao opoa do buoein immuUach in cuip pm.
 
 OF THE KOUXn TOWKliS OF IliELAND. 373 
 
 lup ym rpa do pi^ne h-imajin 7 oeilb ii-nUiiiiD n-injtincaij clitippaic cecheppiucn 
 nn jpene aiiD." — Fol. 108, a, a. 
 
 " Great, indeed, was the pride, vanity, and pdnip of this sensnal king [Castroc, 
 king of the Sledcs and Persians], for it is lie who performed an act of pride, [such as] 
 was never accomplished before, i. e. he erected for liimselfa tower of bright silver ; 
 and great was the size, and breadth, and height of that tower, whieli was higher than 
 all the other houses of the town, being a bright lofty cloictheacli. Brilliant gems and 
 precious stones were afterwards jJaced in it : and the king made for himself a golden 
 throne on the top of that tower. After that he made an image, and beautiful, wonderliil 
 representation of the four-wheeled chariot of the sun there." 
 
 And lastly, tliat these double purposes, for wliich I contend that 
 the Towers were erected, were recognized by the Irish to a very 
 late period, may be inferred from a passage in the ancient Registry 
 of Clonmacnoise, as translated from the original Irish for Sir James 
 Ware, by the celebrated antiquary, Duald ]\Iac Firl^s, and which is 
 now preserved in the British IMuseum. In this Registry the great 
 Round Tower of Clonmacnoise, popularly called O'Rourke's Tower, 
 which, according to this authority, was erected by Fergal O'Rourke, 
 is called " a small steep castle or steeple, commonly called in Irish 
 claicthoiKjhr The entire of the passage will be found, in connexion 
 with the description of this Tower, in the Third Part of this work. 
 
 4. It may be clearly inferred, from several records in the Irish 
 annals, that the Towers were used for the purpose of safety and de- 
 fence. One of the most important of these records, as given by the 
 Foiu' Masters, has been already quoted in the examination of Dr. 
 O'Couor's theories, in the First Part of this work ; but I feel it ne- 
 cessary to repeat it here from the various annals, as signally support- 
 ing the h}q)othesis under consideration. The passage I allude to is 
 as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 949. Cloicceach Slaine bo lopcao oo ^alkuB Qra clinch : bucciU 
 ino eplarria 7 cloc ha Dec do clocaib ; Caenechaip pepleijmn, 7 jochuibe imbe, 
 Do lopcao." — Annals of Ulster. 
 
 Thus rendered in the old translation of these annals in the British 
 Museum : 
 
 " A. D. 949. The steple of Slane burnt by y'' Gent [GentUes] of Dublin ; and 
 burnt y« Saints Crostaff and a ston" [correctly Sefi] "most p''tious of stones" [correctly 
 bells'] ; " Cinaoh and a great number about him burnt, being the Lector." 
 
 This event is thus recorded in the Chronicon Scotoriim, which 
 is a condensed copy of the Book of Clonmacnoise, corrected, in its 
 chronology, from the Annals of Tighernach :
 
 374 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 "A. D. 950. Cloi^reac Sluine do lofjao do jeTicib co n-a lun oo ooiniB ann, 
 ,1. im Conecap peplejinii Slciine." 
 
 " A. D. 950. The cloigtheach of Slane was burnt by tlie Pagans, with its full of 
 people in it, i. e. with Conecar, the reader of Slane." 
 
 Thus rcudercd by ]\Iageogliegan in liis translation of tlie original 
 
 Aunals of Clonmacuoise, under the year 945 : 
 
 " A. D. 945. The steeple of Slane was burnt by the Danes, which was full of 
 worthy men, and relicks of saints, with Kennyagher, Lector of Slane." 
 
 The same passage is thus given more fully in the Annals of the 
 Foiu" Masters, into which it was evidently transcribed from the ori- 
 "inal Annals of Clonmacuoise. 
 
 o 
 
 "A. D. 948. CloicchecSldine do lopccao do ^halluib, co n-n lun do Tiiionncnb 
 ajup Dejoaomib, im Chaoinechaip peap lei^inn Slaine, ajup bacall an eplariia, 
 a^up clocc ha oeach do cloccaiB." 
 
 " A. D. 948. The cloictheach of Slane was burnt by the Danes, with its fuU of 
 reliques and good people, with Caoinechair, Reader of Slane, and the crozier of the 
 patron saint, and a bell, the best of bells." 
 
 The preceding passages relate to a Tower which no longer exists. 
 Those which follow relate to Towers still remaining. The first 
 relates to the Tower of Kells, and is given as follows in the Annals 
 of Tighernach : 
 
 " A. D. 1076. niupcoD uci piainD h-L1i maelpechlaino do mupbaoUi h-Qmlaim, 
 mac niaelan, |ii ^ailenj, i cloicceach CenanDpa a mebuil, 7 a mupboD pen po 
 ceDoip cpe pipe Coluim CiUe, la maelpecblainD, mac Concobaip." 
 
 "A. D. 1076. Murchad, grandson of Flann O'Maelsechlainn, was treacherously 
 killed by AmlafT, son of Maelan, king of GaUeng, in the cloictheach of Kells, who was 
 himself slain immediately after, through the miracle of Columbkille, by Maelsechlainn, 
 the son of Conchobhar." 
 
 The same event is thus recorded in the Annals of Ulster : 
 
 " A. D. 1076. rriupchaD, mac plainD, h-Ui maelpecblainD, pi HeThpach ppi pe 
 cpi n-oiDce, DO mapBaD 1 cloiccich Cheanannpa do mac niaelan, pi ^ailenj." 
 
 Thus rendered in the old translation of these Annals in the British 
 Museiun : 
 
 " A. D. 1076. Murch. m^ Floin O Melachlin, king of Tarach, being 3 nights in 
 the steeple of KeUs, was kQled by Maolan's Sonne, king of Galleng." 
 
 The same event is also entered by the Four Masters evidently 
 from the Book of Clonmacuoise : 
 
 "A. D. 1076. mupcbao mac pioinn, Ui ITlaoileacMninn, do TTiapBao, i r-ceno 
 ceopa n-oiDce co n-a laiB lap n-jabail poplarhaip Uerhpac, 1 g-cloicreach Cenannpa, 
 cpe peill, la cisejina ^^ilenj, .1. la h-QrhlaoiB, mac mic tTlaolain ; ajup a mapBao
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 375 
 
 pioe pein po chfooiii, cpia pepcuiB De n;^up Colciim CiUe, Ui ITldolpencliluinn, 
 niuc Concobuip." 
 
 Thus rendered by Mageogliegan, in his translation of the original 
 Annals of Clonniacnoise : 
 
 " A. D. 107G. Murrogh Mac Fljn O'Melaughlyn, tliat reigned king of Meath but 
 three days and tliree niglits, was killed by Auiley Mac Moylan, prince of Gaileng, in 
 tke borders of Leinster. He was killed in the steeple of Kells ; and afterwards the 
 said Amley was killed immediately by Melaughlyn Mac Connor O'MclaughljTi, by 
 the miracles of St. Coliuub, who is Patron of the place." 
 
 The notice which I have next to adduce relates to the burning uf 
 the Hound Tower of Monasterboice, in the Comity of Louth. It is 
 thus given in the Chronicon Scotorum: 
 
 "A. D. 1097- Cloijrech ITlcimipcpech oo lopcao jup an pcpipcpa ann." 
 
 " A. D. 1097. The c/oicMrac/i' of Mainistir was burnt, with the manuscripts there." 
 
 It is thus better given in the Annals of Ulster : 
 
 " A. D. 1097. Cloiccech mumipcpech co n-a leBpailJ, 7 raipceouib imbaiB 00 
 lopcao." 
 
 Thus correctly translated by Dr. O'Conor : 
 
 " A. D. 1097. Campanile Monasterii (Butensis), cum suis libris et rebus pretiosis 
 pluribus, combustum." 
 
 And thus in the old translation in the British Museum : 
 
 " A. D. 1097- The steeple ofManistrech, with the books and much goods, thereat 
 to be kept, burnt." 
 
 The event is thus similarly entered in the Annals of the Fom- 
 Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1097. Cloicdieach maimpcpeach, ' .1. maimpqieach 6uice,' co leaBpaiB 
 ajup CO D-caipceocnB lomoaiB, do lopccao." 
 
 " A. D. 1097- The chictheach of the Monastery, ' i. e. of Monasterboice,' with 
 many books and treasures, was burnt." 
 
 The passage I have next to adduce relates to the biu"ning of the 
 doictheach of Trim, a Tower which does not now remain. It is found 
 in the Dublm copy of the Annals of lunisfallen : 
 
 " A. D. 1127. Slua^ mop le ConcuBap mac PeapjaiU h-Ui <Locluinn, ocup 16 
 cuaipjeapc Gipionn bo'n TTlhiDe ; jup loipg piao Q Upum [Qc Cpuim, in margin], 
 iDtp cloiccech ocup ceampuU, j;o n-a Ian 00 oaomiB umcu." 
 
 Thus rendered in the translation of these annals, preserved in the 
 Library of the Royal Irish Academy, which was made by Theophilus 
 OTlannagan : 
 
 " A. D. 1127. A great hosting by Connor MacFarrell O'Loghlinn, together with
 
 876 INQUIRY IN^TO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 the northern people of Ireland, to Meath ; they burnt the steeple and church of Trim, 
 and both full of people." 
 
 And thus by tlie venerable Charles O'Conor, in his ti'anslation of 
 these annals, now preserved in the Library of the Royal Irish Academy : 
 
 " A. D. 1 127. Conor, son of Feargal O'Lochluin, inarched at the head of a great 
 Army of the forces of the North of Ireland, into Meath ; they burnt the steeple and 
 church of Ath TruLm, in which was a great number of j)eople." 
 
 And tlius in an old translation of certain Munster Annals, as 
 quoted by Archdall in his Monasticon : 
 
 " A. D. 1127. Conor, the son of Feargal O'Lochluin, and the northern forces, 
 burnt the Steeple and Church of the Abbey of Trim, both of which were filled with 
 unfortunate people, who had fled thither for safety." 
 
 Again, in the Annals of the Fom- Masters, the following passage 
 occurs, relative to the existing Eoiuid Tower of Ferta, in the county 
 of Kilkenny : 
 
 " A. D. 1156. 6ochaiD Lla Cuinn, an r-apD-riiaijipcep, do lorccao i j-cloic- 
 chech na pepca." 
 
 " A. D. 1156. Eochaidh O'Cuinn, the Chief Master, was burnt in the doictheach 
 
 of Ferta." 
 
 The last notice, in reference to this subject, which I have to ad- 
 duce, relates to the Roimd Tower of Telach Ard, near Trim, which 
 fell about the year 1764. It occiu-s in the Annals of the Four Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1171. Cloiccheach Celcha Qips oo lopccao la Cijeopnan Ua Ruaipc, 
 CO n-a lun do oaoinib ann." 
 
 " A. D. 1171. The Cloictheach of Telach Ard was burnt by Tighearnan O'Euairc, 
 with its full of people in it." 
 
 The various evidences which I have now adduced must, I think, 
 furnish a sufficient answer to the only objection which has been 
 urged against the use of the Eomid Towers as places of safety and 
 defence, and satisfy the most sceptical inquirer, that such was one of 
 the primary objects for which they Avere erected. Nor shoidd it be 
 forgotten that, even without an acquaintance vdth such historical 
 evidences, the very natm-e of their construction alone has led several 
 distinguished inquirers to regard such piu-pose as the primary and 
 only one. Thus, Colonel Montmorency, in his Historical and Critical 
 Inquiry into the Origin and primitive Use of the Irish Pillar-tower, 
 remarks : 
 
 " The Pillar-tower, as a defensive hold, taking into account the period that pro- 
 duced it, may fairly pass for one of the completest inventions that can well be imagined.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOAVERS OF IRELAND. 377 
 
 Impregnable every way, and proof against fire, it could never be taken by as^simlt. 
 Altbongb the abbey and its dependencies blazed around, tlie Tower disregarded the 
 fury of the flames ; — its extreme height, — its isolated jiosition, and dinunutive doorway, 
 elevated so many feet above the ground, placed it beyond the reach of the besieger. 
 The signal once made, announcing the approach of a foe, by those who kept watch on 
 the top, the alarm spread instantaneously, not only among the inmates of the cloister, 
 but the inhabitants were roused to arms in the country many miles round. Should 
 the barbarian, in the interval, before succour arrived, succeed in ransacking the con- 
 vent, and afterwards attempt to force his entrance into the Tower, a stone, dropped 
 from on high, would crusli him to atoms." — pp. (55, 6(). 
 
 Thus also tlie judicious Sir Walter Scott, in his Review of Ritson's 
 Annals of the Caledonians, Picts and Scots, in the forty-first volume 
 of the Quarterly Review, 1829 ; 
 
 " It is here impossible to avoid remarking, that at Abernethy and at Brechin there 
 are still in existence two of the round towers, of which so many occur in Ireland. 
 Abernethy is said, by uniform tradition, to have been the capital of the Picts, and 
 Brechin in the same district (now the county of Angus) was certainly a place of early 
 importance. In Ireland there exist nearly thirty of these very peculiar buildings, 
 which have been the very cruces anliquariorum. They could not have been beacons, 
 for they are often (at Abernethy in particidar) placed in low and obscure situations, 
 though there are sites adjacent well calculated for watch-towers. They could not be 
 hermitages, unless we suppose that some caste of anchorites had improved on the idea 
 of Simon Stylites, and taken up their abode in the hollow of such a pillar as that of 
 which the Syrian holy man was contented to occupy the toji. They could hardly 
 be belfries, for though always placed close or near to a chiirch, there is no aperture 
 at the top for suffering the sound of the beUs to be heard. Minarets they might have 
 been accounted, if we had authority for believing that the ancient Christians were siun- 
 moned to prayers like the Mahometans by the voice of criers. It is, however, all but 
 impossible to doubt that they were ecclesiastical buildings ; and the most distinct idea 
 we are able to form of them is, from the circumstance that the inestimably singular scene 
 of Irish antiquities, called the Seven Churches in the County ofWicklow, includes one 
 of those round towers, detached in the usual manner, and another erected on the gable 
 end of the ruinous chapel of St. Kevin, as if some architect of genius had discovered 
 the means of uniting the steeple and the church. These towers might, possibly, have 
 been contrived for the temporary retreat of the priest, and the means of protecting 
 the ' holy things' from desecration on the occasion of alarm, which in those uncertain 
 times suddenly happened, and as suddenly passed away. These edifices at Brechin and 
 Abernethy, however, were certainly constructed after the introduction of Christianity-, 
 and were, in all probability, built in imitation of the same round towers in Ireland, 
 under the direction of the Irish monks who brought Christianity into Scotland. We 
 may notice, however, that the masonry of these towers is excellent, and may be held, 
 in some sort, to bear witness to the popular tradition, that the Picts were skilfid in 
 architecture." — pp. 147, 148. 
 
 And lastly, the able and learned John Pinkerton recognizes the 
 
 3 c
 
 378 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 principle of defence as an original object in the constmction of tliese 
 Towers, tlioiio-li lie considered their use as belfries as the primary 
 one. Speaking of the Round Towers in Scotland, he thus ^vl■ites in 
 the advertisement prefixed to the new edition of his Enquiry into 
 the History of Scotland, published in 1814: 
 
 " There was probably a round tower at Dunkeld, as at Abernetliy and Brechin, 
 
 .■tc." 
 
 " That these round towers were belfries is suiEciently evident, from the simple cir- 
 cumstance of their having windows, or openings at the usual height, necessary to emit 
 the sound of a bell. Separate belfries are not uncommon iu many countries, and even 
 in some parts of England at this day ; and must have been necessary for security, 
 when the rude churches were of wood. When the cathedral of Brechin was built, 
 the round tower was preserved as a memorable relic, like the chapel of St. Regulus, 
 close by the cathedral of St. Andrews." — pp. ix. and x. 
 
 In the confident behef that I have now satisfactorily established 
 the two primary and essential objects for which the Round Towers 
 were erected, I proceed to a consideration of the groimds on which I 
 rest the arguments for my third conchtsion, namely, that they may, 
 very probably, have also been occasionally used as beacons, and watch- 
 towers. 
 
 It -will be observed that I put this conclusion forward only as a 
 probability, and it is but fair that I shoidd acknowledge that a most 
 careful examination of oiu- ancient Irish manuscripts has led to no 
 chscovery that Avould give it certainty. Yet, the probabiUty of their 
 having been occasionally used for such a purpose seems to me by no 
 means a weak one, for, in the first place, the very fact of their having 
 been used as places of defence and safety, coupled with their great 
 height and aptitude for such a purpose, almost necessarily leads to 
 the conclusion that tliey would be iised as watch-towers, and ^^erhaps 
 signal towers, at least in times of trouble. 
 
 In like manner, if we consider the usages of the monastic esta- 
 blishments, to which these Towers belonged, the hospitality and 
 protection which they afforded to travellers and strangers, in times 
 when roads were few, and the cotmtry generally covered with w^ood, 
 we will find it difiicult to resist the conviction that the Towers would 
 be used at night as beacons to attract and guide the benighted tra- 
 veller or pious pilgrim to the house of hospitality or prayer. Their 
 general fitness for such a purpose must be at once obvious ; and 
 tliis fitness seems, in a great degree, to have led the learned Doctor
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 37!) 
 
 Lingard to the opinion tliat o\u' Irish Round Towers were chiefly, if 
 not exclusively, intended for this pm-pose. In a passage in his Anti- 
 quities of the Aiaglo-Saxon Chiu'ch, — for calling my attention to 
 Avhich I aclaiowledge myself indebted to my respected friend, Dj-. 
 Hibbert "Ware, of York, — he makes the following I'emarks on the 
 uses of the Anglo-Saxon and Irish detached Towers : 
 
 " The clmrcli at Eamscy was ornamented witli tvfo towers, one at the western 
 entrance, and another in the centre of the transept, supported by four arches. — Hist. 
 Eames., c. 20. The tower of the new church at Winchester was at the eastern extre- 
 mity. — Wolst., p. 630. But I conceive that originally the towers were distinct from 
 the churches, like the celebrated Bound Towers that are still remaining in Ireland. 
 Thus a tower had been erected before the western entrance of the old church at Win- 
 chester, as we learn from Wolstan. 
 
 " ' Tuxris erat rostrata tholis quia maxuua qua'dam 
 Illius ante sacri pulclicrrima limina templi,' &c. 
 
 Act. SS. Ben. vol. ij. p. 70. 
 
 " If I may be allowed a conjecture on a subject which has exercised the ingenuity 
 of many writers, I conceive such towers to have been originally built at a short dis- 
 tance from the church, that the walls might not be endangered by their weight, and 
 that they were not considered merely as an ornament, but used as beacons to direct 
 the traveller towards the church or monastery. Lights were kept burning in them 
 during the night. At least such was the fact with respect to the new tower at Win- 
 chester, which, we learn from Wolstan, consisted of five stories, in each of which were 
 four windows looking towards the four cardinal points, that were illimiinated every 
 night. — Wols., p. 631." See p. 479, second edition : Newcastle, 1810. 
 
 In this opinion of the learned English historian, my friend Dr. 
 Hibbert Ware entirely concurs, as communicated to me in the follow- 
 ing memorandum in the year 1836 : 
 
 " Mr. Petrie mentioned to me that he had not seen the comments of Mr. [Dr.] 
 Linsrard on the Anglo-Saxon churches and the towers incidental to them. I have 
 copied his remarks on this subject, which many years ago appeared to me the only 
 rational theory on the subject which I had read. But I am now taught to consider 
 the Round Towers as being devoted to other uses besides affording beacon lights 
 during the evening to direct the traveller to the church or monastery. Yet, at the 
 same time, I am not disposed to renounce the opinion that this might have been one, 
 and not the most subordinate, of the miscellaneous uses to which the building of these 
 structures was rendered subservient." 
 
 I have only to add, that I am indebted to another friend, — the 
 late Mr. Matthew O'Conor, of Mount Druid, — for tlirecting my atten- 
 tion to the folio-wing cmious reference in Mabillon's Iter Germani- 
 cum — a work of which, mifortimately, there is no copy in any of the 
 
 3 c 2
 
 380 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 public libraries in Dublin — to a pharus, or beacon-tower, at the Irish 
 Monastery of St. Columbanus, at Luxovium, now Luxeud., in Bur- 
 giuidy, and which seems to give some support to the conclusion I 
 have thus hypothetically advocated : 
 
 " Luxovium. 
 "Cemitur prope Majorem Ecclesise Portam Pbarus, quam Luccrnam vocant, cujus 
 oninino consimilem vidi aliquando apud Carnutas. Ei usui fuisse videtur, in gratiam 
 eoruin, qui noctu ecck'siam IVequentabantur." 
 
 I have now to enter on a question of perhaps gi'eater difficulty 
 than any of those already examined, namely, as to the probable eras 
 of the erection of the Towers, and which I have assumed to have 
 been at various periods between the fifth and thirteenth centui'ies. 
 
 The great difficulty which I have to contend with, arises cliiefly 
 from the general absence of distinct notices of buildings in the ancient 
 lives of the Irish saints, and the extreme meagreness of the Irish 
 annals anterior to the tenth century. Thus, in the latter, the first 
 notice which occurs of a cloictheacli, or Round Tower, is that at the 
 year 950, relative to the burnmg of the cloidheach, or Eound Tower 
 <jf Slane, as already given at p. 373 ; and the earliest authentic record 
 of the erection of a Round Tower is no earlier than the year 965. 
 This record is found in the Chronicon Scotorum, and relates to the 
 Tower of Tomgi'aney, in the County of Clare, — a Tower which does 
 not now exist, but of which, according to the tradition of the old 
 natives of the place, some remains existed about forty years since. 
 The passage is as follows : 
 
 "A. D. 965. Copmac h-Ua Cillin,oo uib B-Piacpac Qione, comopba Ciapain 
 7 Comain 7 comopba Cuama ^pene ; 7 ap aije do ponao cempul mop Cuama 
 ^pene, 7 a claijceac. Sapienp 7 pene;t ec epipcopop quieuic in Chpipco." 
 
 Thus translated by Colgan, who seems to have found it in his 
 copy of the Annals of the Foiu- Masters, though that part of it re- 
 lating to the erection of the chru'ch and tower is not given in the 
 Stowe copy of those annals, as published by Dr. O'Conor, or in the 
 MS. copies of them preserved in Dublin : 
 
 " A. D. 964. Cormacus Hua-Killene, Comorbanus SS. Kierani, Coemani [Comani], 
 et Cronani, Episcopus, sapiens, vir valde longa;uus, qui extruxit Ecclesiain de Vuaim- 
 grene" [Tuaim-grene]" cum sua turri, decessit." — Acta SS., p. 360, b. 
 
 But, though the Irish annalists preserve to us no earlier notices 
 of the Round Towers than these now adduced, the many references
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 381 
 
 which occur to those buildings, as existing in the tenth and eleventh 
 centvuies, sufficiently prove that they were common in the covuitry 
 at an earher pei'it)d ; and, moreover, tlieir early antiquity may be 
 fairly inferred from the frequent allusions to them which occur inci- 
 dentally in oiu- oldest manuscripts. Thus, in the ancient Life of 
 Chi'ist, — preserved in the Leahlmr Breac, — which is imquestionably 
 older than the eleventh century, the folio-wing allusion to the height 
 of the Towers occurs in relation to the star which guided the eastern 
 kings to Bethlehem : 
 
 "Came lapum uibi na .,vii. mip f-pi ;l-ii. lu ; 7 om ba h-aipoi inci cloicrecti ti-i 
 pemairiD." — Fol. 60, «, a. 
 
 " It [the star] came afterwards a journey of the twelve months in twelve days ; 
 and it was higher than a doicthech before us." 
 
 Thus also, in a tract of much liigher antiquity, entitled Imraimh 
 Curaich Maildinn,^i\\e Wandering of the Curach of Maelduin, the 
 illegitimate son of an Irish chief, in the seventh centuiy, — the fol- 
 lowhig passage occiu-s, from which it can be fairly mferred, that a 
 bellry, separate from the chui'ch, existed at Ealdare before Ms time. 
 Copies of this tract are preserved m the Library of Trinity College, 
 Dublin, and in the British Museum : 
 
 " tJo ©ojunacc Hinaip Do maelouin cip m-bunaoup. Qilell Qcep Q^ci a 
 araip ; cp6npep epiDe 7 oaglaec 7 cijepna a ceneoil pen. IDaccaiUec, 7 ban- 
 aipcinnec Cille caiUeac a macaip. 1p amlaio Din popcaemnacaip acompepr pom. 
 peccup DO luiD pi ©ojanacca pop cpeic n7 inpuo ilcenoaoac 7 Qilell Ocaip Qja 
 ina comaicecc, 7 jubixio Dunao a pleib ano. 6ui cell cuiUec a compocup ip an 
 maigin pin, .1. Cell oopa a n-Diu. meoon aibci lapam 6 po an cac do imcecc ip 
 Dunao, luiD Qilell oo'n cill, 7 ip e cpadi pen came an ban-aipcinoeac do bein 
 cluij no cille do lupriieipj^e, oopcuip do Qilell, 7 jubaip Qilell a luirii laip, 7 do 
 oacpapcuip, 7 do 5111 coibligi ppia; 7 apbepc an caillec ppip : ' ni pcjoa,' ol pi, 
 ' ap eonipuc, ap ip ampip compepca oain.'" — H. 2, 16, col. 370. 
 
 " Maelduin was of the Eoganacht Ninais as to his origin. His father was Ailell 
 Acher Agha, a mighty man and goodly hero, and lord of his own tribe. A young nun, 
 and [who was] the Ban-airchinneach of a church of nuns, was his mother. In this 
 manner, then, was he begotten. On one occasion, the king of Eoghanacht set out to 
 prey and spoU many territories, and Ailell Acher Agha in his company, and they 
 encamped in a certain mountain. There was a church of nuns near that place, i. e. 
 KUdare at this day. At midnight, when aU remained quiet within the camp, Ailell 
 went to the church, and this was the time when the Ban-airchiunech came [out] to 
 ring the beU of the church for midnight prayer. She met Ailell, and AileU took her 
 to him, and laid her down, and cohabited with her ; and the nun said to him : ' not 
 fortunate,' said she, 'our meeting, for this is my time for conception.'"
 
 382 INQUIEY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Tlie next passage wliich I have to adduce is of still more impor- 
 tance than the preceding, and should properly have been inserted 
 amongst the evidences adduced to prove that the Towers Avere 
 erected as places of safety, inasmuch as that it shows that they were 
 regarded in the light of sanctuaries, which should on no account be 
 violated. This passage is found in an authority of vmquestionable 
 antiquity, namely, a poem addi^essed to Aedh Oirdnighe, monarch of 
 Ireland from 799 to 819, by the celebrated poet Fothadli, usually 
 called Fothadh na Canoine, or of the Canon, and who obtained 
 from that monarch the exemption of the clergy from mihtary service. 
 Copies of tMs poem are preserved in the Library of the Royal Irish 
 Academy, and m the valuable manuscript in the Libraiy of Trinity 
 College, called the Book of Leinster ; and it would appear to have 
 been addi-essed to Aedli Oirdnighe on the occasion of his inaugura- 
 tion. The passage, as found in the Book of Leinster, is as follows : 
 
 " Cipe DO jne in tijaic 
 
 6iD mop a mela ouic, 
 
 ITlaD Dia pajba a bin 
 
 1 C15 pij no cluic."_H. 2, 18, fol. 106, h, b. 
 " He wLo commits a tbeft, 
 
 It will be grievous to thee, 
 
 If lie obtains his protection 
 
 In the house of a king or of a bell." 
 
 Thus again, m a tract of the Brehon Laws, called Seanchus heag, 
 preserved in the Book of Lecan, on the duties and rewards of the 
 seven ecclesiastical degrees, the following account of the duties of 
 the aistreoir, or aistire, occiu's : 
 
 " Qifcpeoip, .1. uap aicpeoip, .1. uapal arpeoip, in can ip doc cloiccije; no, 
 aipcpeoip, .1. ipil airpeoip, in can ip lam-cloc," &c Fol. 168, p. b, col. 2, line 32. 
 
 ^'■Aistreoir, i.e. uas aitreoir, i. e. noble his work, when it is the bell of a cloictkeach; 
 or, aistreoir, i. e. isil aitkreoir, (i. e. humble or low his work) when it is a hand-bell." 
 
 A different reading of this commentary is quoted in O'Reilly's 
 Irish Dictionary imder the word aipcpeoip, which he explains, "an 
 officer whose duty it was to ring the bell in the steeple of the church. 
 The lowest of the seven degrees of ecclesiastical officers." And as 
 it more clearly defines the duties of this officer, and identifies the 
 name with Ostiarius, I avail myself of it here. 
 
 " Qipcpeoip, i. e. aipcpeac a rpeoip, i.e. beim cluic, no eacpopacc ; no, uaip- 
 cpeoip m can ap doc cloijrije ; no ipcpeoip, i. e. ippeall aicpeoip, in can ip lam- 
 cloc."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 383 
 
 '■^ Aistreoir, i. e. changeable his work, i. c to ring the bell, or use the keys ; or, 
 uaistreoir (high his work) when the bell is that of a cloictheack ; or istreoir, i.e. low his 
 work, wheu it is a hauJ-buli." 
 
 Thus also, in anotlier version of tliis commentary, in a vellum 
 ]\IS. in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin : 
 
 " Qipcpeoip, .1. aipqieach a rpeoip aj beim cliluij 7 aj oploj;ao cettipciiU ; 
 no, uaipcpeoip, .1. uaip bip u cpeoip, in run ip cloj clojrib ; no, ipcpeoip, .1. ipel 
 a rpeoip, in can ip lamchlojj." — II. 3, 18, lol. 9-1. 
 
 " Aistreoir, i. e. changeable liis work in ringing the boll and opening the church ; 
 or, uaistreoir, i. e. high his work, whcu it is the bell of a cloictheack j or, istreoir, i. e, 
 low his work, when it is a hand-beU." 
 
 In like manner, in another tract of the Brehon Laws, entitled, 
 Aithgedh Eicis, — the Punishments of the Eicis, or Professional 
 Classes, — preserved in an ancient vellum ]\IS. in the Library of Tri- 
 nity College, Dubhn, the followhig allusion to the belfry occurs : 
 
 " QicheD aepa ecolpa cpopcao, 7 apao lapam nao njeba a paicep nuc a 
 cpeoo, 7 nao cec do pacappaic, 7 do aubaipc; mao aep jpaio, no aep cpeiome 
 im C015 a cluicc, no im coip a alcoipe, 7 apoD ncipo oipppichep puippi, 7 nao 
 m-bencep doc do cparaib." 
 
 " The punishment of the people of a church is fasting, and afterwards a restraint 
 that they say not their pater nor their credo, and that they go not to communion, 
 nor to the offering ; if they be the aes graidh [ecclesiastics], or the aes creidmhe [re- 
 ligious] about the house of their bell, or at the foot of their altar, and the restraint 
 is, that they [the former] offer not on it, and that they [the latter] ring not a bell for 
 [canonical] hours." 
 
 From the preceding notices it appears certain that one of the 
 principal duties of the aistire — a name obviously formed from the 
 Latin ostiavius — was to ring the bell in the cloicfheachj or Round 
 Tower ; and, if it can be shoAvii that the office of aistire existed in 
 the L'ish Chiu'ch under St. Patrick, in the fifth century, a not impro- 
 bable inference may be di'awn that bell-towers were then hi exis- 
 tence, as otherwise this duty could not have been performed. Now 
 it is perfectly certain not only that bells, of a size much too large 
 for altar bells, were abundantly distributed by St. Patrick in Ireland, 
 as appears from his oldest Lives, — those preserved hi the Book of 
 Armagh, — but also, that the office of aistire existed in his time, as 
 even the name of the very person who held this office is preserved. 
 Thus, m the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, which is supposed to have 
 been originally written, partly in Irish and partly in Latin, by liis 
 disciple St. Evin, in the sixth century, and which has been translated
 
 384 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 by Colgan, we find in the list of the various persons who composed 
 the household of St. Patrick, at Armagh, the name " Sanctiis Senellus 
 de Killdareis, Campauarius ;" and from the prose tract treating of 
 those persons, preserved in the Books of Lecan and Ballymote, we 
 find this Siuell called " his aistiri." 
 
 "Smell Cilli QipT, a aipcipi." — L. Balli/mot. fol. 119, L. Lecan. fol. 44. 
 
 " Sinell of Cill Airis, liis aistiri." 
 
 And that the word aistire as above given, was vmderstood by the 
 Irish in the sense of bell-ruiger, appears from the poem of Flann of 
 Monasterboice, wliich enimierates the household of St. Patrick, and 
 which was written in the tenth centur}^, and evidently di-awn by the 
 writer from the most ancient authorities then extant : 
 
 " Smell, a peap bem m cluic." — Lib. Ballymot, et Lecan. ibid. 
 " Siuell, the man of the ringing of the bell." 
 
 It may, indeed, be objected, that if bell-towers had been erected 
 in St. Patrick's time, it is scarcely possible but that some notice of 
 such structures would be found in the ancient Lives of that saint. 
 But it should be remembered that the only passage in those Lives 
 Avhich gives any notice, in detail, of the group of buildings which 
 constituted a religious establishment in his time, is one found in the 
 Tripartite Life relating to the establishment at Armagh, and of this, 
 unfortimately, we have only Colgan's translation ; and hence, though 
 there is a passage in this accoimt which might very Avell apply to 
 one of the primary piu-poses of the Round Towers, but Uttle weight 
 can be attached to it, till the original be found. The passage is as 
 follows : 
 
 "Istis namque diebus sanctissimus Antistes metatus est locum, & jecit funda- 
 menta Ecclesise Ardmachanae juxta formam, & modum ab Angelo prtescriptum. Dum 
 aiitem fieret h£ec fundatio, & metatio formse, & quantitatis Ecclesise sedificandae, col- 
 lecta synodus Antistitum, Abbatum, aliorumque vniuersi regni Prselatorum : & facta 
 processione ad metas designandas processerunt, Patricio cum baciilo lesu in manu 
 totum Clerum, & Angelo Dei, tanquam ductore & directore Patricium pracedenti. 
 Statuit autem Patricius juxta Angeli prasscriptum quod murus Ecclesiaj in longitudine 
 contineret centum qua'draginta pedes (forte passus) ; sedificium, sine aula maior tri- 
 ginta; culina septem & decem ; Argyrotheca, sen vasarium, vbi supellex reponebatur, 
 septeni pedes. Et hce sacrse Eedes omnes iuxta has mensuras sunt postea erectse." — 
 Trias Thaiim., p. 164. 
 
 But, whatever uncertainty there may be as to the existence of 
 these buildings m St. Patrick's time, there can, I thmk, be httle, if 
 
 \
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OP IRELAND. 385 
 
 any doubt, that tliey were not uncommon in the sixth and seventh 
 centuries. Of this fact we have a striking exadence in the archi- 
 tectural character of many of the existing Towers, in which a per- 
 fect agreement of style is found with the original chiu'ches, when 
 such exist. As a remarkable instance of this, I may point to the 
 church and tower at Kilmacduagh, the tower and chiu'ches of Glen- 
 dalough, and many others, which it is imnecessary here to name. 
 Nor can I think the popular tradition of the country is of little value, 
 which ascribes the erection of several of the existing Towers to the 
 celebrated architect, Goban, or, as he is popularly called, Goban 
 Saer, who flomished early in the seventh centiu-y ; for it is remark- 
 able that such a tradition never exists in connexion with any Towers 
 but those in which the architectm'e is in perfect harmony with the 
 chiu'ches of that period, as in the Towers of Kilmacduach, Killala, 
 and Antrim. And it is fui'ther remarkable, that the age assigned to 
 the fii'st buildings at liilmacduach, about the year 620, is exactly 
 that in which this celebrated Irish architect floimshed. — See page 
 348. It is equally remarkable that though the reputation of this 
 architect is preserved in all parts of the island, in which the Irish 
 language is still spoken, yet the erection of the oldest buildings in 
 certain districts in the south and west of Ireland is never ascribed to 
 him, the tradition of these districts being that he never visited or 
 was employed on buildings south-west of Galway, or south-west of 
 Tipperary. I have akeady alluded to the historical evidences wliicli 
 prove that the Goban Saer was no imaginary creation, however 
 legendary the memorials remaimng of him may be considered ; and I 
 may here add, that it would appear from a very ancient authority, 
 namely, the Drunsenchus, preserved in the Books of Lecan and Bally- 
 mote, that he was the son of a skilful artisan in wood, if not in stone 
 also ; and that this artisan was, if not a foreigner, at least very pro- 
 bably of foreign extraction, and thus enabled to introduce arts not 
 generally kno-wn m the coimtry ; and further, that the Goban himself 
 was probably born at Tur\y, on the northern coast of the County of 
 Dublui, which, it is stated, took its name from his father, as being 
 his property, and which, as he was not a person of known Milesian 
 origm, it is but fair to infer he received as a reward for his skill in 
 mechanical art. This passage, the text of which is corrected from 
 the two copies, is as follows : 
 
 3 D
 
 386 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Cpaij5 Ciiipbi ca n-ap po h-ainmnigeo ? Nin. Cuipbi Cpajmap, acaip ^O" 
 bain c-Saeip, ip i pooup peilb ip in popbbcii. Ip 6 pin pocepoao upcup dici biail a 
 Cultnj an biail ppiu aijio in cuile, conu i po anao in paipje, 7 ni chigeao caipip. 
 Ni peap a xenealach painopiuo, ace mump aen du na cepbaoacaib ac puUaoap a 
 Cempaij piap in pub n-iloanacli' pil 1 n-t)iampaib Gpej. Unoe Cpaij Uuipbe 
 Dicicup. 
 
 " Cpaij Cuipbi cupcbaiD a ainm, 
 
 t)o peip ujoaip pirti apnaiom ; 
 
 Cuipbi Cpajmap, op cac cpaij, 
 
 Qcaip gpODmap jup ^obain. 
 
 " Q cuaij DO celjao lap pcup, 
 
 Qn jiUa mepjeach mop oub, 
 O Chulaij in biail m-buioi 
 ppip in m-benann mop cuile. 
 
 " Cian noD cuipeao a cuaij oe, 
 Qn muip ni cuile caipppi; 
 Cm Cuipbi reap na cuaicli cpen, 
 Ni pep ca cuan a cinel ; 
 
 "TTIinab oo'n c-pil oejoaip oub, 
 tuiD a Chempaij la laec Cuj, 
 Hi pepp a can, ppi oail 06, 
 Pep na cleap o Cbpaij Chupbi." 
 
 " Traigli Tuii'bi, wlience was it named? Not difficult. Tuirbi Traghmar, the father 
 of Goban Saer, was he who had possession in that land. He was used to throw casts of 
 his hatchet from Tulach in bhiail [i. e. the hill of the hatchet], in the direction of the 
 flood, so that the sea stopped, and did not come beyond it. His exact pedigree is not 
 known, unless he was one of those missing people who went off with the polytechnic 
 Sab, who is in the Diamars [Diamor, in Meath], of Bregia. Unde Traigh Tuirbe 
 dicitur. 
 
 " Traigh Tuirbi, whence the name, 
 
 According to authors I resolve ; 
 
 Tuirbi of the strand, [which is] superior to every strand. 
 
 The affectionate keen father of Goban. 
 
 " His hatchet was used to be cast after ceasing [from work] ; 
 By this rusty large black youth. 
 From the yellow hill of the hatchet 
 Which the mighty flood touches. 
 
 °- In the copy preserved in the Book of Lecan, fol. 260, b, b, piap an pab n-iloa- 
 nach, reads la ^uj Campaoa, i. e. with Lugh of the Long Hand. He was a Tuatha 
 De Danann monarch, A. M. 2764, according to O'FIaherty's chronology ; but the story 
 of his going away from Tarah, with a number of his people, has not yet been disco- 
 vered.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. dJil 
 
 " The distance he used to send liis liatcbet from him, 
 The sea flowed not over it ; 
 
 Though Tuirbi was southwards in liis district mighty, 
 It is not known of what stock his race ; 
 
 " Unless he was of the goodly dark race. 
 
 Who went from Tara with the heroic Lugh, 
 
 Not knoivn the race, by God's decree. 
 
 Of the man of the feats from Traigh Tuirbi." 
 
 It is not, of coiu'se, intended to offer the preceding extract as 
 strictly historical : in such ancient doctiments we must be content to 
 look for the substratum of truth beneath the covering of fable wath 
 which it is usually encumbered, and not reject the one on accoimt 
 of the improbability of the other ; and, viewed in this way, the pas- 
 sage may be regarded as in many respects of interest and value, for it 
 shows that the artist spoken of was not one of the Scotic, or domi- 
 nant race in Ireland, who are always referred to as light-haired ; and 
 further, from the supposition, groimded on the blackness of his hair 
 and his skill in arts, that he might have been of the race of the 
 people that went with Lughaidh Lamhf hada from Tara, — that is of 
 the Tuatha De Danann race, who are always referred to as superior 
 to the Scoti in the knowledge of the arts, — Ave learn that, in the tra- 
 ditions of the Irish, the Tuatha De Dananns were no less distin- 
 guished from theii- conquerors in their personal than in their mental 
 characteristics. The probability, however, is, that Tiu-vy was a 
 foreigner, or descendant of one, who brought a knowledge of art into 
 the country not then knowTi, or at least prevalent. 
 
 I should add, also, that we have, at least, one historical authority 
 w^hich, to my mind, satisfactorily proves the erection of a Round 
 Tower in the sixth century, namely, in the Life of St. Columba, 
 written about the year 680, by St. Adamuan, and which is found in 
 the fifteenth chapter of the third book of this life. The chapter, with 
 its original heading, as published by Pinkerton in his Lives of the 
 Scottish Saints, from a MS. of the twelfth century, preserved in the 
 British Museum, is as follows : 
 
 " Cap. XV. De Angela Domini, qui alicui fratri, lapso de monasterii culmine rotundi, 
 in Eoboreti Campo opportune tarn cito subvenerat^." 
 
 " Alio in tempore vir sanctus divm in tuguriolo suo scribens sederet, subito ejus 
 immutatuj facies, et hanc puro de pectore promit vocem, dicens : ' Auxiliare, ausiliare.' 
 
 * Cumin, c. 10. 
 3 D 2
 
 388 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Duo vero Fratres ad januam stantcs; videlicet Colgius filius Cellachi, et Lugneus 
 MocUBLAi, causani talis subitai interrogant vocis; quibus vir venerabilis hoc respon- 
 sum dedit, inqvdeus : ' Angelo Domini, qui nunc inter vos stabat, jussi, ut alicui ex 
 Fratribus de summo culmine magna domus lapse tarn cito subveniret, qute his in 
 diebus Roboreti Campo fabrlcatur.' Hocque sanctus conscqucnter intulit famen, in- 
 quiens. ' Valde adniirabilis ct pene indicibUis est angelici volatus pernicitas, fulgurea;, 
 ut sestimo, celeritati parilis. Nam ille coelicola, qui hinc a nobis nunc illo viro labi 
 incipiente avolavit, quasi in ictu ocuU priusquam terram tangeret subveniens, eum 
 sublevavit ; nee ullam fracturam, aut la;suram iUe qui cecidit sentire potuit. Quam 
 stupenda hsec inquam velocissima et opportuna subventio, qua; dicto citius tantis maris 
 et terra; interjaceutibus spatiis tam celerrime eiEci potiiit I'" — Vitce Antiqnce Sancto- 
 rum, &c., p. 1()9. 
 
 I should state, that the important heading prefixed to this chapter 
 is not found m some of the editions of the work previously published, 
 — as in the first, published by Canisius in 1604, from a vellum MS. 
 preserved in the monastery of Wmdberg ; nor in that of Messingham, 
 in 1624, wliich is but a reprint of the former ; nor in that of the 
 BoUandists ; — but it is foimd in the better edition of Colgan, which 
 is taken from an ancient vellum manuscript, preserved at Augia ( Aux), 
 in Germany, and which agi'ees with the manuscript in the British 
 Museum, except that the phrase " de monasterii culmine rotundi,'" is 
 printed "<7e monasterii culmine rotunda." This difference is, how- 
 ever, of little importance, as the real question is, what the author 
 could have meant by either " monasterii culmine rotundo" or monasterii 
 cidmine rotundi. Not, certainly, that the monastery itself had a rotund 
 roof, because we know that the monasteries of those days were a 
 collection of small and detached cells, each devoted to a single monk ; 
 and certamly not that the church had one, as it appears from the 
 notice in the text of the chapter that the culmen was that of the 
 magna domus ; and besides, from the quadrangidar forms of all the 
 Irish churches of this period, they could not have admitted of a dome 
 roof But more than all, supposing it were from the roof of the 
 church that the monk was falling, or from any other building, such 
 as we know to have existed in connexion with the monasteries of 
 this period, the Tower excepted, where would have been the danger, 
 to escape which, the mii'aculous interposition of an angel would have 
 become necessary ? Siu'ely not to prevent him from a fall of tAvelve 
 feet or so, which is the usual height of the side walls of the abbey- 
 churches of this period ; nor from the roofs of either the abbot's house
 
 OF THE BOUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 389 
 
 or monks' cells, which, though usually round, were seldom, if ever, 
 of a greater height than twelve feet, and from which, having rarely 
 upright walls, there could have been no serious danger in I'alHng. In 
 sliort the miracle, to be a mu-acle at all, requires the supposition that 
 the round roof on which the brother was at work must have been 
 that of a building of great altitude, and from which a fall would be 
 necessaiily productive of certain death, — such a building, in fact, as 
 a Romid Tower, which was the only one of the kind the Irish had, 
 either m those days, or for many ages afterwards. 
 
 I should remark that the same legend forms the tenth chapter of 
 the Life of Columba by the abbot Cumian, which was written about 
 the year 657 ; but it is of little value to the question, as the important 
 phrase, both in the original headhig and the text, is simply " de cul- 
 mine domus." But I may add, that several passages, both in this 
 Life and in that by Adamnan, allude in such a manner to the use of 
 bells, for summoning the brotherhood to rehgious worship, as would 
 lead directly to the inference that belfries must have existed in St. 
 Columba's time. Take, for example, the following passage from the 
 eighth chapter of the first l)ook of the Life of Columba by Adamnan : 
 
 " In tempore alio, hoc est, post multos a supra memorato bello annorum transcur- 
 sus, cum asset vir Sanctus in Hyona insula, subito ad suum dicit ministratorem, 
 Cloccam pulsa : cujus sonitu Fratres incitati, ad Ecclesiam ipso Sancto Prsesule prae- 
 eunte ocyus currunt, ad quos ibidem flexis genibus iniit. ' Nixnc intente pro hoc 
 populo, et AiDANO rege Dominum oremus, hac enim liora iueunt belltun.' " — Vitce 
 AntiqtuB Sanctorum, S^c, edit. Pinkertone, p. 65. 
 
 But, though I am thus disposed to assign this early antiquity to 
 some of the existing Towers, I have no doubt that the great majority 
 of them were erected in later times, and more particularly, as their 
 ornamented architecture indicates, in the ninth and tenth centuries. 
 The destructive ravages of the Danes woidd have rendered the re- 
 erection or restoration of such structures necessary, especially at the 
 close of the latter ceutiuy ; and, as I shall show iii the Thhd Part of 
 this Inquiry, many of the Towers afford sufficient evidence, in the 
 various styles of masonry, and difference of material, wliich they exhi- 
 bit, that they have been in part rebuilt in times long subsequent to 
 that of their original foundation. Nor are we wholly without autho- 
 rities — historical authorities — for such restorations. Thus Keating 
 informs us, that the doictheach, or Round Tower of Tomgraney,
 
 f! 
 
 390 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 wliich, as I have sllO■^\^l, was erected in 964, was repaii'ed by the 
 monarcli Brian Borumha ; and from an ancient fragment, supposed 
 to be a part of Mac Liag's Life of that king, preserved among the 
 manuscripts in the Library of Trmity College, Dubhu, it would ap- 
 pear that this powerful monarch erected, or, at least, restored for the 
 clergy, no less than thirty-two of these structures : 
 
 <' 6a laip DO cumoaisioD ceulla 7 ecalfa, 7 do ponca oaimliac, acuf cloic- 
 C151, 7 Dupri5i, innci." 
 
 " By him were fovuided cells and churclies, and were made daimliacs, and chic- 
 theachs, and duirtkeachs, in it" [Ireland]. 
 
 And again : 
 
 " Ip e 6pian cue .uii. mainipcpeaca eicip aiome 7 eallac 7 peaponn amac ; 
 7 Da cloicceac cpicac; 7 ip laip po oainjneaD cm c-opo popoa ; 7 ip pi a linn 
 cucao ploinnce ap cup, 7 ouchaoa do na ploinnce, 7 do pinne cpicaipecc caca 
 cuaice, 7 ^aca cpica ceo ; 7 ip pi a linn po h-oipneao jpaoa placa, 7 piliD, 7 
 eclaipi. Ip e 6pian umoppa nac capo epa pop ealaoain o oioce a geineariilaij co 
 h-oiDce a Baip." 
 
 " It is Brian that gave out seven monasteries, botli furniture and cattle and land ; 
 and thirti/-tico cloktheaclis ; and it is by liim the marriage ceremony was confirmed ; 
 and it is during liis time surnames were first given, and territories [were allotted] to 
 the surnames, and the boundaries of every lordship and cantred were fixed ; and it is in 
 his time the degrees of chief, and poet, and ecclesiastic, were appointed. It is Brian 
 also that never refused science from the night of his birth to the night of his death." 
 
 The state of the country preceding the usurpation of Brian, and 
 the necessity for such reforms and improvements by that monarch as 
 are alluded to in the preceding notice, are very well illustrated by 
 the folloA\dng passage in Mageoghegan's translation of the Annals of 
 Clonmacnoise, under the year 996, which is the date of Brian's ac- 
 cession, according to the chronology of that work, but which should 
 be the year 1002, according to the more correct clu'onology of Tigh- 
 ernach : 
 
 " A. D. 996. Bryan Borowe took the kingdome and government thereof out of the 
 hands of King Moyleseaghlyn, in such manner as I do not intend to relate in this place ; 
 he was very well worthy of the Government, and reigned twelve years the most famous 
 king of his time [or] that ever was before or after him, of the Irish nation, for Man- 
 hood, Fortune, Manners, Laws, Liberality, Keligion, and other many good parts, he 
 never had his peere among them all, though some Chroniclers of the Kingdom made 
 comparisons between him and Conkedcagh, Conaire More, and King Neale of the 
 Nine hostages ; yett he in regard of the state of the Kingdome when he came to the 
 government thereof was judged to bear the bell allways from them all. At his first 
 entrie into the Kingdome, the whole Kealme was overriinn and overspread every
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 391 
 
 where by the Danes : the Churches, Abbeys, and other religious places, were by them 
 quite rased and debased, or otlierwise turned to vile, base, servile, and abominable 
 uses. Most of all, yea almost all the Noblemen, Gentlemen, and those that were of any 
 accoumpt, were turned out of their Lands and Livings without any hope of recovery 
 or future rcdresse, yea some of the best sort were compelled to ser'S'itude and bounden 
 slavery, both Human Lawe and Gods fear were sett aside. In sume it was strange 
 how men of any fashion cou'd use other men as the Danes did use the Irish-men at 
 that time. But King Bryan Borowe was a meet salve to cure such festered Soares, all 
 the phissick in the world cou'd not help it else where, in a small time he banished the 
 Danes, made up the Churches and Eeligious houses, restored the nobihty to their 
 Antient patrimony and possessions, and in fine brought all to a notable reformation." 
 
 In addition to the devastations of the Northmen, the original 
 Towers mnst, from the natm^e of theii' structure, have often suffered, 
 or been destroyed from natural causes, as lightning and tempests ; 
 and of such casualties we have a remarkable record in the Annals of 
 Clonmacnoise, as translated by Mageoghegan, and which is particu- 
 larly valuable, as indicating the ninnber of structiu'es of tliis kind 
 that was in Ireland in the tenth century : 
 
 " A. D. 981. There was such boisterous winds this year that it fell iovm many 
 turrets, and amongst the rest it fell down violently the steeple of Louth and other 
 steeples." 
 
 I am further persuaded that some of the Towers were erected as 
 late as the twelfth century, as then- architectural characteristics suffi- 
 ciently prove : and it is not improbable that the great Eound Tower 
 of Clomnacnoise, which is so remarkable for the beauty of its ma- 
 sonry, may be of this late period ; for though the Registry of Clon- 
 macnoise, a docimient of the foiu-teenth century, ascribes the erection 
 of this Tower to Fergal O'Roiu-ke, king of Counaught, about the 
 middle of the tenth century, yet, as I have abeady shown, in treating 
 of the church at the same place, called TeampiiU Finghin, Part II., 
 pp. 267, 268, that docimient is of a character too apocryphal to en- 
 title it to much weight, when opposed to the authentic annals of the 
 country. The passage in the Registry, relative to the erection of 
 this Tower, as translated from the original Irish for Sir James Ware, 
 by the celebrated Duald Mac Firbis, is as follows : 
 
 " And the same O'Euairk of his devotion towards y" church undertook to repair 
 those churches, and keep them in reparation during his life upon his own chardges, 
 and to make a Causey, or Togher from y'^ place called Cruan na Feadh to lubhar 
 Conaire, and from Jubhar to the Loch ; and the said Fergal did perform it, together 
 with all other promises y' he made to Cluain, and the repayring of that number of
 
 392 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Chapels or Cells, and the making of that Causey, or Togher, and hath for a monument 
 built a small steep castle or steeple, commonly called in Irish Claicthough, in Cluain, 
 as a memorial of his own part of that Cemetarie : and the said Fergal hath made all 
 those Cells before specified in mortmain for him and his heii's to Cluain ; and thus 
 was the sepulture of the O'Ruairks bought." 
 
 It might be inferred, hoAvever, from tlie following entry in the 
 Chronicon Scotorwn, that this Tower was of much later date than 
 that ascribed to it in the Registry : 
 
 "A.D. 1124. Qn cloicceach mop Cluana TTlac Noip o'opbuD la ^lolla Cpipc 
 h-Ua TTIaoileoin, 7 la Coipoealbac h-Ua Concupaip." 
 
 "A. D. 1 124. The great cloktheach of Clonmacnoise was finished by Giolla Christ 
 O'Malone, and by Turlogh 0' Conor." 
 
 Thus also in a similar entrj^ in the Annals of the Four Masters at 
 the same year : 
 
 " A. D. 1124. Popbao cloicccije Cluana TTlac Noip la h-Ua maoileom co- 
 TTiapba Chiapam." 
 
 " A. D. 1 124. The finishing if the cloktheach of Clonmacnoise by O'Malone, suc- 
 cessor ,; f St. Ciaran." 
 
 Dr. O'Conor, mdeed, translates the preceding entry as if it only 
 recorded the covering or roofing of the Tower, thus : 
 
 " A. D. 1 124. OperimentTim Campanilis CluansB Mac Nois factum per O'Maloneum, 
 Vicarium Ciarani." 
 
 But though it is possible that the annalists intended to record 
 the making or restoration of the roof only, the verb pojibao, which 
 they employ, properly signifies to finish, or complete. However, it 
 seems in the highest degree mihkely that an ecclesiastical estabhsh- 
 ment of such high importance for many centuries earlier, and the 
 seat of a bishopric at least from the ninth century, should have been 
 A\dthout an abbey or cathedral belfry till so late a period : and this 
 improbability will appear stronger when we call to mind that one of 
 the inferior churches of the place had its own little cloictheach, as I 
 liave abeady sho^vn, of a much earlier date, and that one of its abbots 
 was the erector of the cloictheach of Tomgraney nearly two centuries 
 previously: and it is therefore not likely that this abbot would have 
 left Clonmacnoise without such a usual and necessary appendage, if 
 it had been previously wanting. I am, therefore, of opinion that the 
 great cloictheach of this place was erected at least as early as the year 
 908, when the daimliag mor, or cathedral, standing opposite it, in the 
 usual position, was erected by the monarch Flann O'Melaghlin and
 
 ON THE ROUND TOWERS OP IRELAND. 393 
 
 the abbot Colmau ; and I tliink it most pi'obable that the fact rela- 
 tive to its erection by Fei-gal O'Roiu-ke, as stated in tlie Registry, 
 was only a tradition founded on the circumstance of the O'Roiu'kes 
 having their place of sepulture near it ; and, consequently, that the 
 entry in the annals only relates to a subsequent restoration of it, ren- 
 dered necessary by some accidental circimistance not recorded. 
 
 That this Tower was, indeed, repaired at a period long subse- 
 quent to its erection, there is abundant evidence in the masonry of 
 the building itself, the upper portion being of coarse jointed masonry 
 of hmestone, while the greater part of the tower below it is of close 
 jointed ashlar sandstone ; and besides, it is quite obvious that the 
 Tower, when such restoration Avas made, was reduced considerably 
 in its original height, as proportioned to its circumference. It can 
 scarcely be doubted, however, that tliis restoration is of still later 
 date than that recorded by the annahsts at the year 1124, as we find 
 the following entry in the Chronicon Scotorum, and the Annals of 
 the Four Masters, relative to the destruction of the top of the Tower 
 by hghtmng, in the year 1135. 
 
 " A. D. 1135. Ceine fai^nein oo Beim a chino do cloicreacli Cluana mac 
 Noip, agu)^ DO roUab cloicceac l?uip Cp4." 
 
 " A. D. 1135. Lightning struck its roof off the cfo/cMt'ac/i of Clonmacnoise, and 
 pierced the cloictheach of Roscrea." 
 
 But, be this as it may, we have a decisive evidence in the Annals 
 of the Four Masters to prove that this Tower of Clomnacnoise, if 
 not the smaller one also, was appropriated to the use of a belfry, and 
 knoA\Ti by the same name as originally, so late as the year 1552, Avhen 
 Clonmacnoise Avas plundered by the English garrison of Athlone, — 
 an event of which the tradition of the place still preserves, with all 
 its details, as lively an impression, as if it had been only of recent 
 occurrence. It is thus pathetically recorded: 
 
 "A. D. 1552. Innpao 7 opccain Cluana mac Noip la ^allaib Qra luam, 
 7 na cluicc mopa do bpeic ap an j-cloiccceac. Ni po paccabao pop clocc beaj 
 na mop, loiiiai^, naalcoip, na leabap, na jemao, piu glome li-i b-puinneoicc 6 
 bulla na h-eccailpi amac nac puccuo eipce. 6u cpuaj cpa an jniorh pm, inDpnb 
 carpac Ciapam, an naom eplaim." 
 
 " A. D. 1552. Clonmacnoise was plundered and devastated by the Galls (Englisli) 
 of Athlone, and the large bells were carried from the cloictheach. There was not left, 
 moreover, a bell, small or large, an image, or an altar, or a book, or a gem, or even 
 
 3 E
 
 S94 INQUIRY INTO THE OKIGIN AND USES 
 
 "'lass in a window, from the wall of the church out, which was not carried off. 
 Lamentable was this deed, the j)luudering of the city of Ciaran, the holy patron." 
 
 But, whatever may be the period of the erection of the great Tower 
 of Clonmacnoise, I have found a decisive evidence of the erection of 
 many Towers, as late as the middle of the twelfth centmy, in the fol- 
 lowing cui'ious and important entry in an ancient Antiphonarivuii, 
 formerly belonging to the cathedral church of Armagh, but preserved 
 inUssher's collection of manuscripts (Class B, Tab. I. No. 1), in the 
 Library of Trinity College, Dublin. I should add that the age of the 
 original of tliis entry is obviously that of O'CarroU, prince of Oriel, 
 whose death it was intended to record, and tliat the authenticity of the 
 facts enumerated is unquestionable. 
 
 " Kal. Ian. .u. p. I. -c. Qnno t)omini m.c.lrr. Opnm ap t)hoiinclKi6 h-Lla 
 CepbaiU, ap aipo-pi^ Cfipjiall, Uip a n-oepnao leabup Cnuic na n-appcal a 
 f,ujmaD, 7 ppim-lebuip uipo bliuotiaiDe, 7 ppim-leabuip aipppmn. Ip e oon an 
 an-pi cebna po cumoin^ an mamipcip uile icip cloic 7 cpann. 7 cue epic 7 pepanO 
 ppia, DO pair a aiima a n-anoip p6il 7 pecuip. Ip leip Oon po h-arnuijeD an 
 eajlup a cip Oipj^iaU, 7 Do ponao ep^oboioe pia^uUa, 7 cucao an eajlup pop 
 comup epcoip. Ip 'n a aimpip po jabao Decmao, 7 po paemao popab, 7 po 
 cumDai^rea ecalpa, 7 Do ponca ceampaiU 7 cloicri;^i, 7 po h-arnuni^cea mai- 
 nipcpe manac 7 cananac 7 caiUec n-DuK, 7 Do ponair neirheDa. Ip lac po co pe 
 5pepa DO ponaic ppia pair, 7 pe pi^e 1 cip Qip^iall, .1. mainipcep na manac pop 
 bpu 6o)nne loep cloic 7 cpann aiDiiie, 7 libpa 7 epic 7 pepano i pil .c. manac 7 
 cpi .c. conuenp 7 mainipcep canancic CepmainD Peicin 7 rilainipcep caiUer, 7 
 ceampoU mop Cepmainn pheicin, 7 ceampoU Lepra Peicin 7 ceampoU * * * ." 
 
 "Kalend. Januar. v.feria, luii. x. Anno Domini m. c. Ixx. A prayer for Donnchadh 
 O'Carrol, supreme king oi Airgiall, by whom were made the book of Cnoc n<i n-Apstal 
 at Louth, and the chief books of the order of the year, and the chief books of the 
 mass. It was this great king who founded the entire monastery both [as to] stone 
 and wood, and gave territory and land to it, for the prosperity of his soul, in honor of 
 [SS.] Paul and Peter. By him the church throughout the land of Oirghiall was re- 
 formed, and a regular bishoprick was made, and the church was placed under the 
 jurisdiction of the bishop. In his time tithes were received, and the marriage 
 [ceremony] was assented to, and churches were founded, and temples and doictheacks 
 were made, and monasteries of monks, and canons, and nuns were re-edified, and 
 nemkeds were made. These are especially the works which he performed, for the pros- 
 perity [of his soul] and reign, in the land of Airghiall, namely, the monastery of monks 
 on the bank of the Boyne [both as to] stone and wooden furniture, and books, and 
 territory and land, in which [monastery] there are one hundred monks, and three 
 hundred conventuals, and the monastery of canons oiTermannFeickin, and the monas- 
 tery of nuns, and the great church of Termann Fheicin, and the church of Lepadh 
 Feic/iin, and the church of * * * ."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 395 
 
 In conchision, I have only to add, that it woidd appear prol)al)le, 
 from the following record in the Annals of the Four Masters, that 
 at least one Eound Tower was erected so late as the year 123S, at 
 Annadown, in the County of Galway : 
 
 " A. D. 1238. Cloicceac Ganai^ ouin do Denarii." 
 
 " A. D. 1238. The Cloictkeach of Eanach duin was erected." 
 
 As there is no belfry now remaining at Annadown, it may be 
 uncertain Avhether this cloicfheach was of the usual ancient round form, 
 or of the quadrangular shape, and connected with the church, as 
 generally adopted in Ireland at the period of the Anglo-Norman in- 
 vasion ; but if it be remembered that this Tower is mentioned as a 
 distinct structiu-e, and that its locality was one still peculiarly Irish, 
 while, on the other hand, the square belfry never appears as a distinct 
 structvu'e, it will be scarcely doubted that this Avas a tower of the 
 original Irish kind, and if so, probably one of the last of its class 
 erected in the kingdom. 
 
 But Avhether this cloictkeach of AnnadoAvn was of the reijular 
 Komid Tower form or not, it cannot be doubted that some of the 
 Towers existing, or recently so, and particularly those attached to the 
 churches, were of a date but little anterior to the thirteenth centm-y, 
 as that of Trummery, in the County of Antrim, and the ToAver which 
 was attached to Trinity Chiu'ch atGlendalough, and those at Dmigiven 
 and Tamlaghtfinlagan, in the County of Londonderry, of all which 
 descriptions will be given in the Third Part of this Inquiiy. Such 
 deviations from the ancient custom of keeping the belfries detached 
 from the churches are in themselves sufficient evidences that they 
 belong to a later period, and their architectural peculiarities in all 
 these instances satisfactorily prove the fact. In like manner, it might 
 be inferred that the round turret belfries placed upon the chm-ches, 
 of which there are tAvo or three examples remaining, are also of com- 
 paratively recent date, and indicate the transition to the more modern 
 and general usage Avith respect to belfries ; and this inference Avould 
 be sustained by a passage of great antiquity in the Life of St. Moling, 
 preserved in the Book of Leinster, a compilation of the twelfth ceu- 
 tmy. Tliis passage occurs in a prophecy attributed to the saint, Avho, 
 it is stated, had had a vision, in Avhich it Avas revealed to him that 
 he himself Avas the person predestined to bring about the abolition 
 
 3 E 2
 
 396 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 of an oppressive tax called tlie Borumha Laighean, Avliich the people 
 of Leinster had for centimes paid to the royal i'amily of Tara, but 
 whicli had been remitted for a tune by the reigning monarch, Fin- 
 nachta Fleadliach. But the king coming afterwards into Leinster, 
 with a numerous army, to enforce its payment, was met by St. Moling, 
 who told him of his vision, and predicted, in the following verses, 
 ^x'hat impossibihties and strange occiu"rences shoidd take place be- 
 ibre this revelation Avoidd be nulhfied : 
 
 " Copbap caippje ap Daipje Donna, 
 Copbap conna ap jlapf linne, 
 Copbap cloccije op cella, 
 Mipap ella aiplinje." 
 
 " Until rocks grow uiion brown oaks, 
 Until boisterous waves be on green pools, 
 Until doictheachs be [placed] over churches, 
 This vision shall not prove delusive." 
 
 But, though this ancient passage clearly indicates the general and 
 prevailmg custom of the country, in the seventh centmy, as to the 
 separateness of the belfries from the churches, it does not necessarily 
 follow that no example of their junction had existed in St. Mohng's 
 time, as it should, perhaps, be rather inferred that a knowledge of 
 the existence of some such example, considered as a singularity, had 
 suggested the improbaljility of such a general innovation ; or, that the 
 verses were fabricated at a period, when the tribute referred to was 
 reimposed, and when the innovation had been, to some extent, adopted. 
 
 But, however this may be, some of the specunens of Eomid Tower 
 belfries, placed upon the churches in Ireland, indicate a very early 
 antiquity ; and though, possibly, they may not be m every instance 
 coeval with the chiu-ches on which they are placed, they can hardly 
 be of a date long subsequent to them. At all events, examples of 
 belfries upon the chm'ches must have been famihar to the Irish in 
 the ninth century, as we find that, at least, one such, and most pro- 
 bably a round one, — as the Lombard steeples usually were, — was 
 erected on the chiu'ch of St. Columbanus, at Bobbio, when the abbot 
 Agilulfus, who flourished between the years 883 and 905, re-erected 
 that clnu-ch, as appears from the following passage m\he Miracula S. 
 Columhani Ahhatls, cap. 1. 
 
 " Ipsam deniqiie eandem Ecclesiam yeaQXsitiWs Ah\)as Agilulfus exlapidibus struxit,
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEKS OF IRELAND. 
 
 397 
 
 tiUTimquo super earn sedificiiuit, et campanas in ea fecit pcndere, siciit nunc ccrni- 
 tur." — Fleming, CoUectaiiea Sacra, p. 245. — Florilegium, p. 240. 
 
 This is a question, however, "which will be more particularly con- 
 sidered in connexion Avith the reniainuig examples of siicli churcli 
 towers in the Thu'd Part of this Inquiry. 
 
 From the preceding evidences it will be perceived, that in deter- 
 mining the respective ages of the several Round Towers in Ireland, 
 we must be almost entirely guided, as in the case of the early 
 churches, by their architectiu-al details, — always comparing such de- 
 tails Avith those of the churches whose dates are determined, or may 
 be fairly presumed ; and such an examination Avill constitute a pro- 
 minent feature in the Third Part of this Inqiury. But, as the publi- 
 cation of that Part must be some tune distant, it may be desirable 
 that I should adduce here a few characteristic examples of the various 
 
 styles exhibited iu the Towers, and from which a tolerably accurate 
 opinion may be formed as to the respective ages of their erection ; 
 and that I should also more fully illustrate, by a few sections, their 
 mternal construction. On this latter point, however, the two illus-
 
 398 INQUIRY INTO THE OEIGIN AND USES 
 
 trations above will svtffice. The first exhibits the internal construc- 
 tion and measurements of the Round Tower of Clondalkin, near 
 Dublin ; and the second, the internal construction of the Tower of 
 Rattoo, in the Comity of Kerry, — both Towers of high antiquity. 
 
 It will be perceived that the Tower of Clondalkin has a singular 
 projecting base, which is nearly thirteen feet in height, and com- 
 posed, in great part, of solid masonry. I have already shown, how- 
 ever, at page 368, from an ancient seal, that the Tower of Roscarbery, 
 in the County of Cork, which does not now remain, had a similar 
 base, and that, in this respect, both these Towers resembled the 
 ancient round castle of Brunless, in Brecknockshire. Above the base 
 the Tower of Clondalkin measures forty-five feet in circimiference, 
 and, with the exception of the chiselled stones round its doorway, 
 it is altogether constructed of common rubble masonry, of tlie calp 
 limestone of the district. The apertirres are all quadrangular, the 
 jambs of the doorway mcHning, as in those of the oldest churches 
 
 The church of Cluain Dolcain, according to Colgan, — Acta Sanc- 
 torum, page 677 (correctly 573), — owes its origm to St. Mochua, who 
 was its fii'st abbot, and flourished early in the seventh century. It 
 subsequently rose to the rank of a bishop's see, and became a place 
 of great celebrity. Of its original ecclesiastical edifices the Tower 
 alone remains. Tliere are, indeed, in its immediate vicinity, some 
 ruins of a church, which has obviously been of some architectural 
 importance ; but it appears certain, from di-awings made m 1780, 
 when it was more perfect than it is at present, that it was a struc- 
 ture of the thirteenth century. A large cross of granite, without 
 ornament, a usual accompaniment of our earliest ecclesiastical esta- 
 blishments, is still to be seen in the churchyard. 
 
 The Tower of Rattoo, Avhich, like that of Clondalkin, is still per- 
 fect, is remarkable for being placed on a terrace or platform con- 
 nected with a causeway, which extends in a hne opposite its doorway, 
 as showii in the ground-plan on next page. The Tower is formed of 
 roughly-squared, hammered sandstone, the entrance doorway alone 
 iDeing chiselled. It measiu-es forty-seven feet nine inches ui cu'cum- 
 ference at its base, and ninety- two feet in height, the Avail being three 
 feet ten inches in thickness at the doorway. The doorway is semi- 
 circular-headed, the arch being formed of three stones, and it is 
 ornamented \Aath a flat band, nine inches in breadth. It is five feet
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 399 
 
 four inches in height, one foot eight inclics in width beluw the aivli, 
 and two feet one incli at the sill. The Tower is divided into six 
 stories, that at the top containing, as usual, four large apertures facing 
 the cardinal points. These apertures have sloping jambs, and are, 
 externally, angular-headed, but are quadi'angular internally. The 
 
 1.* 
 
 m'km>^.ms'k.Mj,m::-wkj.,sii.s^ 
 
 ^.^^ .x^^;S^..!vX :^ , 
 
 intermediate stories between the uppermost and the second, or door- 
 way story, are each lighted by a single aperture ; but, in consequence 
 of the Tower being enveloped in ivy, tlieii" exact situations cannot 
 be detenniued, "wdth the exception of one m the fifth story, lately 
 exposed by a storm, and Avhich is angular-headed, and faces the east. 
 The lowest story is filled up to the level of the doorway. It will be 
 perceived from the section above given, that between the 
 floors of each of the stories, rough corbel stones project from 
 the wall about the middle of its height ; and this is not an 
 imcommon feature in the interior of the Towers, such coi'bel 
 stones, in one example — that of the Tower of Ardmore, in 
 the County of Waterford — being sculptiu'ed with animal and 
 human heads, and other ornaments. My late ingenious friend, 
 Mr. A^"illiam jNIorrison, suggested to me that these corbels 
 might possible be for the purpose of fixing ladders to join the 
 stories, as shoAvn in the annexed outline ; but a more probable 
 conjectm-e, to my mind, is, that they were intended as supports for 
 shelves, on which to place the precious things deposited in the Towers.
 
 400 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 But little is known of the history of the ecclesiastical estabhsh- 
 ment to which this Tower belonged, beyond the fact that it was, at 
 an ancient period, the seat of a bishopric, the boimdaries of which 
 were defined at the Synod of Rath Breasail in or about the year 
 1118 ; and that, according to the tradition of the country, there were 
 anciently seven churches at the place. Its ancient name was Rath 
 Muighe tuaiscirt, i. e. the rath, or earthen fort of the northern plain ; 
 the word tuaiscirt being added to distinguish it from Rath Muighe 
 deiscirt, now Eattas. — See p. 169. 
 
 This Tower is now popularly kno^\^l by the name Giolcach, by 
 which is understood a bell-house, and which is obviously a local cor- 
 ruption of c/o^^^Amc//, or doictheach. According to the local tradition 
 of the place, there was a silver bell placed in the upper story of the 
 Tower, and which had a remarkably sweet tone, — and this bell is now 
 concealed hi the adjacent River Brick, into which it was thrown for 
 safety during the " troubles." It cannot, however, be now found, 
 though, as it is said, it used formerly direct attention to its locality, 
 by occasionally emitting melancholy tones. 
 
 In the neio-hbourliood of the Tower there are ruins of two chiu'ches, 
 
 North 
 
 East 
 
 Scidh 
 
 KcU 
 
 neither of which, however, is of an antiquity at all approaching that 
 
 of the Tower, and do not demand any particular notice in this place. 
 
 I should have noticed, in connexion with the preceding general
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 401 
 
 remarks on the construction of the Towers, that the division into 
 stories is sometunes marked externally by set-ofFs ; and in one in- 
 stance, the Tower of Ai'dmore, by bands or belts. With a single 
 exception, however, they present no ornament externally, except in 
 then" doorways and upper apertiu'es. I allude to the Romid Tower 
 of Devenish, which has a richly-sculptured band or cornice, placed 
 immediately beneath its conical roof, the whole of Avhicli is repre- 
 sented in the precedhig illustration. 
 
 I must defer, however, an inquuy into the age of these scidptures, 
 as leading to a digression that would be somewliat irrelevant here, 
 and which I therefore reserve for the Tliird Part of tliis Work. 
 
 Havmg premised thus much, relative to the general form and 
 constraction of tlie Towers, I liave next to notice their details ; and 
 of these the doorways are the most important, as enabhng us to de- 
 termine, by their architectural features, the respective ages of the 
 Towers to which they belong. 
 
 The oldest Towers are obviously those constructed of spawled 
 
 masonry and large hammered stones, and Avhich present simple qua- 
 di-angular and semickcular-arched doorways, with slopmg jambs, and 
 
 3 F
 
 402 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 little or no oniameut, perfectly similar to the doorways of the earliest 
 churches. As an example of the quadrangular doorway, with in- 
 clined jambs, and large Untel, I have given, on the preceding page, 
 an illustration of the doorway of the Round Tower of Drumbo, in the 
 Comity of Down. 
 
 This doorway, wliich, as well as the other parts of the Tower, is 
 constructed of spawled rubble masomy of the hmestone of the coun- 
 try, measiu'es five feet eight inches in height, two feet six inches in 
 breadth beloAV the hntel, and two feet ten inches at the sill stone, 
 which is now destroyed, and the wall is four feet in tliickness. It is 
 at present only about four feet above the level of the ground, which 
 has been much raised by interments about it, so that there is no 
 doubt that its elevation was origmally at least eight or ten feet The 
 foundations of the original chiu'ch, wliich are situated twenty-four 
 feet to the south-east of the Tower, only remain, but they are enough 
 to enable us to determine that it was a simple quadrangle, measiuing 
 forty-five feet in length, and twenty in breadth. The erection of this 
 church is ascribed to St. Patrick in the oldest Lives of that samt, and 
 a St. Mochumma was abbot here about the beginning of the seventh 
 centiu-y. 
 
 ^fflfc'j^^S^- 
 
 
 1 have already stated that many of the Towers have in tlieir se- 
 cond story an aj^erture placed directly over the entrance doorway, 
 but little inferior to it in size, and which might be considered as a
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 403 
 
 second doorway. Such second apertures, when the original doorway 
 is quadrangular, are always of the same form, — as shown in tlie an- 
 nexed illustrations of the lower and upper doorways of the Round 
 Tower of Swords. The lower doorway is at present but three feet 
 above the level of the ground, and measures six feet in height, two 
 feet in width at the top, and two feet two inches at the bottom. 
 The second apertvire, which is twenty feet from the ground, is four 
 feet in height, and two feet in width. The church of Swords owes 
 its origin to the great St. Colunibkille, and was originally erected 
 previously to the year 563. 
 
 As a similar example of the quadrangular doorway, but of bettei' 
 masonr}', I subjoin an illustration of the doorway of the Roiuid Tower 
 
 
 of Antrim. This doorway, which is placed at an elevation of about 
 twelve feet from the gi'ound, is constructed of large blocks of coarse- 
 grained basalt fomid in the neighbourhood, many of the stones ex- 
 tending the entire thickness of the wall, which is three feet three 
 inches. It is but four feet four inches in height, one foot ten inches 
 in width at the top, and two feet at the bottom. 
 
 This doorway is remarkable in having a pierced cross within 
 
 3 F 2
 
 404 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 a circle, sculptured in relievo on the stone immediately over the hntel, 
 somewhat similar to that on the hntel of the doonvay of St. Fechin's 
 chiu'ch at Fore, of Avhich I have given an illustration at p. 1 74 ; and 
 such sculptiu'cs appear to me to fiu'nish a strong evidence that both 
 chiu'ches and towers were regarded as sanctuaries. 
 
 It is remarkable that though the formdation of the church of 
 Antrim is ascribed — perhaps erroneously, — to St. Mochaoi, a cotem- 
 porary of St. Patrick's, who died, according to the Irish annahsts, m 
 the year 496, the popular tradition of the country ascribes the erection 
 of the Tower to the celebrated builder called Goban Saer, who flou- 
 rished in the seventh century. 
 
 As examples of early semicircular-headed doorways, without or- 
 nament, and in which the arch is formed by cuttings in the horizontal 
 
 stones, I annex engravings of the doorways of the Towers of Kil- 
 macduagh, in the County of Galway, and of Glendalough, in the 
 County ofWicklow, both, as there ishttle doubt, erected early in the 
 seventh century. 
 
 The doorway of the Tower of Kilmacduagh, which is placed at an 
 elevation of twenty-six feet fi'om the gi-ound, is constructed of large 
 blocks of limestone of the district, and measm-es six feet ten inches 
 in height, and two feet ten inches in width at the sill ; and the wall 
 is foiu: feet four inches in tliickness.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 405 
 
 I have akeady stated, at p. 176, that the gi'eat chiirch of Kilniac- 
 duagh was erected about the yeai' 610, for St. Colman ]\Iac Duach, 
 by liis kinsman, Gnaire Aidhne, king of Connaught ; and the perfect 
 similarity of the masonry of the Tower to that of the origmal portions 
 of the great church, leaves no doubt of their being cotemporaueous 
 structiu-es. In the popular traditions of the country the erection of 
 both is assigned to the Goban Saer, and these traditions are not falsi- 
 fied by being at variance "with the kno^ra period at which he 
 nourished. 
 
 The doorway of the Tower of Glendalough, it will be perceived. 
 
 has a perfect similarity of form and style of construction to that of the 
 Tower of Kilmacduagh; audit is not unhkely that both are the work 
 of the same eminent builder, with whose era the erection of the great 
 chiu'ch of Glendalough would very well synchronise. It is placed at 
 an elevation of about ten feet from the present level of the gi'ound, 
 which, however, is now considerably raised by old interments. It is 
 constructed of blocks of granite, chiselled, though the wall of the 
 Tower generally is formed of rubble masonry of the mica slate of 
 the adjacent mountains, — and in this cu'cumstance it resembles the
 
 406 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 doorways of several of the churches in the valley. It measures five 
 feet seven inches and a half in height, one foot ten inches in width 
 below the arch stone, and two feet at the sill. The thickness of the 
 wall is four feet. 
 
 In many of the most ancient semicircular-headed doorways we 
 find the head constructed on the regular principle of the arch, as in 
 the illustration of the doorway of the Tower of Oughterard, in the 
 County of Kildare, given on the last page, in which the arch is 
 formed of tlu'ee stones; or, as m the doorway of the Tower on Tory 
 Island, off the north coast of the County of Donegal, in which the arch 
 is formed of a uimiber of small stones, as shewn in the next illus- 
 tration. 
 
 The Tower of Oughterard was connected wdth a church of nuns, 
 founded in the sixth or seventh centiuy by a Saint Bridget, a diffe- 
 rent person fi'om the more celebrated saint of that name, of Kildare : 
 and the Tower on Toiy Island was connected with a monastery 
 foimded there in the sixth century by St. Columbkille. 
 
 I should have remarked that the quadrangular doorways of the 
 Towers never exhibit ornaments of any kind; but those which are 
 arched are often adorned, — and of these, the most ancient appear
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 407 
 
 to be those wliicli are ornamented witli a plain flat baud or architrave, 
 as in the annexed ilkistration of the doorway of the Tower of Roscre^, 
 the internal construction of which I have already noticed. 
 
 And in the doorways of those Towers of better masonic con- 
 struction, and, as there is every reason to believe, of later date, these 
 bands are often oniamented with one, two, or three torus mouldings : 
 such, for example, is the doorway of the Tower of Monasterboice, in 
 the County of Louth, represented in the illustration on the next 
 page, and which is further remarkable as exhibiting the idea of the 
 cross by a connexion of the mouldings at the top and at each side. 
 
 That the Tower, in which this doorway is foimd, is of a different 
 age from that of either of the churches at Monasterboice, would be 
 at once apparent to any skilful observer, being obviously much more 
 recent than the one, and more ancient than the other. In the oldest 
 of these churches the doorway presents the usual horizontal head, 
 and the whole masomy of the church is in a ruder style, and com-
 
 408 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 posed of tlie limestone of tlie country. It may not, therefore, be 
 considered an improbable conjectiu-e, if Ave assign tlie erection of tliis 
 Tower to tliat period in Trliicli the richly sculptiu'ed stone crosses 
 were raised, winch now impart such interest to tliis locahty, and which 
 can hardly be of a date anterior to the ninth century. Of this fact 
 
 the representation of our Saviour crucified, wliich is found on both 
 the crosses, might be deemed a suificient evidence, for I do not know 
 of any examples of such representation of a date anterior to that 
 period ; but we have fortunately, in an inscription carved on one of 
 these crosses, a sufficiently decisive evidence as to their age, and 
 wliich will leave Httle, if any, doubt, that the cross was erected in 
 the ninth or tenth centmy. The inscription is as follows : 
 " on t)o muiRet)ach cas i NbeRNat) in chRossa." 
 
 " A PRAYER FOR MUIREDACH BY WHOM WAS MADE THIS CROSS." 
 
 U then we find that there was an abbot of tliis name, Muiredach, 
 at Monasterboice, the natural inference will be, that he was the
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 40 !> 
 
 erector of this erost* ; but iiuriirUuiatcly ^\•e learn, Iroiu ihe Irisii 
 Annals, that there were two of the name, one who died in the year 
 844, and the other in the year 924, so that it must be a matter of 
 some uncertainty, to which of these the erection of the cross shoidd 
 be ascribed. This is a difficulty, however, which, to my mind, is 
 gi'eatly decreased by the nature of the entries respecting those per- 
 sons, in the Annals, and from which it clearly appears that the latter 
 of these Miuredachs was a man of much greater distinction, and pi'o- 
 bably wealth, than the former, and therefore more likely to have; 
 been the erector of the crosses at Monasterboice, and, as I conceive, 
 their cotemporaneous Tower. Thus, in the Annals of Ulster, the 
 death of the first Muiredach is entered simply as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 844. mupe&acli, mac plainn, ubbap monij'cpech 6uici mopruup cyz." 
 " A. D. 844. Muireducli, son of Flann, abbot of Monastier Buiti, died." 
 
 While the death of the second is thus entered : 
 
 " A. D. 9'-i3, I'e/ 924. lllupebach mac tDomiiaill, canupe ab Qipb muclia, 7 
 apo maep Oa Neilt m oepceipr, 7 comapba 6uici, mic 6p6iiui^, cenn aDcomcipc 
 pep m-bpej n-uile, ocaib, cleipchib, qiiinca bie Kal Decembpip uira oeceppic." 
 
 "A. D. 923, or 924. Muiredach, son of Domlinall, tanist-abbot of Armagh, and 
 chief Stewart of the southern Hy Niall, and successor of Buiti, the son of Bronach, 
 head of the council of all the men of Bregia, laity and clergy, departed this life on the 
 fifth day of the Calends of December." 
 
 The death of this Muiredach is similarly entered in the Annals 
 of the Four INIasters, except that they call him " the Stewart of the 
 people of Patrick (Armagh), from Sliabh Fuaid to Leinster." 
 
 Moreover, the close resemblance between the subjects of the 
 sculptiu'es on this cross, and the style of their execution, to those of 
 the great cross at Clonmacnoise, which I have shown to be of the 
 early part of the tenth century, strongly corroborates the inference, 
 as to its date, Avliich I have dr-aAvn from the preceding historical 
 notices. 
 
 It is to this period, also, that I would ascribe the erection of the 
 neighboiu'ing Round Tower of Donaghmore, in the County of Meath, 
 the doorway of which is so remarkable in having a figure of our 
 Saviour crucified sculptui'ed in relievo on its key-stone, and the stone 
 immediately over it. This doorway, wdiich is placed at an elevation 
 of twelve feet from the base of the Tower, measures five feet tw(j 
 inches in height, and its inclined jambs are two feet three inches 
 
 3 G
 
 410 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 asunder at tlie sill, and two feet at the spring of the arch. It Avill 
 be perceived tliat tliere is a human head carved on each side of the 
 door, — tlie one partly on the band, and the other outside it. 
 
 ' 'H'y * 
 
 Some of the autagonists of the Chi'istiau origin of the Bound 
 Towers have asserted that this doorway " plamly appears, to an ob- 
 servmg eye, to be an after work;" but there is not the shghtest grounds 
 for such an assertion; and, as Sir Richard Colt Hoare, a profoimdly 
 skilful antiquary, observes, this doorway furnishes " a decided proof 
 that these buildings" [the Round Towers] "were not (as some 
 writers have conjectured) built by the Pagans." To me, indeed, it 
 establishes more, namely, that many of the Towers were erected 
 not earher than tlie tenth centiuy. A similarly ornamented door- 
 way, presenting a representation of the crucifixion, but Avdth richer 
 sculptiu'es, is foimd in the Round Tower of Brecliin, in Scotland, 
 which, as I shall show in the Third Part of this Work, there is every 
 reason to beheve was erected about the year 1020, and by Irish 
 ecclesiastics. The erection of the original church of Donaghraore, 
 anciently called Domhnach mor Muighe Echnach, i. e. the great cluu'ch
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 411 
 
 of the plain of Echnach, is ascribed to St. Patrick, who pLiced liere 
 his disciple Cassanus, whose relics were preserved in this church, and 
 held in the highest veneration for ages after his death. — See Trias 
 Thaum., pp. 130, 131. Of tliis original chiu'ch, however, there are 
 now no remains, and its site is occupied by a chiu'ch, in the pointed 
 style of architecture of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. 
 
 As a specimen of a doorway, which exhibits a more regular ma- 
 somy than any of the preceding, and wliich there is every reason to 
 believe to be of somewhat later age, I annex an illustration of the 
 doorway of the greater Tower of Clonmacnoise ; and as I ha\e 
 treated so much of this Tower in several parts of this work, I also 
 add a view of the Tower itself, wliich is finely situated on the brow 
 of a bank on the south-east side of the Shannon, and amid scenery 
 of a solemn and desolate character, which add greatly to its poetical 
 interest. 
 
 3 G 2
 
 412 
 
 INQriRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 This Tower is constructed of a line sandstone, and its masomy 
 is laid in regular coiu'ses, except about twenty feet of the upper por- 
 tion, which is of coarse masonry of undi'essed limestone, and which, — 
 
 
 like tlie upper part of the Round Tower of Tullaherin, in the County 
 of Kilkenny, and some others, — is evidently the work of a later pe- 
 riod than the lower part. It rests, as usual, on a projecting cu'cidar 
 l)liiith, and measui'es fifty-six feet in circvmiference at its base. Its 
 present height is but sixty-two feet, in addition to which, we must 
 allow about seventeen feet for the conical roof, which is now want- 
 ing : but, there is no reason to doubt that it was originally one of 
 the highest of its kind in Ii-elaud, for, as I have already remarked, 
 it was, obviousl}', not restored to its original altitude, when the pre- 
 sent upper portion was re-erected. The wall is three feet nine inches 
 in thickness. The interior exhibits rests for foiu" stories, including 
 that on a level ■with the doorway, and beneath Avhich there was a fifth 
 story, not liglited. The second and tluixl stories ai'e each lighted by a
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 413 
 
 single quadrangular aperture ; and the upper story, as in the Tower 
 of Tullaherin, contains eight openings of the same form. The door- 
 way is five feet three inches in height, two feet three inches in width, 
 immediately under the imposts, and two feet six inches, at the sill. 
 The key-stone, and those forming the imposts, extend the entire 
 thickness of the wall, as does the sill-stone also, which is five feet in 
 length. 
 
 I have now to notice the peculiarities of the upper apertm'es oi" 
 the Towers. The apertiu'cs in the uppermost story are almost inva- 
 riably of larger size than those in the lower stories, including even 
 the doorways. The apertm-es in the nitermediate stories, between 
 the uppermost and the doorway, are usually of very small size. In 
 many of the Towers, however, an apertiu'e placed in one of those in- 
 termediate stories directly over the doorway, is, as I have already 
 remarked, little, or not at all inferior in size to the doorway. In the 
 
 external forms of these apertiu'cs there are but three varieties, 
 namely, the quadrangular, the semicircular-headed, and the angular- 
 headed ; and the jambs, in all cases, incline : but, in then- internal 
 construction, they present several varieties, which I shall presently 
 notice. As an example of a ho:-izontal-headed aperture, I have given 
 above an illustration of one of those in the Round ToAver of Cashel,
 
 414 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 which will be further interesting, as exhibiting the cimous Etruscan 
 character of the masonry of this, and so many of the other towers and 
 chm-ches, and which will be still better sho-wn in the annexed speci- 
 men, from its base. 
 
 Of these three forms of aperture, we often find examples in the 
 same Tower, as in the three annexed examples, from the Tower of 
 Kells : 
 
 -hliit^jnit 
 
 In many of the apertures, however, which exhibit semicircular 
 and angular heads, these forms are only external, and theii' internal 
 construction preserves the quadi-angular form, by a lintel, more or 
 less recessed, which rests upon the jambs, — as shown in the two next 
 illustrations, — the first representing one of the angular-headed aper-
 
 ON THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 415 
 
 tiu"es ill tlie uppermost story of the Tower of Cashel, which is fiu'ther 
 remarkable in having its angular head formed of a single stone ; and 
 the second, a semicircular-headed aperture in the Tower of Dysert. 
 
 
 Moreover, many of the angular-headed apertures have recessed 
 semicircular arches, instead of the more usual horizontal lintels, such 
 
 arches being sometimes formed of a single stone, and at other times of 
 several stones, on the regular principle of the arch, — as in the prefixed
 
 416 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 example, showing the large aperture placed directly over the door- 
 way of the Round Tower of Eoscrea : and, I should further remark, 
 that these large apertiu'es, or second doorways, are almost always of 
 this angidur-headed form. In one mstance alone are the apertiu-es 
 
 recessed, namely, those of the small 
 Tower attached to the chiu'ch called 
 Teampull Finghin, at Clonmacnoise, 
 — a building obviously of much later 
 date than the generality of the Round 
 Towers, and which presents an equally 
 singvdar peculiarity in the construction 
 of its roof, as compared with those of 
 the other Towers, namely, its ma- 
 sonry being of that description called herring-bone, or, i-ather, herring- 
 bone ashlar, and the only instance of such construction which these 
 buildings now exhibit. Having treated of this chiu'ch so much in 
 detail, and given its ground plan at p. 267, I am induced here to 
 annex an illustration exhibiting its present state. 
 
 ^** S-— - - 
 
 This Tower, as well as the chm-ch Avith which it is connected, 
 is wholly built of ashlar masonry, of a fine sandstone, laid in hori-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 417 
 
 zontal courses, and is of unusually small size ; its height, including 
 the conical roof, being but fifty-six feet, its cii'cimiference thirty-nine 
 feet, and the thickness of its wall, three feet. Its interior exhibits 
 rests for five floors, each story, as usual, being lighted by a small 
 apertui'e, except the uppermost, which, it is remarkable, has but 
 two openings, one facing the north, and the other, the south. These 
 openings are also remarkable for then- small size ; and, in form, some 
 are rectanguhu', and others semicii'cular-headed. 
 
 Since the preceding sheets were written, the search for interments 
 in the Towers has been prosecuted with great zeal, not only in tlie 
 southern but in the northern counties of Ireland ; biit the results 
 have not been such as to require any further observation in tliis 
 place, though I shall notice them, hereafter, in connexion with my 
 descriptions of those Towers, where I shall prove that, whatever 
 may have been the ages of the bones stated to have been Ibund be- 
 neath them, the ToAvers, at least, had no pretensions to an early 
 antiquity. And yet, these discoveries have been deemed so conclu- 
 sive, as settling the antiquity and uses of the Towers, that the northern 
 and southern antiquaries have each set up their respective claims to 
 the honour due to first discoverers, and entered into a controversy 
 wliich may yet rival, if not throw into the shade, the celebrated con- 
 tention of the Irish bards of the seventeenth century, for the rival 
 glory of Leth Cuinn and Leth Mogha, or the northern and southern 
 halves of Ireland. With this conti'oversy, however, I have nothing 
 to do, — though, as a native of the intennechate province of Leinster, 
 I think I might claim from both the honoiu- of, at least, originating 
 these investigations for my own locality', as I believe it cannot be 
 questioned that Sir William Bethani's statement as to the discovery 
 of a pagan lU'n, filled with bimied bones, in the Tower of Timahoe, 
 gave the first Imit to these laborious investigators, both in the south 
 and noith. And on tliis statement of Sir William Betliam I am 
 advised to make a few comments, though, in truth, it appears to me 
 scarcely worthy of such notice. This discovery, long since put for- 
 ward by Sir- William Betham, in various ways, has been finally thus 
 stated, in the second volmneofhis Etruria-Celtica : 
 
 " The reliqiies of Buddliist saints, even a tooth, or collar bone, were held in such 
 great sanctity and veneration, as to induce the pious zeal of kings to erect towers over 
 them. In this respect our Irish towers also are singixlarly identical. 
 
 3 H
 
 418 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Some years since, Mr. Middleton, \vlio lives in the neiglibourliood of Timahoe, 
 in the Queen's County, told me that a peasant having frequently dreamed that treasure 
 was hid in the round tower of that place, induced two otliers to join him, and went 
 at nio-ht, and having removed the earth, came to a flag-stone, which they raised, and 
 discovered an urn with bones therein. Mr. Middleton assured me he had often con- 
 versed with those men, and had no doubt, whatever, of the truth and accuracy of the 
 statement. I mentioned this fact to Mr. George Petrie, but he repudiated the idea, as 
 utterly unworthy of belief. 
 
 " Some years afterwards I became acquainted with Mr. Moore, of Cremorgen, near 
 Timahoe, and I requested him to inquire into the facts. Shortly after I received from 
 that gentleman a letter, of which the following is a copy, fully bearing out Mr. Mid- 
 dleton's statement : — 
 
 " ' My dear Sir, — When I was last in town, you expressed a wish that I should 
 make some inquiries respecting the Eound Tower of Timahoe, in the Queen's County ; 
 I have accordingly done so, and find that about fifty years ago, some persons were 
 tempted to dig within the Tower in search of money, when, having gone as deep as 
 three feet, they found a flag, and over it a very large rib, which they supposed to be 
 that of a horse, on finding which, the search was discontinued till many years after, 
 when some persons again commenced digging in the Tower, when having gone down 
 about three or four feet farther than the former persons they found a flag (stone), and 
 under it an earthen vessel filled with bones, having the appearance of being burned. 
 This circumstance caused no svirprise in the persons searching, as in almost every 
 sand-hill in the neighbourhood (of which there are a great number), similar earthen 
 vessels, filled with bones, have been found, at from four to eight feet down. I received 
 this account from eye-witnesses, on vrhom I could depend. 
 
 " ' Believe me to be, your's very truly, 
 
 " ' Pierce Moore.' 
 
 " This letter, in my mind, demolishes the notion of these buildings being belfries, 
 or even Christian buildings. Cremation, so far as history informs us, never obtained 
 as a mode of sepulture among Christians, therefore, urns and burned bones being 
 found buried within the Tower of Timahoe, demonstrates an earlier period for the 
 erection of the Eound Towers." — Etruria-Celtica, vol. ii. pp.200, 201. 
 
 On this statement, then, I have in the first place to remark, that 
 I acknowledge that it is quite tnie, that when Sir Wilham Betham 
 first acquainted me with this alleged fiict, I did "repudiate the idea, 
 as utterly unAvorthy of belief;" and now that it is, as Sir William 
 Betham supposes, proved by Mr. INIoore's letter, I must say, without 
 imputing anything like intentional misrepresentation to that gentle- 
 man, that I totally reject the tale of his informants. If a pagan vu-n 
 were found in this Tower, how comes it that, after all the recent ex- 
 plorations of so many other Towers, no second urn has been found ? 
 And, if the discovery of cremated bones be necessary to prove the 
 pagan origin of the Towers, how comes it that none of the bones found
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 419 
 
 ill the Other Towers were bitrned? — for, as to the urn said to have 
 been found in the Round Tower of Brechin, I tliink I may say, — tcj use 
 a favourite phrase of Sir William's own, — I have demolished that. 
 And even if an urn were foiuid within this Tower of Timahoe, would 
 it necessarily follow that all the Towers Avere built as pagan sepul- 
 chres? And might not the Avail of the tower have been built around 
 one of those low sand liills, Avhich, Mr. Moore says, are so numerous 
 in its vicinity, and of which each has similar sepidchral deposits ? Is 
 a question of tliis nature to be thus tlisposed of by a hearsay storj^ 
 of more than fifty years' standing, in opposition, as Sir William 
 Betham himself acknowledges, to the evidence of the authentic annals 
 of the country ? Has this story even one circumstance connected 
 with it, that would entitle it to credit? Does it condescend even to 
 give the name of the finder of the urn, or to offer evidence of any 
 kind that it Avas a pagan sepidchral vase, and not a specimen of 
 that characteristic, but more modern glazed pottery, found in the 
 ToAver of Brechin ? The truth is, that it Avould be difficult, as I 
 knoAv from experience, to find a peasant, or even farmer in Ireland, 
 Avho Avould knoAV Avhat the Avord urn means, or who, if they saAv such 
 a thing, Avould apply any other term to it than crock. And, I should 
 add, that there is scarcely a ruined tower, castle, or abbey in Ireland, 
 of Avhich a similar story is not related. It is one of the popular 
 legends of the country; the crock of gookl seen by night being always 
 couA'erted by the "good people," or "gentry," into a, crock of bones, 
 — burned or unburned the legend sayeth not, — in the light of day. 
 
 But — to be more serious, if possible — Sir William Betham has 
 been unhappy in his selection of this ToAver of Timahoe, as the 
 monmiient, in Avhich the alleged discovery was made Avhich Avas to 
 set, Avhat he calls, " the long agitated qucestio ve.mta" at rest for ever, 
 for, unfortunately, it so happens, that this very Tower is, as I haA^e 
 already shown, one of those wliich- is proved, by all its architectural 
 features, to be a building not earlier than the nmth or tenth century; 
 and though Sir William Betham has not hitherto been able to per- 
 ceive this fact, I need have very little apprehension that it Avill noAv 
 be acknoAvledged by the true antiquary everyAvhere. In truth, the 
 Christian architectvu-e of this Tower is so incontrovertibly marked, 
 that even the fliscovery of a pagan urn in it, if such were established, 
 Avoidd no more prove it to be a pagan ToAver, than the finding a 
 
 3 H 2"
 
 420 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 purse of ancient Roman money in a man's pocket, would prove that 
 man to be an ancient Roman, or " the Wandering Jew." 
 
 There is one other statement in this work of Sir William Betliam, 
 which it is necessary I should notice. It will be recollected by those 
 who have read the Fu'st Part of this Inquuy, that the advocates of 
 the several erroneous theories advanced, have each found, or supposed 
 they found, a name for the Towers in the Irish language, which 
 proved the truth of thek hypothesis. But it remained for Su- Wil- 
 liam Betham to discover, that not only all these theorists were in 
 error, but, also, that the wliole body of Irish writers, annahsts, law 
 commentators, hagiologists, and poets, were alike ignorant of the form 
 and meaning of the name applied to these Towers in then- own lan- 
 guage, and which, according to Sir William Betham, signified nothing 
 else than monuments for the dead. But I must allow Sii" William 
 Betham to speak for liimself : 
 
 " I shall, however, remark upou a vulgar error wliicli has had great currency among 
 Irish antiquaries, who have asserted that they were called clojceac, steeples, belfries. 
 Bells are of comparatively recent introduction into Ireland, and clocks, from which the 
 word has evidently been derived, still more modern. This blunder has arisen from 
 ignorance of the language. I have a memorandujn in an Irish MS., that they were 
 called by the people leaccaib, that is, monuments of the dead, the sound of which has 
 been mistaken by those who but imjjerfectly knew the language ; many writers have 
 been misled by this. An error once promulgated by an antiquary of reputation, takes 
 such hold on public opinion, that it soon becomes an established dogma, to qviestion 
 which, even although palpably erroneous, is sure to provoke almost persecution." — 
 Etruria-Celtica, vol. ii. p. 210. 
 
 As I should be sorry that Sir William Betham should include me 
 in the hst of his persecutors, — for I have had, unfortunately, myself, 
 some experience of the unamiable coiu-ses to which persecutors, on 
 account of difference in speculative opinions, can sometimes resort, — 
 I shall allow this reference to a memorandvmi by an unknown hand, 
 in a nameless manuscript which has not yet seen the light, to pass 
 without comment; but, in the hope that it may induce him to brino- 
 it forward, and permit us to judge of its age and real value, I shall 
 conclude by submitting to his serious attention the following extract 
 from the woi-k of a historian and critical antiquary of deserved cele- 
 brity ; and which, I am obliged to acknowledge, expresses an opinion, 
 but too well founded, as to the want of literary honesty exhibited by 
 some Avriters on Irish subjects :
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 421 
 
 " Vague references to MSS. of vague antiquity form the main chicane of Irish au- 
 thors ; who are so dull, as not to discern that this is never allowed in such questions, 
 but that if a MS. be quoted, its age, place where kept, page, and column, are always 
 accurately marked by the antiquaries of all other countries, and the words themselves 
 always produced, with a literal translation."— /'//(^■er^fwj's Enquiry into the Histori/ of 
 Scotland, vol. ii. p. 20. 
 
 SUBSECTION IV. 
 
 HOUSES. 
 
 Amongst the minor edifices which were required in the ancient 
 rehgious establishments of the L'ish, the houses or cells of the abbot 
 and brotherhood require a short notice. To those whose eyes have 
 been familiar with the great monasteries of the Continent and the 
 British islands, erected in the twelfth century, and which usually 
 exhibit, in one great structure, the various accommodations necessary 
 for a wealthy religious community, it always excites feelings of surprise 
 when they find nothing of the kind at any of the places celebrated 
 in Irish ecclesiastical history, as the abodes of large numbers of reli- 
 gious persons ; and it has necessarily led to much scepticism as to 
 the authenticity of those authorities relied on for the facts. At Glen- 
 dalough, for example, where, from its secluded situation and deser- 
 tion, such buildings, or vestiges of them, might naturally be expected 
 to remain, if they had ever existed, there is not even a trace of such 
 buildings to be found within the ancient city. The fact, indeed, 
 seems to be, that prior to the close of the twelfth century, there were 
 no great architectural structures designed to give accommodation to 
 the brotherhood, as found in those erected subsequently to that pe- 
 riod. It is clear, however, that in the earliest monastic establishments 
 in Ireland, the abbot, clergy, and monks, had each their separate cells, 
 which served them as habitations, and that such other houses, as the 
 house for the accommodation of strangers, the kitchen, &c., Avere all 
 separate edifices, stuTounded by a cashel, or circular wall, and form- 
 ing a kind of monastery, or ecclesiastical town, like those of the early 
 Christians in the East, and known among the Egj'ptians by the name 
 oi Laura. Such monastic establishments are noticed by our own 
 Adamnan, in his celebrated work, " De Situ Terras Sanctce," as in the 
 
 following passage : 
 
 " De Monte Thahor. 
 " * * * * in cuius amoena summitate ampla planities, sylva prsegrandi circum- 
 cincta, habetur. Cuius in medio campo Monachorum inest grande Monasterium, et 
 plurimae eorundem cellula;. * * *
 
 422 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " Iq cadem quoq ; superiori platca, non parvii ajdifioij ternse fundatfe sunt Ecclesise 
 celebres; * * * Itaq; supra mcmorati monastery, et trium Ecclesiarum »dificia, cum 
 cellulis Monachorum, lapideo omnia circumueniuntur muro." — Lib. 2, cap. xxiv. 
 pp. 85, 87. 
 
 Thus also in Venerable Bede's abstract of Adamnan's work, a 
 
 similar establishment is noticed, which is not found in the printed 
 
 edition of the original : 
 
 " In superiori montis Sion planicie, Monacborum cellulEe frequentes Ecclesiam mag- 
 nain circumdant illic (vt perhibent) ab Apostolis fundatum, eo quod ibi Spiritum 
 Sanctum acceperit, ibiq ; sancta Maria obierit." — Cap. iv. 
 
 The origin and antiquity of this kind of monastic establishment, 
 which appears to have been so general in Ireland, is well explained 
 by Bingham, the learned author of the Origines Ecclesiasticce, in his 
 Vllth Book, Chap, ii., which treats ''Of the several Sorts of Monies and 
 their Ways of living in the Church!' 
 
 "Sect. 2. — The first, called Anchorets, 'Araxa^tiTxi." 
 
 " The first sort were commonly known by the name of anchorets, from their re- 
 tiring from society, and living in private cells in the wilderness. Such were Paul, and 
 Anthony, and HUarion, the first founders of the monastic life in Egypt and Palestine, 
 from whom other monks took their model. Some of these lived in caves, — h o-ir»A«/oi?, — 
 as Chrysostom'' says the monks of Mount Casius, near Antioch, did ; and others in little 
 tents or cells. 'Oixis-xoi, Evagrius** calls them; and Chrysostom, 2xi)»ai, tabernacles. 
 When many of these were placed together in the same wilderness at some distance 
 from one another, they were all called by one common name, Laura ; which as Eva- 
 grius*^ informs us, difiered from a Coenobium or community in this, that a Laura was 
 many cells divided from each other, where every monk provided for himself ; but a 
 Coenobium was but one habitation, where the monks lived in society, and had all 
 things in common. Epiphanius says'^, Laura or Lubra was the name of a street or 
 district, where a church stood at Alexandria ; and it is probable, that from thence the 
 name was taken to signify a multitude of cells in the wilderness, united, as it were, 
 in a certain district, yet so divided as to make up many separate habitations ; 
 whereas a Cosnobium was more like a single house for many monks to dwell in." 
 
 Such collections of anachor-etical cells are often distinctly noticed 
 
 in the lives of the Irish saints, — as in the following passage from 
 
 the Life of St. Carthach, or Mochuda, of Lismore, pubhshed in the 
 
 Acta Sanctorum by the Bollandists, Mali, Tom. 3 : 
 
 " Cunotis ergo Deum in Sanctis laudantibus, ad locum eis concessum, scUicetLis- 
 
 morum nomine, pervenerunt, ac cellulas contemplationi a'ptas sibi construxerunt." 
 
 pp. 377, 378. 
 
 ' " Chrysos. Hom. 17, ad Pop. Antioch. p. 215." ^ " Evagr. lib. i. c. 21." 
 ' "Evagr. ibid." i "Epiph. Hter. 69, n. 1."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 423 
 
 And, that such too was the kind of an'angement in the monastic 
 estabUshments founded by the Irish ecclesiastics on the Continent, 
 appears from several passages in the lives of these distinguished per- 
 sons, — as in the following notice of the monastery founded by St. Gall 
 at Brigantium, or Brigents, given in the life of that saint by Wallifrid 
 Strabo, as published by Messingham : 
 
 " lUis igitur illuc ire cupientibus, paraviit Presbyter nauiculam et imposuit re- 
 miges. A^'enerabilia aute Abbas cu comitibus Gallo ct quodam Diacono naue con- 
 scendens, invocato nomine Domini ad locum desideratum via recta peruenit. Egressi 
 de nauicula, Oratorium in honorem Sanctse Aurelia; constructum adierunt, quod 
 postmodum B. Columbanus in priscum renouanit bonore. Post oratione cum per 
 gyrum oculis cuncta Ulustrassent, placuit qualitas illis et situs locorum. Deinde 
 oratione prajmissa, circa oratorium mansiunculas sibi fecerunt." — Lib. i. cap. vi. p. 259. 
 
 And such an humble establishment, as we also find from the 
 same work, was the original monastery of St. Gall, which afterwards 
 became so celebrated for its wealth and splendour. 
 
 " Tempore subsequeuti coepit virtutum cultor eximius Oratorium construere, man- 
 siunculis per gyrum dispositis ad commanendum Fratribtis, quorum iam duodecim 
 Monastici sanctitate propositi roboratos, doctrina et exemplis ad reternoruni desideria 
 concitauit." — lb., cap. xxv. p. 270. 
 
 That such structures, in the northern and eastern parts of Ire- 
 land, were usually of perishable materials, such as wood or clay, we 
 may well infer from the fact, that few vestiges of them remain to us. 
 But, in the western and southern portions of the island, in which the 
 custom of building with stone seems to have prevailed far more gene- 
 rally, Ave have still remaining abundant examples, not only of such 
 detached monastic habitations, but of all the other buildings neces- 
 sary in these early establishments. From these remains it appears, 
 that the ecclesiastical houses for the various ranks, and for every piir- 
 pose required, were visually of a round or oval form ; and, that they 
 differed in nothing from the ordinary buildings in use among the 
 inhabitants generally : nor do I think that there was any other dif- 
 ference, than that of material, between these and the houses usual 
 in the other parts of Ireland ; and, indeed, we have evidence, in a few 
 examples still remaining, that ecclesiastical houses were occasionally 
 erected of stone in those parts also, as in the cell of St. Kevin, now 
 dilapidated, situated at a little distance from the Eifert church at 
 Glendalough, and which is so accurately pointed out in the life of 
 that saint, published by the BoUandists, as being erected by himself.
 
 424 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " constituit mansiunculam ibi in loco angusto, inter montem et stag- 
 num sibi, ubi erant denste arbores et clari rivuli." — See the Avhole 
 passage quoted at p. 172. And such, we may well believe, was the 
 tugurinm or hut of St. Columba, at lona, which is mentioned in the 
 ancient lives of that saint, by Cumian and Adamnan. Of such stone 
 buildings I have already given sufficient specimens to serve as illus- 
 trations, in Section II. of this Inquiry, pp. 130, 131. 
 
 These houses, with the exception of the houses of the abbots, and 
 those for the accommodation of strangers, are usually so small as to 
 be only fit to accommodate a single person ; and from the absence of 
 any building sufficiently large for a refectory, it may be inferred, that 
 these establishments were usually of that anachoretical kind, described 
 by Bingham, in which, — in accordance with the seventeenth chapter of 
 the Synod, called of St. Patrick, — the monks, without earthly pro- 
 perty, led a solitary life, under the authority of a bishop or abbot. 
 In one instance only have I discovered, in such monastic establish- 
 ments, the ruins of a building which would have been large enough 
 to serve the piu-pose of a refectory. It is situated near the monastic 
 chui'ches of St. Colmau Mac Duach, at Kilmurvey, in the great island 
 of Aran, and is an oval structure, without cement, of fifty by thirty- 
 seven feet, external measurement, with a wall of six feet in thickness. 
 
 Of such anachoretical, or, heremitical establishments, one of the 
 most interesting and best preserved in Ireland, or perhaps in Europe, 
 is that of St. Fechin, on Ardoilen, or High Island, an uninhabited and 
 almost inaccessible island off the coast of Connamara, on the north- 
 west of the county of Galway. Of tliis curious monastic establish- 
 ment I transcribe the following account from my notes, made in the 
 year 1820, when I visited the island, in the summer of that year, Avith 
 my respected friend, Mr. Henry Blake of Einvile. 
 
 " Ardoilen, or High Island, is situated about six miles from the 
 coast of Omey, and contains about eighty acres. From its height, 
 and the overhanging character of its cliffs, it is only accessible in the 
 calmest weather, and even then, the landing, which can be only made 
 by springing on a shelving portion of the cliff from the boat, is not 
 wholly free from danger: but, the adventurer Avill be well rewarded 
 for such risk ; for, in addition to the singular antiquities Avliich the 
 island contains, it affords views of the Connamara and Mayo scenery, 
 of insiu'passable beauty. The chmxh here is among the rudest of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOAVERS OF IRELAND. 425 
 
 the ancient edifices whicli the fervour of the Christian religion raised 
 on its introduction into Ireland. Its internal measurement, in length 
 and breadth, is but twelve feet by ten, and in height ten feet. The 
 doorway is two feet -wide, and four feet six inches high, and its hori- 
 zontal lintel is insci'ibed with a cross, like that on the lintel of the 
 doorway of St. Fechin's great church at Fore, and those of other 
 doorways of the same period. The east window, which is the only one 
 in the building, is semicircular-headed, and is but one foot high, ahd 
 six inclies wide. The altar still remains, and is covered -with offerings, 
 such as nails, buttons, and shells, but chiefly fishing hooks, the most 
 characteristic tributes of the calling of the votaries. On the east side 
 of the chapel is an ancient stone sepulchi'C, like a pagan kistvaen, 
 composed of large mica slates, with a cover of limestone. The stones 
 at the ends are rudely sculptured with ornamental crosses and a hu- 
 man figure, and the covering slab was also carved, and probably was 
 inscribed with the name of the Saint for whom the tomb was designed, 
 but its surface is now much effaced ; and as this sepulchre appears to 
 have been made at the same time as the chapel, it seems probable that 
 it is the tomb of the original founder of this religious establishment. 
 The chapel is surrounded by a wall, allowing a passage of four feet 
 between them ; and from this, a covered passage, about fifteen feet 
 long, by three feet wide, leads to a cell, which was probably the 
 abbot's habitation. This cell, which is nearly circular and dome- 
 roofed, is internally seven feet by six, and eight high. It is built, 
 like those in Aran, without cement, and with much rude art. On 
 the east side there is a larger cell, externally round, but internally a 
 square of nine feet, and seven feet six inches in height. Covdd this 
 have been a refectory ? The doorways in these cells are two feet 
 four inches in width, and but three feet six inches in height. On 
 the other side of the chapel are a number of smaller cells, which 
 were only large enough to contain each a single person. They are 
 but six feet long, thi'ee feet Avide, and four feet high, and most of 
 them are now covered with rubbish. These formed a Laura, like 
 the habitations of the Egyptian ascetics. There is also a covered 
 gallery, or passage, twenty-four feet long, four feet wide, and four feet 
 six inches high, and its entrance doorway is but two feet three 
 inches square. The use of this it is difficult to conjecture. Coidd 
 it have been a storehouse for provisions ? 
 
 3 I
 
 426 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 " The monastery is surrounded by an unceniented stone wall, 
 nearly circular, enclosing an area of one hundred and eight feet in dia- 
 meter. The entrance into this enclosure is at the south-east side, and 
 from it leads a stone passage, twenty-one feet in length, and three in 
 width. At each side of this entrance, and outside the great circular 
 wall, were circular buildings, probably intended for the use of pil- 
 grims ; but though what remains of them is of stone, they do not appear 
 to have been roofed with that material. Within the enclosure are 
 several rude stone crosses, probably sepulchral, and flags sculptured 
 with rude crosses, but without letters. There is also a granite globe, 
 measiu'ing about twenty inches in diameter. 
 
 " In the surrounding ground, there are several rude stone altars, or 
 penitential stations, on which are small stone crosses; and on the south 
 side of the enclosiu'e there is a small lake, apparently artificial, from 
 which an artificial outlet is formed, which turned a small mill : and, 
 along the west side of this lake, there is an artificial stone path or 
 causeway, two hundred and twenty yards in length, which leads to 
 another stone cell or house, of an oval form, at the south side of the 
 valley in which the monastery is situated. This house is eighteen feet 
 long, and nine wide, and there is a small Availed enclosure joined to 
 it, which was probably a garden. There is also adjoining to it, a 
 stone altar surmounted by a cross, and a small lake, which, like that 
 already noticed, seems to have been formed by art." 
 
 That the monastery on High Island Avas an Eremitical establish- 
 ment, can be pi'oved from historical evidences ; and that it Avas so 
 considered by the learned O' Flaherty, Avill appear from the following 
 notice of the island, extracted from his account of the Territory of 
 West Connaught, written in 1684, and preserved in MS. in the library 
 of Trinity College, Dublin. 
 
 " In the Western Ocean beyond Imay, three smaller islands appear, viz. Cruagh- 
 
 ar-ne-may, called by Sir James Ware, Insula Cunkulorum, for its store of rabbits 
 
 (Ware Antiq., cap. 28, p. 287). It is a bane to dogs, which die on the spot or soon 
 after coming out. The next is Olen na mbrahar, or the Friar's Island. The furthest 
 off is is Ard olen, the high island (Colgan, 20 Jan. p. 135, cap. 22), anciently called 
 Innishiarthar, i. e. the West Island. It is unaccessable, except on calm settled weather, 
 and so steep that it is hard, after landing in it, to climb to the top, where there is a well 
 called Brian Boromy (King of Ireland) his well, and a standing water, on the brook 
 whereof was a mill. There is extant a chappell and a large round wall, and also that 
 kind of stone building called cloghan, wherein yearly an Eyrie of Hawkes is found.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELA^^D. 427 
 
 Here St. Fecliin founded au abbey, as he did at Imay. It is also celebrated fur the 
 eremetical retirement of St. Gormgall, a very spiritual person and of I'enowned sanc- 
 tity, who died the 5th of August, 1017, and was there interred, together with diverse 
 other holy hermits, that lived with him. Ten of them are named by Father Colganus 
 out of an ancient poem in liis Praise extant (Colg. 21, Marcii. cap. 7, at Vit, St. Endci, 
 page 715, ad fiiiem)." 
 
 In a note on the passage here referred to b}- O'Flalicrty, rehitive 
 to the foundation of this monastery by St. Fecliin, Colgan writes as 
 follows : 
 
 "In olid Insula, qiice olim Inis-iarthuir, hodie Ard-oilen, c. 22, hasc Insula est etiam 
 in Oceano, distatque paucis leucis versus Oocidentem ab Immagia, eamque post S. 
 Fechinum sua anachoresi, et arctissima vita plurimura nobilitauit S. Gormgalius, vir 
 celebratK sanctitatis, qui obijt an. 1017. die 5. Augusti, quo die iuxta Marianum eius 
 seruatur natalis; de cuius eucomijs et reliquijs extat pa;nes me B. Coi'rani, qui eodem 
 tempore floruit, elegans et pijssimum poema. Vide Quatuor Magistros in Annalibus 
 ad annum 1017. quo dicunt Beatum Gormgalium Archisinedrum, siue principalem 
 Patrem spiritualem totius Hiberuia; obijsse." — Ada SS., p. 141, n. 13. 
 
 And again, in his account of the churches on tlie Aran islands, — 
 where, by a strange mistake, he confounds this island of Ardoilen with 
 Inis Airthir, the smallest of the islands of Aran, — he preserves to us 
 the names of several of the hermits who resided here with St. Gorm- 
 gall, about the close of the tenth century. 
 
 " Ibidem etiam colitur S. Gormgcdins die 5. ^itifusti : De quo Quatuor Magistri in 
 Annalibus ad annum 1017. scribUt, S. Gormgalius de Ard-oilen, praicipuus Ilibernorum 
 Synedrus, siue Spiritualis Pater obiit: Memorat etiam Beatus Cororanus eiusdem sceculi 
 author in suo Panegyrico de S. Gormgalio ibi quiescant Sancti, Mo'Isutkunius, Celecha- 
 rius, Dubthacus, Dunadach, CeUachus, Tressachus, Vltanus, Maelmartinus, Coromacchus, 
 Conmachus, et alij plures." — Acta SS., p. 715. 
 
 The preceding facts leave little doubt, I think, that this monas- 
 tery on High Island was for monks of the hermit class ; and it seems 
 very probable that most of the monasteries in suuilar insular situations, 
 of which the ruins still remain, in Ireland, were of the same descrip- 
 tion. But it is obvious that there were at the same time in Ireland 
 almost innumerable coeuobitic estabhshments, in which vast numbers 
 of monks lived in commimities, and had every thing in common, — as at 
 Bangor, where, it is stated, there were no less than three thousand 
 monks ; and Rahiu, where St. Carthagh had eight hundred and sixty- 
 seven monks, who supported themselves by the labour of then- own 
 hands. Yet it seems certain that such communities, unhke those in 
 the East, of whom Epiphanius speaks, thd not dwell in any single 
 
 3 I 2
 
 428 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 bmlcling, but in a multitudt^ of separate cells, arranged in streets in 
 the vicinity of the church ; and hence tradition points out to this day 
 the situation of such streets, adjacent to the abbey chiu'clies, and 
 called such in many parts of Ireland. Such communities would, 
 however, require at least one large building, to answer the purpose 
 of a common refectory ; and that they had such is proved by innu- 
 merable references in the Irish annals, and in the oldest of the Irish 
 ecclesiastical authorities. It will be seen that the name of such a 
 building was Prointiteach, or dining-house, as in the following example 
 from an ancient poem in the Leahhar Breac, fol. 131, a. b., called the 
 Rule of Mochuda, of Raithin : 
 
 "Riajail pjiomncije lap pin, 
 
 Ni len Dia fiab ; 
 
 Ip la h-abba6 co peib 5puD, 
 
 tTleip caicli lap iia njpuo. 
 
 In can benaip cluiclne, 
 
 Ppoinncije nach Dip, 
 
 Ma bpucuip pop cluinicep, 
 
 Ciajaic uli FP'IT'" 
 " The Eiile of the proiiintech after that, 
 
 Not miserable to be mentioned ; 
 
 And with the abbot of good dignity. 
 
 The dish of all is according to their grade. 
 
 Wlien the little bell is rung, 
 
 In the proinntech which is not small, 
 
 The brothers who hear it. 
 
 Let them come at it [i. e. at its sound]." 
 
 The following references to refectories occiu' in the Annals of 
 Ulster : 
 
 "A. D. 911, or 912. niupebach mac Copmaic, ppmcepp Dpoma Inapckiinn, 7 
 pijoomna ConaiUi, .1. ^aipbir, mac llluilmopba, bo opcain ppi Oaijio 1 ppoinnj 
 Opoma. 
 
 "A. D. 911, or 912. Muredach, son of Cormac, chief [abbot] of Druim Inasclainn, 
 and the heir-apparent of Conailli, i. e. Gairbit, son of Maelmordha, were destroyed by 
 fire in the refectory of Druim" [Inasclainn]. 
 
 " A. D. 971. Ceallach h-Ua Nuabac Do mapbub Do ^haUaib 1 n-Dopiip in 
 ppoinnci^i." 
 
 "A. D. 971. Ceallach Ua Nuadhat was slain by the Danes in the doorway of the 
 refectory." 
 
 And, that such, buildings must have been in use from the intro- 
 duction of Christianity into Ireland, would appear from the foUo^Wng 
 reference to the Rule of St. Patrick's refectory, given by Colgan, in
 
 ON THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 429 
 
 his account of St. Patrick's writincjs, and which hi' laiilcs amonjrst the 
 literary works of that saint. 
 
 " Rcflidam aliam Riegwil Prointige Patric, id est, Re(i>ihm Refectorij Sancti Patricii, 
 vuh]n,nuncHj>ata7n: quaj extat Londiiii inter Codices MS. Nobilissimi viri Dom. Fiugini 
 Cartliaii, lit ex litteris nostri Patris Brendani Connor, qui opus pcrlegit, accepi." — 
 2'rias Thaum., p. 214. 
 
 I may add that, from the preceding reference, we may, with every 
 probability, consider as the proinnteach, or refectory, the building at 
 Ai'magh, called, in St. Evin's Life of St. Patrick, aidificium sive aula 
 major, and which is described as being thirty feet in length. — See 
 the passage given in full at p. 384. 
 
 Such buildings, however, though probably differing in form from 
 the cells, — which, as I have already stated, seem to have been of a 
 round figiu-e, while these were probably quadi'angular, — were, like 
 the smaller houses, generally, if not always, erected of perishable 
 materials, and would, consequently, leave no vestiges to present times. 
 And hence the occurrence of so many notices, in the Annals, of the 
 burnings, not of any single structures called monasteries, but of the 
 various and distinct houses which constituted such establishments in 
 those times. As an example of such notices, I may refer to the ac- 
 count of the burning of Armagh, already given at page 151 ; and, as 
 an additional example, I take the following record, from the Annals 
 of the Four Masters, of the bm-ning of Kells, at the year 1156 : 
 
 "A. D. 1156. CenanDup oo lopccuo, cijiB cemplaib, o cpoip Dopaip upooini 
 CO Siopoicc." 
 
 "A. D. 1 156. Kells was burned, both houses and churches, from the cross at the 
 door of the urdom to Siofog." 
 
 In these great coenobitical monasteries, it is probable, also, that the 
 houses of the abbots were of a quadrangular form, and more than 
 the ordinary size. The Irish annals furnish us with several references 
 to such buildings, as in the following example from the Annals of 
 the Four Masters: 
 
 "A. D. 1116. Copcctc mop niuriian, Inileac luBaip, oepreach Plhaoiliopa h-J 
 6hpolcliuin, Qcab bo Cctinoi^, Cluuin lopuipo, cecicli n-(d)bci6 mop Qpbo madia 
 CO K-picic ce^ uimme, 7 blob mop do 6iop mop mochuDa do lopccao 1 D-copac 
 Copjaip na blioDna po." 
 
 "A. D. 1116. The great Cork in Munster, Imleach lubliair [Emly], the oratory 
 of Maoliosa O'Brolchain, Achadli bo Cainnigh [Aghaboe], Cluain loraird [Clonard], 
 tke great house of the abbots at Armagh, with twenty houses about it, and a large por- 
 tion of Lismore of Mochuda, were burned in the beginning of the Lent of this year."
 
 430 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE OBIGIN AND USES 
 
 In like manner the great house of St. Bridget, or house of the 
 abbess, at Kildare, is referred to in the same annals, at the year 962, 
 and in those of Ulster at 963, as already quoted at page 231. 
 
 It is most probable, however, that such buildings, like the smaller 
 cells of the monks and nuns, were usually, in most parts of Ireland, 
 constructed of wood, as no remains of them have been preserved, un- 
 less such stone buildings as that called St. Columb's House at Kells, 
 and that called St. Kevin's House at Glendalough, both of which 
 combined the purpose of an oratory with that of a habitation, may 
 be considered as examples of such structures. That these buildings, 
 which are so similar, in most respects, to each other, are of a very 
 early antiquity, can scarcely admit of doubt, — indeed I see no reason 
 to question their being of the times of the celebrated ecclesiastics 
 whose names they bear ; and, as they may be said to form a distinct 
 class among our ecclesiastical structures, a notice of them will not, 
 I think, be out of place here, even though the fact as to their having 
 
 been abbots' houses, may not, in the absence of historical evidence, 
 be satisfactorily pi'oved. I shall first notice St. Columb's House at 
 Kells, of which I prefix an illustration.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWEKS OF IRELAND 431 
 
 This remarkable building is situated immediately outside the 
 boundary wall of the cemetery, on the north side, and is, in its 
 ground-plan, of a simple oblong form, measuring, externall}^, twenty- 
 three feet nine inches in length, and twenty-one feet in breadth, and 
 the walls are three feet ten inches in thickness. It is roofed with 
 stone, and measures in height, from its base to the vertex of the gable, 
 thirty-eight feet; and, as the height of the roof and width of the side 
 walls are nearly equal, the gables form very nearly equilateral tri- 
 angles. The lower part of the building is arched seraicircnlarly 
 with stone, and has, at tlie east end, a small semicircular-headed 
 window, about fifteen feet from the ground ; and, at the south side, 
 there is a second window, with a triangular or straight-lined head, 
 about the same height from the ground, and measuring one foot 
 nine inches in height. These Avindows splay considerably on the in- 
 side. The present entrance doorway of this building, which is placed 
 in the south wall, is obviously not original, or ancient ; and the 
 original doorway, which is now built up, was placed in the west end, 
 and at a height of eight feet from the ground. The apartment placed 
 between the arched floor and the slanting roof is six feet in height, 
 and appears to have been originally divided into three apartments, 
 of unequal size, of which the largest is lighted by a small aperture, 
 at the east end. In this chamber there is a flat stone, six feet long, 
 and one foot thick, now called St. Columb's penitential bed. 
 
 The building at Glendalough, called St. Kevin's House, might 
 appear, on a hasty inspection, to have very little in common with the 
 building at Kells ; for, having had a chancel and sacristy attached to 
 it, together with a small round tmTet belfry springing from its west 
 gable, it would be at once considered as altogether designed for a 
 church. But, on a more careful examination of the building we 
 plainly discover that all these featm'es, though of very great age, are 
 but adjuncts of later date to the original body of the building. The 
 recent Avanton destruction of the chancel has enabled us to perceive 
 that the latter, as well as the sacristy connected with it, had formed 
 no part of the original building, which, like St. Columbkille's house 
 at Kells, consisted only of a nave, or large apartment, arched, below, 
 and a small croft immediately under the roof 
 
 By a reference to the annexed view of this building, as it exists 
 at present, looking nearly due west, it will be at once seen that both
 
 432 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 the chancel and tlie sacristy were subsequent structures, the masonry 
 of the walls not being, in any place, bonded into that of the larger and 
 ori'i'inal building, in which, it will also be observed, that a deep 
 semicii'cular groove was chiselled to receive the roofs of the two sub- 
 sequent structures, and tlius prevent the admission of water at those 
 junctions. It will be observed, also, that the chancel arch is equally 
 of subsequent formation ; for its semicircular head is not formed on 
 the principle of the arch, but by the cutting away of the horizontally 
 laid stones of the original wall, in which operation a portion of the 
 original semicircular-headed window placed in this Avail was de- 
 stroyed, and the remaining portion of the aperture built up with 
 solid masonry. I may further observe, that, even before the destruc- 
 tion of the chancel, the earlier antiquity of the larger building was so 
 
 evident, that it was noticed by the artists sent by Colonel Burton 
 Conyngham in 1779 to make drawings of the antiquities at Glenda- 
 lougli, in whose notes, as published by Archdall, we find this remark : 
 
 " The walls of the double building are separated from those of the larger, and, 
 though undoubtedly very ancient, yet the inferiority of the materials and ■workman- 
 ship, e'^ddently show that this work was posterior to the former, and erected by much 
 less skillful builders." 
 
 That the small round turret belfry on the west gable, is an addi-
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 433 
 
 tion cotemporaneous with those already noticed, is, if not certain, 
 at least in the highest degree probable ; for its masonry, like the 
 former, is of an inferior character to the building on which it rests ; 
 nor would such a belfry have been necessary, till the building liad 
 been converted to a place for public worsliip in the manner already 
 described. 
 
 When divested of these subsequent additions, we find that St. 
 Kevin's House differs but little in size, and still less in plan, from that 
 called St Columb's House, at Kells. Like the former, it is a simple 
 oblong building, having a high pyramidal stone roof, witli an arched 
 apartment below, and a small croft between it and the roof In exter- 
 nal measurement, it is twenty-nine feet eleven inches in length, and 
 twenty-two feet three inches in breadth, and the walls are three feet 
 seven inches in thickness. In height it is, at present, thirty-one feet 
 to the ridge of the roof, the side walls being eleven feet, and the 
 roof twenty feet in height ; but it must have been originally at least 
 two feet more, so that, as in St. Columb's House at Kells, the gables 
 form, if not exactly, at least very nearly, equilateral triangles. The 
 side walls are finished by a projecting string course, or cornice, which 
 is carried round the faces of the end walls. Internally the loAver or 
 vaulted chamber is twenty feet in height, and the upper croft seven 
 feet six inches. The lower part was entered by a doorway placed in 
 the centre of the west side, and lighted by three small apertures, of 
 which two are plain, and placed in the east end, one over the other, 
 and the third in the south wall, about eight feet from the south-east 
 angle. Of the former, the upper is an oblong loop, and the lower 
 had a semicircidar head, formed of a single stone. The south aper- 
 ture, or window, was also semicircularly-arched, but was altogether 
 of a different character, for, according to the notes of Colonel Conyng- 
 hani's artists, " it was ornamented with an architrave elegantly 
 wrought, but being of freestone, it was conveyed away by the neigh- 
 bouring inhabitants, and brayed to powder for domestic use." I may 
 observe, however, that I consider this window to have been a subse- 
 quent insertion, and, most probably, cotemporaneous with the other 
 remains of ornamental architecture in the vicinity. The upper croft 
 is lighted by two small oblong loops placed, one at the east, and tlie 
 other at the west end. The doorway is of a quadrangular form, and 
 is so similar in construction to that of the great church, as to leave 
 
 3 K
 
 434 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 'no doubt of their being cotemporaneous works, if not actually bviilt 
 by the same workman. It is two feet eight inches wide at top, three 
 feet two inches at bottom, and in height, six feet eight inches. The 
 stones of which it is composed are mostly of large size, and most of 
 them extend the entire thickness of the wall. The lintel, which, like 
 the rest, is of mica slate, is five feet eight inches in length, and eleven 
 and a-half inches in height. It is ornamented with a rude cornice, 
 foiu- feet ten inches in length, six inches in breadth, and projecting 
 five inches from the face of the stone. And, as in the doorway of the 
 cathedral, the weight is taken off the lintel, by a semicircular arch, and 
 the pediment is filled by a single stone, as shown in the annexed 
 outline. 
 
 Having now described the original features of this building, it 
 may be desirable to notice in detail, those subsequently added ; and 
 first, of the small round belfry placed on the west gable. This is
 
 OF TUE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 435 
 
 nine feet in heifi;lit, from the ridtje of the roof to its conical roof, 
 which is six feet in height, so that the entire height, from the level of 
 the ground, is forty-six feet. Its interior diameter is four feet six 
 inches. It has four quadrangular apertures, each about foiu" feet six 
 inches in height, which face the cardinal points, and another aper- 
 ture of smaller size on the east side. The entrance to this tower is 
 from the croft, or upper apartment, already described. 
 
 The chancel was internally eleven feet three inches in length, and 
 nine feet three inches in breadth, and was lighted by two semicircular- 
 headed windows, one placed in the east, and the other in the south 
 wall, the heads of which were formed in a single stone. They were 
 two feet three inches in height, and eight inches wide in external 
 measurement, but splayed considerably on the interior. The chancel 
 arch is eisrht feet ten inches in heitrht to its vertex, and five feet 
 three inches in width. The sacristy measures, internally, ten feet 
 by seven feet nine inches, and is lighted by a round-headed window 
 placed in the east wall, and similar in every respect to those in the 
 chancel. The doorway, which is quadrangular, is five feet in height, 
 and, in width, two feet at the top, and two feet three inches at tlae bot- 
 tom. These buildings were, both, stone roofed and of equal height, 
 namely, nine feet to the set-offs of the roofs, and twenty feet to the 
 ridges ; and they were ornamented with a string-course or cornice, 
 similar to, and in imitation of, that on the original building. 
 
 I have described this curious building thus minutely, not only to 
 preserve a record of its original character, but also on account of its 
 very great antiquity, which, as remarked by Colonel Conyngham's 
 artists, is proved no less by its own style and features, than by the 
 very ancient character of those found in the additions subsequently 
 made to it ; and indeed it is highly probable that these additions were 
 made not very long after the erection of the original building. That 
 this l3uilding, in its original state, was at once the habitation and ora- 
 tory of the eminent ecclesiastic to whom the religious establishment 
 of Glendalough OAved its origin, I see no reason to doubt ; and it 
 is highly probable that it received, shortly after his death, those ad- 
 ditions which were necessary to make it a church, fit for the worship 
 of those who would be led thither from reverence to his name ; and 
 in this opinion I am strengthened by a very valuable record in tlie 
 Annals of the Four Masters, which proves, that this building was 
 
 3 K 2
 
 436 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 known by the appellation of Cro Caoimhgh'm, or St. Kevin's House, 
 in the middle of the twelfth century. The passage is as follows : 
 
 " A. D. 1163. 5^^Q"" ""^ locha 00 lopccao, itn Cpo Ciupdm, im Cpo Caoirhjin, 
 ojup pejlep an od SinchelL" 
 
 " A. D. 1163. Glendalough was burned, with Cro Ciarain, Cro Caoimhghin, and 
 the church of the two Sinchells." 
 
 These names are, indeed, no longer remembered, the Irish lan- 
 guage having ceased to be spoken in the district for the last century; 
 and even the buildings, with the exception of St. Kevin's House, can 
 now scarcely be traced. But, very fortunately, I am enabled to de- 
 termine their position, from a ground-plan of the various buildings at 
 Glendalough, made for Colonel Conyngham, by the artists above 
 alluded to. In this plan we find marked, in the immediate vicinity of 
 the buildino- called St. Kevin's House, the ruins of three other build- 
 ings, or churches, the first to the north of it, at the distance of two 
 perches and ten links ; the second to the south of it, about the same 
 distance, and the third, which is called St. Kieran's church, — the 
 others not being named, — to the south-east of it, at the distance of 
 about eight perches, and about six perches from the southern church, 
 and measuring about twenty-seven feet in length. It appears to me, 
 therefore, as scarcely admitting of a doubt, that tlii'ee of these build- 
 ings must be those referred to by the annalists, not only on account 
 of their proximity, but because two of them retained, in a translated 
 form, the names given by the annalists ; and we should search in 
 vain for the ruins of any other buildings at Glendalough, with which 
 to identify them. Moreover, supposing the fire to have been, as 
 there is every reason to believe, an accidental one, it will be at once 
 seen, that from the situation of the two last buildings to Kevin's 
 House, they would be exposed to the danger of ignition in their com- 
 bustible portions, if the Avind had blown from the north-west. And 
 hence I am disposed to conclude, that the un-named church, marked 
 as to the south of St. Kevin's House, is tliat called by the annalists 
 " the Regies of the two Sinchells." I may further add, that we may 
 infer, with every appearance of probability, that all these buildings 
 were of cotemporaneous age, and that, if not erected by the persons 
 whose names they bore, those called after Kieran, and the two Sin- 
 chells, were erected by St. Kevin in their honour, as though they 
 were all cotemporaneous, and Kevin was the dearest friend of St.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 437 
 
 Kieran of Clonmacnoise ; he survived both him and the Sinchells, 
 more than sixty years, having hved, according to Tighernach, to the 
 extraordinary age of one hundred and twenty years. St. Kieran and 
 the two Smcliells died of the plague, which raged in 549, and Kevin 
 hved till 618. 
 
 I think, therefore, we have every reason to believe, that the build- 
 ings called St. Columb's House, at Kells, and St. Kevin's House at 
 Glendalough, — buildings originally so closely resembling each other 
 in every respect, — were erected by the persons whose names they 
 bear, and that they both served the double purpose of a habitation 
 and an oratory. I am further of opinion, that the building at Killaloe, 
 called St. Flannan's House, which I have already minutely described 
 and illustrated, and which, in its original state, was so perfectly similai- 
 to these buildings, was one of the same class, though of somewhat 
 later age. And lastly, as another example of this class of bidldings, 
 I may point to that called St Molaise's House, at Devenish, a biulding 
 which, though unfortunately no longer remaining, we have evidence 
 to show to have been exactly similar to these structures in every 
 thing but the superiority of its masonry. Of this building I shall 
 treat more fully in connexion with its cotemporaneous Round Tower ; 
 but respecting its antiquity and use, I gladly avail myself of the con- 
 current opinion of a very distinguished antiquary, the late Sir Richard 
 Colt Hoare, namely, that " this was certainly the original chapel, and 
 perhaps the habitation of the saint who first sought retirement in this 
 island." Nor can I conclude this section in more appropriate words 
 than those of the same writer, in relation to this class of our buil diners, 
 our Round Towers, and sciUptured crosses. That, "although mo- 
 nastick architecture may fall short, both in design and good exe- 
 cution, and be obliged to yield the palm of superiority to the sister 
 kingdoms, yet Ireland, in her stone-roofed Chapels, Round Towers, 
 and rich Crosses, may justly boast of singularities unknown and un- 
 possessed by either of them." 
 
 SUBSECTION V. 
 ERDAMHS. 
 
 In the First Part of this Inquiry, p. 53, it became necessary to con- 
 trovert the opinion of Dr. O'Conor, that the word erdam had been 
 used by the Irish annalists synonymousl}- with doictheach, to denote
 
 438 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 a belfry ; and I thea stated that I would prove incontrovertibly that 
 the word erdam signifies a building attached laterally to another 
 l)iiilding, as a sacristy, and not a belfry, as Dr. O'Conor supposed. 
 ( )n this point we have the decisive authority of the celebrated Cor- 
 mac Mac Cullenan, who thus explains the word in his Glossary : 
 
 " QupDom, .1. upbotn .1. aupce^oaij^, no ppia cejoaip aneccaip." 
 " Aurdom, i. e. urdoiii, i. e. side-house, or against a house externally." 
 
 I should further state that the word is variously written aurdom, 
 urdom, erdom, irdom, and urdom, and is obviously compounded of 
 the words eap, end, limit, and Dam, or Dom, a house. A similar an- 
 cient compound of the prefix ir with teach, a house, is explained by 
 O'Clery by the modern compound cuilteach, i. e. back-house. But, 
 though we have thus distinct evidences of the literal meaning of the 
 term, and though it occurs very frequently in the Irish Annals, and 
 other ancient authorities, as applied to a building, or portion of a 
 building, it is unfortunately very difficult to form any accurate idea 
 of the kind of building it designated. Thus, in the earliest notice in 
 the Annals, in which the word occurs : 
 
 "A. D. 825. tofcuD ITlui^e bile, co n-a epoaimib, o jeincib." — Citron. Scot. 
 " A. D. 825. The burning of Magh-Bile, with its erdams, by the Gentiles" [Danes]. 
 
 From this passage we learn, at least, that there was more than 
 one erdam at Magh Bile ; but, we are left in the dark as to whether 
 they were attached to the church or not. 
 
 The next notice in which the word occurs, relates to the erdam of 
 St. Kieran, at Clonmacnoise, and is equally unsatisfactory. 
 
 " A. D. 1070. Qn clochan 6 Cpoip Gppcoip ©rchen co h-lpoom Ciapnin, Do 
 benatid h-i j-Cluain mac Noip la maoilciupain TTlac Cuinn na m-bochc, ajup 
 an clochan 6 Cpotp Choriijaill co h-ului6 na o-qni 5-cpop, ajup uaib piap 50 bel 
 na ppaioe." — Ann. Quat. Mag. 
 
 "A. D. 1070. The causeway from the Cross of Bishop Etchen to the Irdom of 
 St. Ciaran, at Clonmacnoise, was made by Maolciarain Mac Cuinn na m-bocht, and 
 also the catiseway from the cross of St. Comgall to the earn of the three crosses, and 
 thence westwards, to the mouth of the street." 
 
 From this passage it might be supposed that the erdam at Clon- 
 macnoise was a distinct building ; and such a supposition would be 
 strengthened by another notice of this erdam in the Chronicon Scoto- 
 rum at a later period. 
 
 "A.D. 1113. epoam Ciapam do cumoac ecip plinn ocup benncobap." 
 
 " A. D. 1113. The Erdam of Ciaran was covered both shingles and benncobar."
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 439 
 
 The same impression would also be made by the passage already 
 quoted, at p. 52, from the Annals of Ulster, relative to the burning of 
 Armagh, at the year 995, and which, for the convenience of the reader, 
 it may be desirable to repeat here : 
 
 " Qn. Dccccxcv. Cene biair oo jaBuil Qipbmcicha, co nd pupcaib oepcech, 
 nu Dtimliacc, na li-eponm, iia pibnemeat) ann cen lopcaD." 
 
 " A. D. DCCCCXCV. Lightning caught Arimigh, so that it did not leave a.duirteacli, 
 or daimhUag, or erdam, or fd/inemead there witliout burning." 
 
 But such a conjecture is not only proved to be groundless, by the 
 fact, that no distinct building to which the name could be applied, 
 now remains in Ii-eland, — for Dr. O'Conor's supposition, that it was 
 applied to a Round Tower, has been proved groundless, — but also 
 from the decisive passages relative to the stealing of the celebrated 
 Book of Kells, out of the western erdam of the creat church of Kells, 
 already quoted at page 53, and which is here repeated : 
 
 " A. D. 1006. Sotpccel mop Cholairn ChiUe do buBjom ip in oi6ce ap in epoom 
 laprhapach a n-Doiriiliacc moip Cenunnpa, ppim minD lapcaip Doiiiain, ap aoi un 
 chumcat^ saenoa, ajup a pajBail nin pichec abai^ pop oib mipciib, icip njaicc 6e 
 a oip, cijup poc caipip." 
 
 "A. D. 1006. The great book of the Gospels of St. Columbkille was stolen in 
 tlie night out of the western erdam in the great church of Kells, the chief relic of the 
 western world, on account of the singular cover, and was found, after twenty nights 
 and two months, its gold having been stolen off it, and a sod over it." 
 
 The same entry is given in the Annals of Ulster, as published 
 by Dr. O'Conor ; and it is worthy of remark, that though he has 
 previously insisted that the word cnkim was synonymous with doic- 
 theach, and has subsequently translated it by the word turris, in this, 
 his last work, he renders it by the word sacellum. His translation 
 and copy of the original are as follows : 
 
 " Jlww. M. vi. Soiscela mor Col. c. do dubgaitk isind aidci as ind airdom iartaracli 
 in DaimUacc moir Cenannsa, prim mind iartair domain arai in comdaiijh doendui. 
 In Soiscela sin do foghbail did ficlietan dar dih niisaib iarngaii de aoir i fottairis.'''' 
 
 " Evangelium magnum S. Columbffi furtive direptum, tempore nocturno, ex in- 
 feriori Sacello Ecclesiaj magna; Cathedralis Kellensis. Prscipuvim erat istud pretiosa- 
 rum reliquiarum Occidentalis mundi, propter eximium operimentum. Codex iste 
 inventus est postea sub cespitibus, post duos menses, exutus auro, et coelatione." 
 
 But, though it is thus certain that the erdam was an inferior build- 
 ing attached to a large church, and that there were, at least occasion- 
 ally, more than one such inferior structure attached in this way to the
 
 440 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 larger building, it is by no means easy to determine the nature or 
 purpose of such buildings. 
 
 I have, however, discovered in an ancient Irisli authority, an 
 example of the use of the word, which will materially assist in this 
 inquiry, and, as I hope, ultimately determine the question. It is a 
 passage in which the word erdam is used to express the Latin word 
 porticus, and occurs in a translation of Venerable Bede's abstract of 
 Adamnan's work, De Situ Terras Sanctoe, &c., which is preserved in 
 the celebrated MS. called the Leabliar Breac. The original passage 
 in Bede is as follows : 
 
 "In platea, qua; Martyrium & Golgotha continuat, exedra est, in qua calix Domini 
 scriniolo reconditus, per operculi foramen, tangi solet, & osculari. Qui argenteus 
 cali.x duas hinc et inde liabens ansulas, sextarii Gallici mensuram capit : in quo est & 
 ilia spongia Domini potus ministra : Lancea mUitis inserta habetur in cruce lignea, 
 IN PORTicu Maetyrii, cujus liastile in duas intercisum partes, a tota veneratur civi- 
 tate." — Cap. II. 
 
 In tlie Leabliar Breac the following translation is given, of which 
 I add a literal translation, for the use of the English reader : 
 
 " Ip iiici-pme [.1. m eclaip TTluipe] aca coilecli in ChoimoeD lap n-a cumcac, 
 7 cleccaic ooine a raoall 7 a poccao cpia roll pil 1 papcli no comlao ; 7 
 coilech cipjaic h-e, 7 Di Dpolam tsn cec lee app, 7 cuquima ppia peppa h-e ; 
 7 ip in colech pin no canaD Ipu h-mpaipc 7 oipppenD. Ip in Uilc ceDna beep 
 aca m machoual ap a cucao in oeoch bo'n Choimoio, .1. pinaicec, 7 oomblap lap 
 na cumnpc. Ocup ip ann pop aca j;oi in mileb Diap jonoo cpioe in Choimoeo, 
 lap n-a inO]^ni(;i ip in cpoich cpainb pil a n-ipoum no h-eclaipi. Ip amlam oin 
 aza cpano in 501 pm ap n-a poino ap do, 7 ip mop anoip 7 caoup na pano pin oc in 
 cacpuij pin uli." — Fol. 79, t>; now fol. 69, b. 
 
 " It is in this [i. e. in the church called Golgothana], is the chalice of the Lord 
 being covered, and people are accustomed to touch and kiss it through a hole which is in 
 the door ; it is a silver chalice, with two handles, one on each side, and it is of the size of 
 a sextarius. It is in this chalice that Jesus made sacrifice and ofiering. In the same 
 place, also, is the sponge, out of which the drink was given to the Lord, that is, vinegar 
 and gall mixed. It is there, also, is the lance of the soldier, — by which the heart of the 
 Lord was wounded, — inserted in the wooden cross, which is in the erdam of the 
 church. The shaft of this lance is divided into two parts, and these tlimgs are in high 
 honour and veneration with the whole city." 
 
 Having thus ascertained that the Avord erdam was used b}' the 
 Irish in the same sense with the Latin word porticus, as understood 
 in the middle ages, it follows that if we can define the sort of porch, 
 or other building, to which the latter was applied in the descriptions 
 of churches, we shall have a tolerably correct idea of the sort of
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 441 
 
 structure to which the former was applied by the Irish. Now, as 
 the word porticus is of very frequent occurrence in the notices of 
 ancient Saxon churches, given by Venerable Bede and later Saxon 
 writers, and as it is in the highest degree probable, that the ancient 
 Irish and Saxon churches were often very similar to each other, it 
 might naturally be expected that the inquiry would be attended 
 with little difficulty ; but this, imfortunately, is far from being the 
 case, for the Avord is so variously applied that it is extremely diffi- 
 cult, if not impossible, to understand what particular part of the 
 church it was intended to designate. And hence we find writers 
 of the highest ability utterly opposed to each other as to its appli- 
 cation. For example, the Rev. J. Bentham, — in the admirable Re- 
 marks on the Saxon Churches, prefixed to his History of the Cathedral 
 Church of Ely, — finding that the word was applied to some apart- 
 ment, or division, Avithin the chiu-ch, yet distinct from the church 
 itself, has come to the conclusion, that it designated the side aisles 
 of the chiu'ch, or that, sometimes, it may be a particular division of 
 it, consisting of one arch Avith its recess. But, until it be more 
 fully established than it has hitherto been, that the Anglo-Saxon 
 churches were decorated with side aisles, this conclusion can only 
 be taken as an ingenious conjecture. At all events it could not be 
 understood as applied in this manner to Irish churches, as there is 
 not, I think, the slightest evidence to be found in favour of the sup- 
 position, that any of them had . ever been so constructed. On the 
 other hand, Mr. Wilkin, — in his able Description of Melbourne church, 
 Derbyshire, published in the Xlllth Volume of the Archajologia, — 
 while he concurs Avith Mr. Bentham that the porticoes were within 
 the church, repudiates the supposition that they were the side aisles, 
 or any portions of them ; and expresses his opinion that the Saxon 
 churches, in Bede's time, probably had neither pillars nor side aisles. 
 But, finding that in the church at Melboiu'ne, — a church which he 
 believes to be of the seventh century, — a portion of it at the west 
 end Avas divided off from the nave, and subdivided into three parts, 
 he concludes, that these dJAdsions were genuine specimens of the 
 porticoes described by Bede and the other Saxon writers, and that 
 they should be denominated as the north, south, and middle porti- 
 coes. But, few, I belie\^e, Avill noAV be found to concur with Mr 
 Wilkin in his opinion as to the antiqmty of this church, Avhich has 
 
 3 L
 
 442 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 both pillars and side aisles, and wliicli is so totally unlike in plan to 
 the clnu'ch of Dunwich, which in a former Essay (Archasologia, 
 vol. xii.), he had described as a genuine Saxon bidlding, having 
 neither pillars nor side aisles, and which is divided into three apart- 
 ments, which he calls the ante-temple, the temple, and the sanctuary. 
 Mr. Wilkin, indeed, himself perceived this want of agreement in his 
 two opinions, and tried to get over it by the statement that it is pro- 
 hable that the ante-temple, which in this instance (Dunwich) is the 
 greatest portion of the church, is the part which Bede names the por- 
 ticus. But on opinions so contradictory no reliance can be placed, 
 and till the Saxon antiquity of the church of Melbourne be fully 
 established, Mr. Wilkin's conclusion as to the nature and situation of 
 the porticoes, must be considered merely as an ingenious conjecture ; 
 nor Avould it, if established, throw any light on the nature or situation 
 of the Irish erdanis ; as there are not the slightest grounds for be- 
 lieving that any of the ancient Irish churches had such a division at 
 their west end as the church of Melbourne presents. Neither will 
 the conjecture of Mr. Collier, who, in his Chui'ch History, under- 
 stands the word porticus as applied to the porch, which, in Gothic, 
 and even occasionally in Norman churches, is found in front of the 
 entrance doorways, for nothing of this kind occurs in connexion with 
 any of the Irish churches, nor, I believe, in any of the English 
 churches, ascribed, with any appearance of probability, to the Saxon 
 times. Thus we find that the meaning of the word p)07'ticus, as used 
 by Bede and other Saxon writers, remains still to be determined, 
 and so, perhaps, must the Irish word erdam, till more distinct evidences 
 be discovered. We have indeed ascertained that the Irish word 
 erdam and the Latin woi-d porticus were similarly applied, and hence 
 that the former was a porch of some description. And this fact 
 seems to be corroborated by the following passage in the Vision of 
 Adamnan, an Irish work ascribed to that distinguished person, and 
 preserved in the Leabhar Breac; for though the writer only describes 
 imaginary things, yet the words employed in the description of ob- 
 jects must have been previously apphcable to objects that had a real 
 existence. The writer, after describing the situations of the different 
 classes of the righteous in heaven, relatively to the position of tlie 
 Lord, thus writes : 
 
 " Qca oin platch a&ampa pop jnuip ooiB, iia&ib faip-Depp ; 7 y\a\ jlonioe
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 443 
 
 eciippu, 7 e|ioaD opocii ppip utiepp, ocup rpirpiDe imunnicecpum oelbci ociip po|x;uD 
 muincipe nime." — Fol. 127, A- 
 
 " There is an illustrious Lord before their face oiF from them to the south-east; 
 a glass veil between them, and a golden erdam to the south of him, and through it 
 they see the countenances and shade of the people of heaven." 
 
 This passage is, no doubt, obscure enough, but the writer seems 
 obviously to have had in his mind some such separation between the 
 Deity, with the heavenly choir and the souls of men, as existed be- 
 tween the laity and clergy in the larger churches, where the latter 
 were separated from the former by the veils wliich hung from the 
 arch of the sanctuary, and that the heavenly choir were seen throiigh 
 a porch on the south side. 
 
 In a subsequent passage the writer, after having stated that an 
 angel conducted Adamnan's soul from heaven to hell, and returned 
 with him, thus proceeds ; 
 
 '■ RucoD lap pin in animm la bpapao pula pep an epoam n-6pba, ocup cpep an 
 pial nsloiniDe, co cip na noem." — Fol. 128, a. 
 
 " The soul was borne in the twinkling of an eye through the golden erdam, and 
 the glass veil, to the country of the saints." 
 
 In this description the idea of an arched or open porch is also 
 distinctly indicated ; and, if we chose to understand it in the sense of 
 an entrance porch, as found in the Norman and later chiu-ches in 
 England, such a supposition would receive support from a passage 
 which occurs in a very ancient satirical extravaganza preserved in 
 the same MS., and which was written to ridicule the luxury and 
 inhospitahty of a certain abbot of Cork, named Manchine, who flou- 
 rished in the eighth century. 
 
 " 6a h-ampa cpa in bipepc i m-basup ann. * » * Comla gepeft pp<pp, 7 S'^PP- 
 ceno mapoci puppi. Qcomcuipechep puap oom cip mo echap, op ITIac Conj^linni, 
 CO Dopup epoaim, im oopup in ounoio oia n-echcaip." — Leabliur Brcac: — Fol. loy, i., 
 now foh 100, *. 
 
 " Admirable was the hermitage that was there. * * * It had a gate of suet to it, 
 with the short head of a niaroc upon it. I wont up out of my boat, says Mac Conglinni, 
 to the door of the erdam, at the door of the dtm on the outside." 
 
 But though this passage so distinctly shows an acquaintance with 
 the use of an entrance porch, we have, as already observed, no exist- 
 ing example of such in any ancient Irish church ; nor were it other- 
 wise, would it prove that the word erdam was applied exclusively 
 
 3 L 2
 
 444 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 to a porch of this kind ; because, without dwelUng upon the fact that 
 the church of Kells must have had more than one erdam, we can 
 hardly beheve that the Book of Kells, the most valuable treasure of 
 that monastery, would have been kept in any porch open externally. 
 In our present state of knowledge on the subject, therefore, the safest 
 conjecture to be hazarded would seem to be that the word erdam, 
 like the word porticus, in the middle ages, was variously applied to 
 any extraneous or side-building, of any kind, attached to a greater ; 
 and, that the erdams noticed in the Irish annals were most probably 
 sacristies, or other lateral apartments, entered from the interior of the 
 church. Of such structures there are several examples remaining, as 
 at Glendalough, Inis Cathy, the church on the island at Killaloe ; and 
 in the cathedi-al of I^illaloe there is a remarkable instance of a porch 
 of this kind, entered from the interior of the chiu-ch, through a mag- 
 nificently sculptiu'ed archway, within which, according to the tra- 
 dition of the country, Turlough O'Brien, King of Thomond, was 
 interred, — a circumstance quite in unison with the use of such porti- 
 coes, as noticed by Bede. 
 
 SUBSECTION VI. 
 KITCHENS. 
 
 It appears from the oldest authorities, that from the introduction 
 of Christianity in Ireland, one of the group of buildings, constituting 
 a monastic establishment, was that called ciiicin, or coiccenn, and 
 sometimes cuili, all which denote a kitchen, with wliicli word the 
 two former, at least, are cognate, and seem to be of the same Indo- 
 Geruianic origin, while the latter is obviously cognate -ft-ith it, if not 
 derived from the Latin cidina. 
 
 In the list of buildings enumerated in St. Evin's Life of St. Pa- 
 trick, as having been erected by the saint at Armagh, '■'■ juxtaformara 
 et modum ab angelo prcescrijJtum" the culina, or kitchen, is stated to 
 have been of the length of seventeen feet; and in notices which 
 occur in the Irish annals of the buildmgs which existed subsequently 
 at Armagh, the kitchen is alluded to as a separate building, as in the 
 passage already quoted at p. 147, from the Annals of Ulster, at the 
 year 915. And that this was the usual measm-einent of such build- 
 ings, may be concluded from the account of the buildings previously 
 erected by St. Patrick at the Ferta, near Armagh, as thus stated in
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 445 
 
 a fragment of the old Irish Tripartite Life of the saint, preserved 
 in the Library of Trinity College; Dublin, H. 3, 18, p. 527 : 
 
 " If amlaio ono Dojioimpi pacpaic in Pepra, .i. pecc ^;:.ic cpaiseo ip iii lip, 7 
 pecc rpaijeb ;ci:.ic ip in C15 moip, 7 pecc cpuijjeo ^. Ip in cuili, 7 pecc cpuijeo ip 
 inD apejal, 7 ha pamlam pin po pocaijeo pom no conjbala do jpep." 
 
 " It was thus Patrick measured the Ferta, viz., seven score feet in the Lis, and 
 seven and twenty feet in the great house, and seventeen feet in the kitchen, and seven 
 feet in the aregal ; and thus he was always accustomed to build the congbhals" [eccle- 
 siastical establishments]. 
 
 We have notices of the kitchen of St. Colnmba, at lona, in some 
 of the Lives of that saint ; of the kitchen of St. Bridget, at Kildare, 
 in the Life of that saint, preserved in the Leabhar Breac ; and of the 
 kitchens of many other saints, at their various establishments. But, as 
 I have met with no remains of any building of this class, of an age an- 
 terior to the close of the twelfth centiuy, I do not deem it necessary 
 to dwell further upon this subject, which I have thus lightly touched, 
 as elucidating some passages in the oldest authorities, relative to our 
 ancient architecture, not previously explained, and in the hope that 
 it may possibly guide future investigators to the discovery of remains 
 of the buildings themselves. 
 
 SUBSECTION VII. 
 CASHELS. 
 
 I HAVE lastly to notice the circumvallations, or circular enclo- 
 sm-es, which usually encompassed the group of buildings constituting 
 the very early ecclesiastical establishments in Ireland. These cir- 
 cumvallations, which were but imitations of the sorts of fortress in 
 use among the pagan Irish, were sometimes of stone, and sometimes 
 simply of earth ; at other times of stone intermixed with earth, and 
 occasionally of earth faced with stone ; and they vv^ere all more or 
 less circular in their plan. When of earth only, they were deno- 
 minated by the terms Ratli^ or Lis, words synonymous with each 
 other ; and when of stone, or of earth faced with stone, they were 
 denominated Cathair, or, more usually, Caiseal, words also synony- 
 mous ; and all these terms had been applied by the pagan Ii'ish to 
 their fortresses of earth and stone ; and I may add, that the term 
 dun was applied indiiferently to both. 
 
 Of such circumvallations, but few specimens have remained to us ;
 
 446 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 and these are chiefly of stone, and situated in remote and thinly- 
 inhabited places, where ancient manners, customs, and feelings, have 
 been lono-est preserved. Moreover, the ecclesiastical Ratlis and Lises^ 
 from the value of their materials for agricultural purposes, presented 
 a greater temptation to their destruction, and have rarely escaped ; 
 but the ancient Irish authorities have preserved notices of many such, 
 as having existed in localities where not a vestige of them is now to 
 be found. Such, for example, was the Rath Ardmacha, or Rath of 
 Armagh, which enclosed the original ecclesiastical buildings erected 
 there, and of which so fi'eqvient mention is made in the Irish annals, 
 as already quoted, and more distinctly in the folio-wing passages in 
 the Aiuials of the Foiu" JNIasters : 
 
 " A. D. 1091. Ctn leic laprapacb do Raich Qpoatnacha oo lopccoo." 
 " A. D. 1091. The western half of the Rath of Armagh was burned." 
 " A. D. 1092. Raidi Qpoa maclia, co n-a cemploib, bo lopccao an cerparhao 
 Kal. 00 Sepc, 7 fppr 00 cpiun mop, 7 pper do cpiun Saxon." 
 
 " A. D. 1 092. The Rath of Armagh, with its churches, was burned on the fourth 
 of the Calends of September, and a street of Trian mor, and a street of Trian Saxon." 
 
 See also the same annals, at the year 1112. 
 
 Such, also, was the great Rath or Lis, called Lismor, or the great 
 fort, erected around the chm^ch and cells by St. Carthagh, or Mochuda, 
 at Lismore, in the now County of Waterford, as thus stated in the 
 second life of that saint, published in the Acta Sanctorum of the Bol- 
 landists, 14 May : 
 
 " Deinde gloriosvis Pontifex cum suis per qiiemdam campulum, Scotico nomine 
 INIaghsgiats, Latino autem Scuti-campus, ad locum sibi prsedestinatum a Domino, 
 oblatum autem a supradicto Duce Nandesi, exivit, & castrametati sunt in eo. Postea 
 loco benedicens sanctus Pontifex cum ceteris Sanctis, cii-culum civitatis assignarunt : & 
 venit ad eos qtisedam virgo, quEe cellulam habebat in eo agro, nomine CorneUi : & in- 
 terrogavit eos dicens : Quid vultis hie agere servi Dei ? Eespondit ei S. Mochuda : 
 In Dei voluntate paramus atrium modicum sepire circa sarcinas nostras. Et ait sancta 
 Virgo : Non parvnm sed magnum erit. Sanctus Pater Mochuda ait : Verum erit, quod 
 dicis Christi ancilla. Nam ex hoc nomine locus semper vocabitur Liassmor Scotice, 
 Latine autem Atrium-magnum." — p. 388, col. a. 
 
 In like manner we find, from the fragment of the ancient Tripar- 
 tite Life of St. Patrick, already alluded to, that the earher group of 
 chvirches, foimded by St. Patrick, at the Ferta, near Armagh, was 
 similarly encompassed with a Lis, or earthen enclosiu'e, measuring 
 one htmdred and forty feet in diameter ; and as this is stated to be the
 
 OP THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 447 
 
 measurement adopted by Patrick in all such works, we may veiy 
 fairly infer it was that of the Rath of Armagh, and not the length 
 of the wall of the church, as Colgan supposed, in his translation 
 of the passage of the Tripartite life, describing the buildings at 
 Armagh. 
 
 I have already noticed, at page 128, the interestmg example of 
 the custom of the Irish clergy, in erecting such circular walls, pre- 
 served to us by Venerable Bede, in his description of the ecclesiastical 
 establishment founded by St. Cuthbert, in the island of Fame, in 
 Northiunberland ; and from this accomit it may be inferred, that the 
 object of erectmg such enclosures, of which the wall externally was 
 not more than the height of a man, was less for defence, than, by 
 shutting ovit the view of external objects, to prevent the thoughts from 
 I'ambling and confine them to rehgious meditations. And such, in- 
 deed, would appear to have been the piu'pose, in many instances, 
 where the wall was of no greater height, as in the Cashel at St. 
 Fechin's establishment, on High Island, already described; and in 
 the fine example of such a circumvallation, partly of stone, and paitly 
 of earth, till recently preserved to us at Rathmichael, in the County 
 of Dublin, but of which, unfortunately, only a few stones of the gate- 
 way now remain. But that these enclosures were not always erected 
 Avithout any view to defence, however the ecclesiastics might have 
 trusted to the religious feelings of the people for protection, is proved 
 from the gi-eater height and strength of some of the circimivallations 
 remaining ; and, indeed, in very many instances, the religious houses 
 were built within the pagan fortresses given up to the clergy by the 
 Irish princes, on their conversion to Christianity, or shortly after- 
 wards. Thus, we learn from the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, that 
 one of the very earliest churches erected by that saint in Meath, — the 
 church of Donaghpatrick, at Tailtenn, — was built where the house of 
 Conall, the king's brother, was situated, and Avliich was given up to 
 liim foi- the purpose : I have already given the passages relating to it 
 at pp. 161, 162. So, in an extract from the Life of St Benen, or Be- 
 nignus, published by Colgan in his Trias Thauin., p. 204, it is stated 
 that the church of Cill Benen was erected within the arx, or fortress 
 called Dun Lughaidh, from a lord of the coimtry, who, with his 
 father and four brothers, having been -baptized by the Saints, Pati-ick 
 and Benen, gave uj) their dun, or fortress, for the purpose.— See the
 
 448 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 passage quoted in the notice of tlie cliurcli and Round Tower of 
 Kilbannan, in Part III. 
 
 A similarly striking example of the resignation of a pagan fort 
 for the use of a Christian community, occurs in the Life of St. Cailhn, 
 in the Book of Fenagh, — of which there is a copy on parchment in 
 the Collection of Irish MSS. in the Library of the Royal Irish Aca- 
 demy, made from a copy of the original still preserved at Fenagh, 
 and which was transcribed for the abbot O'Rody, in the year 1517, 
 from the original book now preserved in the British Museum. 
 
 It is there stated, in an ancient poem attributed to Flann, the son 
 of Flann, concerning the history of Fenagh, that the chief of the coun- 
 try of Breifny, Aodh Finn, the son of Feargna, on his conversion to 
 Christianity by St. Cailhn, gave up to him his Cathair, or stone 
 fortress, in order that he might erect his monastic buildings within 
 it ; and of this Cathair, which was one of great extent, there are 
 vestiges still remaining. 
 
 It further appears, from the same poem, that this Cathair had 
 been of a very great antiquity, as well as importance, as its erection 
 is attiibuted to Conaing Begeglach, or the Fearless, the sixty-fifth 
 monarch of Ireland in the Irish regal list, and who flourished, ac- 
 cording to the corrected chronology of O'Flaherty, nearly four hun- 
 dred years before the Christian era. This fact is stated in the fol- 
 lowing stanzas : 
 
 " t)un Tn-6aili pijbailea caij, 
 pope cup cjoip F^ura pail, 
 Can ha pi cpoDa cpecac 
 Conainj beo&a Sejejlac. 
 Conainj, mac Conaill calma, 
 Ip cpen po cecc m-6anba, 
 Co n-oepna Capiul caeih cloch 
 Qp TTlaj R^in ic f,oc Saloch. 
 ***** 
 t)un m-6aili ainm oo'n chacpaij, 
 Ocup ni gepp in acliuij, 
 O p6 in Conaing mecc njopa 
 Co peapjna, mac Peapjopa." 
 
 " Dim Baile, royal town for all, 
 A fort to which tlie chiefs of Fail were wont to come. 
 When the vigorous "Conaing Begeglach 
 Was brave and plundering king.
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 440 
 
 Conaing, son of Conall the brave, 
 "Wiio miglitily consolidated Banba, 
 And built a beautiful Vasiiil of stone 
 On Magh Eein, at Locli Saloeh. 
 
 Dun Baili was the name of the cathair. 
 And not for a short time, 
 From the time of Conaing of great valour 
 To Feargna, son of Fergus." 
 
 Again, in mentioning tlie resignation of this fort and the sur- 
 rounding district to St. Caillin by Aodh Finn, the son of Feargna, 
 the following curious reference is made to the door of the cathair, 
 which was closed by a huge stone : 
 
 "Cij Qeo cup in ccnpri amach 
 1 ppini Dopup na carpacli, 
 Co cuj ann pin peapcino cpa 
 t)o ChaiUin, b'a anmchcipa." 
 
 " Aedh come out to the rock 
 In the chief door of the cathair. 
 So that he gave land 
 To Caillin, his spiritual friend." 
 
 Indeed, in many instances, we find the group of religious build- 
 ings within fortresses of the greatest celebrity in Irish history, as in 
 the great fortress of Muirhlieach Mil, in the great island of Aran, 
 erected by a prince of the Firbolgs, about the commencement of the 
 Christian era, the interior of which is occupied by the two churches, 
 and the numerous round houses of the monks of St. Mac Duach. 
 When I visited Aran, in the year 1821, nearly half of this fortress 
 remained, and the wall was in some parts twenty feet in height, and 
 thirteen feet thick at its summit. 
 
 In the ancient poem just quoted, the three terms, dun, caiseal, 
 and cathair are used synonymously in the description of a fort erected 
 in pagan times : and the nature of such stone enclosiu'es is well illus- 
 trated in the Irish translation of Venerable Bede's abstract of Adam- 
 nan's account of the sacred places in the Holy Land, in which the 
 three circular and concentric walls which surrounded the church of 
 the Resurrection is translated " three cashels" : 
 
 " edaip cpuino epioe co rpi caplib immpe." 
 " This is a round church \vith three casheh around it." 
 3 M
 
 450 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 But, as I have already remarked, the cashels erected by the eccle- 
 siastics themselves were often of such a height as would necessarily 
 imply that they were intended, as much at least for defence, as for 
 any other object; and a passage in the Irish annals, relative to the 
 erection of a cashel at Deny, in the twelfth century, very distinctly 
 alludes to this object. This cashel was erected by the abbot Flaith- 
 bheartach O'Brolchain, as a protection to the churches of Derry, 
 which, having been greatly injured, he was about to enlarge and re- 
 pair, as stated in the following passage in the Annals of the Four 
 Masters : 
 
 " A. D. 1 162. epfcapcab na o-cijeo 6 rempull t)oipe do oenarh la coihapba 
 Coluim Cille, piairbepcach Lki 6polcliain, 7 la ITluipcepcac Lla tochlainn, la 
 pij ©penn, 7 po rojKaic occmo^ac ceaj, no m ay uille, ap in maijm 1 pabaccap, 
 7 Caipeul an uplaip do benarh la comapba Coluim CiUe Beop, 7 do bepc mal- 
 lacc popp an ci no ricpoD caipip." 
 
 " A. D. 1162. The separation of the houses from the church of Derry was made 
 by the Comharba of Columbkille, Flaithbhertach O'Brolchain, and by Muirchertach 
 O'Lochlainn, king of Ireland ; and they removed eighty houses, or more, from tlie 
 place they were ; and caiseal an iirlair was erected by the comharba of ColumbkiUe, 
 and he pronounced a curse on the person who should come over it." 
 
 One of the finest ecclesiastical cashels now remaining, and in 
 which strength was obviously intended, is that surrovuiding the eccle- 
 siastical establishment of St. Molaise, on Inishmurry, an island in the 
 bay of Sligo. It is of an irregular round form, and nearly 200 feet 
 in its greatest internal diameter. The wall varies in thickness, from 
 five to seven and eight feet, and in height from twelve to sixteen. 
 It is built of calp limestone, undressed, and without cement ; and, 
 where not shaken by the storms of the Atlantic, exhibits a consider- 
 able degree of rude art. Its gateway is quadrangular, and measures 
 six feet two inches in height, four feet in breadth, and seven feet six 
 inches in its jambs ; and such is the usual size and form of gateways 
 found in such buildings, as well as in the more ancient cashels of i 
 pagan times. There are instances, however, of gateways of a larger 
 size, as that of the cashel at Rathmichael, which is eight feet wide, and! 
 which was most probably arched. But the most remarkable gateway] 
 belonging to such structures now remaining, is that at Glendalough, — 
 a monument unique in its kind, and which, from want of care, unfor- 
 tunately, will soon cease to exist. The general character of this 
 gateway, and its great resemblance to the Newport gate, at Lincoln,!
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 451 
 
 built by the Romans, Avill appear from the annexed sketcli ; and its 
 measurements at the base will be seen in the ground-plan following : 
 
 '^^'^^^''^Ji^ 
 
 This gateway is in form very nearly a square, being sixteen feet 
 internally between the side-walls, and sixteen feet six inches, be- 
 tween the perforated, or arched walls. It is 
 built of undressed blocks of mica slate, ex- 
 cept in the arches and pilasters, which are 
 of granite blocks of larger size, and chiselled. 
 The external arch is formed of twenty-six 
 stones, of which the lower are two feet 
 six inches in height ; the upper stones ave- 
 ..?^B rage one foot three inches on the face, 
 and two feet six inches on the soffit. The inner arch is formed of 
 twenty-seven stones, which measure two feet seven inches in the 
 jambs and soffit. These arches are of equal height, namely, ten feet 
 to the soffit of the key-stone, and five feet to the chord. This 
 gateway supported a tow^er, the floor of which was of wood, as appears 
 by the corbel stones remaining in the side walls. Of this tower 
 there are now but slight remains ; but from a print in Fisher's Views, 
 
 3 M 2
 
 452 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 Dublin, 1795, we find that it had a narrow oblong aperture in the 
 external wall, directly over, and about two feet from, the key-stone. 
 
 Of the casliel, or wall itself, which enclosed the monastic esta- 
 blishment, there are but slight vestiges remaining, but these are 
 sufBcieut to show that it was built without cement, and of a very 
 irregular figiu-e, in consequence of the inequality of the surface along 
 which it passed, and the gi'eat extent of the area which it enclosed. 
 
 From a ground-plan preserved among Sir James Ware's MSS. in 
 the British Museum, we find that the wall which surrounded the 
 chirrches and cemetery at Clonmacnoise was equally irregular in its 
 figiu-eas that at Glendalough ; and from a similar cause, — the inequa- 
 lity of the surface over which it passed ; but as cement was used in 
 its construction, there is little doubt that it was of much later age 
 than that of Glendalough. It had three gateways, one of which, at 
 least, — that at the west, leading to the nunnery, — was arched ; but of 
 this gateway there are now no remains. 
 
 It seems certain, also, that the great monastery at Kells Avas 
 similarly enclosed, and had more than one entrance gateway, as the 
 one called Dorus Urdoim, or the gate of the Urdom ; or, as Colgan 
 translates it. Porta, Dorus Urdhoim appellata, is referred to in the 
 Annals of the Four Masters, at the year 1157. 
 
 SUBSECTION VIII. 
 WELL COVERINGS, TOMBS, AND MILLS. 
 
 In addition to the several classes of buildings treated of in the 
 preceding subsections, and to which references occur in the Irish 
 authorities, it appears that the Irish ecclesiastics also employed stone 
 architecture, at least occasionally, in the erection of Mills, the Tombs 
 ( )f the founders of Chivrches, and as coverings to their sacred Wells, 
 though but few historical references to such structures have been 
 hitherto found. There appears, however, to have been no uniformity 
 of plan in such structures, as their remains sufficiently evince. Thus, 
 in some instances, the wells were simply enclosed with a circular wall 
 of large masonry, as at St. Mac Duach's well at Kill Mac Duach, 
 St. Mochua's wells at Balla, in the County of Mayo, &c..; and it is 
 worthy of remark that we are told in the life of this latter Saint, as 
 published by Colgan, at the 3Uth March, that the place, which had
 
 OF THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. i'),) 
 
 previously been known by the name of Ros Darbreach, or, as it is 
 latinized, Nemics Darhrecum, received its new name, Balla, from tlie 
 walls or enclosiu'es with which the saint enclosed the fountains — 
 " non procul esse fontem, nvmcpiam ibi antea visum cinctum balla, 
 id est lorica. Vnde oppidum, nouum nomen Balla, & etiani Mochua 
 cognomen Ballensis accepit." This St. Mochua, according to the 
 Irish Annalists, died in 637. It is also worthy of remark that we 
 find from the same Life of the Saint, that lie was eminent himself 
 as an architect, and was the builder, not only of his own churcli, — 
 and, as we may well conclude, its decidedly cotemporaneous Round 
 Tower, — but also of the celebrated mill of St. Fecliin at Fore. And 
 yet this name Balla has been such an ignis fatuus to modern Irish 
 antiquaries, that tliey have almost unanimously adopted General 
 Vallancey's etymology of the word, — " Ballagh, i. e. Beilagh, the 
 Fire of Fires," — and considered it as a proof demonstrative of the 
 pagan origin of the Towers, though they had the authority of tlie 
 Author of the Mayo Survey, himself a disciple of their school, that 
 "in the walls of the small plain church (of Ballagh), the stones and 
 workmanship are the same as those of the Tower." 
 
 In some instances, however, when the well was of small size, it 
 was covered by a small stone-roofed buikbng, exactly resembling a 
 stone-roofed oratory, as in a well at Tobar na Druadh, near Sheeps- 
 town, in the County of Kilkenny ; St. Brigid's well at the Faughard, 
 in the County of Louth, still remaining ; and the well called the 
 Lady's Well near Dundalk, of which an engraving is given in 
 Wright's Louthiana, but which has since been rebuilt. 
 
 In like manner, the tombs of the early saints present a variety of 
 forms ; as in those on Aran, which are often rude sarcophagi, some- 
 what similar to pagan cromleacs or kistvaens, while, at other times, 
 they are small cairns, enclosed by a circular or quadrangular wall. 
 But, though the usual practice appears to have been to mark the 
 grave of Christians simply by unsquared flag stones, marked with a 
 cross, it appears certain, that, in many instances, the sepulclires of 
 very distinguished persons were honoured with tombs of a more 
 architectural character, and which, like the coverings of the wells 
 already alluded to, had a striking resemblance, in every thing but 
 size, to the small stone oratories. Of sucli structiu'es, however, I 
 have discovered but few remains, and none in a perfect state, but
 
 454 
 
 INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES 
 
 those which are situated in the County of Londonderry, — namely, 
 the tomb of St. Cadan, — the Catanus of Patrick's Lives, — beside the 
 church of Tamlaght Ard ; the tomb of St. Muireadach O'Heney, 
 near the church of Banagher, of which he is the reputed foimder ; 
 and the tomb of the founder of the chiurch of Bovevagh, whose name 
 is now forgotten. 
 
 
 Of two of these curious monuments I liave thought it desirable 
 to append illustrations ; and of these the first is an east view of 
 the tomb of St. Muireadach O'Heney, exhibiting the sculptured 
 relievo of this saint, with which it is ornamented. This tomb is 
 wholly faced with ashlar masonry of sandstone, and measiu'es ten 
 feet in length, four feet nine inches in breadth, eight feet in height 
 to the gable ridge, and four feet to the eaves. 
 
 Respecting the age of this tomb I can only speak conjectiu-ally, 
 as I have not been able to discover any historical reference to the 
 ecclesiastic to whom it was raised. But, as his church, — which was 
 a building of considerable architectural beauty, — seems obviously a 
 structure of the latter part of the eleventh century, or the commence- 
 ment of the twelfth, we may fairly assign this monument to that 
 period. 
 
 The next illustration presents a west end view of the tomb of
 
 ON THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND. 
 
 455 
 
 the reputed founder of the church of Bovevagh, which, like that of 
 St. Muireadacli, is faced with ashlar masonry of sand-stone, but 
 appears to be of earlier date. It measures nine feet in Icngtli, and 
 
 seven feet six inches in lieiglit. 
 
 The tomb of St. Cadan is also built of ashlar masonry, and is 
 obviously of much higher antiquity, but it is so covered up with 
 earth by the adjacent interments that no sketch of it could be 
 obtained. 
 
 Remains of similar tombs are found in other parts of Ireland, 
 some of which would appear to have been' of greater size and impor- 
 tance, but they are usually in a state of great dilapidation; — such, for 
 instance, was the tomb of St. Colman INIac Duach, at Kill mac Duach, 
 which was constructed of very large blocks of squared limestone, 
 and measured ten feet in length and five in breadth. 
 
 I have only to add that, few as these remaining examples of the 
 ancient tomb architecture of the Irish are, they are valuable, as pre- 
 serving to us the probable type of the tomb of St. Coliuuba, and the 
 more celebrated monuments of the kings, at lona, which Sacheverel, 
 Martin, and Pennant notice, as described by the Dean of the Isles as 
 " built in form of little chapels ;" — and, perhaps, also, the tomb of 
 St. Patrick, formerly preserved at Glastonbury " of the Iri.sh," which 
 is noticed, by Camden and Sammes, as being of a pyramidal form.
 
 4.5() INQI'IRY INTO THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE ROUND TOWERS, ETC 
 
 Of till' ancient mills erected by ecclesiastics, in connexion with 
 their monasteries, we have several notices in oiu* historical authorities, 
 some of which I liave referred to in my Essay on the Antiquities 
 of Tara. But, though there are several mills in Ireland of very 
 eai'ly antiquity, I have not hitlierto met with any in connexion with 
 the churches that appear of coeval date, and consequently deserving 
 of further notice in this place. ' 
 
 I have now brought this Second Part of my Inquiry to an end. 
 That occasional errors of opinion — where opinion has been ventured 
 on — may be found in it, I am prepared to expect ; but I indulge in 
 the hope that such errors will be deemed of little importance, or at 
 least insufficient to invalidate, to any extent, the conclusions I have 
 arrived at as to the antiquity and uses of tlie various classes of eccle- 
 siastical edifices of which I have treated; and, if I do not much 
 deceive myself, such conclusions will be strongly supported 1)}' the 
 descriptive and historical notices of the ancient religious edifices 
 remaining in the several counties of Ireland, to which the next Part 
 of this Inquiry will be devoted.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abbanhs, S., religious foreigners with, 
 
 138. 
 Abecedarium, or Eoman alphabet, 135. 
 AbernethyTower(Scotland), human skulls 
 
 and bones stated to have been found in. 
 
 ■ observations thereon, 91, 92. 
 . Round Tower at. Sir Walter 
 
 Scott's observations on, 377. 
 Absis, couched semicircular, not found in 
 
 ancient Irish churches, 162. 
 Academy, Eoyal Irish, copy of the Annals 
 
 of the Four Masters in the library of, 
 
 notice of, 51. 
 
 museum of the, 228, 252, 315. 
 
 Acaill (the hUl on which Serin Colaim 
 
 Cille is at this day), residence of King 
 
 Cormac at, 98, 100. 
 Achadh Aldai, the cave of, 103. 
 Achadh bo Cainnigh. — See Aghaboe. 
 Achadh-Dalrach, Cursecha filia Brochani 
 
 de, 138. 
 Achadh Galma in Ybh-Echia, 138. 
 Achadh Ginain, Gauls or Franks of, 166. 
 
 Achadh ur See Freshford. 
 
 Acta Sanctorum. — See Colgan and BoUan- 
 
 dists. 
 Adamnan, his life of St. Columba quoted 
 
 or referred to, 340, 387, 388, 389, 424. 
 his work " De Situ Terras Sanc- 
 
 tae," Bede's Abstract of. — See Bede. 
 Vision of, quoted, 442, 443. 
 
 Aedan, derthach of, 345. 
 
 Aedh, king of Aileach, 223. 
 
 Aedh, the son of Aicide, chief of Teffia, 
 
 death of, 331. 
 Aedli, the son of Brendan, cliief of Teffia, 
 
 Durrow endowed by, 331. 
 Aedh, the son of Maelruanaidh, coin as- 
 cribed to, 226. 
 Aedh Finn, son of Feargna, chief of Breif- 
 
 ny, gives up Fenagh to St. Caillin, 448, 
 
 449. 
 Aedh Finnliath, monarch of Ireland, coins 
 
 attributed to, 225, 226. 
 Aedh Luirgnech, son of the Dagda, grave 
 
 of. — See Ferta Aedha Luirgnig. 
 Aedh, son of the Dagda, buried at Brugh, 
 
 106. 
 Aedh Oirdnighe, monarch of Ireland, poem 
 
 addressed to, quoted, 382. 
 
 Ulidia devastated by, 203. 
 
 Aenach, annual meetings so called, where 
 
 held, 107, 108. 
 Aenach Ailbhe, a pagan cemetery, 98, 
 
 99, 100, 101, 106. 
 Aenach Colmain, a pagan cemetery of the 
 
 men of Munster, 98, 99, 100, 101, 106. 
 Aenach Cruachan, or Aenach na Cruach- 
 
 na, a pagan cemetery, account of, in 
 
 Leabhar nah-Uidhre, 98, 100, 104, 105, 
 
 106 See Rathcroghan. 
 
 Aenach Culi, one of the burial places of 
 
 the men of Munster (i. e. the Derg- 
 
 thene), 98, 99, 100, 101, 106. 
 Aenach Eamhna, a pagan cemetery, 98. 
 N
 
 458 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Aenach Feci, a pagan cemetery, 106. 
 Aenach sean-Clochair, a pagan cemetery, 
 
 98. 
 Aougus, a poet of Connaught, 106. 
 Aengus the Culdee, litany of, 137 ; quoted, 
 
 or referred to, 138, 166, 179. 
 Aengus, Felire or FestUogy of. — See Fe- 
 
 lire. 
 Aengus Gaibhuaiphnecli, 98, 100. 
 Aengus, son of Crunnmael, the Caisel or 
 
 stone enclosure of. — See Caisel Aengusa 
 
 mic Crundmaeil. 
 Aengus, son of the Dagda, buried at Brugh 
 
 na Boinne, 106. 
 African Sea-champions, i. e. the Fomo- 
 
 rians. Round Towers asserted by Val- 
 
 lancey to have been first erected in Ire- 
 land by, 14. 
 Agda, the son of Dubcen, prince of Teffia, 
 
 death of, 330. 
 Aghaboe burned, 429. 
 Aghannagh, County of Sligo, old church 
 
 of, 179, 180. 
 
 church of Ehenaoh, founded by 
 
 St. Patrick, 180. 
 Bishop Manius, left by St. Pa- 
 
 trick at Each-ainech, in the territory of 
 
 Tir-OiliUa, 180. 
 Agilulf, Abbot of Bobbio, 396. 
 Aidan, king, 389. 
 
 Aidan, St See Maidoc. 
 
 Aigidiu, moniunental inscription bearing 
 
 this name at Durrow, 331. 
 probably a prince of Teffia in the 
 
 tenth century, ib. 
 Aidhne, or Ui Fiachracb Aidhne, burial- 
 place of the chiefs of, 176. 
 Aldus, St., lies interred at CluainDartadha, 
 
 138. 
 AObhe, St., comharbas, or successors of, 
 
 in Emly, 312. 
 Aileach, King of, 151, 152, 223, 226, 
 
 308. 
 Ailell Mac Mada, 98, 100. 
 interred at Aenach na Cruacli- 
 
 na, 106, 107. 
 
 Ailell of Bregia, interred at Rathcroghan, 
 
 104, 105. 
 AOithre, or Oilithre, meaning of word, 1 18, 
 
 derivation of, by Dr. O'Conor, ib. 
 Aireagal, origin of the word, 352. 
 Aireagal Adhamhnain, modern name of, 
 
 352. 
 Airegal Daohiarog, modern name of, 352. 
 Airged, application of the word to denote 
 
 both silver and money, 221. 
 AirghiaU — See OirghiaU. 
 Aisse, cacuminibus, in Bregia, church buil t 
 
 in, by St. Patrick, 142. 
 Aistire, or Aistreoir, an ecclesiastical offi- 
 cer, duties of, 382-384 ; the name iden- 
 tified with Ostiarius, 382, 383. 
 Aithgedh Eicis, the punishments of the 
 Eicis, or professional 'classes, a tract of 
 Brehon Laws, quoted, 383. 
 Alcuin, letter of, to St. Colcu, master of 
 theschoolof Clonmacnoise, 216; quoted, 
 ib. 
 Alfred the Great, 327. 
 Allmain, i. e. the residence of Finn Mac 
 
 Cumhaill, 108. 
 Alphabet, Roman, or Abecedarium, 135. 
 Altar, decorated, at Kildare, 197, 198. 
 Altar Stone of St. Sinach, i. e. Mac Dara, 
 
 191. 
 Altus, informs Conchobar Mac Nessa of 
 the crucifixion of Christ, — Leabhar na 
 h-Uidhre, 97, 99- 
 Amhalgaidh, son of Fiachra Egaidh, son 
 
 of Dathi, earn of, 107, 108 Sons of, 
 
 126. 
 AmlafF the Dane, 223. 
 Amlaff [a Danish king], 103. 
 Amlaff, king of the Danes of Dublin, 225, 
 
 226. 
 Amlaff, son of Sitriuc, A. D. 980 ; 1 18. 
 Amlaff, son of Sitric, captured A. D. 1 029 ; 
 
 214. 
 Amlaff, son of Maelan, king of Gaileng, 
 
 374, 375 ; death of, ib. 
 An, a diminutive usually added to proper 
 names, 166.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 459 
 
 Anastatlus, in Bibliothcca Patruni, re- 
 ferred to, 205. 
 
 Ancliorite luclusorii, 72. 
 
 Anchorite Towers, Eound Towers believed 
 by Dr. O'Conor to have been used as 
 such, 48, 49, 50, 52 ; the same believed 
 by Mr. Windele, 71, 72. 
 
 . theory that the Eound Towers 
 
 were anchorite towers, examined and 
 refuted, 109-116. 
 
 Anchorites, opinion that the Round Towers 
 were built for the residence of ancho- 
 rites, originally entertained by Dr. 
 Smith, 117. 
 
 Ancient History, &c. of Ireland, Essay on, 
 by Mr. D'Alton, quoted, 43. 
 
 Anglo-Norman architecture referred to, 
 209, 210. 
 
 Anglo-Norman coins, 228, 229. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon churches, a characteristic 
 feature of, 188. 
 
 Anion, brother of AiHUMac Mada, 98, 100. 
 
 Annadown, or Eanachduin, county of Gal- 
 way, Cloicteach of, erected, 395. 
 
 Annals, Irish, seldom if ever, make any 
 mention of buildings, except in record- 
 ing their burning or destruction, 146. 
 
 Annals of Clonmacnoise, translation of, by 
 Connell Mageoghegan, quoted or re- 
 ferred to, 54, 150, 151, 222, 231, 245, 
 271, 291, 341, 343, 365, 373, 374, 375, 
 390, 391. 
 
 Annals of Connaught, referred to, 167. 
 
 Annals of the Four Masters, quoted or re- 
 ferred to, 27, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 
 58, 59, 60, 61, 66, 115, 118, 121, 146, 
 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 
 203, 204, 214, 222, 231, 245, 271, 272, 
 286, 291, 311, 325, 327, 330, 331, 335, 
 .341, 345, 375, 376. 392, 393, 409, 427, 
 429, 435, 436, 439, 446, 450. 
 
 Annals of Innisfallen, quoted or referred 
 to, 203, 290, 291. 
 
 Annals of Innisfallen, translation of, in 
 Lib. R. I. A., referred to, 292. 
 
 Annals of Innisfallen, Dublin copy, quoted 
 
 3 
 
 or referred to, 310, 312,315, 316, 327, 
 375. 
 
 Annals (Old) of Innisfallen, or Annals of 
 Munster, referred to, 310, 312. 
 
 Annals of KOronan, referred to, 158. 
 
 quoted, 291, 311. 
 
 Annals of Munster. — See Annals (old) of 
 Innisfallen. 
 
 Annals, Munster, old translation of, re- 
 ferred to, 376. 
 
 Annals of Tighernach, quoted or referred 
 to, 118, 143, 148, 221, 245, 270, 273, 
 274, 330, 331, 353, 356, 374, 390, 437. 
 
 Annals of Tighernach, continuation of, 
 quoted, 291. — See Tighernach. 
 
 Annals of Ulster, quoted or referred to, 
 45, 46, 47, 48, 52, 53,54, 103, 144, 145, 
 147, 149, 152, 154, 159, 203, '204, 221, 
 225, 325, 327, 330, 331, 343, 344, 345, 
 349, 352, 356, 373, 374, 375, 409, 430, 
 439, 440. 
 
 old MS., translation of, pre- 
 served in the British Museum, quoted, 
 54, 149, 373, 374, 375. 
 
 Anthologia Hibernica, quoted, 287. 
 
 Antiphonarium of Armagh, entry in, 
 quoted, 394. 
 
 Antrim, church, foundation of, 404. 
 
 erection of Round Tower of, as- 
 cribed to the Goban Saer, 385, 404 
 
 Doorway of, described, 403, 404. 
 
 Appleton Church, Berks, ornaments in, 
 similar to those at Cashel, 299. 
 
 Aran, Islands of, stone oratories in, 350. 
 
 Aran, the great island of, in the bay of 
 Galway, description of ancient pagan 
 house on, 129, 130. 
 
 monumental inscriptions on, 139, 
 
 140. 
 
 churches of St. Mac Duach on, 
 
 176, 177, 351 ; doorway of the greater 
 church, 177. 
 
 Aran, the great island of, dimensions of 
 stone oratories on, 35 1 . 
 
 fortress of Muirbheach Mil on. 
 
 449. 
 
 N 2
 
 460 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Aran, the great island of, monastic build- 
 ings of St. Colnian Mac Duach, at Kil- 
 murvey, on, 424. 
 
 middlq island of, church of Kilcana- 
 
 nagh on, 188, 189; window of, 184. 
 
 stone oratory of St. Ceanannach 
 
 on, 35 1 . — See Ceanannach. 
 Arch, art of constructing, unknown to the 
 
 Irish anterior to the introduction of 
 
 Christianity, 359. 
 principle of the, not found in ancient 
 
 houses of abbots and monks, 128; nor 
 
 in the ancient oratories in Corcaguiny, 
 
 132. 
 the lintel arch declared to be Pelasgic 
 
 byWindele, 72. 
 semicircular, known at an early pe- 
 
 riod in China; fovmd in the ancient 
 baths and palaces of Mexico, &c., Win- 
 dele, 72. 
 
 . used in the doorways of ancient 
 
 Irish churches, 177, et seq. 
 peculiar, used in windows in 
 
 ancient Irish churches, 182-184. 
 — chancel archway, ornamented, atGlen- 
 
 dalough, treated of, 257-261, 265, 266. 
 
 chancel, ornamented, 242, 243. 
 
 triumphal, connected the nave with 
 
 the chancel, or sanctuary, of the ancient 
 Irish churches, 162. 
 
 Arches, triumphal or chancel, in the larger 
 churches, standing in the division be- 
 tween the nave and the chancel, descrip- 
 tion of, 185, 186. 
 
 Archdall, erroneous statements of, 216, 
 239, 243, 338, 339. 
 
 . hisMonasticon Hibernicimi quoted 
 
 or referred to, 256, 262, 432. 
 
 Architecture — Author's Essay on the An- 
 cient Military Architecture of Ireland, 
 referred to, 78, 127. 
 
 Architecture or masonry of the Round 
 Towers and that of the ancient churches 
 erected before the twelfth century, the 
 same, 34. 
 
 Architecture, Komanesque, 232, 240. 
 
 Architecture, ancient Irish, previously to 
 the Danish irruptions, 320. 
 
 of wells, tombs, and mills, 452- 
 
 456. 
 
 Architrave, flat, or band, sometimes deco- 
 rates doorways of ancient Irish church- 
 es, 162. 
 
 flat projecting, presented in 
 
 many instances by the doorways of an- 
 cient [i. e., primitive] Irish churches, 
 169-171 ; instance of intention of adding 
 an architrave, which was never com- 
 pleted, 173, 174. 
 
 . windows of ancient Irish churches 
 
 generally decorated with, when similar 
 
 ornament is found in the doorways, 
 
 185. 
 Archway, chancel, ornamented, 267, 268. 
 Ardfert, anchorite habitations stated by 
 
 Windele to exist at, 72. 
 Ardmagilligan, 202. 
 Ardmore, anciently called Ard na g-cae- 
 
 rach, i. e., Altitudo ovium, in the Latin 
 
 life of St. Declan, 82. 
 Tower of, 80, 8 1 — Corbel stones 
 
 of, 399; bands or belts of, 401. 
 examination of Mr. Windele's 
 
 opinions concerning, 82, 83. 
 
 - cell of S t. Declan at, called Mona- 
 
 chan, Windele, 72. 
 
 ■ Declan's dormitory at, 356. 
 
 Ard na g-caerach, ancient name of Ard- 
 more, 82. 
 
 Ard-Oilean, or High Island, off the coast 
 of Connamara, character of monastic 
 establishment on, 1 28. 
 
 description of one of the ancient 
 
 houses at, 131, 132 See High Island. 
 
 Areida, the family of, 216. 
 
 Argenteus, or denarius, Roman, 221. 
 
 Argetbor, in Bregia, church of, 142. 
 
 Argyrotheca, at Armagh, 157, 384. 
 
 Armagh, in old Irish sometimes written 
 Ardd mache, as in the Book of Armagh, 
 158. 
 
 latinised Ardmacha Ciuitas, 158.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 U>1 
 
 Armagh, antiphonarium of the cathedral 
 
 of, entry in, quoted, 394- 
 
 tanist Abbot of, 409. 
 
 aipo peap leccliin of, 27; Ar- 
 
 chimagister, ib. 
 Archbishop of, popiilar notion 
 
 concerning, noticed by St. Bernard, 
 
 333. 
 
 Basilica of, 154. 
 
 Book of. — See Tirechan, and 
 
 Book of Armagh. 
 the Books of Eochaidh O'Flan- 
 
 nagan at, 106, 107. 
 Book of Maelbrighte written at, 
 
 308; entries in, quoted, 307, 308. 
 burned by lightning A. D. 915, 
 
 995; 48, 52, 147. 
 
 burned, 54, 343, 439, 446. 
 
 carcar or prison at, 106, 107. 
 
 roof of the cloictheach of, 56. 
 
 damliac or basilica of, 148, 149, 
 
 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 156, 157, 161, 
 447. 
 
 erected by St. Patrick, 157. 
 
 Kitchen of, 444, 445. 
 
 Refectory of, 429. 
 
 Great house of the Abbots burned 
 
 at, 429. 
 ecclesiastical edifices of, burned, 
 
 145, 146, 147-153. 
 that the churches at, were stone 
 
 buildings in the ninth century, quite 
 certain, 153-156. 
 buildings constitutintf the reli- 
 
 gious establishment at, in St. Patrick's 
 time, with measurements of the same, 
 noticed in detail, 384. 
 
 Argyrotheca of, 384. 
 
 erection of the ecclesiastical edi- 
 
 fices at, in most instances, ascribed to 
 St. Patrick himself, 145. 
 
 St. Evin's account of the laying 
 
 of the foundation of the Cathedral of, 
 by St. Patrick, 156, 157; length of, as 
 prescribed by St. Patrick, by direction 
 of an angel, 157. 
 
 Armagh, that there is every reason to be- 
 lieve that the stone churches existing 
 at, in the ninth century, were the very 
 churches erected in St. Patrick's time, 
 or shortly after, shown, 156-159- 
 
 the pinginn in circulation at, in 
 
 1031; 222, 223. 
 
 plundered by Mac Cairill, A. D. 
 
 996 ; 53. 
 
 by the inhabitants of Oriel, 
 
 A.D. 996; 54. 
 
 by the Northmen, 146. 
 
 by the Danes of Dublin, 146, 
 
 147. 
 
 sacrilegious plundering or viola- 
 tion of, 146, 147. 
 
 Eath of, burned, 150, 151 , 152, 
 
 446 See Rath. 
 
 stone oratory at, 144. 
 
 stone oratory in the neighbour- 
 
 hood of, coeval with St. Patrick, 350. 
 Treana, i. e. Trians, Thirds, or 
 
 ternal divisions of, 148, 149, 150, 151, 
 152, 446. 
 usurpation of archbishopric of. 
 
 310. 
 Armenia, 68. 
 Art, the son of Conn ; place of his burial, 
 
 98, 100. 
 Art, skill of the ancient Irish ecclesiastics 
 
 in the art of manufacturing all the sa- 
 cred utensils belonging to the altar, 
 
 shrines, &c., 202-205. 
 Art of sculpture, knowledge of, in Ireland, 
 
 272. 
 Artghal, son of Cathal, king of Connaught, 
 
 118. 
 Artificers, ancient Irish, 202. 
 Artificers of St. Patrick, skill of, 202. 
 Arts, skill of the early ecclesiastics in 
 
 Ireland in, 192. 
 Arts of civilized life, knowledge of, among 
 
 the Irish at the time of the first Danish 
 
 irruptions, 213. 
 • decline of, in Ireland, after tlie 
 
 Anglo-Norman conquest, 320.
 
 462 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Arts (Lcs), au Moyen Age, referred to, 
 251, 307. 
 
 Asicus, one of St. Patrick's artificers, 202. 
 
 Athclstan, king of the Saxons, 225. 
 
 Athfara [name of a place], 26y. 
 
 Auisle [a Danish king], 103. 
 
 Auxilius, one of the seven sons of the Lom- 
 bard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 167. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baal.— <S'ee Bel. 
 
 Baal-theine. — See Bel-theine. 
 
 Babylonia, remains of the tower of, Win- 
 dele, 71. 
 
 Bachall, application of the word in Irish 
 authorities, 307- 
 
 Baculum Jesu, i. e. the crozier of St. Pa- 
 trick, 157, 333. 
 
 Bagdad, fire temple near, said to resemble 
 the Eound Towers, 68. 
 
 pillar observed by Major Keppel, 
 
 between Coot and Bagdad, Windele, 71. 
 
 Baislecc, church of, given by St. Patrick 
 to one of his disciples, 165. 
 
 Baklhuninega, 216. 
 
 Balla, County of Mayo, Church and Tow- 
 er, erected by St. Mochua at, 453. 
 
 etymology of its name, ib. 
 
 Bally Mac Moyre, in the Co. of Armagh, 
 origin of the name, 333, 334. 
 
 Ballynakill, barony of Ballynahinch, Coun- 
 ty of Galway, patron saint of parish 
 church, 189. 
 
 Bally naslicbh, in the County of Kil- 
 kenny, Druidic temple stated to be at, 
 31. 
 
 Ballysadare, religious persons who assem- 
 bled at, to meet St. CohmibkLUe, re- 
 ferred to, 322. 
 
 Banagher, County of Londonderry, church 
 of, 454. 
 
 Tomb at, ib. 
 
 Bandon, cave in a rath west of, 80. 
 
 Bangor, or Benchor, oratory at, built by 
 St. Malachy, 349. 
 
 Bangor, St. Bernard's account of St. Mala- 
 chy 's laying the foundation of a chapel 
 of stone at, as given by Ware (Harris's 
 ed.) 123. 
 
 . St. Bernard's remarks on a chapel 
 
 made of timber, built at Bangor by 
 St. Malachy, as given by Ware (Har- 
 ris's ed.) 123. 
 
 St. Bernard's account of the lay- 
 
 ing of the foundation of a church at, by 
 St. Malachy, 194, 195. 
 
 remains of abbey church of, ex- 
 
 tant in the last century, age of, 195. 
 devastated, 203 ; shrine of St. 
 
 Comgall at, ib. 
 
 Bare Crimthaind Nianair, the Bare of 
 Crimthan Nianar, a sepulchral monu- 
 ment at Brugh naBoinne, 102. 
 
 Bard, seven sons of the, 167 iSeeEesti- 
 
 tutus cmd Lombard. 
 
 Bards, contention of the, alluded to, 417. 
 
 Barque-building, payment for, 346, 347. 
 
 Basilica, origin of the name (Hope quoted), 
 192, 193. 
 
 . application of, with Irish writers, 
 
 143, 144, 145, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 
 155, 157. 
 
 Roman, resemblance of ancient 
 
 Irish churches to, 162. 
 
 Baslic, origin and application of the word, 
 143. 
 
 Basnage, the editor of Canisius, quoted, 1 99. 
 
 Battle-fields in Ireland, localities of, stated 
 in ancient MSS., 101. - 
 
 Baumgarten, Dr., 24. 
 
 Beacons, theory of the use of the Eound 
 Towers exclusively as watch-towers and 
 beacons rejected, 121 ; in conjunction 
 with other uses advocated, ib. ; argu- 
 ments in favour of the theory of the 
 probable use of the Eound Towers as 
 beacons and watch-towers, 378-380. 
 
 Bead-moulding, windows of ancient Irish 
 churches generally decorated with, 
 where similar ornament is found in the 
 doorways, 185.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 463 
 
 Bead ornament, Windele, 72. 
 Bealacli forcliedail [eccl. vel mon.], 1 38. 
 Bealacli Blugliua, battle of, 289. 
 Bealahamire, near Cork, 80. 
 Beallanrannig, in the County of Kerry, 
 
 80. 
 Bearnan, explanation of the term, 339. 
 Beauford, Mr., his opinions as to the ori- 
 gin and use of the Eound Towers, 30, 
 
 31 ; refutation of, 31, 32. 
 his reading and translation of 
 
 the inscription of Freshford, 287, n., 
 
 288, 11. 
 Beaufort, Miss, her arguments in support 
 
 of the hypothesis of the Eound Towers 
 
 having been used as fire-temples, stated 
 
 and refuted, 35-42. 
 Bede, Venerable, referred to, 355, 441, 
 
 442, 444. 
 
 — — — ■ quoted, 141. 
 
 ■ — his abstract of Adamnan's 
 
 Work "De Situ Terra; Sancta;," quoted, 
 
 422, 440, 449. 
 
 his Chronicle referred to, 46. 
 
 his Hist. Eccl. quoted, 126. 
 
 his Life of St. Cuthbert quoted, or 
 
 referred to, 128, 129, 447- 
 
 Beds, giants' See Graves. 
 
 Bel, or Baal, an idol, fires of, 38; Beul, 
 
 the deity, 39- 
 Belfries, opinion of the author of Cam- 
 
 brensis Eversus, as to the use of the 
 
 Eound Towers as such, 5. 
 
 of the early Christians, 30. 
 
 theory of the use of the Eound 
 
 Towers exclusively as, rejected, 121; 
 and in conjunction with other uses, ad- 
 vocated, 121, et seq. 
 
 classified with other ecclesiastical 
 
 buildings, 160. 
 treated of as a class of Irish ec- 
 
 clesiastical buildings, 358, et seq See 
 
 Eound Towers. 
 Campanilia, or detached belfries, 
 
 used in Ireland from a very early pe- 
 riod, .362, 363. 
 
 Belfries, existence of, in Ireland in St. 
 Columba's time, 389. 
 
 Eound Towers still used as such 
 
 in many places, 363. 
 
 Eound Towers acknowledged by 
 
 Vallancey to have been used as, 1 7. 
 
 fallacious statement of Beauford as 
 
 to the conversion of the Eound Towers 
 into, about the twelfth century, 32. 
 round turret, placed on churches, 
 
 395-397. 
 
 Belfry, theory, 64-66. 
 
 ancient Irish, called Cloidheach, 
 
 proved to be a distinct budding, 364- 
 366. 
 
 Belfry, square, ancient example of, in Ire- 
 land, 363. 
 
 Belfry-building, 347. 
 
 Belgians, intercourse of the ancient Irish 
 with, 213, 214. 
 
 Bell of the Eound Tower of Eattoo, in 
 the County of Kerry, tradition con- 
 nected with, 400. 
 
 of the Cloidheach of Slane mentioned, 
 
 48, 56. 
 
 Bells, ancient, 152, 192, 338, 339. 
 
 use of, in ancient Ireland, 32, 389- 
 
 " y'^ Steeple with y^ Bells," 
 
 149. 
 
 fabricated by St. Dageus, 202. 
 
 Author's Essay on ancient Irish, re- 
 ferred to, 222. 
 
 ancient consecrated, treated of, 252. 
 
 of a size much too large for altar 
 
 bells, distributed by St. Patrick in Ire- 
 land, 383. 
 carried from a cloictheach, 393. 
 
 Bel-theine, 40. 
 
 Bel-theine, supposed to be the sacred fires 
 of Baal, 36. 
 
 Beltaine, explanation of, from an 
 
 ancient MS., 37, 38. 
 
 Belltaine, explained by Cormac 
 
 M'Cullenan, 38. 
 
 Benchor See Bangor. 
 
 Benen, St., or Benignus, disciple of St.
 
 464 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Patrick, liis escape from the macliina- 
 
 tions of the Blagi, at Tara, 337- 
 Benen, St., the virgin Crumther is in- 
 trusted to liis care, 350. 
 
 oratory of, dimensions of, 35 1 . 
 
 church of Cill Benen, erected 
 
 by, 447. 
 Benn, the stone of. — See Lecc Benn. 
 Bentham, Rev. J., his Kemarks on the 
 
 Saxon Churches referred to, 441. 
 Beranger, Monsieur, drawings made by, 
 
 referred to, 248, et alibi. 
 Beresford's, Rev. Mr., authority respecting 
 
 the Tower of Drumlalian, 114. 
 Bernard's, St., Life of St. Malachy, quoted 
 
 or referred to, 123, 194, 195, 309, 310, 
 
 333, 339, 349. 
 Bernicius, disciple of St. Patrick, 165, 
 
 166. 
 Betham, Sir William, a supporter of the 
 
 Buddhist theory, 109- 
 an advocate for the belief that 
 
 the Round Towers were occasionally in 
 
 part applied to sepulchral purposes, 78, 
 
 79. 
 . his statement of bones having 
 
 been found within the Towers of Ram 
 Island and Timahoe, examined, 81. 
 observations of, concerning the 
 
 human bones stated to have been found 
 in the Round Tower of Timahoe, exa- 
 mined, 417-420. 
 — Notice of another statement of. 
 
 as to the Round Towers, 420. 
 Antiquarian Researches referred 
 
 to, 338. 
 
 418. 
 
 Etruria-Celtica quoted, 417, 
 
 — . remarks on the word pallium, 
 
 338, 339. 
 
 Bhaugulpore, in Hindostan, two Towers 
 found near, stated to bear an exact re- 
 semblance to those of Ireland, 29, 67, 68. 
 
 Towers at, not proved to have 
 
 been fire-temples, or of any remote an- 
 tiquity, 73. 
 
 Bigari, Signor, drawings made by, referred 
 to, 248. 
 
 Bile Dathen, in Tir Maine, origin of name, 
 106, 107 ; more modern name of, 106, 
 107. 
 
 Bili Scathen, in Tir Maine, ancient name 
 of, 106, 107. 
 
 Bingliam's Origines Ecclesiasticse referred 
 to, 200. 
 
 Monasteries in the East de- 
 scribed by, 422. 
 
 Biorno, king of Sweden, 212. 
 
 Bishops, irregular succession of, in Ire- 
 land, noticed by St. Bernard, 309. 
 
 Biteus, one of St. Patrick's artificers, 202. 
 
 Blacar II., king of Dublhi, 224. 
 
 Black, Mr., his History of Brechin, quoted, 
 92, 93. 
 
 account of excavations recently 
 
 made, under his direction, within the 
 Round Tower of Brechin, 93-95. 
 
 Blaimac, abbot of Clonmacnoise, inscribed 
 tombstone of, 326. 
 
 Blaitiniu, in Bregia, church of, 142. 
 
 Blathmac, the son of Aedh Slaine, 244. 
 
 Boadan, cave of the sepulchre of 103. 
 
 Boann, from whom the River Boyne, who, 
 215. 
 
 Bobbio, church of St. Columbanus at, 
 belfry upon, 396, 397. 
 
 Boethius Episcopus, SS. 510, qui ex par- 
 tibus transmarinis venerunt cum S. 
 Boethio Episcopo, 138. 
 
 Boinn, the wife of Nechtan, the grave of. — 
 See Fert na Boinne. 
 
 Bollandists, Acta Sanctorum of, quoted, 
 or referred to, 110, 171, 172, 422, 423, 
 424, 446. 
 
 Bones, human, stated to have been found 
 in the Towers of Drumbo, Maghera, 
 Timahoe, and Abernethy (Scotland), 88. 
 
 account of those stated to have 
 
 been found in the Tower of Drumbo, 
 communicated by Mr. Edward Getty, of 
 Belfast, 89, 90 ; observations on the 
 above statements, 88-92.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 465 
 
 Bones, stated to have been found interred 
 within the Tower at Ram-Island in An- 
 trim, and also in that of Timahoe, 7 1 ; 
 observations on the statement, 78, 81. 
 
 observations on the statement of 
 
 human, having been found in the Tower 
 of Abernethy, 91, 92, 93. 
 
 great varieties of, and a few hu- 
 
 man, stated to have been found within 
 the Eound Tower of Brechin, in Scot- 
 land, 93-96. 
 more or less calcined, found in the 
 
 monumental remains in Ireland, 102. 
 — unburned, found within the mounds 
 
 at Rathcroghan, 107. 
 Book of Armagh, quoted or referred to, 
 
 126, 142, 158, 161, 166, 179, 180, 193, 
 
 220, 337, 338, 383. 
 
 history of, 333-335. 
 
 ancient Irish name of, 333, 34 1 ; 
 
 hereditary stewardship of, 333, 334; 
 
 contents of, 334 ; real age of the MS., 335. 
 leather case of, treated of, 332- 
 
 335. 
 
 legend connected with, 337. 
 
 reverence paid to, 340, 341. 
 
 Book of Ballymote, quoted or referred to, 
 
 62, 102, 103, 166, 217, 218, 292, 346, 
 
 384, 385, 386, 387. 
 Book of Fenagh referred to and quoted, 
 
 448, 449; where preserved, 448. 
 Book of Kells, now in Libr. T. C. D., beauty 
 
 and splendour of, 206. 
 
 notice of ornament used in, 232. 
 
 stolen, 53, 439. 
 
 Book of Lecan, quoted or referred to, 26, 
 
 107, 142, 166, 286, 287, 380, 384, 385, 
 
 386. 
 Book of Leinster, quoted or referred to, 
 
 28, 137, 340, 395, 396. 
 Book of Lismore, quoted, 372. 
 Book of Eathain Ua Suanaigh, 353. 
 Borumha Laighean, a tax, abolition of, 
 
 395, 396. 
 Bovevagh, County of Londonderry, tomb 
 
 at the church of, 454, 455. 
 
 Boyne, [6oanD,] river, 98, 100, 167, 215. 
 
 sepulchral mounds on the, 103. 
 
 monastery on the bank of the, 394. 
 
 Brabazon, captain. Four Masters, A. D. 
 
 1583; 60. 
 Bracteate coins, antiquity of, on the 
 
 Continent and in Ireland, 210-232. 
 ■ ■ found within the Round Tower 
 
 of Kildare, description of, 210; age of, 
 
 examined, 210-232. 
 the earliest struck in Denmark. 
 
 227. 
 orpinginns, probably of greater 
 
 antiquity in Ireland than the screpalls, 
 
 230. 
 
 ecclesiastical, 230, 23 1 . 
 
 Irish, of a peculiar type, 219. 
 
 — pieces of seven grains, the real 
 
 pennies of Ireland, 227; have every 
 claim to an Irish origin, ib. 
 ■ formerly in the Collection of 
 
 the Dean of St. Patrick's, 228. 
 Irish bracteate penny, in the 
 
 Collection of Dr. Aquilla Smith, 324. 
 — application of the term, 210. 
 
 Braminical language, 24. 
 
 Brass, artificer in, 202. 
 
 Brecan, St., church of, on the great Island 
 of Aran, 139- 
 
 grave-stone of, on the great Is- 
 land of Aran, with Latin inscription, 
 139, 140. 
 
 another small stone in same 
 
 place inscribed with his name, 140. 
 
 founder of Ardbraccan, County 
 
 ofMeath, 139; whence descended, ib. 
 Brechin in Scotland, Round Tower at, 377. 
 Mr. Black's account of excavations 
 
 recently made under his direction within 
 
 the Round Tower of, 93-95. 
 Round Tower of, resemblance be- 
 
 tween the style of building of, and that 
 of Cloyne Tower— Mr. Black, 95. 
 
 Brechin, Round Tower of, age of, 410. 
 
 representation of the crucifixion 
 
 over the doorway of, 410. 
 
 3
 
 466 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bregia [6pe7;a], 99, 101. 
 
 Bregia, lord of, 214. 
 
 Bregia, plain of, churches erected by St. 
 
 Patrick in, 142. 
 AileU Bregmach, i. e. of Bregia, 
 
 104, 105. 
 Bregoig, 269- [Name of a place.] 
 Brehon Laws, quoted or referred to, 60, 
 
 61, 214, 215, 217, 218, 219, 346, 347, 
 
 382, 383. 
 commentaries on, referred to, 
 
 340. 
 fragment of, in Lib. T. C. D., 
 
 referred to, 351, 364, 365. 
 
 glossary of the, quoted, 341. 
 
 fragment of a commentary on, 
 
 MS. T. C. D., quoted, 364, 365. 
 Breifny, chief of, 448. 
 Brendan, St., monastic establishment of, 
 
 on Inishglory, character of, 127, 128. 
 
 Bres See Fidhnemhna. 
 
 Brethan, Ochter n-Achid purchased by, 
 
 220. 
 Brewer's, Mr., opinion of the age of Cor- 
 
 niac's Chapel, 289, 290. 
 Brian Borumha, Mac Liag's life of — See 
 
 Mac Liag. 
 character and actions of, 390, 
 
 391. 
 churches erected or re-erected 
 
 by, 241, 277, 281, 283, 284. 
 daimliacs, cloictheachs, and duir- 
 
 theachs, built by, 390. 
 
 his well on High Island, 426. 
 
 Eound Tower of Tomgraney 
 
 repaired by, 389, 390. 
 Brick, river, Co. Kerry, 400. 
 Bricks worth, in Northamptonshire, church 
 
 of, 239. 
 Brick- work, examples of, in ancient Irish 
 
 ecclesiastical buildings, 188. 
 Bridam, in Bregia, church of, 142. 
 Bridget, St., church dedicated to, 342. 
 . • church dedicated to, at Kose- 
 
 tions on, 342 ; where formerly preserv- 
 ed, ib. 
 
 Bridget, St., Life of, by Cogitosus, quoted, 
 197, 198 — See Cogitosus. 
 
 Life of, in the Leabhar Breac, 
 
 445. 
 
 shrine of, at Kildare, 197, 198, 
 
 199, 201, 204. 
 
 Tower of, at Kildare, Vallancey's 
 
 observations concerning, 26. 
 
 Kitchen of, at Kildare, 445. 
 
 suburbs of Kildare marked out 
 
 by, 204. 
 
 church of, at Armagh, 150 
 
 See Eegles Brighde. 
 covered weU of, at Faughard, 
 
 nallis, 41. 
 
 slipper of, 341, 342; inscrip- 
 
 453. 
 Bridget, St., of Oughterard, Co. Kildare, 
 
 different from the great St. Bridget, 
 
 church founded by, 406. 
 Brigantium, or Brigents, monastery at, 
 
 founded by St. Gall, 423. 
 Brighit, meaning of the name, 27. 
 Brighit, the poetess, the daughter of the 
 
 Dagda, 27. 
 Britain, earliest inhabitants of, 68. 
 Britannia, SS. quinquaginta Monachos de, 
 
 138. 
 British ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, 138. 
 Britons, ancient churches of, 127. 
 
 (i. e. religious) in Ireland, 192. 
 
 (probable) size of the earliest 
 
 churches erected by, 195. 
 Britway, Co. Cork, ancient parish church 
 
 of, doorway of, described, 180, 181 ; 
 
 apparent age of church, 181 , to whom 
 
 dedicated, ib. 
 Brogan, scribe to St. Patrick, 166. 
 Bronus, Bishop, church of. — See KiUas- 
 
 pugbrone. 
 Browne, Eev. Mr., of Kildare, ancient 
 
 coins found by, within the Eound 
 
 Tower of KUdare, 210. 
 Brugh, an ancient pagan cemetery of the 
 
 kings of Tara, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 
 
 105, 106.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 467 
 
 Brugh, the burial place of the nobles of 
 the Tuatha De Danann, 99, 101. 
 
 the first king interred at, 99, 100. 
 
 Brugh mic Inoic, the pagan cemetery 
 Brugh so called in an ancient MS., 98, 
 note '. 
 
 Brugh na Boinne, on the bank of the 
 Boyne, monuments at the royal ceme- 
 tery of, described from the Book of 
 Ballymote, 102, 103. 
 
 Brugh, Aenach in Broga, mounds at, 
 106. 
 
 Brunless, in Brecknockshire, castle of, 
 367 ; comparison of, vnth the Round 
 Towers oflrcland, 367, 368 ; Mr. King's 
 opinion as to the erectors and origin of, 
 367, 368. 
 
 ancient round castle of, com- 
 pared with the Round Towers of Ireland, 
 398. 
 
 Buailcc Bee, the cave of, a monument. — 
 See Derc m-Buailce m-Bic. 
 
 Buddhism, Windele, 70. 
 
 Buddhist saints, reliques of, (Betham 
 quoted), 417. 
 
 temples, theory that the Round 
 
 Towers were Phallic emblems, or Bud- 
 dhist temples, adverted to, 109. 
 
 Buidi, the son of Muiredh, the pillar- 
 stone of, where his head is interred. — 
 See Liag Buidi, mic Muiredha. 
 
 Builder, chief. — See OUamh Saer. 
 
 Bulbous, or tun-shaped bases, treated of, 
 239. 
 
 Bulgari, Round Tower at, called Misger, 
 noticed by Vallancey from Pallas, 29. 
 
 Bulgarian Tower, somewhat similar in 
 size and form to the Irish Towers, asserted 
 by Vallancey from a conjectural ety- 
 mology of its name, Misgir or Midsgir, 
 to have been a fire- temple, 13; refuted 
 by Dr. Ledwich, 13. 
 
 Buonarotti, Osservazioni sopra alcuni 
 Frammenti di Vetro, referred to, 202. 
 
 Burning or Cremation, human bones disco- 
 vered in the Tower of Timahoe, stated 
 
 3 
 
 by Windele to have undergone the pa- 
 gan process of cremation, 71 ; author's 
 disbelief of the statement, 78 ; further 
 examination of, 81. 
 
 Butler, Mr., Ilora; Biblica; of, 24. 
 
 Byzantine character, 134. — See Gra;co- 
 Roman. 
 
 Cadan, St., Tomb of, at Tamlaghtard, 454. 
 Caeman, one of St. Patrick's masons, 142. 
 Caiceach, Vallanoey's explanation of name, 
 
 16. 
 Caillin, St., monastery of Fenagh, in the 
 
 County of Leitrim, erected by, 448, 
 
 449. 
 Cailte, the foster-son of Finn Mac Cuni- 
 
 haill, 108, 109. 
 Caimin, St., original church of, on Inish- 
 
 caltra, 281, 282, 284. 
 Cainchell, meaning of the word, 206. 
 Caiseal an urlair, at Derry, 450. 
 Caisel Aengusa, mic Crundmaeil, at Brugh 
 
 na Boinne, 103. 
 Caisel-Irra, situated in the district of Cuil- 
 
 Irra, County of Sligo, bishop of, 179. 
 Calendar ofCashel, extract from, as trans- 
 lated by Colgan, quoted, 167, 356- 
 Calendars, Irish, referred to, 245. 
 Calphurnius, the father of St. Patrick, 
 
 167. 
 Cambrensis, Giraldus, referred to, or 
 
 quoted, 5, 6, 10, 11, 43, 44, 47, 206, 
 
 207, 208. 
 notice of the ecclesiastical towers 
 
 by, misinterpretation of, by Mr. D' Al- 
 ton, 43-45. 
 Cambrensis Eversus. — See Lynch. 
 Camden, Gibson's edition of, referred to, 
 
 225, 226. 
 Candida Casa, nowWithern, in Scotland, 
 
 church of, 141. 
 Canisius, 388. 
 Canoin Phatraic, the ancient Irish name 
 
 of the Book of Armagh, 33.3, 341.— &c 
 
 Book of Armagh. 
 
 2
 
 468 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Caoinechair, Lector of Slane, burned in 
 tlie Round Tower, 48, 56, 373, 374. 
 
 Captive's Stone, on Inis Mliic Dara, 190. 
 
 Caradoc of Llancarven, referred to, 327. 
 
 Carbreus filius Neill, 161. 
 
 Carcar Leith Machae, tlie Prison of Liath 
 Macha, a monument at Brugh na Boinne, 
 so called, 102, 103. 
 
 Carcar at Armagh, 106, 107. 
 
 Carlus, the sword of, 214. 
 
 Cam, the stone earn, monumental charac- 
 ter of, 102. 
 
 the ulaidh or earn of Fothadh Airg- 
 
 theach, 108, 109. 
 
 Carn ail Cuinn Cet-cathaigh, the stone 
 earn of Conn of the Hundred Battles, 
 a sepulchral monument at Brugh na 
 Boinne, 102. 
 
 Carn Amhalgaidh, a sepulchral monument, 
 U7ide 7iom., 107, 108. 
 
 Carn of the Three Crosses at Clonmac- 
 noiso, 438. 
 
 Carthach, St., or Moehuda, Eathain found- 
 ed by, 243 ; expelled from Eathain, 
 founds Lismore, &c., 244, 422, 446 ; 
 number of monks under, at Eathain, 
 427. 
 
 Carthen Finn, prince of Thomond, 139- 
 
 Cases (ancient leather) or covers of sacred 
 books, shrines, &c., treated of, 332, 333, 
 335-340 ; ancient Irish names of, 336- 
 340. 
 
 Cases, ancient silver, for books See Cum- 
 
 dachs. 
 
 Cashel, archbishop of, 252. 
 
 cathedral of, 305. 
 
 burned in 1495; 84. 
 
 Cormac's Cliapel at See Cor- 
 
 mac's, &c 
 
 king of, 291. 
 
 Tower of, examination of, by the 
 
 South Munster Society of Antiquaries 
 [Author's examination of the result], 
 80, 81,83,84,87,88. 
 
 character of the masonry of, 414. 
 
 apertures in Tower of, 413, 415. 
 
 Cashel, stone cross at, 272, 306. 
 
 or Caisel, a circular stone wall, 
 
 or enclosure, surrounding the ancient 
 Irish monasteries, 421. 
 
 around the monastery of High 
 
 Island, 426,447. 
 
 Cashels, classified with other ecclesiastical 
 buildings, 1 60. 
 
 treated of, as a class of Irish eccle- 
 siastical buildings, 445-452. 
 
 were but imitations of the pagan 
 
 fortresses, 445. 
 
 materials of, 445. 
 
 various Irish names of, 445, 447, 
 
 448, 449. 
 
 those of earth have rarely escaped 
 
 destruction, 446. 
 examples of, now remaining, 447, 
 
 448, 449, 450. 
 
 measurement adopted by St. Pa- 
 
 trick in all such works, 446, 447. 
 object of erecting such enclo- 
 
 sures, 447, 450. 
 in very many instances the reli- 
 
 gious houses were buUt within the 
 pagan fortresses given up to the clergy 
 by the Irish princes, 447, 448. 
 circular and concentric walls round 
 
 the Church of the Eesurrection at Je- 
 rusalem, 449. 
 
 Cassanus, disciple of St. Patrick, placed at 
 Donaghmore, 411; relics of, ib. 
 
 Cathair, or circular enclosure of stone 
 around the cemetery at Eathcroghan, 
 107. 
 
 Cathair Cruachna, the royal cemetery at 
 
 Eathcroghan, so called, 104, 105 See 
 
 Eathcroghan and Cruachan. 
 
 Cathair [Mor] buried at Oenach Ailbhe, 
 99, 101. 
 
 Cathairs See Cashels. 
 
 Cathal, the son of Conor, king of Con- 
 naught, 276 ; year of his death, 276. 
 
 Cathal Maguire. — See Maguire. 
 
 Cathalan, moniuuental inscription, bear- 
 ing his name, at Durrow, 331.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 46i» 
 
 Catharnach, son of Tadgan, the progenitor 
 
 of the family of Fox, 32<», 331. 
 Cathasach, the senior, daimhliag of Mayo 
 
 rebuilt by, 144, 145. 
 
 Cathedral See Daimhliag. 
 
 Ceall See CiU. 
 
 Ceall or cill, of the Irish, derived by Val- 
 
 lancey from the Hindoo coiU, or tem- 
 ple, 23. 
 Ceallaoh ua Nuadhat, slain by the Danes 
 
 in 971; 428. 
 Ceananuach, or Kenanach, St., a quo Tem- 
 
 pull Ceannanach, notices of, 189; stone 
 
 oratory of, on the middle island of Aran, 
 
 dimensions of, 331. 
 Ceanannan, St., festival of, 189. 
 
 Ceanannus See Kells. 
 
 Celestial Indexes, 69. 
 
 Cell, penitential habitation of Donogh 
 
 O'Braoin at Armagh, called a cell {cello), 
 
 114. 
 Cell Achaidli, with its new derthach, 
 
 burned, 344, 345. 
 Cell Angle, ancient church of, founded by 
 
 St. Patrick, 180. 
 Cell Belaigh, in Magh Constantine, one of 
 
 the churches of St. Ua Suanaigh, 354. 
 seven streets in, inhabited by 
 
 the Galls or foreigners, 354, 355. 
 Cell Senchuffi, ancient church of, founded 
 
 by St. Patrick, 180. 
 Cells of stone, without cement, erected by 
 
 the early Irish ecclesiastics, treated of, 
 
 127-136. 
 ancient monastic, 388, 389. — See 
 
 Monasteries. 
 See Houses. 
 
 Cellach, son of Bran, Kildare plundered 
 
 by, 204. 
 
 comharba of Patrick, 152, 154. 
 
 son of Maelcobha, monument of. 
 
 — See Lecht Cellaigh mic Mailcobha. 
 Celsus, Archbishop of Armagh, 155. 
 Celtic nations, 68. 
 Celtic religion, 67. 
 Cemeteries, regal, existed in various parts 
 
 of Ireland in pagan times, and were well 
 known to the people in Christian times, 
 though no longer appropriated to their 
 original purpose, 97 ; Leabhar na h- 
 Uidhre quoted, with translation, as au- 
 thority for statement, 97-101 ; Royal 
 Cemetery of Brugh na Boinne, monu- 
 ments of, 102, 103 ; cemetery called 
 Eelec ua Eiogh, at Rathcroghan, monu- 
 ments of, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107. 
 list of the chief, in Ireland, be- 
 
 fore the introduction of Christianity, 
 from Leabhar na h-Uidhre, 98, 100. 
 the three cemeteries of idolaters 
 
 in Ireland, 104, 105. 
 Tower of Drumbo, erected on a 
 
 spot previously used as a Christian ce- 
 metery, 91. 
 Cermait, or Cermuid Mil-bhel, son of tlie 
 
 Dagda, buried at Brugh, 103, 106. 
 Cernachan mac Duilgen, Armagh violated 
 
 by, A. D. 907; 146, 147. 
 Cerue, in the plain of Bregia, church of, 
 
 142. 
 Get, brother of Ailill Mac Mada, 98, 100. 
 Ceylonese Dagobs — See Dagobs. 
 Chaldean Magi, Round Towers attributed 
 
 to, by Vallancey, 21, 22. 
 Chancel or sanctuary, description of, in 
 
 ancient Irish churches, 162. 
 Charlemagne, Rex Carolus, 216. 
 Chevron, or zig-zag, moulding, 72, 209 ; 
 
 age of, examined, 210. 
 Christianity, pagan regal cemeteries in 
 
 one or two instances consecrated to the 
 
 service of, 97. 
 Chronicon Scotorum (compiled from the 
 
 old Annals of Clonmacnoise), quoted or 
 
 referred to, 54, 150, 270,271, 272, 291, 
 
 322, 325, 327, 374, 380, 392, 39.3, 438. 
 
 ■ account of the wox'k, 373. 
 
 Church, quadrangular, of moist earth, 126. 
 of smooth timber, built by S. Mo- 
 
 nenna, 126. 
 of Kildare, erroneously supposed 
 
 to have been a wooden structure, 200.
 
 470 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Church of the two Sinchells at Glcnda- 
 lough, 436. — See Glendalough. 
 
 Churches, ancient Irish, built of stone 
 and lime cement, 137, etseq.; charac- 
 teristic features of the existing remains 
 of, 161, et seq. 
 
 features, &c., of primitive 
 
 churches examined, 161-197. 
 
 great antiquity of the character 
 
 of, 161. 
 
 161. 
 
 almost invariably of small size, 
 
 in their general form preserve 
 
 very nearly that of the Roman Basilica, 
 162. 
 
 — ■ walls of, always perpendicular, 
 
 and generally formed of very large po- 
 lygonal stones, 162. 
 none of the ancient Irish, seem 
 
 to have been dedicated to the Blessed 
 Virgin, or any of the foreign saints, 
 previously to the twelfth century, 173. 
 style of masonry in the pri- 
 
 mitive Irish, 187-190. 
 example of general appearance 
 
 of the primitive Irish, when of inferior 
 size, 188, 189. 
 
 previously to the 1 2th century, 
 
 the Irish never appear to have named 
 churches after any but their own saints, 
 who were in most instances the original 
 founders, 194. 
 observations on the unadorned 
 
 simplicity and contracted dimensions 
 of the earliest Irish, 191-196. 
 model of primitive, introduced 
 
 by St. Patrick into Ireland, 193. 
 
 dimensions of the more impor- 
 
 tant, prescribed by St. Patrick, 1 93. 
 size of the first Christian, erect- 
 
 ed in Britain, 195, 196. 
 classified with other ecclesiasti- 
 
 cal buildings, 160 ; — Irish, compared 
 with Saxon churches, 441. 
 earliest Christian, on the Conti- 
 
 nent, character of, 192. 
 
 Churches, oldest, still remaining in Greece, 
 
 character of, 192. 
 the early cathedral and abbey, 
 
 always built of stone, 143-159 ; length 
 
 of, 195. 
 said to have been placed by the 
 
 early Christian clergy on the site of 
 
 the Druid fanes, 72. 
 stone, the first builders of, in 
 
 Ireland, 142. ' 
 
 use of stone in the building 
 
 of, known to the ancient Irish. — See 
 Stone, and Dainihliag. 
 
 that those at Armagh were 
 
 stone buildings, with lime cement, in 
 the ninth century, quite certain, 153- 
 156. 
 
 - — that there is every reason to 
 
 believe that the stone churches, existing 
 at Armagh in the ninth century, were 
 the very churches erected in St. Pa- 
 trick's time, or shortly after, shown, 
 156-159. 
 
 conclusion that much of the 
 
 ornamental ecclesiastical architecture 
 remaining in Ireland, is of an age an- 
 terior to the Norman Conquest of Eng- 
 land, and, probably, in some instances, 
 even to the Danish irruptions in Ire- 
 land, 320. 
 
 abbey and cathedral, through- 
 
 out Ireland, generally, if not always, of 
 stone, 159. 
 Etruscan character of the ma- 
 
 sonry found in many of the, adverted 
 to, 414. 
 — . in which ornament has been 
 
 used, — features of, treated of, 197, ei 
 
 seq. 
 
 of wattles, 124. 
 
 of oak timber and wattles, 125. 
 
 at Lindisfarne built of sawn 
 
 wood, covered with reeds, 1 26. 
 
 of wood, 127. 
 
 . built of wattles and boards, 
 
 142.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 471 
 
 Churches erected, consecrated, and re- 
 paired by Malacby O'Morgair, 155, 156. 
 ■ use of, as sanctuaries, examined. 
 
 4(14. 
 
 Saxon, observations on, 441, 
 
 442. 
 
 Church Island in Lough Lee or Curraun 
 Lough, house of St. Finan Cam on, 
 described, 130, 131. 
 
 Churchyards, many, consecrated by Ma- 
 lacby O'Morgair, 155, 156. 
 
 Ciampini's work, De Coronis, referred to, 
 205. 
 
 Cianan, St., or Kienan, of Duleek, MS. 
 office of, 142, 143; quoted, 142. 
 
 consecrated by St. Patrick, 142, 
 
 143.- 
 
 -See Kienan. 
 - death of, 143. 
 
 Ciarraigi, given as a reward to Torna 
 
 Eiges, 106, 107. 
 Cich (Da) na Morrigna, the two paps of 
 
 the Morrigtia, monuments at Brugh na 
 
 Boinne, 102, 103. 
 Cilcagh, 70. 
 Cill or Ceall, application of the word, 1 45- 
 
 147, 151,153. 
 Cill Bhrighde at Armagh, 151. 
 Cill na n-Ailither, i. e.. Church of the Pil- 
 grims, a name for the daimhliag of 
 
 Mayo, 145. 
 Cinaedh, son of Irgalach, the monument 
 
 of the steed of. — See Lecht gabra Cinao- 
 
 da mic Irgalaig. 
 Cinel Eogain, 221. 
 Cinel Fiacha, 246. 
 Circles of stones stated by Vallancey to 
 
 have been set up by the Druids in 
 
 their places of worship, 13. 
 formed by upright monumental 
 
 stones, 102. 
 Circular form, not used in ancient Irish 
 
 churches, 163. 
 Clairvaux in France, monastery of, 155, 
 
 156. 
 Cirr, wife of the Dagda, monument of, at 
 
 Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Clanmaolruany, cemetery of the, at Clon- 
 macnoise, 275. 
 
 Clann Dedhadh (i. e. the race of Conaire 
 and Erna), buried at Temhair Erann, 
 99, 101, 106. 
 
 ClanwiUiam, barony, Co. Tipperary, an- 
 cient name of, 287. 
 
 Clergy, exemption of, from military ser- 
 vice, 382. 
 
 Cletech, house of, residence of King Cor- 
 mac at, 98, 100 ; his death at, ib. 
 
 Clochachd, Saxon etymology of, refuted, 9. 
 
 CIoch-Ancoire, explained the stone of the 
 ane//o/-/V(? by Harris, 114; Round Towers 
 never known by such a name, ib. 
 
 true meaning of, 115. 
 
 at Drumlahan, building of, 
 
 commenced, 115. 
 
 Clochan na Carraige, or the stone house 
 of the rock, on the great island of Ar- 
 ran, in the bay of Galway, an ancient 
 pagan house, description of, 129, 130. 
 
 Cloctheach, meaning of, explained by the 
 author of Cambrensis Eversus, 5. 
 
 Cloctheachs, meaning of, explained by 
 Peter Walsh, author of the Prospect of 
 Ireland, 6. 
 
 Clog, a bell, Saxon etymology of, refuted, 
 9. 
 
 Clogachd, Dr. Molyneux's explanation of 
 origin of name, 7. 
 
 Cloghad, Vallancey's assertion that the 
 Druids so called every place of worship, 
 13; denied, ib. 
 
 Vallancey's explanation of, 17- 
 
 Cloghadli, or Clogha, Mr. Beauford's ex- 
 planation of, 30, 31. 
 
 Clogas, Eound Towers still known in Irish 
 by no other names than cloictheach and 
 clogas, 114. 
 
 Clogher, golden stone of, 68. 
 
 Cloictheach, of Armagh, 54. 
 
 Cloictheach, translated campanile, by Dr. 
 O'Conor, 52. 
 
 . constantly translated turris, by 
 
 Colgan, 54, 55.
 
 472 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cloictheach, in cloictech co n-a cloccaibh, 
 at Armagh, 148-150; translated, in an 
 old English MS., " Y^ Steeple with y* 
 bells," 149; and "the Steeple," by 
 Macgeogbegan, 151. 
 
 signifying bell- house, or belfry, 
 
 Round Towers still known by no other 
 name in Irish, 114. 
 
 corrupted at Eattoo into Giol- 
 
 cach, 400. 
 
 Vallancey's explanation of, 17. 
 
 Cloictheachs of Armagh burned, 48, 53. 
 or belfries, unquestionably not 
 
 of wood, but of stone, 66. 
 Clonard, in Irish Cluain loraird, burned, 
 
 429. 
 abbot of, 271, 272 ; dertech of, 
 
 121. 
 Cloncagh, County of Limerick. — See Cluain 
 
 Claidheach. 
 Clondalkin, near Dublin, Eound Tower 
 
 of, compared with Brunless Castle, in 
 
 Brecknockshire, 368. 
 . section of Round Tower of, with 
 
 internal measurements, 397 ; project- 
 ing base of, 398. 
 
 origin and subsequent rank of 
 
 Clonmacnolse, capitals of the great west- 
 ern doorway of cathedral church of, 
 described and illustrated, 275. 
 
 north doorway of the cathedral 
 
 of, its age, 275 ; by whom built, ib. 
 
 cathedral of, inscription over 
 
 the church of Cluain Dolcain ; present 
 ruins of church at, 398 ; large cross of 
 granite at, ib. 
 
 Clones. — See Cluain Eois. 
 
 Clonmacnoise, abbots of, 113, 271, 272, 
 325, 326, 327,341. 
 
 anchorite and scribe of, 327, 
 
 328. 
 
 • abbot and bishop of, 328. 
 
 daimhliag mor, great church or 
 
 cathedral of (called Teampull Mac Diar- 
 mada, i. e. Mac Dermott's Church), 
 treated of, 271-275; erection of, 271, 
 272, 392 ; age of church examined, 
 271-275 ; re-edified by Tomultach Mac 
 Dermott, chief of JNIoylurg, 275. 
 
 cathedral of. Dr. Ledwich's de- 
 
 scription of figures over the northern 
 door of, &c., 274. 
 
 the north doorway of, 274, 275. 
 
 causeways at, 438. 
 
 cemetery of, ground plan of, 
 
 published by Ware, referred to, 269. 
 purchase of right of inter- 
 
 ment in, 269, 392. 
 • became the cemetery of 
 
 the southern Hy-Niall race, 330. 
 stone cross at, treated of, 272- 
 
 275; inscriptions on, 272, 273; sub- 
 sequently known by the appellation of 
 the " Cros na Screaptra," 273 ; mean- 
 ing and origin of the name, ib. 
 
 • great cross at, compared with 
 
 those at Monasterboice, 409. 
 another stone cross at, referred 
 
 to, 274. 
 
 Cross of Bishop Etchen at, re- 
 ferred to, 438. 
 
 erdam of St. Kieran at, ib. 
 
 account of various lands granted 
 
 to the See of, 269. 
 Leabliar na h-Uidhre, compiled 
 
 at, 97. 
 
 master of the school of, 216. 
 
 monk of, 330. 
 
 plundered, 273, 274, 393. 
 
 priest of, 330. 
 
 Registry of, account of the ori- 
 ginal MS., and transcripts of, 268, 269 ; 
 translated into English by Duald Mac 
 Firbis, 269; contents of, 269; quoted, 
 269, 275, 276, 373, 391, 392. 
 
 TempuU Finghin at, style of 
 
 masonry of Round Tower belfry of, 
 188. — See Teampull Finghin. 
 
 - Temple Conor at See Temple 
 
 Conor. 
 
 inscribed tombstones at, 325, 
 
 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 342.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 473 
 
 Clonmacnoise, Towers of, Harris's opiuiun 
 concerning, examined and refuted, 1 13, 
 114. 
 
 great Round Tower of, called 
 
 O'Rourke's Tower, 373. 
 
 probable age of, 391-393 ; erec- 
 
 tion of, ascribed to Fergal O'Rourke, 
 391, 393; style of masonry of, 393; de- 
 tailed description of, 412, 413; door- 
 way of, 412. 
 smaller tower of, 393 See 
 
 Teampull Finghin. 
 wall surrounding the ehui-clies 
 
 and cemetery of, 452. 
 lioly well at, 270. 
 
 Clothru, daughter of Eocha Fedlilech, 98, 
 
 100. 
 Cloyne, 17; Vallancey's explanation of 
 
 the Irish name of, ib. 
 . Round Tower at, examined by the 
 
 South Munster Society of Antiquaries, 
 
 80, 8 1 ; observations on same, 84—89. 
 resemblance between the style 
 
 of building of, and that of the Round 
 Tower of Brechin, noticed by Mr. Black, 
 95. 
 
 Cluain, a general prefix to names of 
 churches, 35. 
 
 Cluain See Clonmacnoise. 
 
 Cluain, explained by Dr. O'Brien, 20; 
 evidence in favour of O'Brien's expla- 
 nation of, 20, 21. 
 
 Cluain Claidlieach, now Cloncagh, Barony 
 of Clonillo, County of Limerick, doorway 
 of ancient church of, 178, 179; patron 
 of, ib. 
 
 Cluain-Chuinne, 138. 
 
 Cluain-Coner, large monastery at, built 
 by St. Ninian, 141. 
 
 Cluain Dartadha, St. Aldus de, 138. 
 
 Cluain Dolcain. — See Clondalkiu. 
 
 Cluain Eois, St. Tigernach of, 348, M<j. 
 
 Cluain loraird, dertech of, burned, 121. — 
 See Clouard. 
 
 Cluain-mhor [eccl. vel mon.], 138. 
 
 Cluain-mhuicedha, SS. Saxones de, 138. 
 
 Cluan, Vallancey's application of the word 
 to the Round Towers, 17. 
 
 Cluan llaidhneach, Vallancey's explana- 
 tion of the first j)art of the name, 1 7. 
 
 Cluan Mac Nois, Vallancey's explanation 
 of the first part of the name, 17. 
 
 Cluan Umha, now Cloyne, Vallancey's 
 explanation of, 17. 
 
 Cnoc a choirthe, or the hill of the pillar- 
 stone, near Jamestown, in the County 
 of Roscommon, 1 9. 
 
 Cnoc DabiUa, origin of name, 102, 103. 
 
 Cnoc na n-Apstal, at Louth, Book of, by 
 whom made, 394. 
 
 Cnoc na Sengan, at Louth, church of, 
 built in 1148; 58. 
 
 Cnodhba [Knowth], the cave of, 103. 
 
 Cobhthach Coelbregh, 98, 100. 
 
 Coechdamair, an appellation of St. Derbh- 
 fraich, 348, 349- 
 
 Coenobitic establishments of Ireland, no- 
 ticed, 427 ; of the East, 422. 
 
 Coenobium, contrasted with Laura, 422. 
 
 Coenwulf, coins of, 228, 229. 
 
 Cogitosus, hisLife of St. Bridget, quoted, 
 
 197, 198,199,204. 
 
 age of his work examined, 199. 
 
 his description of church of 
 
 Kildare referred to, 232 ; quoted, 197, 
 
 198, 199. 
 
 Coil, Round Towers asserted to have been 
 so called by Windele, 71 ; his deriva- 
 tion of the word, ib. 
 
 Coins, Saxon, 223, 224, 225, 227, 229, 
 230. 
 
 earliest, in Ireland, type of, whence 
 
 derived, 230. 
 
 ruder, probably anterior to well- 
 
 minted money, 227. 
 
 rude pieces without legends, whe- 
 ther screpalls or pinginns, probably 
 ecclesiastical, 230. 
 
 Coins, ruder, without inscriptions, more 
 probably Irish than Danish, 230. 
 
 cross on. — See Crosses. 
 
 found at Glendaloughin 1639; 230. 
 
 3 p
 
 474 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Coins, bracteate, found in the Tower of 
 Kildare, compared with the coins of the 
 Saxon and Anglo-Norman kings, 229- 
 
 ancient, found within the Round 
 
 Tower of Kildare, description of, 210; 
 age of, examined, 210-232. 
 
 bracteate, antiquity of, on the 
 
 continent and in Ireland, 210-232. 
 
 Danish, type of, 213. 
 
 of Dano-Irish kings, 324. 
 
 of Mercian kings, 229. 
 
 Coirpre Crom, St., abbot and bishop of 
 Clonmacnoise, death of, 328 ; inscribed 
 tomb of, 328. 
 
 Coirthe, meaning of, 19. 
 
 Colcu, master of the school of Clonmac- 
 noise, letter of Alcuin to, 216; quoted, 
 ib. 
 
 Colgan,his Acta SS., quoted by Dr. O'Con- 
 or, 48. 
 
 his Acta SS. quoted or referred 
 
 to, 113, 114, 128, 129, 137, 138, 176, 
 322, 348, 398, 427, 452, 453. 
 
 his Tr. Thaum. quoted, 27, 41, 54, 
 
 56, 1.32, 136,411, 429, 452. 
 
 Colgan's translations of passages in An- 
 nals, 121, 145-148, 150-156, 231, 380. 
 
 translations from ancient Calen- 
 dars and Martyrologies, 167. 
 
 translation from St. Aengus's Ca- 
 
 lendar, quoted, 167. 
 
 remai'ks and observations by, 166, 
 
 167, 200, 310, 324, 447. 
 
 erroneous statement of, 216. 
 
 mistranslation by, 338. 
 
 translation of the word " duir- 
 
 theach" by, 344. 
 statement of, examined, 245. 
 
 Colgan's remark on Rex Rathenice, 355. 
 
 Colgius filius Cellaclii, 388. 
 
 Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Sir H. 
 
 Piers's, topographical account of West- 
 
 meath quoted from, 175. 
 
 Collectanea Sacra See Fleming. 
 
 Collier, his Church History referred to, 
 
 442. 
 
 Collumbos [Druim bo], in Bregia, church 
 of, 142. 
 
 Colman, St., founder of the churches of 
 Oughtmama, County of Clare, 1 79. 
 
 Colman, sometimes called Colman Conail- 
 leach, abbot of Clonmacnoise and Clon- 
 ard; cathedral of Clonmacnoise erected 
 by, 271 , 272, 392, 393 ; death of, 272 ; fa- 
 ther and tribe of, ib. ; stone cross at Clon- 
 macnoise erected by, as a moniiment to 
 the monarch Flann, 273 ; his name en- 
 graved on said cross, 272, 273. 
 
 Colman Mac Duach, St., cathedral church 
 of Kilmacduagh erected for, 176 ; 
 churches erected by, on the Great Is- 
 land of Aran, 177, 351; tomb of, 455. 
 — See Mac Duach. 
 
 Colum Mac . . . mel, inscription, bearing 
 name of, 134. 
 
 Colum, St., comarb of, 340. 
 
 ■ meinstir of, 340. 
 
 Columb, St., erection of the Round Tower 
 of Tory Island attributed to, 15. 
 
 Columb, St., the coarb of, 341. 
 
 Columb, St., Durrow endowed for, 331. 
 
 Columb's House at Kells, 357 See Kells. 
 
 Columba, St., manuscript said to have 
 been written by, 340 ; his kitchen at 
 lona, notice of, 445. 
 
 his tomb at lona, 455. 
 
 . Life of, by Adamnan, quoted, 
 
 387, 388, 389. 
 
 Life of, by the abbot Cumian, 
 
 referred to, 389.— &« Columbkille. 
 Columbanus, St., Irish Monastery of, at 
 
 Luxovium, now Luxeuil, in Burgundy, 
 
 pharus at, 380. 
 Columbaniis, Life of, published by Mes- 
 
 singham, quoted, .352. 
 oratory erected by, at Bobbio, 
 
 described, 352. 
 
 church of, at Bobbio, 396. 
 
 notice of, in connexion with 
 
 Brigantium, 423. 
 Columbanus' Letters, by Dr. O'Conor, 
 quoted, 1 1 8.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 475 
 
 Colunilikille, St., Life of, by O'Donndl, 
 
 quoted, 202, 203. 
 
 church founded by, 40.'3. 
 
 church under the patronage of, 
 
 375. 
 monastery on Tory Island 
 
 founded by, 406. 
 
 ecclesiastical imialements, &c. 
 
 made by, 339- 
 religious persons who assem- 
 
 bled at Ballysadare to meet, referred 
 
 to, 322. 
 . Soisccel mor of, 53. — See Book 
 
 of Kells See Columb and Columba. 
 
 Coman, St., comarb of, 380. 
 Comerford's History of Ireland, quoted, 
 
 38, 39. 
 Comgall, St., shrine of, at Benchor, broken 
 
 by the Danes, 203. 
 
 — — Cross of, at Clonmacnoise, 438. 
 
 Con, the name of a Magus, 132. 
 Conaille Muirthemne (the ancient name 
 
 of a tribe and territory in the south 
 
 of Ulster), 272, 428. 
 Conaing, son of Congal, inscribed tomb- 
 stone of, at Clonmacnoise, 329, 330; 
 
 death of, 330. 
 Conaing Beg-£glacli, the sixty-fifth mo- 
 narch of Ireland, erection of a cathair, 
 
 or stone fort, at Fenagh, attributed to, 
 
 448, 449. 
 Conaire Carpraige, asserted by some to 
 
 be buried at Magh Feci in Bregia, i. e. 
 
 atFert Conaire, 99, 101. 
 Conaire Mor, monarch of Ireland, place 
 
 of his interment, 99, 101. 
 burial place of the race of. — See 
 
 Clann Dedad. 
 Conall, the brother of the monarch Lao- 
 
 ghaire, 193, 447. 
 Conallagha, 269. 
 Conallus filius Neill, 161. 
 Conallus [i.e. son ofNiaU], 161, 162. 
 Conchennacii, SS. duodecim, qui cum 
 
 vtroque Sinchello iacent in Kill-achuidh, 
 
 1.38. 
 
 3 
 
 Conchennacii, SS. qui cum S. Manchano 
 iacent in Lethmor, 138. 
 
 Conchobhar Mac Nessa, the place of his 
 burial, 99, 101. 
 
 informed by Altus of the cruci- 
 fixion of Christ, according to Lcabhar 
 na h-Uidhre, 97, 99- 
 
 Conchubran compiler of the Life of St. 
 Monenna, 126. 
 
 Cong, abbey of, 319, 320. , 
 
 doorway of, 319. 
 
 Conisborough, in Yorkshire, castle of, 
 
 367. 
 
 Conla, a celebrated artificer in brass, 203. 
 
 Conlaeth, Bishop, shrine of, at Kildare, 
 197, 198, 200, 201. 
 
 relics of, enshrined, 203. 
 
 Conn na m-bocht, 97. 
 
 Conn, of the Hundred Battles, 25. 
 
 the stone earn of, a sepulchral 
 
 monument See Cam ail Cuinn Cet- 
 
 cathaigh. 
 
 Connacians, Cruachan, the burial-place of, 
 99, 101. 
 
 Connaught, province of, by whom occu- 
 pied, 98, 100. 
 
 the host of, buried in Cathair 
 
 Cruachna, 105, 106. 
 
 poets of, enumerated, 106. 
 
 supreme king of, buried at 
 
 Oenach na Cruachna, 106, 107. 
 Connor, Father Brendan, letter of, re- 
 ferred to by Colgau, 429. 
 Conrad II., the emperor, 212. 
 Constantine, St., stated to have succeeded 
 
 St. Carthach at Eathain, 245. 
 Constantine, a Briton, abbot of Kahen, 
 
 .354-356. 
 Constantine, festival day of, 355. 
 Constantinople, towers of, fell in cimse- 
 
 quence of an earthquake, A. D. 448 ; 
 
 46, 47. 
 Conyngham, Colonel Burton, drawings 
 
 made for, referred to, 248, et alibi. 
 Coolcoolaught, in Kerry, 80. 
 Coot See Bagdad. 
 
 p 2
 
 476 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Corcach mor Mumhan. — See Cork. I 
 
 Corcaguiny, ancient oratories in. — See 
 
 Kerry. 
 Corcnutanus, S., SS. Peregrini Romani 
 
 qui comitati sunt SS. Eliam 
 
 et Corcnutanum, 138. 
 
 Corcumruadh, Ochtmama in, 179- 
 Cork, " Ancient and present State of the 
 
 County and City of Cork," by Dr. Smith, 
 4 quoted, 117. 
 " Historical and Descriptive Notices 
 
 of the City of Cork," quoted, 70-72. 
 
 Manchine, abbot of, 443. 
 
 round steeple at, erroneously attri- 
 
 buted to the Ostmen, 7, 8. 
 an army led to, by Turlough O'Conor, 
 
 290. 
 
 burned, 429. 
 
 Cormac, St., church of Inishmaan in 
 
 Lough Mask, built by, 180; when, ib. 
 Cormac's chapel at Cashel, age of, 186, 
 
 272; description of roof of, 186; treated 
 
 of, 288-314 ; Irish name of, 290, 291, 
 
 312; erection of, 289-292 ; examination 
 
 of its characteristic features, 292-305. 
 Cormac's Glossary quoted, or referred to, 
 
 16, 18, 19, 26, 37, 58, 206, 218, 220, 
 
 223, 227, 292, 438. 
 Cormac Finn, king of Desmond, death of, 
 
 270. 
 Cormac h-Ua Killene, a bishop, church 
 
 and Round Tower of Tomgraney built 
 
 by, 380; death of, ib. 
 Cormac Mac Carthy, king of Munster, 
 
 &c., his crozier treated of, 252, 306, 307, 
 
 314; described, 312, 313. 
 the question " was he a bishop ?" 
 
 discussed, 307-312. 
 Cormac Mac Carthy, chapel at Cashel 
 
 shown to have been erected by, 290- 
 
 292. 
 dethroned, 290 ; goes on a pil- 
 grimage to Lismore, ib. ; erects two 
 
 churches there, 290, 291. 
 
 pedigree of 290, 291. 
 
 death of, 290, 291, 308, 311. 
 
 Cormac Mac Carthy, tomb of, at Cashel, 
 treated of, 305-312. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cullenan, the supposed com- 
 piler of the Psalter of Cashel, 37 ; — his 
 Irish Glossary quoted. — See Cormac's 
 Glossary. 
 
 church at Cashel erroneously 
 
 attributed to, 289, 312. 
 
 king of Desmond, 312. 
 
 death of, 289. 
 
 Cormac, son of Art, monarch of Ireland, 
 account of his belief, death, and burial, 
 from Leabhar na h-Uidlire — his eye 
 destroyed by Engus Gaibhuaiphnech, 
 97, 98, 99, 100. 
 
 place of his burial, 98, 100. 
 
 Cornelli, St., Virgin, her prophecy con- 
 cerning the future importance of Lis- 
 more, 446. 
 
 Corpre, the son of Etan, of the race of the 
 Tuatha De Danann, interred at Brugh 
 na Boinne, in Meath, 99, 101, 106. 
 
 Corranus, or Cororanus, poem of, referred 
 to by Colgan, 427. 
 
 Coscrach, anchorite of Inis Cealtra, called 
 the truaghan or meagre person, 50. 
 
 Cows, exacted for ransom, 214. 
 
 Cremation. — See Burning. • 
 
 Cremhthann [Niadh-nar], the son of Lu- 
 ghaidh Riabh-n-derg, the first king in- 
 terred at Brugh, 98-100. 
 
 Crimthann Nianar, the bare of, in which 
 he was interred — See Bare Crimthaind 
 Nianair. 
 
 Cro Ciarain See Glendalough. 
 
 Crom-Cruach, the idol, 68. 
 
 — ■ — - worship of, 27. 
 
 Cromleacs, 35. 
 
 Cromlech, situated in a churchyard, near 
 the Sugar-loaf Hill, in the barony of 
 Gualtier,and County of Waterford, 72. 
 
 Cromlechs, 102; Christian tombs, bear- 
 ing a resemblance to, 453. 
 
 Cronan, St., his church at Termoncronan, 
 County of Clare, window of, 1 84. 
 
 comarb of, 380.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 477 
 
 Cros na Screaptra, the name of a stone 
 
 cross at Clonmacnoise, 273 See Clon- 
 
 maonoise. . 
 
 Cross, stone, at Cashcl, .'iOf!. — See Cashel. 
 
 at Tuam See Tiuim. 
 
 anciently at Rathain, 246. 
 
 sculptured on lintel of doorway of 
 
 Fore church, 174, 175; of church on 
 High Island, 423 ; of Antrim Tower, 
 405. 
 
 form of, not used in the plan of 
 
 ancient Irish churches, 163. 
 sepulchral, at Glendalough, de- 
 
 scribed, 265, 266. 
 Crosses, stone, 272, 273, 274, 275, 326, 398. 
 
 purpose of erection of, 272, 273. 
 
 — on High Island, 426. 
 
 erected to mark the limits of the 
 
 neimhedh or sanctuary, 59- 
 
 made by St. Columbkille, 339- 
 
 made by St. Dageus, 202. 
 
 erroneously attributed to the 
 
 Danes, 229. 
 
 examples of, placed on the soffit 
 
 of the lintel in doorways of churches, 
 171. 
 
 varieties of, foiind as typical orna- 
 
 ments in ancient MSS., as well as on 
 ancient Irish sepulchral monuments, 
 229. 
 ornamental, innumerable exam- 
 
 ples of, found in the most ancient Irish 
 manuscripts, and on sepulchral monu- 
 ments, 264. 
 forms of, used as ornaments, 325, 
 
 326. 
 
 on coins. 225, 226, 228. 
 
 Crowns of gold and silver over monu- 
 ments or shrines of saints, 198. 
 
 suspended over shrines at Kildare, 
 
 205. 
 
 commonly suspended in various 
 
 parts of the early churches, 204, 205. 
 
 Crozier, of St. Ere, 48. 
 
 given by St. Patrick to Fiac, first 
 
 bishop of Sletty, 338. 
 
 Crozier, archiepiscopal, of Tuam, 314. — 
 See Tuam. 
 
 preserved in the Museum of 
 
 Chuiy, .306. 
 
 ■ supposed to be that of Cornuic 
 
 Mac Carthy. — See Cormac Mac Carthy. 
 
 of St. Damhnad Ochene, the pa- 
 
 troness, of Oirghiall, 32.3, 324. 
 Croziers, ancient, 192. 
 ancient Irish, 252, 322, 323, 333, 
 
 335. 
 
 , made by St. Columbkille, 339. 
 
 made by St. Dageus, 202. 
 
 Cruachan, a pagan cemetery, 98, 100. 
 
 the burial place of the Connaciuns, 
 
 99, 101. 
 the kings of Connaught buried at. 
 
 106. 
 
 called Cathair Cruachna, 104. 105. 
 
 Oenach of, 104, 105 See Aenacli. 
 
 the cemetery of the ever- fair Crua- 
 chan, 105. — &e Rathcroghan. 
 
 Cruach Mic Dara, island called, off the 
 coast of Connamara ; St. Mao Dara's 
 church on, window in, 184. 
 
 description of masonry, &c., of 
 
 church of, 190 ; curious notice of the 
 island, church, &c., 190, 191 ; descrip- 
 tion of the circular stone house of St. 
 Mac Dara on, 190. 
 
 stone oratory of St. Mac Dara 
 
 on, 351. — See Mac Dara. 
 
 Cruagh-ar-ne-may, an island in the West- 
 ern Ocean, called by Sir James Ware 
 Insula Cuniciilorum, 426. 
 
 Crucifix, no example of the representation 
 of our Saviour crucified on stone crosses, 
 anterior to the ninth century, known to 
 Author, 408. 
 
 figure of our Saviour crucified, 
 
 sculptured in relievo over the doorway 
 of the Round Tower of Donaghmore, 
 County of Meath, 409, 410. 
 
 Cruithnech, one of St. Patrick's inasons, 
 142. 
 
 Crumaigh, the town of, 269.
 
 478 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Crumtlieris, virgo, placed by St. Patrick 
 
 in a stone oratory near Armagh, 350. 
 Cucin, or kitchen, at Armagh, 147- 
 Cuil-ceach, Vallancey's explanation of, 16. 
 Cuil-ceach, or Cul-kak, Dr. O'Brien mis- 
 quoted by Vallancey for meaning of, 19. 
 Cuil-Irra, a peninsula situated to the 
 
 south-west of the town of Sligo, 179- 
 Cuil-muige, where, 193. 
 Cuil-ochtair [eccl. vel mon.], 138. 
 Cuirel, wife of the Dagda, monument of, 
 
 at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 Cul-kak. — See Cuil-ceach. 
 Culmana, an error for Liemania, the name 
 
 of the sister of St. Patrick, 167- 
 Culmine, in the plain of Bregia, church 
 of, 142. 
 
 Cul Eathain Mochudda; See Eathain. 
 
 Cumal, explanation of the word, 340. 
 Cumhdach, meaning of the word, as shown 
 from ancient authorities, 291, 292. 
 
 , or case of the MS. Irish ritual 
 
 at Stowe, inscription on, 330. 
 Cumhdachs, or ancient metallic cases for 
 
 books, 335, 338. 
 Cumian, the abbot, Life of St. Columba 
 
 by, referred to, 389, 424. 
 Cummin, Ochter n-Achid purchased by, 
 
 220. 
 Cumot Cairpri Lifoachair, the commensu- 
 rate grave of Cairbre Lifeachair, a mo- 
 nument at Brugh na Boinne, 102. 
 Curach-building, payment for, 346, 347- 
 Curraun Lough, or Lough Lee, 130. 
 Cursecha filia Brochani [quae iacet], in 
 
 Acadli-Dalrach, 138. 
 Cuthbert, St., Life of, quoted, 128, 129. 
 monastic establishment con- 
 structed on the Island of Fame by, 
 character of, 128, 447. 
 Cuthbert, St., reputed country of, 128. 
 Cu Ulad, son of Conchobar, king of Ulad, 
 
 308. 
 Cyclopean forts, 43. 
 
 Cyclopean style of building, 127, 169, 
 189. 
 
 Cyclopean buildings, resemblance of win- 
 dows and doorways of ancient Irish 
 churches to those of, 159- 
 
 style, remarkable example of, 
 
 in the doorway of the church of Fore, 
 174. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dabilla, a small hound, which gave name 
 to Cnoc Dabilla, 102, 103. 
 
 Dabonna, ope of the seven sons of the Lom- 
 bard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 167. 
 
 Dachonna, St., shrine of, 203. 
 
 Dagda, the, with his three sons, buried 
 at Brugh na Boinne, 99, 101, 106. 
 
 the bed of the. — See Imdae in 
 
 Dagda. 
 
 the grave of his Brehon, Esclam, 
 
 102, 103 ^e Fert Esclaim. 
 
 monument of the — See Lecht in 
 
 Dagda. 
 the, wives of, 102, 103. 
 
 Dageus, St., Life of, as given by Colgan, 
 quoted, 202 ; celebrated as an artificer, 
 ib. 
 Dagobs, Ceylonese, applied to sepulchral 
 
 purposes, 78, 79- 
 Daimhliag, application of the word by 
 Irish writers, treated of, 141-153. 
 
 became the Scotic or Gaelic 
 
 name for a cathedral or abbey church, 
 143; always rendered by the Irish ec- 
 clesiastical writers in Latin by the word 
 ecclesia or basilica, though, on noticing 
 the same buildings when writing in the 
 Irish language, they apply the terms 
 daifnhliag, eclats, and tempidl, indiffe- 
 rently, 143-153. 
 Daimhliag translated Basilica 
 
 by Colgan, 54, 55. 
 
 Daimhliag, or stone church, payment for 
 the erection of, 365. 
 
 and duirtheach (the), the high- 
 est examples of the combined arts of 
 the Ollamh Saer ; payment for building 
 of, 346, 347.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 479 
 
 Daimhliag, distinct from derthech, or duir- 
 
 theacli, 343. 
 tlie Irish name of Duleek, in 
 
 Meatb ; church of stone built in, 142 ; 
 
 origin of name, ib. — See Duleek. 
 or cathedral church of Ar- 
 
 magh, burned A. D. 996; 53. 
 
 Daimhliag in t-Sabuill, at Armagh, 148, 
 
 149, 150. 
 sometimes called " in Sa- 
 
 ball," 149, 150. 
 translated the Church of 
 
 the Sabhall, by Mageoghegan, 151. 
 appears to have been erect- 
 
 ed in St. Patrick's time, 157. 
 
 Daimhliag na Toga, at Armagh, 148, 150; 
 correctly translated Ecclesia Electionum, 
 149. 
 
 sometimes called Daimh- 
 liag na Toe, and sometimes simply in 
 Toai, and anglicised y^ Toay, by the 
 old translator of the Annals of Ulster, 
 149. 
 
 probable period of erection 
 
 of, 158; meaning of name, 158; appears 
 to have been the original parish church 
 of Armagh, 158 ; some remains of, ex- 
 isted down to the restoration of the pre- 
 sent cathedral, 158. 
 
 Dauuhliags, or stone churches, first build- 
 ers of, in Ireland, 141, 142. 
 
 Dairbhile. — Sec Deirbhile. 
 
 Daithen, the poet, his death, 106. 
 
 Dalcassian tribe, first ecclesiastic of, 139. 
 
 D' Alton, Mr., examination and refutation 
 of the argimients adduced by, in support 
 of the fire- temple hypothesis, 42-47. 
 
 misinterpretation of Cambrensis 
 
 by, 43-46. 
 
 Damhnad Ochene, St., supposed to be the 
 same as St. Dympna, 324 ; crozier of,' 
 323, 324. 
 
 Damnonii, or Silures, British castles attri- 
 buted to, 368. 
 
 Dancing festivals, theory of the use of 
 the Round Towers in, 15. 
 
 Danes, Galls, or Northmanni. 
 
 Armagh burned by, 145, 146. 
 
 plundered by, 146, 147, 148. 
 
 ecclesiastical edifices burned by, 
 
 151. 
 
 Benchor, or Bangor, devastated 
 
 by; shrine of St. Comgall broken by; 
 Shrine of St. Patrick broken and car- 
 ried away by; Kildare plundered by, 
 203. 
 
 belfry (cloictech) of Slane burned 
 
 by, 48, 56, 373, 374. 
 
 Kildare plundered by, &c., 231. 
 
 Magh bile burned by, 343, 438. 
 
 several sepulchral caves seardied 
 
 by, 103. 
 
 theory of the Danish origin of the 
 
 Eound Towers examined and refuted, 
 5-11. 
 Round Towers of Ireland erro- 
 
 neously attributed to, by Dr. Molyneux, 
 6,7. 
 
 . Round Towers attributed to, by 
 
 Dr. Ledwich, 9 ; refutation of this opi- 
 nion, 10, 11. 
 Irish, conversion of, to Christianity, 
 
 in Ireland, 224. 
 ancient ornamented architectural 
 
 remains in Ireland, erroneously attri- 
 buted to, 241. 
 
 submitted to the jurisdiction of 
 
 Malachy O'Morgair, 155, 156. 
 
 power of, broken for a time, 276. 
 
 works erroneously attribvited to, 
 
 229. 
 
 erroneous supposition of the civi 
 
 lization of, 224. 
 
 ■ stated by Dr. Molyneux to have 
 
 been the first introducers of coin and 
 trade, and the founders of the chief 
 towns and cities of the kingdom, &c., 6. 
 money minted by, in Ireland, at 
 
 what period, 229. 
 Danes, use of minted money in Ireland 
 supposed to have originated with, 213 ; 
 this opinion examined, 213-233.
 
 480 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Danish irruptions, coined money in use in 
 Ireland previously to, 232. 
 
 civilization of the Irish pre- 
 viously to, 240. 
 
 Danish coins See Coins. 
 
 Danish mythology, 262, 263. 
 
 Darerca, sister of St. Patrick, 168. 
 
 Colgan's explanation of the name, 
 
 168. 
 
 Darioc, one of the seven sons of the Lom- 
 bard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 167. 
 
 Darius, king of Oirthir [Orior], 157. 
 
 Darius Dearg, Finchadij lilius, 158, a 
 quo ortus, 158. 
 
 Dathi, monarch of Ireland, killed by light- 
 ning, 103. 
 
 place of the burial of, at Rath- 
 
 croghan, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 322. 
 
 sepulchral monument of, described. 
 
 107. 
 
 David, St., Archbishop of Menevia, 196. 
 
 Dawson, Dean of St. Patrick's, coins for- 
 merly in the Collection of, 228, 252. 
 
 Dearthach. — See Duirtheach. 
 
 Deeies, chief of, called Dux Nandesi, 446. 
 
 Declan, St., Latin Life of, referred to, 82, 
 83. 
 
 his dormitory at Ardmore, Co. 
 
 Waterford, 356. 
 
 Deirbhile, St., church of, within the Mul- 
 let, in Erris, treated of, 320-322 ; door- 
 way of, 321. 
 
 tomb of, 322. 
 
 festivals of, 322. 
 
 Delbhna (the Delvins), pursue and slaugh- 
 ter the plunderers of Clonmacnoise, 273, 
 274. 
 
 Delbhna Ethra in Media, regio de, 356. 
 
 Delbhna, or Delmna, Tiri da Locha, 106. 
 
 Denarii, miuores, quasi oboli, 230. 
 
 Derbhfraich, St., of Druim Dubhain, Co. 
 Tyrone, duirtheach of, 348, 349. 
 
 Derc m-Buailcc m-Bic, — the cave of 
 Buailcc Bee, — a monument at Brugh 
 naBoinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Dergthene, the burial-place of, 99, 101. 
 
 Derivla, St., church of — See Deirbhile. 
 Derry, abbot of, presents to, 215. 
 
 Caiseal an urlair at, erected, 450. 
 
 Derrynane Abbey, Irish name of, and 
 
 origin of same, 130. 
 Derthachof Aedan, 345. 
 Desmond, kings of, 270, 290, 291, 311, 
 
 312. 
 Devenish Island, in Lough Erne, in the 
 
 County of Fermanagh, Molaisi's house 
 
 on, 357, 434. 
 
 Round Tower on, 360. 
 
 richly-sculp- 
 tured band or cornice of, 400, 401. 
 Diamars of Bregia, 386. 
 Diarmaid of Tir Cronin, curious story 
 
 related of, 340. 
 Dichuill, one of the three sons of Nessan, 
 
 178. 
 Dimma, St., copy of thcGospels written by, 
 
 324. 
 Dinnra, a weight, varieties of, described, 
 
 219. 
 Dinnsenchus, quoted, 102, 103, 386, 387. 
 Disert, a general prefix to names of 
 
 churches, 35. 
 Disert Cavghin, church so called, erected 
 
 for St. Kevin by his monks at Glenda- 
 
 lough, 172. 
 
 explanation of the name, ib. 
 
 Disert Vlidh [eccl. vel mon.], 138. 
 Doche, brother of Ailell Mac Mada, 98, 
 
 100. 
 Dodwell, Mr. Edward, his observation on 
 
 the doorway of the church of Fore, 
 
 Co. Westmeath, 1 74. 
 Doederlin, referred to, 212. 
 Dolbaddern, in Carnarvonshire, castle of, 
 
 367. 
 Domhnaeh-Fiec, church of, 195, 338. 
 Domhnach mor Muighe Echnach See 
 
 Donaghmore. 
 Domhnach-Sechnaill, S. Secundinus de, 
 
 167. 
 Domhnach mor, near Tailteann, in Meath, 
 
 now Donaghpatrick, length of the
 
 INDEX. 
 
 481 
 
 church of, as prescribed by St. Patrick, 
 161, 193, 195 , ecclesia Patricii magna, 
 161 ; built within the fortified enclo- 
 sure of the house of Conall, brother of 
 king Laoghaire, 447- 
 
 Domhnach Resen [eccl. vel mon.], 138. 
 
 Domhnall, son of Donnchadh, about the 
 year 922, 226. 
 
 Domhnall, son of Maol na m-bo, king of 
 Leinster, 286, 287. 
 
 " Domu de Orcu," a name for the Nu- 
 raggis of Sardinia, 73. 
 
 Donaghmore, Co. Meath, anciently called 
 Domhnach mor Muighe Echnach, mean- 
 ing of the name, 410, 411. 
 
 original church of, ascribed to 
 
 St. Patrick, 410, 411. 
 
 Round Tower of, age of, 409 ; 
 
 doorway of, described, 409, 410. 
 crucifixion carved on the door- 
 
 way of, Windele's remarks on, 72. 
 Donaghpatrick, near Tailteann. — See 
 
 Domhnach mor. 
 Donald, an Irish king, coins of, 224, 225. 
 Donald O'Neill, A. D. 956, coins of, 224. 
 Donegal, Martyrology of. — See Martyro- 
 
 logy. 
 Donnchadh, son of Flann, King of Ire- 
 land, 335. 
 Donnell More O'Brien, erection of the 
 
 church of KiUaloe attributed to, 277. 
 Doors, in ancient church of Kildare, 198, 
 
 199, 200, 201, 207. 
 Doorway, situation of, in primitive Irish 
 
 churches, 1 62 ; description of, 1 62, 1 80. 
 — ornamented, of the Round Tower 
 
 of Kildare. — See Kildare. 
 in the church of Kildare 
 
 in the time of Cogitosus, 197, 198, 199. 
 Doorways, examples of, in primitive Irish 
 
 churches, 163-181. 
 of the oldest Greek and Etruscan 
 
 buildings, 169. 
 of the earliest Roman churches. 
 
 169. 
 
 of Cashels, 450, 451. 
 
 Doorways, examples of semicircularly- 
 arched, 177-180. 
 
 examples of quadrangular, having 
 
 the weight on the lintel taken off by a 
 semicircular arch, 180, 181, 255. 
 
 angular or triangular-headed, 182. 
 
 ornamented, treated of, 207-239, 
 
 246, 247, 276. 
 of Round Towers, treated of, 401- 
 
 413. 
 
 second doorways of, 402, 
 
 403, 413, 416. 
 
 Dorban, a poet of Connaught, 1 06. 
 
 Dorban, a poet of West Connaught, poem 
 ascribed to, quoted, 104, 105. 
 
 Dormitory, Declan's. — See Declan. 
 
 Dorus Urdoim, gateway at KeUs so called, 
 452. 
 
 Dowth See Dubhad. 
 
 Debriu, daughter of Eocho Fedhlech, 98, 
 100. 
 
 Drogheda, sepulchral mound at, 103. 
 
 Drucht, interred at Rathcroghan, 104, 
 105. 
 
 Druidical festivals, — theory of the use of 
 the Round Towers as places from which 
 to proclabn the druidical festivals, 16, 
 17. 
 
 Druidism, Babylonia the cradle of, 71- 
 
 Druids, Dr. O'Conor's opinion as to their 
 method of defining the equinoxes and 
 solstices, 48. 
 
 fires stated by Irish history to have 
 
 been lighted by, on the tops of moun- 
 tains and hills, not in towers, 25. 
 
 used to drive the cattle between 
 
 the fires called Belltaine, as an antidote 
 
 against disease, 37, 38. 
 Druids' altars of speculative antiquaries, 
 
 102. 
 Druim Ceat, council of, 322. 
 Druim Dubhain, near Clogher, County of 
 
 Tyrone, S. Derbhfraich of, 348. 
 Druim Inasclainn, now Drumiskin, abbot 
 
 of, 428. 
 refectory of, 428. 
 
 3 Q
 
 4S2 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Druim Saileacli, Dorsum Salicis, 158. 
 
 Dranibo, in the County of Down, Round 
 Tower of, human bones stated to have 
 been found in, 88 ; observations on, 89, 
 90, 91. 
 
 Drumbo, doorway of Round Tower of, 
 described and illustrated, 401, 402. 
 
 erection of the original church 
 
 of, 402 ; abbot of, ib. 
 
 Drumlahan, in the County of Cavan, cloch 
 angcoire of, 114, 115. 
 
 Round Tower of, Harris's as- 
 sertion concerning the purpose of, exa- 
 mined and refuted, 1 14-116. 
 
 Dubhad [Dowth], sepulchral caveat, 103. 
 
 Dublin, Danes of, 48, 146, 147, 224, 225, 
 226. 
 
 Dubourdieu's Survey of Antrim, quoted, 
 89. 
 
 Dubthach, son of Dubcen, priest of Clon- 
 macnoise, death of, 330. 
 
 Du Cange, his Constantinopolis Christiana 
 quoted, 205. 
 
 Dufresnoy, Abbe Lenglet, chronological 
 tables of, referred to, 46. 
 
 Duibhcen, son of Tadgan, progenitor of 
 the family of O'Duigenan, 329. 
 
 inscribed tombstone of, at Clon- 
 
 macnoise, 329, 330. 
 
 . period at which he flourished. 
 
 3.30. 
 
 Duirtheach, or deartheach, explanation of 
 the name, 120, 121, .344. 
 
 Duirtheachs, notices of the burnings of, 
 in the Irish Annals, 120, 121, 345. 
 
 payment for the erection of, 346, 
 
 347, 364, 365 — See Oratories. 
 
 Dulcis, Sanctus, frater Carthaci, 142. 
 
 Duleek, or Dam-liag, church of, accord- 
 ing to Vallancey, the first built with 
 lime and mortar, 17. — See Daimhliag. 
 
 Dumha na cnam, — the Mound of the 
 Bones, — at Brugh na Boinne, 103. 
 
 Dumha Dergluachra, where Treoit (Tre- 
 vet) is at this day, burial place of Art, 
 the son of Conn, 99, 101. 
 
 Dumha Tresc, the Mound of Tresc, a mo- 
 nument at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Dun of Ochter n-Achid, 220. 
 
 Duns, ecclesiastical See Cashels. 
 
 Dun Baile, the original name of Fenagh, 
 in the County of Leitrim, 448. 
 
 Duncan, 203. 
 
 Dunchad O'Braoin, abbot of Clonmacnoise, 
 stated to have shut himself up in Arcti 
 Inclusorii Ergastulo, 113, 117. 
 
 ■ Life of, referred to, 113, 11 4, 
 
 117. 
 
 Dunchad O'Taccan, monk of Clonmac- 
 noise, cumhdach made by, 330. 
 
 Dun Cruthen in Ardmagilligan, near the 
 eastern shore of Lough Foyle, shrine at, 
 202. 
 
 Dun Domhnaill, church of, 269. 
 
 parish of, 269- 
 
 in Conallagha, 269- 
 
 Dungiven, in the County of London- 
 derry, Round Tower of, age of, 395. 
 
 Dunloe, inscribed stones in cave at, 80. 
 
 Dun Lughaidh, a fortress given up to SS. 
 Patrick and Benen, 447. 
 
 Dunwich, church of, 442. 
 
 Durandus, quoted, 205. 
 
 Durrow, Roboreti Campus, account of the 
 fall of a monk from the top of the Round 
 Tower of, 387-389. 
 
 — monastery of, by whom endowed, 
 
 331 ; erenaoh of, ib. 
 
 -monumental inscription at, 331. 
 
 Dysart, County of Limerick, Round Tower 
 
 of, described, 371, 415. 
 
 — church of, described, 37 1 . 
 
 DjTnpna, St., called Damhnat by the Irish, 
 
 324 ; Life of, referred to, ib. ; crozier 
 
 of, 323. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eachainech, in the territory of Tir Oililla, 
 Bishop Manius left at, by St. Patrick, 
 180. — See Aghannagh. 
 
 Eadwald, coins of, 229.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 483 
 
 Eanach duin. — See Annadown. 
 
 Earlsbarton, in Northamptonshire, church 
 of, 239. 
 
 Earth, moist, church built of, 126. 
 
 Easbog. — See Epscop. 
 
 East, the, conformity between many of 
 the Round Towers in, noticed by tra- 
 vellers, and the Irish Round Towers, 
 acknowledged, 30. 
 
 Eastern anchorites, pillars of, supposed 
 agreement- between, and the Irish Tow- 
 ers, examined, 109-113. 
 
 East Meon, near .Winchester, marble font 
 in cathedral of, 294. 
 
 Eclais, origin and application of the word, 
 143, 145, 153. 
 
 Ecclesia, application of, by Irish writers, 
 143, 144, 145, 149, 151, 152, 156. 
 
 Ecclesia iilii Laithphi, in Bregia, 142. 
 
 Ecclesiastica Tui-ris, Round Tower of Kil- 
 dare so called by Cambrensis, 208. 
 
 Ecclesiasticae turres, translated " reli- 
 gious" Towers, by Mr. D' Alton, 4.3, 44. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Buildings, ancient. Irish, ge- 
 neral characteristics of the, 160, etseq. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Remains, Irish, antiquity of, 
 125, et seq. 
 
 Edda, 24. 
 
 Egbert, chief monarch, pennies of, found 
 near Rahen, 356. 
 
 Egyptian ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137. 
 
 monasteries, 422, 425. 
 
 SS. septe Monachos Aegyptios, 
 
 qui iacet in Disert Vlidh, 138. 
 
 Ehenach, ancient church of, founded by 
 St. Patrick, 180. — See Aghannagh. 
 
 Ele, daughter of EochoFedhlech, 98, 100. 
 
 Elians, the, plundered Clonmacnoise, 273, 
 274. 
 
 Elias S., SS. Peregrines Romanos ([ui co- 
 mitati sunt SS. Eliam, Natalem, &c., 
 138. 
 
 Emly, called in Irish- Imleach lubhair, 
 comharbas, or successors of St. Ailbhe 
 at, 312. 
 
 burned, 429. 
 
 3 Q 
 
 Enda, filius Nielli, 159- 
 
 English, i. e. Saxon, ecclesiastics in Ire- 
 land, 137, 138. 
 
 English, influx of, into Ireland, in ancient 
 times, 201. 
 
 English, i. e. Anglo-Norman, pennies, old, 
 227, 228. 
 
 Eochaidh Airgthech. — See Fothaidh Airg- 
 tlieach. 
 
 Eochaidh Balldearg, prince of Thomond, 
 139. 
 
 Eochaidh Eolach O'Ceiriu, an ancient wri- 
 ter, 106, 107. 
 
 Eocho Airemh, 98, 100. 
 
 Eocho Fedlech, 98, 100. 
 
 Eogan mor, who bore the cognomen of 
 Mogh Nuadhat, death of, 25. 
 
 Eoganacht Ninais, 381. 
 
 Eoganachts, king of, 312. 
 
 Epiphanius, referred to, 417, 422. 
 
 Epscop, origin and meaning of th« word, 
 310. 
 
 Erdam, or aurdam, applied in the Book 
 of Ballymote to the porticoes of the 
 Royal Palace of Priam at Troy, 62. 
 
 Erdam, translated domum ahum by Dr. 
 O'Conor, and believed by him to be 
 synonymous with cloic-teach (cainpa- 
 nile), 48, 52, 53; true explanation of, 
 53, 54. 
 
 of Kells, 429. 
 
 of St. Kieran, at Clonmacnoise, 
 
 438. 
 
 Erdamh, classified with other ecclesiastical 
 buildings, 160. 
 
 treated of, as a class of Irish ec- 
 clesiastical buildings, 437-444. 
 
 meaning of this word, as ex- 
 
 plained by Cormac in his Glossary, 438. 
 
 various spellings of the word, ib. 
 
 derivation of, ib. 
 
 similar ancient compounds ex- 
 
 plained by O'Clery, ib. 
 
 difficulty of forming an accurate 
 
 idea of the kind of building designated 
 by the term erdamh, 438, 439, 440, 442.
 
 484 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Erdamh, notices of the word in the Annals, 
 
 438, 439. 
 no distinct building to which the 
 
 name could be applied now remains in 
 
 Ireland, 439. 
 erroneously supposed by Dr. 
 
 O'Conor to be a belfry, 52, 53, 54, 
 437-439. 
 the word used to express the Latin 
 
 •viovi porticiis, 440, 442. 
 
 conjecture as to the application of 
 
 the term, 444. 
 
 ■ most probably a sacristy, or other 
 
 lateral porch, entered from the interior 
 of the church, ib. 
 examples of, ib. 
 
 Ergastulum, Arcti Inclusorii Ergastulum, 
 
 Dunchad O'Braoin, Abbot of Clonmac- 
 
 noise, stated to have shut himself up in, 
 
 113, 117. 
 ■ supposed by Harris 
 
 and Smith to be applied to the Round 
 
 Towers, 113, 117; refutation of this 
 
 opinion, 114, 117. 
 Erna, burial place of the race of, 99, 101. 
 
 — See Clann Dedad. 
 Ernicius, disciple of St. Patrick, 166 ; 
 
 Hernicius, ib. 
 Esclam, the Dagda's Brehon, grave of — 
 
 See Pert Esclaim. 
 Etan, the poetess, of the raceof theTuatha 
 
 de Danann, 99, 101, 106. 
 Etchen, Bishop, cross of, at Clonmacnoise, 
 
 438. 
 Ethelred II., the Saxon king, coins of, 
 
 213, 225, 229. 
 
 Etruria-Celtica See Betham. 
 
 Etruscan buildings, form of doorway in, 
 
 169. 
 works, the principle of the arch 
 
 stated to be found in, 72. 
 Eugenius Sanctus episcopus, 142. 
 Evagrius's Church History, 47, 110, 111. 
 Evin's, St., Life of St. Patrick, quoted or 
 
 referredto,132, 136, 156, 157,158,159, 
 
 160, 161, 162, 166,350 &e Tripartite. 
 
 F. 
 
 Failghe, rings so called, 214, 215. 
 Farannan, St., Life of, published by Col- 
 
 gan, referred to, 322. 
 Fame, island of, in Northumberland, cha- 
 racter of monastic establishment on, 
 
 128,447. 
 Faughard, covered well of St. Bridget at, 
 
 453. 
 Feargna, son of Fergus, chief of Breifne, 
 
 448, 449. 
 Fera Ceall, lords of, 245. 
 Fechin, St., Fore erected by, 174, 175. 
 
 death of, 174. 
 
 historical and legendary notices 
 
 of, 175 ; his mill at Fore, 453. — See 
 
 Fore. 
 monastic establishment of, on . 
 
 Ard-Oilean, or High Island, character 
 of, 128, 426, 427. 
 
 one of the houses erected by. 
 
 at his monastic establishment, on Ard- 
 Oilean, or High Island, described, 131, 
 132. 
 Life of, as given by Colgan, 
 
 quoted, 175. 
 Fedelmidh Eechtmar, the lawgiver, the 
 
 grave of — See Fert Fedelmid Recht- 
 
 mair. 
 Feilire, or Festilogy of Aengus, quoted 
 
 or referred to, 167, 170, 348, 349, 
 
 355. 
 additions of the Scholiast to, 
 
 quoted, 176. 
 Fenagh, in the County of Leitrim, origi- 
 nal name of, 448, 449 ; Book of, quoted, 
 
 448, 449. 
 monastery of, built within a ca- 
 
 thair, or circular stone fort, 448. 
 Fergus, Dr., copy of the Annals of the 
 
 Four Masters made for, noticed, 52. 
 Fer Mumhan, quoted by Cormac in his 
 
 Glossary, 18, 19. 
 Fernmuighi, 53. 
 Ferns, St., Aidan, first bishop of, 204.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 485 
 
 Ferta, near Armagh, church of, 444, 445, 
 446. 
 
 Ferta, Co. Kilkenny, Round Tower of, 376. 
 
 Ferta Aedha Luirgnig, the grave of Aedh 
 Luirgnech, at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 
 103. 
 
 Ferta Tire Feic, for Loch Mesctha, — 
 Ferta of Tir Feic, on Lough Mask, — 
 Lugnai de, 167. 
 
 Fertm-Boiune mna Nechtain, — the grave 
 of Boinn, the wife of Nechtan, — a mo- 
 nument at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Fert Conaire, i. e., Magh Feci in Bregia, 
 burial place of Conaire Mor, 99, 101 ; 
 other kings asserted by some to have 
 been interred there, ib. 
 
 Fert Esclaim, — the grave of Esclam, — at 
 Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Fert FedeUnid Eechtmair, — the grave of 
 Fedelmidh, the Lawgiver, — a monu- 
 ment at Brugh na Boinne, 102. 
 
 Fert Medhbha, the body of Medhbh first 
 interred at, 106, 107. 
 
 Fert Patric, a monument at Brugh na 
 Boinne, ancient name of, 102, 103. 
 
 Fiac, bishop of Sletty, ecclesiastical pre- 
 sents given to, when consecrated bishop 
 by St. Patrick, 338 ; first church of, ib. 
 — See Fiech. 
 
 Fiach, a man's name, meaning of, 263. 
 
 Fiach Sraiphtiue, Fulacht of, a sepulchral 
 monument at Brugh na Boinne, 102. 
 
 Fiachus, filius Nielli, 159. 
 
 Fidhairle Ua Suanaigh, St., 245, 246.— 
 See Ua Suanaigh. 
 
 Fidh-nemheadh, interpreted indicia cas- 
 lestia by Dr. O'Conor, and applied by 
 him to the Round Towers, 48. 
 Fidh-nemheadh, interpreted turns by Dr. 
 O'Conor, — his etymology of the term, 
 53. 
 
 no evidence that it was applied 
 
 to a Tower, 54. 
 
 not a building of any kind, 55. 
 
 true explanation of, 57 ; ex- 
 
 plained index coelorum, indicia cwlestia, 
 
 turres ccelestes, and tun-is, by Dr.U'Conor, 
 57. — See Neimhed and Fiodh. 
 Fidh-nemheadh, true meaning ol", as shown 
 
 from ancient authorities, 60-63. 
 Fidh-nemheadh of Jupiter at Troy, 62. 
 
 incorrectly written Fiadh- 
 
 neimhe, and translated indicia cmlestia, 
 by Dr. O'Conor, and applied by him to 
 the Round Towers, 65. 
 Fidh n-Endnia, the three, i. e., Bres, Nar, 
 
 and Lothor, 98, 100. 
 Fiech, St., of Sletty, historical and legen- 
 dary notice of, 1 93. — See Fiac. 
 Finan Cam, St., house of, on Church Is- 
 land in Lough Lee, described, 130, 131. 
 Fineen. — See Finghin. 
 Finghin, St., from whom Teampull Fin- 
 ghin, at Clonmacnoise, was named, 270 ; 
 holy well bearing his name, ib. ; grave 
 of, ib. 
 Finghin, or Fineen, antiquity of the use 
 of the name, among the Mac Carthys, 
 270, 271. 
 Fiuian, bishop of Lindisfarne, builds at 
 Lindisfarne a church of sawn wood, 
 covered with reeds, 125, 126. 
 Finian, St., of Clonard, 270. 
 Finnachta Fleadhach, monarch of Ireland, 
 the Borumha Laighean remitted by, 
 396. 
 Finnauair-abha, ad ripam Boandi, Lie- 
 mania de, 167. 
 Finnfaidhech, or Innfaidhech Patraig, a 
 bell, by whom made, 222; the full of 
 the, of silver, 221. 
 Finn Mac Cumhaill, another name of, 
 
 108. 
 Finola, the daughter of O'Conor, 287. 
 Fiodh, or Fidh, meaning of, in the com- 
 pound Fidh-neimhed, as explained in 
 ancient glossaries, &c., 59, 60. 
 Firbolg, and Tuatha De Danann tribes, 
 original country of, 127; character of 
 the buildings of, 127, 129. 
 Firbolgs, great numbers of, buried at 
 Brugh, 106.
 
 486 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Firbolgs,.chief of the, 449. 
 
 Fire, called the Tinne Elgin in the High- 
 lands See Tinne Elgin. 
 
 of Tlachtga, noticed by Comerford, 39. 
 
 — ^ sacred, stated by Mr. D' Alton to have 
 been preserved in the Round Towers, 
 
 . 42 ; this statement refuted, 42, 43. 
 
 — sacred, supposed by Dr. O'Conor to 
 
 have been preserved in the Round 
 
 Towers, 47. 
 two columns dedicated to the wind 
 
 and fire at the temple of Tyre, 69. 
 — - lighted by the Magi at Louth, as 
 
 stated by Windele, from the Life of 
 . Mocteus, 72. 
 Fires, stated in Irish history to have been 
 
 lighted by the Druids on the tops of 
 
 mountains and hills, not in towers, 25. 
 
 annual, lighted in Ireland, 28. 
 
 of Baal, supposed to be the Baal- 
 
 Theine, 36. 
 May-fires of modern times, perhaps 
 
 a modified form of the ancient Bell- 
 taine, 38. 
 called Bell-tinne, custom of driving 
 
 cattle between, as an antidote against 
 disease, 44. 
 
 Fire-temples, theories of the use of the 
 Round Towers as, examined and re- 
 futed, 12, 13, 21-52, 66-73. 
 
 Persian and Hindoo, supposed 
 
 similarity between, and the Irish Round 
 Towers, 28, 29, 67, 68. 
 
 of the Persians, 32. 
 
 or Pyreia, 71. 
 
 Fire-worship, 67, 68. 
 
 Fire-worshippers, Greek and Persian, 69- 
 
 Flahertach Mac Inmuinen, the successor of 
 
 Cormac Mac Cullenan, 312. 
 Flahertach O'Neill, historic notices of, 222, 
 
 223. 
 Flaithcius, a poet of Connaught, 106. 
 Flann, i. e. Flann of Bute, 106, 107. 
 Flann of the Monastery, poem written by, 
 
 141; quoted from the Book of Lecan, 
 
 142,166,384. 
 
 Flann of the Monastery, poem written by, 
 
 referred to, 202, 222. 
 Flann, the son of Conaing, territory of, 
 
 plundered by the Danes, 103. 
 Flann, the son of Flann, poi_'m attributed 
 
 to, in the Book of Fenagli, referred to 
 
 and quoted, 448, 449. 
 Flann, son of Maoilsechlainn, monarch of 
 
 Ireland, cathedral of Clonniacnoise built 
 
 by, 271 ; ' death of, ib. ; name of, en- 
 graved on stone cross at Clonmacnoise, 
 
 272, 273. 
 Flannan, St., the successor of St. Molua, 
 
 church ascribed to, 279, 281. 
 Flannan's, St., house at Killaloe. — See 
 
 Killaloe. 
 Flannchadh, inscribed tombstone of, at 
 
 Clonmacnoise, 327- 
 Flannchadh Ua Ruaidhne, comharba of 
 
 Ciaran, i. e. Abbot of Clonmacnoise, 
 
 death^ of, 327. 
 Fleming, his Collectanea Sacra, quoted, 
 
 396, 397. 
 Florence of Worcester, referred to, 327, 
 
 328. 
 Florilegium Insulse Sanctorum — See Mes- 
 
 singham. 
 Fodhla Feibe, a tract of Brehon Laws, so 
 
 entitled, quoted, 218. 
 Foirrgea, filiorum Amolngid, i. e. of the 
 
 sons of Awley, 126. 
 Fomorians. — See African. 
 " Font," the, at Cashel See Cormac Mac 
 
 Carthy, tomb of 
 Forann, the bed of the daughter oi'. — See 
 
 Long ingine Foraind. 
 Forbadh, meaning of the Irish word, 392. 
 Fore, Co.Westmeath, church of St. Fechin 
 
 at, 174 ; doorway of, described, 174, 
 
 175. 
 
 derthech of, burned, 345. 
 
 St. Fechin's church at, cross over 
 
 the doorway of, noticed, 404. 
 
 mill of, erected by St. Mochua, 453. 
 
 Foreign ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, et 
 seq.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 Foreign saints, none of the ancient Irish 
 churches dedicated to, previously to the 
 12th century, 173. 
 
 Fortuatha, regio de, 172. 
 
 Forts of the Firbolg and Tuatha De Da- 
 nann tribes, character of, 127, 129. 
 
 Forts, and mounts of Ireland, called Danish 
 by Dr. Molyneux, 6. 
 
 Forts, circular stone, noticed, 129. 
 
 Fothadh Airgtheach, monarch of Ireland, 
 death of, and grave at Ollarba, 108, 109 ; 
 ogham inscription on pillar-stone at his 
 
 , grave, 109- 
 
 Fothadh na Canoine, or of the canon, 
 poem composed hj, and addressed to 
 Aedh Oirdnighe, where preserved, 382; 
 quoted, ib. 
 
 Fothart Airbreach, in Leinster, 287. 
 
 Fox See O'Catharnaigh. 
 
 Franks, disciples and foUovi'ers of St. Pa- 
 trick, 16.5, 166. 
 
 Franks, or Gauls, invoked in the Litany of 
 Aengus, 138. 166. 
 
 French ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, 138. 
 
 intercourse of the ancient Irish 
 
 with, 214. 
 
 Freshford, or Achadh ur, Co. Kilkenny, 
 church of, original erection of, 285 ; 
 age of the present building examined, 
 285-288; ornamental doorway of, treat- 
 ed of, ib. ; inscription on doorway of, 
 286. 
 
 Friars' Island, the, 426 ; ancient Irish 
 name of, ib. 
 
 Frithghnam, meaning of the word, 26, 27. 
 
 Fulacht Fiachach Sraiptine, a sepulchral 
 monument at Brugh na Boinne, 102. 
 
 Fulda, Inclusorium of Marianus Seotus 
 at, 49, 72. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gailian, province of, i. e. the province of 
 Leinster, by vrhom occupied, 98, 100. 
 
 kings of, buried at Oenach Ailbi, 
 
 J 06. 
 
 Gaileng, king or prince of, 374, 375. 
 
 Gair mic-Magla, saints of, invoked, 138. 
 
 Gall, explained from Cormac's Glossary, 
 18, 19.- 
 
 Gall, St., notice of monastery founded by, 
 at Brigantiuni, or Brigents, 423 ; origi- 
 nal monasti-ry founded by, at St. Gall, 
 ib. 
 
 Gallerus, in Corcaguiny barony, Covmty 
 of Kerry, ancient oratory at, described, 
 1 32, 1 33 ; pillar-stone at the oratory of, 
 with inscription, 134, 135. 
 
 oratory at, doorway of, 163. 
 
 ■ east window of, 182, 185. 
 
 dimensions of, 351, 352. 
 
 Gallic disciples and followers of St. Pa- 
 trick, 165, 166. 
 
 Galls, or foreigners, of Dublin, account of 
 a poem composed for, by the poet Ru- 
 mann, 353, 354, 355. 
 
 Gal way, garrison of, 191. 
 
 Gateways, ancient Irish, 450, 451. 
 
 Gaul, intercourse of the ancient Irish with, 
 201. 
 
 Gauls, or Franks, invoked in the Litany 
 of Aengus, 138, 166. 
 
 in Ireland, 192. 
 
 Gaiirs, or Persian magi, 31. 
 
 Gelasius, St., 154 ; Life of referred to, 
 154. 
 
 Genealogies of the Irish saints, Book of, 
 referred to, 322. 
 
 Gerald, the Saxon saint, of -Mayo, 145. 
 
 Gerald na Corn, " from whom the Geral- 
 dines descend," 269 ; historical notice 
 of, ib. 
 
 Geraldines, from whom descended, 269. 
 
 German ecclesiastics, or pilgrims, in Ire- 
 land, 137. 
 
 Germans, intercourse of the ancient Irish 
 with, 214. 
 
 Getty, Mr. Edmund, of Belfast, his ac- 
 count of the discovery of human bones 
 in the Bound Tower of Drumbo, 89, 90. 
 
 Gibson's edition of Camden referred to, 
 225, 226.
 
 488 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gilla Enain, the son of Agda, prince of 
 Teffia, death of, 330. 
 
 Gilla Mac Liac, successor of St. Patrick, 
 308. 
 
 Giolcach, a corruption of Cloictheach, 400. 
 
 Giraldus Cambrensis See Cambrensis. 
 
 Glass, does not appear to have been used 
 in the windows of the ancient Irish 
 churches, 183. 
 
 Glass, not usual in the windows of churches 
 in England till the close of the seventh 
 century, 201 ; might have been intro- 
 duced into Ireland long before that age, 
 ib. ; glazed windows of rare occurrence 
 in the time of Cogitosus, ib. 
 
 Glastonbury, account of the origin of the 
 church of, from an inscription on brass 
 at same place, 196 ; dimensions of church 
 from same, ib. ; a St. Patrick interred 
 at, ib. 
 
 tomb of St. Patrick at, 455. 
 
 Glendalough, in the County of Wicklow, 
 origin of the great religious city of, 
 172. 
 
 burned, with Cro Ciarain, Cro 
 
 Caoimghin, and the church of the two 
 Sinchells, 436. 
 
 — ■ cashel or great wall enclosing 
 
 the city of, 452 ; gateway of, described, 
 450, 451. 
 
 great church, or cathedral of. 
 
 by whom probably erected, 405 ; style 
 of masonry of nave, 187 ; measurements 
 of, 366 ; doorway of nave of, 1 80, 255 ; 
 chancel of, fragments of ornamental 
 architecture in, examined, 253-256 ; 
 features of the east window of, described, 
 253, 254 ; age of these features and of 
 the whole of the chancel inquired into, 
 255, 256 ; style of masonry, &c., of 
 chancel, ib. ; material of east window, 
 266. 
 great Round Tower of, by whom 
 
 probably erected, 405; style of masonry 
 of, ib. ; measurements of, 366 ; doorway 
 of, described, 404, 405, 406. 
 
 Glendalough, agreement in arcliitecture of 
 the Tower and churches of, 385. 
 
 resemblance of doorways of se- 
 veral of the churches in the valley of, 
 with that of the great Round Tower, 
 405, 406. 
 
 church of the monastery at. 
 
 ornamented architectural remains of 
 chancel of, examined, 256-266 ; situa- 
 tion of, 256 ; chancel archway of, treated 
 of, 257-261,265, 266; ornament on one 
 of the stones of the chancel arch of, 
 324 ; altar of, now totally destroyed, 
 256 ; ornaments occurring in the mo- 
 nastery church of, 325, 326 ; nave of, 
 described, with measurements, 256. 
 doorway of Our Lady's Church 
 
 at, described, 170, 171; shown to have 
 been the first church erected in the 
 lower part of the valley or city of Glen- 
 dalough, 170, 171, 172, 173; great anti- 
 quity of church proved, ib. ; ancient 
 name of church, 172. 
 clara cella erected at, 172; being 
 
 the church now called the Reefert 
 Church, 173. 
 Reefert Church at, doorway of. 
 
 described, 173, 174. 
 
 cemetery of. — See Reefert. 
 
 St. Kevin's cell at, 423. 
 
 St. Kevin's house at, in Irish, 
 
 Cro Caoimhghin, 357, 430, 436. 
 
 age of 430 ; burned, 436. 
 
 described, 431-435. 
 
 nave of, described, 433, 434. 
 
 doorway of, 180 ; described 
 
 and illustrated, 433, 434. 
 
 small round turret belfry of. 
 
 357 ; described, 432, 434, 435. 
 chancel and sacristy of, subse- 
 
 quently added, described, 431, 435. 
 
 originally built by St. Kevin, 
 
 435, 436. 
 probable age of the additions. 
 
 435. 
 
 Trinity Church at, view of the 
 
 I
 
 INDEX. 
 
 489 
 
 interior of, showing chancel arch, 186; 
 
 windows in, 182, 183. 
 Glendalough, Trinity Church at. Round 
 
 Tower attached to, age of, 395. 
 — '■ fragments of churches in the 
 
 valley of, treated of, 247-2(37. 
 probable age of ruins at, 247, 
 
 248. 
 
 the small chapel or oratory at, 
 
 popularly called the Priests' Hovise, or 
 Priests' Church, fragments of ornament- 
 ed architecture of, examined, 248-253, 
 266. 
 
 origin of name of, 248 ; 
 
 age of church, 252, 253. 
 a duirtheach or oratory. 
 
 popularly so called, dimensions of, 351. 
 ruins of the church of the two 
 
 Sinchells at, 436. 
 ruins of St. Kieran's church at. 
 
 lately existing, 436. 
 no traces of the houses or cells 
 
 of the monks at, 421. 
 
 sacristy at, 444. 
 
 monumental stone cross at, or- 
 
 nament on, 326. 
 
 sepulchral cross at, described. 
 
 265, 266. 
 
 coins found at, according to 
 
 Ware, in 1639; 230. 
 plundered and devastated by 
 
 the Danes, 230. 
 moutana de Glindelachan, 208. 
 
 Glenloire, filius Mainani de, 138. 
 
 Glenn in Matae, — the Glen of the Mata, 
 — at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Glossary of Cormao Mac Cullenan. — See 
 Cormac's Glossary. 
 
 Glossary, ancient Irish, on vellum, quoted, 
 223. 
 
 Mac Firbis's, quoted, 341. 
 
 in a MS. in the Library of Trinity 
 
 College Dublin, H. 2, 16, quoted, 58, 63- 
 
 Glossaries, ancient, in the Library of Tri- 
 nity College, Dublin, quoted, 142, 336_ 
 
 Gluniarn, Armagh plundered by, 146. 
 
 Gno, territory of, in the west of Con- 
 
 nauglit, 106. 
 Gnomon, 12, 57. — See Observatories. 
 Gnomons, astronomical (S(;eO'Conor,Dr., 
 
 and Round Towers. 
 Goban, St., or Goban Saer, the artificer, 
 
 duirtheach built by, 348. 
 Goban Saer, church ascribed to, 405. 
 a celebrated architect, erection 
 
 of Round Towers ascribed to, 385. 
 districts in which he is said ne- 
 
 ver to have been employed, 385 ; pro- 
 bable place of the birth of, 385 ; father 
 of, 386. 
 erection of Round Tower of An- 
 
 trim ascribed to, 404. 
 erection of Round Tower of Kil- 
 
 macduagh ascribed to, 405. 
 
 Gobhan, the cave of the wife of, 103. 
 
 Gobnet, St., her oratory on Aran, dimen- 
 sions of, 351. 
 
 Godfrid, son of Sitric, King of Dublin, 
 224. 
 
 Gofi'redus nepos Iniari, Armagh plundered 
 by, 147, 148. 
 
 Gorman, comharba of Mochta of Louth, 
 deatli of, 270. 
 
 Gorman Marian. — See Marian. 
 
 Gorman, Maurice, his copy of the Annals 
 of the Four Masters, noticed, 52. 
 
 Gormflaith, daughter of Flann, Queen of 
 Niall Glundubh, death of, 117. 
 
 Gormgall, St., eremetical life of, on High 
 Island, 427. 
 
 Gospels, given by St. Patrick to St. Cianan 
 [Kienan], 143; copy of, preserved in 
 the neighbourhood of Duleek, in 1682- 
 3, probably one of those venerable mo- 
 numents of the Scriptures at present in 
 the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, 
 ib. 
 
 manuscript copy of, in the British 
 
 Museum, written in Ireland, date of, 
 308 ; entries in, quoted, 307, 308. 
 
 oldest manuscript copies of, orna- 
 
 ment used in, 324, 
 
 3 R
 
 490 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gothic architecture, examples of, referred 
 to, 320. 
 
 Graeuo- Roman, or Byzantine character, in- 
 scription in, 134. 
 
 Grseco-Roman, alphabet inscribed on a 
 pillar-stone at Kilmalkedar, 134, 135. 
 
 Gratiauus Lucius. — <SVe Lynch. 
 
 Graves, the hills, or mounds, at Oenach 
 na Cruachna [Eathcroghan], stated to 
 have been, 104, 105. 
 
 or giants' beds, 102. 
 
 Greece, character of the oldest churches in, 
 192. 
 
 corrupted architecture of, 232. 
 
 — fire worshippers of, 69. 
 
 Greek buildings, oldest doorways of, 169, 
 170. 
 
 Groat, use of, in Ireland, 222. 
 
 Grose, preface to his Antiquities of Eng- 
 land, quoted, 127. 
 
 Grouting, interior of walls of ancient Irish 
 churches, filled up with, and rubble, 
 163. 
 
 Guaire Aidlme, king of Connaught, cathe- 
 dral church of Kilmacduagh, erected by, 
 for St. Colman, 176, 405. 
 
 Guebre Towers in Persia, stated to have 
 been occasionally in part applied to se- 
 pulchral purposes, 78, 79 ; Gheber tower 
 and cemetery, 80. 
 
 Guebres, temples of, 12, 29, 68. 
 
 Gunn, Eev. M., his Essay on Gothic Ar- 
 chitecture quoted, 206. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hanway, his Travels into Persia referred 
 to, 29, 30. 
 
 fire temples s*n by, 7 1 . 
 
 Harold, King of Denmark, 212. 
 
 coins of, 227, 228. 
 
 King) sailor of, 259. 
 
 Harris, Walter, a warm advocate for the 
 theory that the Towers were erected 
 for the use of anchorites, 109. 
 
 examination and refutation of 
 
 his arginiients in support of the theory 
 that the Round Towers were erected for 
 the use of anchorites, 110-116. 
 
 Harris, Walter, his Plate of Armagh Ca- 
 thedral referred to and quoted, 158, 
 159. 
 
 erroneous statement of, 216. 
 
 his edition of Ware's works, re- 
 ferred to, 230. 
 
 his edition of Ware's Bishops. 
 
 — See Ware. 
 his additions to Ware, quoted. 
 
 314. 
 
 Hawk, of Kildare See KUdare. 
 
 Hay, ancient oratory and monastic habi- 
 tation thatched with, 128, 129. 
 Hayes, Samuel, Esq., of Avondale, in the 
 
 County of Wicklow, 256. 
 Heads, human, capitals decorated with 
 
 sculptures of, 239- 
 Hector Boethius, his History of Scotland 
 
 quoted, 356. 
 Henry I., coins of, 228. 
 Hercus, buried in the church of Cerne, 
 
 in the plain of Bregia, 142. 
 Heremon, provinces possessed by the race 
 
 of, 98, 100. 
 burial place of the kings of the 
 
 race of, 98, 100. 
 Hermffi, Grecian, 68. 
 
 Hernicius, 166 See Ernicius. 
 
 Herringbone masonry, examples of, 188, 
 
 416. 
 Hibernicius, disciple of St. Patrick, 165, 
 
 166. 
 High Island, ruins of ancient monastic es- 
 tablishment on, 128, 131, 132, 424,427, 
 
 447.— -See Ard-Oilean. 
 
 Hindostan See Bhaugulpore. 
 
 Hingar, a Danish chief, standard of, 263. 
 
 Hiona See lona. 
 
 History of the Academy of Inscriptions 
 
 and Belles Lettres, quoted, 212. 
 Hoare, Sir Richard Colt, his approbation 
 
 of Doctor Smith's theory, in his own 
 
 words, 121.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 491 
 
 Hoare, observations of, 410, 437. 
 
 Hope, Mr., his Historical Essay on Archi- 
 tecture quoted, 192, 193. 
 
 Horse Biblicai of Mr. Butler, referred to, 
 24. 
 
 Horn, probably used in the windows of 
 ancient Irish churches, 1 84. 
 
 Horses, exacted for ransom, 214. 
 
 House, ancient Pagan, on the great island 
 of Aran, in the Bay of Galway, de- 
 scribed, 129, 130. 
 
 House of St. Cuthbert, on the island of 
 Fame, 128, 129. 
 
 of the Scriptures, or Manuscripts, at 
 
 Armagh, 148, 150 See Teach Screap- 
 
 tra. 
 
 . — — circular stone, of St. Mac Dara, on 
 
 Inis Mhic Dara, described, 190. 
 Houses of the Firbolg and Tuatha De 
 
 Danann tribes, character of, 127, 130. 
 ancient Irish Christian, 130, 131, 
 
 132, 423, 424, 429, 430, 437. 
 
 monastic, use of wood in, 141. 
 
 or cells, of the abbot and monks 
 
 in the ancient monastic establishments, 
 how constructed, 128. 
 ecclesiastical, classified with other 
 
 ecclesiastical buildings, 160. 
 ^ treated of as a class of Irish eccle- 
 
 siastical buildings, 421-437. 
 
 of wood, 127. 
 
 built with oak timber and wattles. 
 
 125. 
 
 Hubba, a Danish chief, standard of, 263. 
 
 Hy For names beginning with this pre- 
 fix see Ui. 
 
 Hy, or Hyona See lona. 
 
 Hyde, Dr., his description of the fire tem- 
 ples of the Parsi or Guebri, 1 2. 
 
 de Relig. vet. Pers. quoted, 30. 
 
 larlath, successor of, 314, 315, 316. 
 Ibroracht, meaning of, uncertain, 346, 
 347. 
 
 3 K 
 
 Idols, adoration of, 68. 
 
 Ifars See Ivar. 
 
 Hand, the great, 269. 
 
 Illuminators of books, celebrity of tlie 
 early ecclesiastics in Ireland as, 192. 
 
 Imar, a Danish king, 103. 
 
 Imay island, 426 ; latinised Immagia, 
 427. 
 
 Imdae in Dagda, — the bed of the Dagda, — 
 a monument at Brugh ua Boinne, 102, 
 103. 
 
 Imleach-mor [eccles. vel mon.], 138. 
 
 Immagia. — See Imay. 
 
 Implements necessary for the church, ce- 
 lebrity of the early ecclesiastics in Ire- 
 land as makers of, 192. 
 
 Imposts, square, arches of doorways spring- 
 ing from, 177, 178. 
 
 Imraimh Curaich Mailduin, — the Wan- 
 dering of tlie Curach of Maelduin, — an 
 ancient Irish tract, where preserved, 
 38 1 ; quoted, ib. 
 
 Inbher Colptha, origin of name, 1 02. 
 
 lubhear Deaa;, Gentiles of, 204. 
 
 Inchaguile, 164, 166, 168. — See Temple- 
 patrick. 
 
 Inclined sides of arched doorways in an- 
 cient Irish churches noticed, 177. 
 
 a characteristic of the win- 
 dows of ancient Irish churches, 182. 
 
 jambs of triumphal or chancel 
 
 arches, generally have an inclination, 
 corresponding with those of the door- 
 ways and windows, 1 86. 
 
 Inclusoria, a name erroneously said to be 
 ajjpliedto the Round Towers, 113, 117; 
 this statement refuted, 113, 114. 
 
 Dunchad O'Braoin, said to have 
 
 betaken himself into a hermitage so 
 termed, 117. 
 
 Inclusorii, anchorites, 72. 
 
 India, 70, 71. 
 
 Indian temples, stated to be similar to 
 the Eound Towers, 68. 
 
 Indo-Scy thiaus, origin of the Round Tow- 
 ers attributed to, 11. — See Phxenician. 
 
 2
 
 492 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ingots of gold and silver used for money 
 
 by the ancient Irish, 214, 215. 
 Inis an GhoiU Chrabhthaigh, now Incha- 
 
 guile, explanation of name, 164, 168. — 
 
 See Templepatrick. 
 Inis an Ghoill Chrabhthaigh, churches on, 
 
 163, 164. 
 Inis Cealtra, Coscrach, anchorite of, 50, 5 1 . 
 Inis Clothrann, or Inis Clorin, an island 
 
 in Lough Eee, square belfry on, 363. 
 Inishcaltra, ancient Irish name of, 277. 
 church erected on, by Brian 
 
 Borumha, 277. 
 church of, treated of, 281-284 ; 
 
 measurements of, 281, 366. 
 . . . age of nave of, 282, 284 ; 
 
 windows of nave of, described, 284; age 
 of chancel of, 282, 283; doorway of, de- 
 scribed, 282, 283 ; chancel arch of, de- 
 scribed, 283. 
 Tower ot, noticed by Mr. Win- 
 
 dele, 71, 72. 
 measurement of the Eound 
 
 Tower of, 366. 
 
 Inis Cathaigh, sacristy of church of, 444. 
 
 Inishglory, off the coast of Erris, charac- 
 ter of monastic establishment on, 127, 
 128. 
 
 Inishmurry, in the Bay of Sligo, character 
 of monastic establishment on, 127, 450. 
 
 Inishmaan, in Lough Mask, in the County 
 of Mayo, abbey church of, by whom 
 built, 180; ageof, ib. ; side entrance, 
 doorway in, 180. 
 
 Inis mac Nessain, the ancient name of Ire- 
 land's Eye, 177. 
 
 explanation and origin of name 
 
 of, 177, 178. 
 
 Inis Meadhoin, or the Middle Island of 
 Aran; Tempull Ceanannach on, 188, 
 189. — See Tempull Ceanannach. 
 
 Inispatrick, burned by foreigners, 203. 
 
 shrine at, ib. 
 
 Inis-Puinc, SS. Peregrinos de, 138. 
 
 Innfaidhech Patraig, 221 See Finnfai- 
 
 dhech. 
 
 Inscription on a brass plate, at Glaston- 
 bury, 195, 196. 
 
 sepulchral, on the island of Inis 
 
 an Ghoill Chrabhthaigh, now Incha- 
 guile, 164, 165. 
 
 Inscriptions, Irish, 134, 135, 136, 139, 
 140, 272, 273, 274, 275, 286, 314, 315, 
 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 342, 
 408. 
 
 of the eighth and ninth centu- 
 ries, referred to, 224. 
 
 no Danish, in Ireland, ib. 
 
 Latin, and Irish and Latin, 
 
 342. 
 
 Insida Cuniculorum, 426. 
 
 Interments in the Round Towers, obser- 
 vations on the recent search for, 417- 
 420. 
 
 lona, pilgrimages to, 118. 
 
 Hyona, insula, 389. 
 
 cathedral of, 124. 
 
 kitchen of St. Columba at, noticed, 
 
 445. 
 
 Tugurium, or hut of St. Columba 
 
 at, 424 ; his tomb at, 455. 
 
 Iran, and the western parts of Asia, con- 
 sidered by some as the centre of popu- 
 lation of the world, 68. 
 
 Ireland's Eye, ancient name of, 177, 178. 
 
 doorway of the church of, de- 
 scribed, 177, 178. 
 
 apparent age of church of, 178. 
 
 Eound Tower of, 178. 
 
 Irish, ancient, supposed Persian origin of, 
 35, 36. 
 
 tenacity of ancient customs, and re- 
 pugnance to innovation of the, 1 94. 
 
 Irish ecclesiastical establishment in Bri- 
 tain, 196, 197. 
 
 Irish, art of makiftg minted money pro- 
 bably derived from, by the Danes, 213. 
 — See following pages. 
 
 people, intercourse carried on by, 
 
 with the Saxons, French, Belgians, and 
 Germans, 213, 214. 
 
 knowledge of the arts of civilized
 
 INDEX. 
 
 493 
 
 life among the, at. tbc time of the first 
 Danish irruptions, 213, 214. 
 
 Irish, acquaintance of the ancient, with 
 literature, 214. 
 
 — — erroneous opinion concerning supe- 
 riority of Danes to, 224. 
 
 — — • civilization of, previously to the Da- 
 
 nish irruptions, 240. 
 ecclesiastical words, derived from 
 
 the Latin, 1 17. 
 Irrosainhagh, in West Connaught, 191. 
 Isidorus, chronicle of, 46. 
 Italian ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, 138. 
 Italy, intercourse of the ancient Irish with, 
 
 201. 
 Ivar, I., 225. 
 
 II., ib. 
 
 Iveagh, Lord of, 341. 
 
 Jamestown, County of Roscommon, pillar- 
 stone near, 19- 
 
 Jesus, the name, inscribed by St. Patrick 
 on a pUlar-stone, 135, 136. 
 
 John, prince, 208. 
 
 Jonas, a disciple of Columbanus, referred 
 to, 205. 
 
 Joseph, successor of St. Patrick, 221. 
 
 Jurieu's Critical History of the Church, 
 31, 32, 
 
 K. 
 
 Keating's History of Ireland, quoted or 
 referred to, 40, 277, 310, 389. 
 
 Keeps, or monastic treasure houses, theory 
 of the exclusive use of the Round 
 Towers as, rejected, 121 ; theory of their 
 use as, and belfries, advocated, ib. et seq. 
 
 Kells [Cenannas], residence of King Cor- 
 mac at, 98, 100. 
 
 erdomh iartharach of the great 
 
 Doimhliac of, 53, 439. 
 
 steeple of, 374, 375. 
 
 apertures in Round Tower of, 414. 
 
 Kells, St. Colunib, patron of, 375- 
 
 St. Columb's house at, 357. 
 
 St. Columb's house at, described, 
 
 430, 431, 433, 437. 
 St. Columb's house at, bunud, 429. 
 
 — See, Columb's. 
 
 Kenannach, St See Ceanannach. 
 
 Kenannanus, St. — See Kienan and Cianan. 
 Kennedy, Mr., of Drundahan, his tradi- 
 tional description of the cloch angcoire 
 
 of that place, 115, 116. 
 Kenngobha, a mountain near Armagh, 
 
 stone oratory on, 350. 
 Keppel, Major, pUlar observed by, near 
 
 tlie Tigris, 71. 
 Kerman Kclstach, the favourite idol of 
 
 the Ultonians, 68. 
 Kerry, Bishop Lughach one of the earliest 
 
 propagators of Christianity in, 1 70. 
 
 ancient oratories in, 163. 
 
 described, 132, 133; antiquity 
 
 of, 133-136 ; windows of, described, 
 
 184, 185. 
 dimensions of, 351, 352. 
 
 . other ancient remains in, noticed, 
 
 132, 133. 
 Kevin, St., chapel of, and Round Tower 
 
 of same, 377. 
 figure probably representing, 
 
 251, 252. 
 his house at Glendalough, 357 ; 
 
 small round turret-belfry of, ib — See 
 Glendalough. 
 Life of, published by the Bol- 
 
 landists, observations on, 171 ; quoted, 
 172. 
 
 Our Lady's Church at Glenda- 
 
 lough, erected by, 171-173. 
 
 ■ induced by an angel to remove 
 
 his monastery to the east of the smaller 
 lake at Glendalough, 172. 
 
 yew tree planted by, at Glenda- 
 
 lough, 64. 
 died in the year 618; 437- 
 
 Kienan, St., church of stone built by, at 
 Duleck, 142.
 
 494 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kienan, St., Kannaniis episcopus, quem 
 
 ordinavit Patricius, 142, 143. — SeeCia,- 
 
 nan. 
 Kieran, St., of Clonmacnoise, comharb of, 
 
 341, 380. 
 
 __ erdam of, at Clonmacnoise, 438. 
 
 chiirch of, at Glendalongli 
 
 See Glendalough. 
 
 instructor of, 270. 
 
 miraculous interposition of, 273, 
 
 274. 
 
 — orisinal foundation of Clon- 
 
 macnoise by, referred to, 273. 
 sculptures on stone cross at 
 
 Clonmacnoise relating to, 273, 274. 
 death of, 437. 
 
 tosus, with English translation, 197- 
 199; ornamented doorway in church, 
 in the time of Cogitosus, 197-199, 207 ; 
 observations on Cogitosus's description, 
 199-208. 
 bracteate pinginns, or pennings, 
 
 conjectured to have been ecclesiastical 
 
 coins, minted there, 231. 
 
 curragh or plain of, 208. 
 
 kitchen of St. Bridget at, notice 
 
 of, 445. 
 manuscript of the Four Evange- 
 
 lists preserved at ; Cambrensis' de- 
 scription of, 206, 207. 
 
 plundered by the Danes, 23 1 . 
 
 seniors and ecclesiastics of, made 
 
 Kildare, great house of St. Bridget at, 
 231. 
 
 . derthach of, 231. 
 
 Tower of, characterized by fea- 
 tures of Christian architecture, that will 
 leave no doubt of its real era, 44. 
 
 Eound Tower of, apertures of, in a 
 
 KUbannon, near Tuam, church of, erected 
 
 within the fort called Dun Lughaidh, 
 
 448. 
 Kilcananagh, on the Middle Island of 
 
 Aran, window of the church of, 184. 
 KilcuUen, bracteate pennies found near, 
 
 230. 
 Kildare, existence at, of a belfry separate 
 
 from the church in or before the seventh 
 
 century, indicated, 381. 
 ancient city and suburbs of, an 
 
 inviolable asylum, 204. 
 church of, description of, by Cogi- 
 
 captivesby the Danes, 231 ; redeemed, ib. 
 
 corresponding style with the doorway, 
 209. 
 
 - Cambrensis's story of the hawk 
 
 which frequented it, 208 ; ancient coins 
 found in the interior area of, described, 
 210, 211 ; age of these coins examined, 
 
 210-232 See Coins. 
 
 ornamented doorway of the, age 
 
 of, examined, 207-233; description of 
 
 doorway of, 209, 232, 233. 
 Kilkenny MS., quoted, 172. 
 Kill-achuidh, church of, the two Sinchells 
 
 of, 138. 
 Killadreena, County of Wicklow, doorway 
 
 of church of, 181, 188. 
 Killala, the erection of the Round Tower 
 
 of, ascribed to the Goban Saer, 385. 
 Killaloe, the family of, 144. 
 cathedral of, treated of, 277, 278; 
 
 erection of, 277 ; age of, 277, 278, 444. 
 ancient Irish name of, 277 ; 
 
 churches at, treated of, 277-278 ; church 
 erected at, by Brian Borumha, 277. 
 
 church on the island near, 444. 
 
 . small stone-roofed church at, treat- 
 
 ed of, 277-281 ; age of, 278-281 ; ar- 
 chitectural features of, treated of, 279- 
 281. 
 St. Flannan's house at, 437. 
 
 Killaspugbrone, Co. Sligo, doorway of the 
 very ancient church of, described, 179; 
 meaning of name, ib. ; probable age of 
 church of, ib. ; church of, by whom and 
 for whom originally founded, ib. 
 
 Killatleibhe, chapel of, 269. 
 
 Killcluain, chapel of, ib. 
 
 KiUcluayn, ib. 
 
 Killcorpain, chapel of, ib. 
 
 Killcyugh, ib. 
 
 J
 
 INDEX. 
 
 495 
 
 KiU Dacire, 269- 
 
 Killdareis, S. Sinellus de, 384 ; SincU of 
 
 Cill Airis, ib. 
 Kill DrochuyU, 269. 
 Killiney, church of, Co. Dublin, age of, 
 
 171. 
 Killkyran in Desmond, chapel of, 269. 
 
 Kill-mhic Duach See Kihnacduach. 
 
 Kill-unche, S. Nectanus de, 167. 
 Kilmacduach, age assigned to the first 
 
 buildings at, 385. 
 cathedral church of, erection of, 
 
 for St. Colman Mac Duach, by Guaire 
 
 Aidhne, king of Connaught, 176, 405. 
 popular tradition as to the erec- 
 
 tion of, 405. 
 
 doorway of, described, 175, 176. 
 
 '■ agreement of architecture of 
 
 the church and Tower at, 385. 
 erection of the Tower of, ascribed 
 
 to the Goban Saer, 385, 405. 
 doorway of the Tower of, de- 
 
 scribed, 404. 
 
 the burial place of the chiefs 
 
 of Aidhne, 176. 
 
 Kilmalkedar, Co. Kerry, inscription on 
 pillar-stone at, 134, 135. 
 
 stone oratory at, dimensions of, 
 
 352. 
 
 window of the stone oratory 
 
 near the old church of, 185. 
 
 Kilmurvey See Aran. 
 
 Kiltiernan, Co. Galway, ancient church 
 of, window of, 183. 
 
 King, Mr., an advocate for the theory that 
 the Round Towers were erected for the 
 use of anchorites, 109, 116. 
 
 opinion of, concerning the erectors 
 
 and origin of the ancient British castles, 
 367, 368. 
 
 King's Munimenia Antiqua referred to, 
 367. 
 
 Kinneh, Co. Cork, Round Tower of, exa- 
 mined by the South Munster Antiqua- 
 ries, 81, 84. 
 
 Kitchen-building, payment for, 346, 347. 
 
 Kitchens, ecclesiastical, classified with 
 
 other ecclesiastical buildings, 160. 
 culiua [Ecclesiie Ardmachana'J, 
 
 measurement of, as marked out by St. 
 
 Patrick, 157 ; existed in 995 ; 159. 
 Kitchens, treated of as a class of Irish 
 
 ecclesiastical buildings, 444, 445. 
 Knockmoy, abbey of, 287. 
 Knocknarea, Co. Sligo, 179. 
 Knocktopher parish, doorway of ancient 
 
 church in. — See Sheepstown. 
 Knowth, sepulchral mound at, 103. — See 
 
 Cnodhbha. 
 
 L. 
 
 Labraidh Loingsech, 98, 100; race of, ib. 
 
 Lachtan, comarb of Columb, 340. 
 
 Lachtin, St., church erefcted by, 285. 
 
 Lady's, Our, church at Glendalough.— 
 See Glendalough. 
 
 Laeghaire, the monarch, asserted by some 
 to have been interred at Magh Feci in 
 Bregia, — i. e. at Fert Conaire, 99, 101. 
 
 Lagenians, buried at Oenach Ailbhe, 99, 
 101. — See Leinster. 
 
 Laidh Luascach, the name of a poetical 
 measure, 353, 354. 
 
 Laine, Monsieur, pedigree of Count Mac 
 Carthy compiled by, referred to, '269. 
 
 Lanigan, Dr., his refutation of Saxon ety- 
 mology of clog and clochachd, 9. 
 
 ^— his refutation of Dr. Ledwich's 
 
 assertions concerning the Round Towers 
 given in his own words, 10, 11. 
 
 his arguments in support of the 
 
 hypothesis of the eastern origin of the 
 Round Towers stated and refuted, 32- 
 35. 
 his opinions concerning the 
 
 antiquity of Irish churches, &c., 126, 
 127. 
 his opinion concerning the age 
 
 of St. Evin's Life of St. Patrick, 157. 
 his opinion concerning the re- 
 
 latives of St. Patrick, 168.
 
 496 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Laiiigan, Dr., bis opinion concerning the 
 age of Cogitosus's Life of St. Bridget, 
 200, 204 ; liis opinion concerning the 
 material of the church of Kildare, 200. 
 
 error of, 243. 
 
 arguments of, concerning the 
 
 episcopacy of CormacMac Carthy, stated 
 and refuted, 309, 310. 
 
 ■ his Ecclesiastical History of Ire- 
 
 land quoted or referred to, 12G, 127, 
 252, 322, 324. 
 
 Launceston, in Cornwall, castle of, 367. 
 
 Laura, monastic establishment so called, 
 origin of name, 421, 422, 425. 
 
 Leabhar Breac, quoted or referred to, 137, 
 167, 221, 246, 337, 339, 340, 349, 372, 
 373, 381, 428, 440, 442, 443, 445. 
 
 Leabhar Gabhala of the O'Clerys, referred 
 to, 232. 
 
 Leabhar na-h-Uidhre, quoted, with trans- 
 lations, 97-101, 104-107. 
 
 Leac Sinach, the altar stone of St. Sinach, 
 191. 
 
 Lead, great stone church of Armagh co- 
 vered with, 149. 
 
 roofs of ancient Irish churches per- 
 haps sometimes covered with, 163. 
 
 Leath Moye, or Leath Mogha, 291. 
 
 LeccBenn, — the stone of Benn, — at Brugh 
 na Boinne, 103. 
 
 Lecht Cellaigh, mic Mailcobha, — the mo- 
 nument of Cellach, son of Maelcobha, — 
 at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Lecht gabra Cinaoda, mic Irgalaig, — the 
 monument of the steed of Cinaedh, son 
 of Irgalach, — at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 
 103. 
 
 Lecht in Dagda, — the monument of the 
 Dagda, — a monument at Brugh na 
 Boinne, 102. 
 
 Lecht in Matae, — the monument of the 
 monster Mata, — a monument at Brugh 
 na Boinne, 1 02. 
 
 Ledwich, Dr.,his assertion concerning the 
 age of Cogitosus's Life of St. Bridget 
 examined and refuted, 200-207. 
 
 Ledwich, Dr., his opinion concerning the 
 origin of the Round Towers, stated in 
 bis own words, 9, 10, 11. 
 
 his observations on coins, 230' 
 
 his refutation of Vallancey's 
 
 theory concerning the Bulgarian Round 
 Tower, 13. 
 
 — his remarks relative to the Per- 
 
 sian Towers mentioned by Hanway, 30. 
 erroneous opinions of, 241, 260, 
 
 324. 
 
 his Antiquities, quoted or re- 
 ferred to, 225, 226, 251, 254, 258, 259, 
 260, 262, 263, 265, 266, 267, 274, 
 289. 
 
 Legate, Apostolic, 155, 156. 
 
 Leinster, the kings of the province of, bu- 
 ried at Oenach Ailbi, 106. 
 
 Lemdruim, now Lorum, County of Carlow, 
 340. 
 
 Lepadh Feichin, church of, 394. 
 
 Lethglais-moir, 138. 
 
 Lethmor, S. Manchanus de, 138. 
 
 Lettir erca [ecclesia vel mon. de], 138. 
 
 Lhwyd, Humphrey, his Remarks on the 
 Book of Armagh, quoted, 334. 
 
 Liag Buidi mic Muiredha, — the pillar- 
 stone of Buidi, the son of Muiredh, — 
 at Brugh na Boinne, 102, 103. 
 
 Liath-Macha, the prison of, a monument. 
 — See Carcar Leith Machae. 
 
 Libra, Roman, 218. 
 
 Library, 148-150. — See Teach Screptra. 
 
 Libur Budi, an ancient Irish MS., 106, 
 107. 
 
 Libur Gerr, an ancient MS. of the Mo- 
 nastery, i. e. Monasterboice, account of, 
 106, 107. 
 
 Lice na sinnach, 340. 
 
 Liemania, the sister of St. Patrick, 167, 
 168. 
 
 sons of 167, 168 ; place of se- 
 pulture of, 167. 
 
 Lime cement, use of, wholly unknown to 
 the Irish previously to the introduction 
 of Christianity, 34, 129, 359.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 4!)7 
 
 Lime-kiln, erected at Armagh, in 1145; 
 154. 
 
 Limerick, the Danes the founders of, 224. 
 
 Lindisfarne, church built at, by Bishop 
 Finian, of sawn wood, covered with 
 reeds, 126. 
 
 Lindsay, Mr., his View of the Coinage of 
 Ireland, quoted or referred to, 211, 
 225, 227, 228, 229. 
 
 opinion of, 227, 228. 
 
 Lingard, Dr., opinion of, concerning the 
 uses of the Round Towers, 379- 
 
 — his Antiquities of the Anglo- 
 Saxon Church, quoted, 379- 
 
 Lintel, horizontal See Doorways, qua- 
 drangular. 
 
 Lis, the ecclesiastical. — See Cashels. 
 
 Lis Abbaidh, or the fortified enclosure of 
 
 tlie abbots, at Armagh, 147 See 
 
 Rath. 
 
 Lismore, founded by St. Carthach, or Mo- 
 chuda, its first bishop, 244. 
 
 derivation of the name. 446. 
 
 cells erected at, b)' St. Carthach 
 
 and his monks, 422. 
 
 Cormac Mac Cartliy goes on a 
 
 pilgrimage to, 290. 
 two churches erected at. 
 
 Cormac Mac Carthy, 290, 291. 
 Litany of Aengus, the Culdee See Aeu- 
 
 gus, &c. 
 Literature, acquaintance with, among the 
 
 ancient Irish, 214. 
 Lives of St. Patrick, ancient, referred to, 
 
 202. 
 Loch Cuir, to the west of Armagh, 146, 
 
 147. 
 Loch na peiste, at Glendalough, 254. 
 Loch Saloch, at Fenagh, in the County of 
 
 Leitrim, 448, 449- 
 Lodbrog, Reguer, Epicedium of, quoted, 
 
 262. 
 
 the three daughters of, 263. 
 
 Lombard, seven sons of the Bard, or Lom- 
 bard, 166, 167, 168. 
 Lombards, de Longobardis, 167. 
 
 " Long and Short," masonry, description 
 
 and example of, 188. 
 Long ingine Foraind, — the bed of the 
 
 daughter of Forann, — a monument at 
 
 Brugh na Hoiiine, 102. 
 Lorum, Co. Carlow, ancient name of. .'MO. 
 Lothor. — See Fidhnemhna. 
 Lough Arrow, 17i). 
 
 Lough Corrib, County of Galway, 164. 
 Lough Derg, description in Irish of the 
 
 Turasor station of, noticed, 1 19. 
 Lough Foyle, 202. 
 Lough Lee, or Curraun Lough, 130. 
 Lough Mask, 180; the locality in which 
 
 the church of St. Lugnat was placed, 
 
 166, 167. 
 Lough Neagh, alleged inundation of, 43, 
 
 44, 45, 47, 67. 
 legendof the Towers in, alluded 
 
 to, 209. 
 Loughrea, County of Galway, church de- 
 dicated to St. Bridget at, 342. 
 Louth, comharba of St. Mochta of, 270. 
 
 fire lighted by the Magi at, 72. 
 
 nemhedh, i. e. sanctuary or church 
 
 land at, 58. 
 
 ■ steeple of, blown down, 391. 
 
 Luachair Ailbe, a pagan cemetery, 98, 
 
 100. 
 Luchraid, one of St. Patrick's masons, 
 
 142. 
 Ludwig, referred to, 212. 
 Lugaid, king, the son of Laogaire, death 
 
 of, as given by Miss Beaufort, 36, 40. 
 Lugbadh [Louth] comharba of St. Mochta 
 
 of, 270. 
 Lugh, a noble of the Tuatha de Da- 
 
 nanns, buried at Brugh, 106. 
 Lughach, bishop, founder of Rattoo, Co. 
 
 Kerry, 170; festival day of, ib. 
 Lughaidh Lamhfliada, of the race of the 
 
 Tuath DeDananns, 99, 101, 386, 387. 
 Lughaidh, chief of Conmaicne Cinel Dubh- 
 
 ain, gives up his fort to St. Patrick, 
 
 447. 
 Lughaidh Riabh n-derg, 98, 100. 
 
 S
 
 498 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lughmliagli or Luglibliadb. — See Louth. 
 
 Lugna, Lugnai, Lugnatli, or Lugnadan, 
 nephew of St. Patrick, history, &c., of, 
 166-168. 
 
 Lugnaedon Mace Lmenueh, iuscription 
 bearing the name of, 165. 
 
 Lugneus Mocublai, 388. 
 
 Lupita, sister of St. Patrick, 168; obser- 
 vations on lier name, ib. 
 
 Luxeiiil — See Luxovium. 
 
 Luxovium, now Luxeuil, in Burgundy, 
 pliarus, or tower at, 380. 
 
 Lynch, John, under the fictitious title of 
 Gratianus Lucius, author of Cambrensis 
 Eversus, his opinion as to the origin 
 and uses of the Round Towers, 5. 
 
 . — ■ — ■ his opinion concerning the erec- 
 tion of the Round Towers, misrepre- 
 sented by Dr. Ledwich, 10, 11. 
 
 his Cambrensis Eversiis referred 
 
 to, 310, 312. 
 erroneous statement of, respect- 
 
 ing the age of the Round Towers, 364. 
 
 M. 
 
 Mabillon, his Annals of the Benedictines, 
 referred to, 205. 
 
 his Iter Germanicum quoted, 
 
 380. 
 
 Mac Cairill plunders Armagh in 996 ; 53. 
 
 Mac Carthy, Cormac. — See Cormac. 
 
 — - — • The Count, pedigree of, com- 
 piled by Monsieur Laine, referred to, 
 269. 
 
 Donough, helps to dethrone 
 
 Cormac Mac Carthy, and is inaugurated 
 in his place, 290. 
 — Finginus, his manuscripts re- 
 
 ferred to by Colgan, 429- 
 Mac Carthy More, time and cause of the 
 
 application of the epithet More to, 269, 
 
 271. 
 Mac Carthy, Fineen, historical notice of, 
 
 269. 
 payment made by, for the place 
 
 of sepulture of the JNIac Carthy s, at 
 
 Clonmacnoise, 269, 271. 
 Mac Carthy Reagh, a branch of the Mac 
 
 Carthys, 270. 
 Mac Cecht, one of St. Patrick's artificers, 
 
 222. 
 Mac Conglinni, 443. 
 Mac Curtin's Vindication of the History of 
 
 L'eland, referred to, 26. 
 Macouthenius, Life of St. Patrick by, 
 
 quoted, 158. 
 Mac Dara, St., church founded by, on the 
 
 Island of Cruach Mhic Dara, or Inis 
 
 Mhic Dara, off the coast of Connamara, 
 
 description of masonry, &c., of, 189, 
 
 190. 
 description of the circular stone 
 
 house, or oratory of, 190; dimensions 
 
 of, 351. 
 festivals of, 190, 191; statue of 
 
 wood of, 1 90 ; proper name of the saint, 
 191 ; altar stone of, ib. 
 
 Mac Dermott, Tomultach, chief of Moy- 
 lurg, cathedral of Clonmacnoise re- 
 edified by, 275 ; death of, ib. 
 
 cemetery of. — See Clanmaol- 
 
 ruany. 
 
 Mac Duach, Colman, St., church of Kil- 
 macduagh founded for, 176, 405. 
 
 tomb of, 455. 
 
 ■ monastic buildings of, at Kil- 
 
 murvey,. in the great island of Aran, 
 adverted to, 424 See Aran. 
 
 ■ churches of, on the Great Is- 
 
 land of Aran iSfeeTeampull BeagMhic 
 
 Duach, and Teampull Mor Mhic Duach. 
 
 Mac Firbis, Duald, his Book of Genea- 
 logies, quoted or referred to, 107, 166. 
 
 his Glossary of the Brehon Laws, 
 
 quoted, 61, 341. 
 
 Registry of Clonmacnoise, trans- 
 
 lated by, 269, 373 ; autograph of trans- 
 lation, where preserved, 269 See Clon- 
 macnoise. 
 Mac-Lemhna, id est, filius Liemanife, a 
 name of S. Nechtan, 167-
 
 INDEX. 
 
 499 
 
 Mac Liag's Life of Brian Boriimlia, MS., 
 supposed to be a fragment of, quoted,390. 
 
 Mac Loclilainn, Domlinall, king of Ai- 
 leacb, 151, 152. 
 
 Mac Main See Morann. 
 
 Mac ]\Ioyre, origin of the family name of, 
 33.3, 334. 
 
 Florentinus, 334. 
 
 Mac Blurcliadha, Diarmait, king of Leins- 
 ter, 308. 
 
 Maelbrighte h-Ua Maeluanaig, MS. writ- 
 ten by, preserved in the British Museum, 
 307, 308; date of, .308; entries in, 
 quoted, ib. 
 
 Maelciarain Mac Cuinn na m-bocht, cause- 
 ways made by, at Clonmacnoise, 438. 
 
 Maelfinnia, the son of Spellan, inscribed 
 tombstone of, at Clonmacnoise, 325. 
 
 Maelmuiri, the son of Ceileachar, trans- 
 criber of Leabhar na h-Uidhre, 97 ; 
 original MS. glossed by, ib. 
 
 prose commentary apparently 
 
 written by, quoted, 106. 
 
 Maelseachlainn, king of Ireland, 390. 
 
 Danes defeated by, 276. 
 
 Maelseachlainn, the son of Conchobhar 
 O'Melaghlin, 374, 375. 
 
 IMageoghegan, Connell, his translation 
 from the Book or Annals of Clonmac- 
 noise, quoted or referred to, 54, 150, 
 151, 222,231, 271, 291, 341, 343, 365, 
 374, 375, 390, 391.— &e Annals of 
 Clonmacnoise. 
 
 Magh Aoi, 165. 
 
 Magh bile burned, 343, 438. 
 
 Blagh Constantin, at Rathain, belonged to 
 St. Ua Suanaigh, 354, 355 ; whence 
 named, 354, 355. 
 
 Magh da chon, O'Neill of, 286, 287. 
 
 Magh Eo, dertech of, burned, 120, 121.— 
 See Mayo. 
 
 Maghera, Round Tower of, 88, 89. 
 
 Magh Feci, in Bregia, or Fert Conaire, 
 burial place of Conaire Mor at, 99, 101 ; 
 — other kings asserted by some to have 
 been interred there, ib. 
 
 3 
 
 Magh Lena, battle of, 25; — noticed liy 
 Dr. O'Conor, 48. 
 
 Magh Rein, the name of the ])luinin which 
 the church of Fenagh, in the County 
 of Lei trim, is situated, 448, 449. 
 
 Magh Salach, Gauls or Franks of, 138, 
 166. 
 
 Magh Sciath, 446. 
 
 Magh Selga, near Elphin, pillar-stones at, 
 1.35, 136. 
 
 Magh Tuiredh, near Cong, battle of, 25. 
 
 Maghtuirreadh, or Campus Turrium, sup- 
 posed Round Towers of, 43. 
 
 Magi, Persian, or Gaiirs, 31. 
 
 Magna Bibliotheca Veterum Patruni, 46. 
 
 Maguire, Cathal, quoted, 356. 
 
 Mahadeva or Siva (the God), 69. 
 
 Maidoc, or Aidan, St., first bishop of 
 Ferns, shrine of, 204. 
 
 — leather case of the shrine 
 
 of, 335, 336; age of, 336. 
 
 church erected by, 178, 179- 
 
 Mainani, Filius, SS. quinquaginta Monachi 
 de Britannia, socii filij Mainani in Glen- 
 loire, 138. 
 
 Malachy I., churches erected in the reign 
 of, 241. 
 
 Malachy IL, churches erected in the reign 
 of, ib. 
 
 Malachy O'Morgair, Archbishop of Ar- 
 magh, record of the death of, 155, 156. 
 
 church of Knocknasengan, at 
 
 Louth, built by, 58. 
 
 erroneously stated to have been 
 
 the first Irishman, or at least one of 
 the first, who began to build with stone 
 and mortar, 123. 
 
 St. Bernard's account of his lay- 
 ing the foundation of a chapel of stone 
 at Bangor, as given by Ware (Harris's 
 ed.), 123; St. Bernard's remarks on a 
 chapel in the same place, built of timber 
 by him, as given by Ware (Harris's 
 ed.), ib. 
 
 St. Bernard's account, in the 
 
 original Latin, of his laying the foun- 
 
 s 2
 
 500 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 elation of an oratory at Baugor, 194, 
 195. 
 
 Malachy O'Morgair, Life of, by St. Ber- 
 nard, quoted, 349. 
 
 — . Archbishop of Armagh, usur- 
 pation of the archbishop in opposition 
 to, 310. 
 
 Manchan, St., of Lethmor, 1 38. 
 
 Manchino, abbot of Cork, 443. 
 
 Manius, Bishop, disciple of St. Patrick, 
 church of, 180; where placed by St. 
 Patrick, ib. ; holy 'well bearing his 
 name, ib. 
 
 Manuscript, Syriac, of the Gospels, 232, 
 239. 
 
 Manuscripts, ancient Irish, ornaments 
 common in, 229, 259, 260, 261. 
 
 ornamental crosses found in. 
 
 264. 
 
 splendour of, 192. 
 illuminated ecclesiastical, orna- 
 
 ments used in, 324, 326. 
 
 Marcellinus, chronicle of, 46 ; quoted, ib. 
 
 Marian Gorman, Calendar of, quoted, as 
 translated by Colgan, 167, 356. 
 
 . — Scholiast of, quoted, 356. 
 
 Marianas Scotus, inclusorium at Fulda, 
 penitential prison of, 49, 72. 
 
 IMarriages, ancient Irish, 39- 
 
 " Marstein, Erin's King," 262. 
 
 Martin, Dr., his description of the Western 
 Islands of Scotland quoted, 38. 
 
 Jlarlra Muntiri Finntainn, a pagan ceme- 
 tery, 98. 
 
 Martyrology of Donegal quoted, or re- 
 ferred to, 167, 356. 
 
 Martyrology of Marian Gorman. — /S'ee Ma- 
 rian Gorman. 
 
 Martyrology of Tallaght quoted, 356. 
 
 Mason- head in West Connaught, 190, 
 191. 
 
 Masonry of the Kound Towers identical 
 with that of the ancient churches erect- 
 ed before the twelfth century, 34. 
 
 style of, in primitive Irish 
 
 churches, 187, 188, 189, 190. 
 
 Masons, names of St. Patrick's three stone- 
 masons, 142. 
 
 Mata, a monster, the Glen of the, 102, 
 103 See Glenn in Matae. 
 
 Mayo, daimhliag of, built by the Saxons, 
 144, 145. 
 
 fell, 144. 
 
 rebuilt, 144, 145. 
 
 dertheeh of, burned, 120, 121. 
 
 church of, must not be confoiuidcd 
 
 with the great abbey church of Mayo, 
 
 erected about the middle of the seventh 
 
 century, 145. 
 Meath, — "Aed-Rii-Midin," — on coin, 226. 
 County of, topographical account 
 
 of, written in 1682-3, referred to, 143. 
 the people of, buried at Brugh na 
 
 Boinne, in pagan times, 104, 105. 
 kine of, 308. 
 
 Medhbh, daughter of Eocho Eedhlech, 98, 
 
 100. 
 
 buried at Rathcroghan, 106, 107. 
 
 province of Connaught given to, 
 
 98, 100. 
 Melbourne, in Derbyshire, church of, 441. 
 Mellifont, in the County of Louth, chapel 
 
 and baptistery of, style of masonry of, 
 
 188; brick used in, ibid. 
 Menevia, St. David, archbishop of, 196. 
 Messingham's Florilegiiun quoted, 352. 
 
 396, 397. 
 Midhe the Druid, 28. 
 Midir. — See Rout sula Midir. 
 
 Midsgir See Misgir. 
 
 Milesian Race. — See Scotio Race. 
 Military architecture in Ireland, Author's 
 
 Essay on, referred to, 43. 
 Mill-building, payment for, 346, 347. 
 Mills of stone, erected by the ancient Irish 
 
 ecclesiastics, 452. 
 Milner, Dr., 294, 298; an advocate for 
 
 the theory, that the Round Towers were 
 
 erected for the use of anchorites, 1 07, 
 
 109, 111. 
 his assertion concerning the use 
 
 of the Round Towers, 1 16.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 501 
 
 Milner, Dr., his opinion concerning the 
 age of the cathedral of Cashel, and Cor- 
 mac's chapel, 289- 
 
 his letters quoted, 289. 
 
 Minarets, Mahometan, 29. 
 
 Minister, or travelling relic, 336, 337, 338, 
 .340 ; meaning and derivation of the 
 word, 336, 338 ; reverence paid to, 340 ; 
 use of, 341, 342; meaning of, mistaken 
 by Colgan, 338. 
 
 Mionna, or enshrined relics, treated of, 
 34 1 ; rendered oathes by the old trans- 
 lators of the Irish annals, ib. 
 
 Misgir, or Midsgir, a Tower in Bulgaria, 
 somewhat similar, in size and form, to 
 the Irish Towers ; asserted by Vallan- 
 cey, from a conjectural etymology of its 
 name, to be a fire temple, 13; opinion 
 refuted by Dr. Ledwieh, ib. 
 
 Misgir, Round Tower at Bulgaria, so call- 
 ed, 29. 
 
 Misquir, Eound Tower, so called, in the 
 midst of the ruins of Kasimof 29. 
 
 Mitre, use of the, in Ireland, discussed, 
 338. 
 
 Mochaoi, of Aendruim, 404. 
 
 Mochua, St., founder of Timahoe, 239. 
 
 time when he flourished, ib. 
 
 Mochua, S., filius Luscan, 138. 
 
 Moi-hua, St., an architect, erector of the 
 church and Round Tower of Balla, in 
 the county of Mayo, 453. 
 
 erector of the mill of St. Fei- 
 
 chin, at Fore, 453. 
 
 death of, 453. 
 
 Mochuda, S., driven from Rathaln in the 
 
 year 630; 356. 
 of Rathain, lands belonging to, 
 
 354, 355. 
 of Ratliain, successor of, 356 — 
 
 See Carthach. 
 Rule of quoted, 428. 
 
 Mochumma, St., Abbot of Drumbo, 402. 
 Mogh-Nuadhat, meaning of name, 26. 
 Mogornan, one of the seven sons of the 
 Lombard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 167. 
 
 Molaisi's house on Devenish island, in 
 Fermanagh, 357. — See Devenish. 
 
 monastic establishment of, on 
 
 Inishmurry, character of, 127 See 
 
 Inishmurry. 
 Moling, St., Irish Life of, quoted, 348. 
 
 Life of, in the Book of Leinster, 
 
 395 ; quoted, 396. 
 
 prophecy of, concerning the abo- 
 
 lition of the tax called Borumha Lai- 
 ghean, 395, 396. 
 duirtheach of wood built for, 348. 
 
 Molua, St., church at Killaloe ascribed to, 
 279; original church of, 281. 
 
 Molyneux, Dr., his opinions concerning 
 the origin and uses of the Eound Tow- 
 ers, stated in his own words, 6, 7 ; re- 
 futed, 7-9. 
 
 Monachan, cell of St. Declan, at Ardmore, 
 so called, 72. 
 
 St., of Temple Geal, in the 
 
 County of Kerry, pillar-stone, with 
 ogham inscription, marking the grave 
 of, 136. 
 
 Monasterboice, in the Coinity of Louth, 
 in Irish Mainister Buiti, abbots of, 408, 
 
 409. 
 the Books of, called of the Mo- 
 nastery, 106, 107. 
 
 churches at, ages of, 407 ; style 
 
 of masonry, &c., of the oldest of them, 
 188, 407, 408. 
 cloictheach, or Round Tower 
 
 of, 65 ; still known by the name of the 
 
 " cloict/ieac/i,^^ ib. ; burning of, 375 ; age 
 of 407-409 ; doorway of, 407, 408. 
 ■ the Libur Gerr, which was at, 
 
 106, 107. 
 
 Flann of. — See Flann. 
 
 richly sculptured stone crosses 
 
 at; ages of, 408; inscription carved on 
 
 one of them, 408. 
 Monasteries, ancient Irish, consisted of 
 
 small cells, 388. 
 origin usually given by, to 
 
 towns, not by towns to monasteries, 35.
 
 502 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Monasteries, founded by Malachy O'Mor- 
 gair, 155, 156. 
 
 founded by the ancient Irish ec- 
 clesiastics on the Continent, 424. 
 
 of the early Christians in the 
 
 East, 421, 422. 
 
 Monasticon Hibernicum — See Archdall. 
 
 Monastic establishments, ancient, in Ire- 
 land, character of, 127-133, 427. 
 
 Monenna, St., Virgin, Life of quoted, 126 ; 
 monastery founded by, made of smooth 
 timber, ib. 
 
 Money coined in Ireland in the year 1 170 ; 
 231 ; and at an earlier period, 232. 
 
 . coined, in use in Ireland, pre- 
 viously to the Danish irruptions, 232. 
 earliest Danish money minted in 
 
 Ireland, 224. 
 
 ecclesiastical, use of, in Ireland, 231. 
 
 minted, inquiry into the use of. 
 
 among the ancient Irish, 211-232. 
 use of minted money in Ireland sup- 
 
 posed to have originated with the Danes, 
 213; opinion examined, 213-232. 
 when minted by the Danes in Ire- 
 
 land, 229. 
 
 found, of an Irish King Donald, 
 
 stated to be probably Donald O'Keill, 
 A. D. 956; 224. 
 rings and ingots of gold and silver 
 
 used for, among the ancient Irish, 214, 
 215. 
 
 shower of, 221. 
 
 valuation of property by gold and 
 
 silver in weight, 219, 220. 
 Mongan, another name of Finn Mac Cum- 
 
 haill, 108. 
 Mens filiorum AileUo, 180. 
 Montfaucon, Monumens de la Monarchic 
 
 Fran^oise referred to, 253. 
 Montmorency, Colonel, opinions of, quoted 
 
 from his Historical and Critical Inquiry 
 
 into the Origin and primitive Use of the 
 
 Irish Pillar- Tower, 376, 377. 
 Monuments, ancient Irisli, ornament found 
 
 on, 260, 261. 
 
 Monuments, sepulchral, in use in Ireland 
 during the sway of the Tuatlia De Da- 
 nann race, 102, 103. 
 
 pag^D) of Irish kings and war- 
 riors, localities of, stated in ancient 
 MSS., 100, 102; most of them now 
 remain, ib. 
 
 of the pagan kings of the Scotic, 
 
 or Milesian race, character of, 103- 
 109. 
 Christian, crosses on, 229, 264. 
 
 Moore, Mr. Pierce, of Cremorgan, Queen's 
 County, letter of, to Sir WiUiam Be- 
 tham, respecting the finding of burned 
 bones in the Tower of Timahoe, 418. 
 
 Moore, Mr. Thomas, his observations in 
 support of the fire worship theory, and 
 examination of the various other theo- 
 ries, given in his own words, 67-70; 
 Round Towers stated by him to have 
 been used as astronomical obsei-vatories, 
 69. 
 
 Morann, the son of Cairbre Cinncait, who 
 was surnamed Mac Main, 97, 99. 
 
 Morrigan, the Mound of the See Mur 
 
 na Morrigna. 
 
 the Two Paps of the See Cich 
 
 (Da) na Morrigna. 
 
 Morrison, Mr. William, architect, opinions 
 of, 368-371. 
 
 Mound, the green, monumental character 
 of, 102. 
 
 Mounds, sepulchral, shown to be Irish, 
 not Danish, 8. 
 
 at Eelec na Eiogh, near Eathcro- 
 
 ghan, 103-107. 
 
 description of, 107. 
 
 number of, at Oenach Cruachan, 
 
 Oenach Tailtenn, and Oenach in Brogha, 
 105, 106. 
 
 Mounts and forts of Ireland, called Da- 
 nish, by Dr. Molyneux, 6. 
 
 Moylurg, chief of, 275. 
 
 Moyrus, parish church of, in West Con- 
 naught, to whom dedicated, 191. 
 
 Muccramnia, battle of, 99, 100. 
 
 I 
 
 I
 
 INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 Mugain, daughter of Eocho Fedlilech, 98, 
 100. 
 
 Muintir Luainimh, 245. 
 
 Muirbheach Mil, fortress of, on the great 
 island of Aran See Aran. 
 
 Muircheartach, King of Aileach, slain A. D. 
 975 ; 223. 
 
 Muircheartach, son of NiaU, King of Ai- 
 leach, 308. 
 
 Muircheartach Mac Loughlin, monarch, 
 319. 
 
 Muircheartach O'Brien, King of Ireland, 
 tomb of, 278. 
 
 — year of his death, ib. 
 
 Muircheartach O'Loughlin, monarch of 
 Ireland, presents made by, to the Abbot 
 of Derry, 215. 
 
 Cashel at Derrj- erected by, 
 
 450. 
 
 JIuiroadhach O'Heney, tomb of, at Bana- 
 gher, in the County of Londonderry, 
 454. 
 
 Muireadhach, son of Domlinall, Abbot of 
 Monasterboice, 409. 
 
 Muiredhach, inscription at Monasterboice, 
 bearing the name of, 408. 
 
 Muii'edliach, son of Flann, Abbot of Mo- 
 nasterboice, 409. 
 
 Muiresc, Ailell Mac Mata of, 106, 107. 
 
 Mungret, in the County of Limerick, very 
 ancient church of, window in, described, 
 183. 
 
 Munissa, one of the three sons of Nessan, 
 178. 
 
 Munster, the burial place of the men of, 
 i. e. the Dergthene, 99, 101. 
 
 Kings of, pagan, where interred, 
 
 lOG. 
 
 Muntorcs, rings so called, 214. 
 
 Miintz-Spiegel, of M. Tillemann Frize, re- 
 ferred to, 212. 
 
 Mui'chadh, grandson of Flann O'Maelsech- 
 lainn, king of Tara, killed in the Eound 
 Tower of KeUs, 374. 
 
 Muresc, daughter of Eocho Fedhlech, bu- 
 ried at Brugh na Bourne, 98, 100. 
 
 Mur na Morrigna, — the mound of tlie 
 
 Morrigna, — a monument at Brugh na 
 
 Boinne, 102. 
 Muscraighe Chuirc, territory of, now the 
 
 barony of Clanwilliam, in the County 
 
 of Tij)perary, 287. 
 Music, ancient and modern church music 
 
 contrasted, 191. 
 
 N. 
 
 Nar — See Fidhnemhna. 
 
 Nar, the wife of Cremhtham Niadli-nar, 
 99, 101. 
 
 Natalis S., — SS. Peregrini Romani qui 
 comitati sunt SS. Eliam, Natalem, &c., 
 138. 
 
 Navan, near Armagh, Druidic temple 
 stated to be at, 31. 
 
 Nechtan, one of the seven sons of the Lom- 
 bard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 1(J7- 
 
 Nectanus, S. de Kill-unche, 167. 
 
 Neimhcdh, meaning of the word, as shown 
 from ancient authorities, 57, 58, 59, 60, 
 63. 
 
 Nemanus, S., — SS. Peregrini Romani qui 
 comitati sunt SS. Eliam, Natalem, Ne- 
 man um, et Corcnutanum, 138. 
 
 Nemedians, 14, 28. 
 
 Nennius, referred to, 135. 
 
 Nessan, the three sons of, names of, and 
 period when they flourished, 178. 
 
 Nessan, St., said to have been the founder 
 of Mungret, Co. Limerick, 183. 
 
 Neslug, one of the three sons of Nessan, 
 178. 
 
 New Grange, sepulchral mound at, 103. 
 
 Niam, interred at Rathcroghan, 104, 105. 
 
 Niam, daughter of Core, inscription bear- 
 ing her name, 286. 
 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages, place of his 
 burial, 99, 101. 
 
 Niall O'Heruilbh, 231.— to O'Heruilbh. 
 
 Nigel, usurpation of the archbishopric of 
 Armagh by, 310. 
 
 Nigellus, Archbishop of Armagh, 333.
 
 504 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ninian, St., life of, as quoted by Usslier, 
 quoted, 141. 
 
 the apostle of tlie Plots, 141. 
 
 Noraghes See Nuragbes. 
 
 Norax, the leader of the Iberian colony, 
 in Sardinia, 73. 
 
 Nuada Airgiod-lamh, or Nuada of the Sil- 
 ver Hand, 25. 
 
 Nuadat, or Nuada Neacht, who, 215 ; 
 wife of, ib. 
 
 Nuraggis, of Sardinia, derivation of name, 
 73; description of, ib. 
 
 Nuraghe, of Borghidu, in Sardinia, de- 
 scription of, 76, 77 ; illustrations of, 
 76, 77. 
 
 Nuraghe, the Nieddu, near Ploaghe, de- 
 scription of, 77. 
 
 Nuraghes, of Sardinia, description of, by 
 Mr. L. C. F. Petit-Radel, 74, 75 ; Au- 
 thor's observations on, and opinions 
 concerning the Noraghes of Sardinia, 78. 
 
 O. 
 
 O'Aedhacaiu, Imar, church built by, 154, 
 155. 
 
 Oak, churches, &c., built with. — See 
 Wood. 
 
 Oboli, 230. 
 
 O'Brien, Dr., quoted, 'for meaning of cuil- 
 ceach, 19; misquoted for same by Val- 
 lancey, 19, 20. 
 
 O'Brien, the author of " The Round Tow- 
 ers of Ireland," 78, 79. 
 
 Diarmaid, 286, 287. 
 
 Enda, the son of Diarmaid, 286, 
 
 287. 
 
 Muircheartach, 286. 
 
 Tadhg, 245. 
 
 Toirdhelbhach, CormacMac Car- 
 
 thy killed by, 307,308, 311. 
 Turlousjh, 290, 291, 444. 
 
 Dr., his Irish Dictionary misquoted 
 
 by Vallancey, 16. 
 his Dictionary referred to, 27, 
 
 292, 308, 309, 344. 
 
 O'Brolchain, Flahertach, abbot of Dcrry, 
 
 450. 
 Maoliosa, oratory of, burned, 
 
 429. 
 Observations, celestial, Lanigan's opinion 
 
 as to the use of the upper portion of 
 
 the Round Towers for, 32, 33 ; refuta- 
 tion of this opinion, 34. 
 Observatories, astronomical, theory of the 
 
 use of the Round Towers as gnomons, 
 
 or astronomical observatories, 15, 32, 
 
 48, 49, 52-65, 69, 72. 
 O'Caollaidhe, bishop, church of Knock- 
 
 nasengan, at Louth, built by, 58, 59- 
 0"Carrol, Donnchadh, king of Airgiall, 
 
 enumeration of various acts performed 
 
 by, 394 ; cloictheachs and neimheds 
 
 made by, ib. 
 church of Knocknasengan at 
 
 Louth, built by, 58, 59- 
 O'Catharnaigh, of Kilcoursey, now Fox, 
 
 from whom descended, 329- 
 O'Ceallaigh, Giolla na naomh, abbot of 
 
 Rathain, 245, 246. 
 O'Cencucain, Gille Mocholmoc, inscription 
 
 bearing his name, 286. 
 O'Cerbhaill, Donnchath, chief king of 
 
 Airgiall, 308. 
 Ochain, burial-place of Niall of the Nine 
 
 Hostages, 99, 101; derivation of name, 
 
 ib. 
 Ochter n-Achid, piirchase of, 220. 
 Ochtmaraa, 179- — See Ouglitmama. 
 O'Cliiarmeic, Mathghamain, inscription 
 
 bearing his name, 286. 
 
 a Leinster chief, 286, 287- 
 
 family name of, anglicised into 
 
 Kirby, 287- 
 O'Clery, Glossary of, quoted, 58, 344, 438. 
 O'Cnaill, the bishop, 144 ; year of his 
 
 death, 145. 
 O'Connell, Peter, referred to, 27, 344. 
 O'Conor, Dr. Charles, Vallancey's theory 
 
 that the Towers were made for celestial 
 
 observations, adopted by him, and other 
 
 learned men, 15.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 505 
 
 O'Conor, his Reriim Hihernicariim Scrip- 
 tores, referred to, or quoted, 42, 49, 50, 
 225, 226, 308, 334, 363, 364. 
 
 his observations on the uses of 
 
 the Round Towers, originally, as astro- 
 nomical gnomons and fire-temples, and 
 subsequently as anchorite retreats, given 
 in his own words, 47, 48, 49 ; examina- 
 tion of the authorities quoted by him in 
 suj)port of hishj'pothesis, and Author's 
 refutation of inferences, 49-56 ; exa- 
 mination and refutation uf his etymo- 
 logical evidences, 56-64 ; examination 
 and refutation of his arguments in sup- 
 port of his theory, 64-66. 
 
 Columbanus' Letters by, quoted. 
 
 118. 
 
 Translations from the Irish An- 
 nals by, 49, 51, 52, 53, 56, 120, 121, 
 145, 147-153, 154, 155, 156, 231, 375, 
 392, 439. 
 
 opinion of, as to the age of 
 
 Cogitosus's Life of St. Bridget, 200. 
 
 Note by, to Annals, quoted. 
 
 344. 
 
 Translation of duirtheach by, 
 
 344. 
 
 his conjecture concerning the 
 
 fifty-seven Towers which fell, in conse- 
 quence of a dreadful earthquake, in 
 A.D. 448; 46. 
 
 O'Conor, Charles, of Belanagare, 376. 
 
 Eoderic, monarch, 232, 319. 
 
 Turlough, monarch of Ireland, 232, 
 
 314, 315. 
 . monarch of Ireland, stone cross 
 
 inscribed with his name, 272. 
 dethrones Cormac Mac Carthy, 
 
 290. 
 cloictheach finished by, 392 
 
 See Toirdhelbhach. 
 O'Conor Kerry, Dermot Sugach, 290, 291. 
 sons of, Cormac Mac Carthy 
 
 slain by, 311. 
 O'Conors of Connaught, sepulchral chapel 
 
 of. — See Temple Conor. 
 
 Octagonal form, not used in ancient Irish 
 churches, 163. 
 
 O'Cuinn, Eochaidh, Chief Master of Fcrta, 
 in the County of Kilkenny, 376. 
 
 O'Cuirc, anglicised Quirk, two families of, 
 287. 
 
 Odin, the great legislator of the Scan- 
 dinavians, 68. 
 
 Danish deity, the raven stated to 
 
 be sacred to, 262. 
 
 Odo, Dean, the builder of the north door- 
 way of the cathedral of Clonmacnoise, 
 275. 
 
 inscription at Clonmacnoise 
 
 bearing the name of, 274. 
 
 O'DonuelPs Life of St. Columkille, quoted, 
 
 202, 203. 
 O'Donovan, Mr., his observations on Dr. 
 
 O'Conor's mistaking Truaghan for Tu- 
 
 raghan, 5 1 . 
 
 assistance afforded by, to 
 
 Author, 56, 57, 58. 
 
 - his translation of a passage. 
 
 quoted from the Book of Ballymote, 62. 
 his observations on the mean- 
 
 ings of cloch angcoire, 115. 
 . his traditional description of 
 
 the cloch angcoire of Druralahan, from 
 Mr. Kennedy, 115. 
 his observations on the mean- 
 
 ing of the Irish word turas, on Irish 
 
 pilgrimages, &c., 119, 120. 
 O'Dvibhthaigh, the Bishop, 144; year of 
 
 his death, 145. 
 Domhnall, Archbishop of 
 
 Tuam, 315. 
 O'Duigenan, family of, fronj whom de- 
 scended, 329. 
 O'Dunan, the Bishop, 144; year of his 
 
 death, 145. 
 Oe, of the raceof theTuatha De Danauii, 
 
 99, 101. 
 son of Ollamh, a noble of the Deda- 
 
 uite colony, buried at Brugh, 106. 
 O'Eoehadha, Donnchadh, king of Ulidia, 
 
 151, 152. 
 
 3 T
 
 506 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 O'Farrelly, Brian, a priest who com- 
 menced to build a cloch angcoire at the 
 great church of Drumlahan, 115. 
 
 O'Farrellys, the hereditary Herenachs of 
 Drumlahan, 115. 
 
 Ofi'a, coins of, 228, 229. 
 
 O'Flaherty, his MS. account of the ter- 
 ritory of West Connaught, a manuscript 
 in the Library of Trinity College, Dub- 
 lin, quoted, 189, 190, 191. 
 
 his Ogygia referred to, 25. 
 
 chronology of, in Ogygia, 386, 
 
 448. 
 
 O'Flanuagan, Eochaidh, the Books of, at 
 Armagh, 106, 107. 
 
 Theophilus, translation by, 
 
 375. 
 
 O'Flynn, Cu-Uladi, chief of Sil-Catha- 
 saigh, 215. 
 
 Ogham inscriptions, 79- 
 
 Ogham inscription, fragment of, stated to 
 be discovered by Mr. Windele in the 
 nave of the ruined church of Ardmore, 
 in the County of "Waterford, 79, 80; 
 comments on this statement, 79- 
 
 character, inscriptions in, found on 
 
 pillar-stones, 134, 136. 
 
 Ogma, of the race of Tuatha De Danannn, 
 99, 101. 
 
 a noble of the Tiiatha De Dananns, 
 
 buried at Brugh, 106. 
 
 O' Gorman, Flann, or Florence, 27. 
 
 Ogum, on the end of the pillar-stone, at 
 the grave of Fothadh Airgtheach, in- 
 terpreted, 108, 109. 
 
 O'Halloran, referred to, 204. 
 
 O'Heruilbh, Niall, captives redeemed by 
 [A.D.963], 231. 
 
 O'Hoisin, Aedh or Edan, Archbishop of 
 Tuam, cathedral church of Tuam re- 
 built by, 272; his name inscribed on 
 stone cross at Tuam, 272, 314-317. 
 
 Oifing, or oiffing, synonymous with scre- 
 paU, 218. 
 
 Oilen na mbrahar, or the Friar's Island, 
 426. 
 
 Oilithre. — See Ailithre. 
 
 Oirgialla, plundered Armagh in 996; 53, 
 54. 
 
 king of, 394. 
 
 acts performed and regulations 
 
 made in, by Donnchadh O'Carroll, 394. 
 
 Oirther, now Orior, 157. 
 
 O'Kelly, Maeleachlainn, tomb of, 287. 
 
 Olearius, referred to, 212. 
 
 011am, of the race of the Tuatha De Da- 
 nanns, 99, 101. 
 
 Ollamh Fodlila, with his descendants, bu- 
 ried at Taillten, 99, 101, 106. 
 
 Ollamh Saer, or chief builder, requisite 
 qualifications of, 346, 347. 
 
 Ollarba, battle of, 108. 
 
 Ollave builder. — See Ollamh Saer. 
 
 O'Lochlainn, IMuirchertach See Muir- 
 
 chertach O'Lochlainn. 
 
 O'Loghlin, Conor, son of Feargal, 375, 
 376. 
 
 O'Malone, Giolla Christ, cloictheach, or 
 Round Tower, finished by, 392. 
 
 O'Melaghlin, Flann, cathedral of Clon- 
 macnoise erected by, 392. 
 
 Murcath See Ua Maelsech- 
 
 lainn. 
 
 O'Molloy, Domhnall, son of Ruaidhri, 
 lord of Feara Ceall, 245. 
 
 Muirchertach, lord of Feara Ceall, 
 
 245. 
 
 O'Muiridhe, Bishop Muircheartach, 268. 
 
 O'Neill, Flahertach See Flahertach. 
 
 O'Neill, of Magh da chon, 286, 287. 
 
 O'Nioc, Muirges, Abbot of Tuam, 315. 
 
 Opus reticulatum, masonry so called, 
 188. 
 
 O'Quinlan [O'Caindealbhain] the Com- 
 harba of Middle Meath, 28. 
 
 Oraculum, a word applied to oratories in 
 Ireland, how corrupted in Irish, 352. 
 
 Oran, in Magh Aoi, transactions of St. 
 Patrick at, 165. 
 
 Oranmore, in the County of Galwa}', door- 
 way of church of, 181. 
 
 Oratories, ancient, in the barony of Corka- 
 
 I
 
 INDEX. 
 
 507 
 
 guiny, in the County of Kerry, de- 
 scribed, 132, 133. 
 
 Oratories, antiquity of, 132-136. 
 
 built on the continent by Irish 
 
 saints, 423. 
 
 use of wood in, 141. 
 
 classified with other ecclesiasti- 
 
 cal buildings, 160. 
 '■ — ancient, in the neighbourhood 
 
 of Dingle, in tlie County of Kerry, 
 windows of, described, 185. 
 of the first ecclesiastics, conser- 
 
 vation of, 194. 
 
 three, within the ancient church 
 
 of Kildare, 198, 199. 
 ancient Irish, treated of, 343- 
 
 358; Irish name of, 343; explanations 
 of Irish name, 344 ; peculiar characte- 
 ristics of, examined, 345 et seq. ; material 
 of, 345-350; not wholly without orna- 
 ment or beauty, 349; of stone, 350. 
 ancient Irish, general plan of, 
 
 352; consecration of, ib. 
 erected by Irish ecelesiastics 
 
 abroad, 352. 
 — — ancient Irish, size of, treated of. 
 
 351-357; average dimensions of, 351; 
 
 use of, 357, 358; regarded as inviolable 
 
 sanctuaries, 358 See Duirtheach. 
 
 Oratorium, application of the word, 144. 
 
 Oratory, stone, at Bangor, 144. 
 
 of St. Cuthbert on the island of 
 
 Fame, 128, 129- 
 account of the building of a duir- 
 
 theach of wood, 348. — See Duirtheach. 
 Oratory, or dertheach of Maoliosa O'Brol- 
 
 chain, burned, 429. 
 O'Reilly's Irish Dictionaiy quoted, 27, 
 
 118, 120,218,219, 344, 382. 
 O'Reilly, Jlr., his observations on Dr. 
 
 O'Conor's mistaking of Truaghan for 
 
 Turaghan, 50. 
 ■ his observations on a supposed 
 
 copy of the Psalter of Tara, 37- 
 mistranslation of Irish words by, 
 
 338. 
 
 O'Ringain, Mahon, lord of Bregia, A. 1). 
 1029, Anilair, son of Sitrie, captured 
 by, 214. 
 
 Ornaments of silver and gdlil found in 
 sej)ulclinil nioimments, 102. 
 
 some of the ornaments now ge- 
 nerally supposed to be characteristic 
 features of Anglo-Norman churches, 
 used by the Irish anterior to the eleventh 
 century, 197. 
 
 characteristic, found on Irish 
 
 3 T 
 
 monuments, in ecclesiastical buildings, 
 on ancient leather cases of books, &c., 
 treated of, 323, 332, 333, 335, 336, 
 342. 
 
 O'Rogan, Lord of Iveagh, 341. 
 
 O'Rourke, Fergal, King of Connaught, 
 the erection of Round Tower of Clon- 
 macnoise, ascribed to, 391, 393. 
 
 O'Roui'ke's Tower. — See Clonmacnoise. 
 
 O'Rourkes, place of sepulture of, 393. 
 
 O'Ruairo, Tighearnan, 376. 
 
 Ossory, 66. 
 
 Ostiarius See Aistire. 
 
 Ostmeu See Danes. 
 
 O'Tadhgain, Flann, Erenach of Durrow, 
 331. 
 
 Oughterard, in the County of Kildare, 
 Round Tower of, doorway of, 405, 406. 
 
 ancient church of, foundation of, 
 
 406. 
 
 Oughtmama, near the abbey of Corcum- 
 roe, in the barony of Burren, and 
 County of Clare, doorway of the very 
 ancient church at, described, 179- 
 
 age and founder of church, 
 
 179. 
 
 notice of a second church at 
 
 same place, and its doorway, 179. 
 
 seven holy bishops of, ib. 
 
 Ouncel, or steel-yard, ancient Irish name 
 for, 220. 
 
 Pagan, the three cemeteries of idolaters, 
 in Ireland, enumerated, 104, 105. 
 
 2
 
 508 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pagodas, of tlie Polygars of the Circars of 
 India, described by Vallaucey as of a 
 cylindrical or " Round Tower shape," 
 29. 
 
 Indian form of, from Pennant, 
 
 71. 
 
 Painted, partition in ancient church paint- 
 ed with figures, 198, 199- 
 
 Painted figures on partition wall at Kildare, 
 205. 
 
 Painting, or painted figures at Kildare, 
 206. 
 
 Pallium, use of the, in Ireland, 349. 
 
 Panningi, origin of the name, 230, 231. 
 
 Parchment, used as a substitute for glass 
 in the windows of ancient Irish churches, 
 183, 184. 
 
 Parsees, 67. 
 
 Parsi, or Guebri, fire temple of, 12. 
 
 Partition wall, in church at Kildare, 205. 
 
 Partitions of wood in the ancient church 
 of Kildare, 198, 199. 
 
 Patrick, St. — A St. Patrick interred at 
 Glastonbury, 197; tomb of, 455. 
 
 Patrick, apostle of Ireland, artificers of, 
 202. 
 
 prince of Thomond baptized by, 
 
 139. 
 
 baptizes Conall, son of Niall, 
 
 161. 
 
 church of Donaghpatrick found- 
 ed by, 161, 162. 
 
 church built by, 1 26. 
 
 churches erected by, in Bregia, 
 
 142. 
 
 church, erection of which is 
 
 ascribed to, 402, 410, 411. 
 
 Fiac, of Sletty, consecrated by, 
 
 338. 
 
 his contention with the Magi at 
 
 Tara, 337. 
 
 curses the stones of Mons Uis- 
 
 neach, 160. 
 campanarius, or aistiri of, 383, 
 
 384. 
 
 Patrick, St., comharbas, or successors of, 
 148, 152, 153, 154, 155, 221. 
 
 foundation of cathedral at Ar- 
 magh, laid by, 156, 157. 
 
 church at Armagh, erection oi' 
 
 bell-ringer of, 384. 
 
 which is erroneously ascribed to, 154. 
 church called Damhliag an t-Sa- 
 
 bhaill, appears to have been erected by, 
 157. 
 
 church of Tempull na bh-Ferta 
 
 erected by, 158. 
 
 churches probably erected in 
 
 the time of, or shortly after, 156-159. 
 churches said to have been 
 
 founded by, and his immediate succes- 
 sors, characteristics of, 163. 
 
 form of church introduced by. 
 
 into Ireland, became a model generally 
 followed for ages after, 193. 
 dimensions of churches pre- 
 
 scribed by, 193. 
 
 crozier of, 333, 335. 
 
 Gallic disciples and followers of. 
 
 165, 166. 
 
 many foreigners, disciples of. 
 
 137. 
 
 Life of, ascribed to St. Evin 
 
 quoted, 132, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160. 
 Life of, by Maccuthenius, re- 
 
 ferred to, 158. 
 
 luamaire, or pilot of, 166. 
 
 scribe of his school, 166. 
 
 his three stone-masons, 141, 
 
 142. 
 
 136. 
 
 429. 
 
 his nephews, 166, 167, 168. 
 
 ■ pillar-stone inscribed by, 135, 
 
 ■ Eule of the Refectory of, 428, 
 
 . shrine of, 203. 
 his sisters, 167, 168. 
 
 ■ stone oratory coeval with, 350. 
 
 ■ synod of, referred to, 424. 
 writings of, adverted to, 429- 
 Yew- tree planted by, at Newry, 
 
 64.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 509 
 
 Paul, Abbey church of SS. Paul and Pe- 
 ter, at Armagh, 154, 155 xSee Regies. 
 
 Paulinus, St., referred to, 205. 
 
 Payment, the, given to poets, the various 
 artificers, &c., from ancient MSS., 346, 
 347. 
 
 of artificers for the erection of 
 
 the three chief ecclesiastical buildings, 
 364, 365. 
 
 Pelasgi, stated by Potter, in his Grecian 
 antiquities, to have been Tyrhenians 
 born, and taught the Greeks the art of 
 building houses of lime and stone, &c., 
 14. 
 
 Pelasgic, style of the Round Towers and 
 of the subterranean chambers of the 
 Raths, stated to be, 72. 
 
 style of building, 127. 
 
 Pelham, the late Mr., 134. 
 
 Penance, Irish word for, 117, 118. 
 
 Penitential prisons, singular system of 
 probation and penance, stated by Dr. 
 Smyth to have been observed by the 
 penitents, 116, 117. 
 
 theory that the Round Towers 
 
 were used as such, examined and refuted, 
 116-121. 
 
 Penitentiaries, Irish name of, 120, 121. 
 
 Pennant, Mr., 71. 
 
 Pennies, or deniers of the middle ages, 
 Saxon and others, 227. 
 
 old English, 227. 
 
 the real pennies of Ireland, 227. 
 
 Penning, or pin'ginn, seems of Teutonic 
 origin, 227 See Pinginn. 
 
 Saxon and Irish, difference be- 
 tween, 227. 
 
 or penny of the middle ages. — 
 
 See Penny. 
 
 Penny, the Irish word screpall, the desig- 
 nation of the denarius, denier, penning, 
 or penny, current in Europe in the 
 middle ages, 217. 
 
 or penning, a coin among the Sax- 
 ons, 223. 
 
 origin of the name panningi, 230,23 1 . 
 
 Persia, Guebre Towers in, 78, 79. 
 
 Persian fire-worshippers, 69. 
 
 Magi or Gaiirs, 31. 
 
 Round Towers attributed to, 
 
 by Vallancey, 21, 22. 
 
 Persians, origin of the Round Towers at- 
 tributed to, 11, 67. 
 
 Peter, abbey church of SS. Paul and Pe- 
 ter at Armagh, 154. — See Regies Poil 
 agus Pedair. 
 
 Petit-Radel, Mr. L. C. F., his Notice sur 
 les Nuraghes de la Sardaigne, &c., 
 quoted, 74, 75. 
 
 Petrus Galesinius, quoted by Harris, ill. 
 
 Petty, Sir William, erroneous statement 
 of, respecting the state of art, trade, 
 learning, &c., in Ireland, before the Eng- 
 lish invasion, 123. 
 
 Phalli, or Priapeia Templa, theory of the 
 Round Towers having been, adverted 
 to, 109. 
 
 Phceni, a tribe of the Pelasgi, according to 
 Vallancey, 14. 
 
 Phoinician, or Indo- Scythian origin of 
 the Round Towers, theory of, examined 
 and refuted, 12, 13, 14. 
 
 navigators, 71. 
 
 theory of the Phoenician or 
 
 Eastern origin of the Round Towers 
 stated, 11. 
 
 Phoenicians, 68, 69- 
 
 and Carthaginians, 31. 
 
 Picts, kings of the, stated to have been 
 buried within the Tower of Abernethy, 
 92. 
 
 Pictures, in the ancient church of Kildare, 
 
 198, 199. 
 Piers, Sir Henry, his description of the 
 
 doorway of the church of Fore, in his 
 
 Chorographical Description of the Co. 
 
 Westmeath, 175. 
 Pilasters, flat rectangular projections or 
 
 pilasters at the angles of ancient Irish 
 
 churches, 189, 190. 
 Pilgrimages in Ireland, account of, 1 1 8, 
 
 119, 120.
 
 510 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Pillar-stone at the grave of Fothadh Alrg- 
 
 theacli, 108, 109. 
 red, over the grave of Dathi, at 
 
 Eathcroghan, 107. 
 Pillar-stones, upright, graves of the 
 
 founders of ancient oratories marked by, 
 
 133, 134 ; inscriptions on, 134-136 ; 
 
 example of Ogham inscription on, 136. 
 
 obeliscal, shewn to be Irish, 
 
 not Danish, 8. 
 
 Pillar-temples, 67, 68. 
 
 Pinginn, explanation of the word, 223 ; 
 seems of Teutonic origin, 227- 
 
 or penning, a coin in use among 
 
 the ancient Irish, treated of, weight and 
 value shown, &c., 217, 219-223. 
 
 Pinginns, or bracteates, probably of great- 
 er antiquity in Ireland than the scre- 
 paUs, 230. 
 
 or pennies, in Ireland, early 
 
 allusion to, 354, 356. 
 
 Pinkerton, John, his Essay on Medals, 
 quoted or referred to, 212, 224, 225. 
 
 his account of the ancient mo- 
 numents of the British Scots, from his 
 Inquiry into the History of Scotland, 
 124. 
 
 his Inquiry into the History of 
 
 Scotland qiioted, 378. 
 observations of, concerning refe- 
 
 rence to ancient MSS., 421. 
 
 opinions of, 378. 
 
 his Vitce Antiquce Sanctorum 
 
 quoted, 340, 387, 388, 389. 
 
 Piscina, curiously ornamented, in Team- 
 pull Finghin, 271. 
 
 Pisire, explanation and derivation of, 220. 
 
 Plunket, Oliverus, regni hujus [Hiber- 
 nise] Archiprajsul (furca plexus est), 
 334. 
 
 Poets of Connaught enumerated, 106. 
 
 Pointed head formed by the meeting of two 
 right lines, of very frequent occurrence 
 in the windows of ancient Irish churches, 
 182; examples of, 183, 184. 
 
 Polaire, meaning of the word investigated. 
 
 336-339; mistranslated by Colgan, 338. 
 — See Cases (ancient leather). 
 
 Polly gars, Indian, Windele, 71. 
 
 Porch, not found in Irish churches, 442, 
 443. 
 
 Porticus, conjecture as to the application 
 of the word in the middle ages, 440- 
 445. 
 
 Priapeia Templa, theory of the Round 
 Towers having been, adverted to, 109- 
 
 Priest's House, at Glendalough — (SeeGlen- 
 dalough. 
 
 Prison, i. e., anchorite See Ergastulum. 
 
 Proinnteachs See Refectories. 
 
 Prospect of Ireland. — See Walsh. 
 
 Psalter of Cashel, erroneously referred to 
 by Miss Beaufort, as authority for her 
 hypothesis, 36 ; opinion as to the exist- 
 ence at present of this record, 37; sup- 
 posed compiler of, ib. 
 
 Psalter of Tara, erroneously referred to by 
 Miss Beaufort, as authority for her hy- 
 pothesis, 36 ; opinion as to the existence 
 at present of this record, 37. 
 
 Puincne, synonymous with screpall, 218. 
 
 Pyrathe'ia, Persian, 30 ; Pyrathea of the 
 ancient Persians, 31; Pyratheias, or 
 vestal towers, ib. 
 
 Pyreia introduced by Zoroaster, 67. 
 
 or fire-temples of the Guebres, 68, 
 
 71 See Fire-temples. 
 
 PjTolatry, or fire-worship, 67. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quadrangular form of building, introduc- 
 tion of, into Ireland, 129, 132. 
 
 — form used in ancient Irish 
 
 churches, 162, 163 ; the most usual, 
 and, as it would appear, the most an- 
 cient form of doorway in Irish churches, 
 163; qviadrangular doorways treated of, 
 163-177. 
 
 doorway, the most usual mode 
 
 of construction in the sixth and seventh 
 centuries, 168.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 511 
 
 Quadrangular doorways having a semi- 
 circular arch placed immediately above 
 the lintel, 180, 181. 
 
 Rachraniun, burned by plunderers, and 
 its shrines opened and stripped, 203. 
 
 Raderus, the Tyrolese Jesuit, quoted by 
 Harris, 111. 
 
 Rahen, Rahin, or Rathain, near Tullaraore, 
 in the King's County, ornament on the 
 doorway of the smaller church at, 324. 
 
 Saxon pennies found neai', 35G. — 
 
 See Rathain. 
 
 Ram Island, in the County of Antrim, hu- 
 man bones stated to have been found 
 interred within the Tower at, 71; ob- 
 servations on, 78, 81. 
 
 Ramsey, church and Towers of, 379. 
 
 Rath-Ardamacha, 446, 447. 
 
 Rathain, or Rahin, near Tullamore, in 
 the King's County, ancient ornamented 
 church at, 242 ; age of, by whom found- 
 ed, historic notices of, &c., 242, 244- 
 246 ; architectural details of, viz., chan- 
 cel arch, 242, 243; remarkable round 
 window in, 243, 244; style of masonry, 
 &c., of building of, 243. 
 
 the monastery of, by whom origi- 
 nally founded, 243 ; a new establish- 
 ment founded at, in the eighth century, 
 245. 
 
 called also Rathain Ui Suanaigh, 
 
 245. 
 
 "Abbas de Cul Rathain Mochuddte 
 
 in regiouede DelbhnaEthra in Media," 
 356. 
 
 abbot of, referred to, 355, 356. 
 
 " Rex Ratheniffi," 355 ; explana- 
 
 tion of the phrase, ib. 
 
 list of abbots of, 245. 
 
 ancient stone cross at, 246. 
 
 number of monks there under St. 
 
 246; architectural detads, &c., of one of 
 the smaller churches at, 246, 247; or- 
 namented doorway of, 246, 247, 324. 
 
 Rathain Ua Suanaigh, extract from Book 
 of, 353, 354, 355. 
 
 building of the duirtheach inor, 
 
 or great oratory of, 353-355. 
 
 Rath BreasaU, synod of, 400. 
 
 Rathcroghan, character of the sepidchral 
 monuments of, and names of persons 
 interred there, 103-107 See Cruachan. 
 
 Rathdaire, in finibus Jlaclumis, 158. 
 
 Rath Edair, battle of, 286. 
 
 Rathmichael, church, in the Coimty of 
 Dublin, cashel, or circular stone wall 
 of, 447. 
 
 gateway of same, 450. 
 
 Rath muighe deiscLrt, the ancient name 
 of Ratass, County of Kerry, 1 70 ; ex- 
 planation of, ib See Rattas. 
 
 Rath muighe tuaiscirt, the ancient name 
 of Rattoo, County of Kerry, 1 70 ; ex- 
 planation of, ib See Rattoo. 
 
 Raths, subterranean chambers of, 72. • 
 
 Raths, ecclesiastical See Cashels. 
 
 Rattass, near Tralee, in Kerry, doorway 
 of ancient church of, described, 169; 
 observations on date of erection of 
 church, ancient name of, &c., 170; 
 window of, described, 185. 
 
 Rattoo, in the County of Kerry, the seat 
 of an ancient bishopric, ancient name 
 of, 170; founder of, ib. 
 
 Round Tower of, doorway of, de- 
 scribed, 370. 
 
 internal construction of the Round 
 
 Tower of, 397, 398. 
 
 Round Tower of, detailed descrip- 
 
 tion, history, &c., of, 398-400 ; popular 
 name of the Tower, 400 ; tradition con- 
 nected witli the bell of, ib. 
 ancient Irish name of, explained. 
 
 400. 
 
 Carthach, 244, 427. j 
 ruins of two smaller churches at, 
 
 Raven, the, stated to be sacred to Odin, 
 262 ; a " reafen" stated to have been 
 worked on a Danish standard, 26.3 ; tlie
 
 512 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 raven still considered a bird of omen in 
 the popular superstitions of the Irish, 
 263. 
 
 Recess, arched, placed on the east front of 
 ancient church, 248, 249- 
 
 Reeds, church covered with, 1 26. 
 
 roofs of ancient Irish churches co- 
 vered with, 163, 186, 187. 
 
 Reefert, or Refert, church at Glendalough, 
 173, 174. 
 
 cemetery or burial-place of the 
 
 kings at, 265, 266. 
 
 Refectories, or Proinnteachs, ancient Irish 
 monastic, treated of, 428-429. 
 
 Refectory, 424. 
 
 Registry of Clonmacnoise. — See Clonmac- 
 noise. 
 
 Regies, origin and application of the word, 
 143, 145, 151, 153, 154. 
 
 Regies Bhrighde, at Armagh, 151, 153. 
 
 Regies Finghin See TeampuU Finghin. 
 
 Regies Foil agus Pedair, or the abbey 
 church of SS. Paul and Peter, at Ar- 
 magh, 154, 155. 
 
 Relec na Riogh, at Rathcroghan, charac- 
 ter of the sepulchral monuments of, and 
 names of persons interred at, 103-107. 
 
 Releos, or church-yards, many consecrated 
 by Malachy O'Morgair, 155, 156. 
 
 Relics of saints, 203. 
 
 Relics, travelling See Minister. 
 
 " Researches amongst the Round Towers," 
 79. — See South Munster Society of An- 
 tiquaries. 
 
 Restitutus, the Lombard, wife of, 167. 
 
 no where stated that he was 
 
 ever in Ireland, 168. — See Lombard. 
 
 Richardson, Dean of Belturbet, originator 
 of theory that the Towers were erected 
 for the use of anchorites, 109. 
 
 his Folly of Pilgrimages in Ire- 
 land referred to and quoted, 118. 
 Rickman, Mr., his opinions, 188. 
 
 Rieguil Proinntige Patric, — the Rule of 
 St. Patrick's Refectory, — referred to, 
 429. 
 
 Rigair, SS. Saxones, i. e. Anglos de, 138. 
 Righ, or Righ mna Nuadat, — the Righ of 
 
 the wife of Nuada, — an ancient name of 
 
 the River Boyne, 215. 
 Rings of gold and silver used for money 
 
 by the ancient Irish, 214, 215. 
 Riochus, S., socios S. Riochi transmarinos, 
 
 138. 
 
 Roboreti Campus See Durrow. 
 
 Roman architecture, debased, 232, 239. 
 churches, earliest, doorways of, 
 
 168. 
 
 192. 
 
 ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, 138, 
 
 manner, " more Romano," door- 
 ways of churches erected after the, 177- 
 179; explanation of term, 177. 
 
 Romanesque architecture, 239. 
 
 Romans, houses of the, characteristics of, 
 132. 
 
 monumental stone of, inscribed 
 
 " un TJomani," on the Great Island of 
 Aran, 139. 
 
 Rouan, St., sonofBerach, relics and shrine 
 of, 203. 
 
 Roofs, stone, of churches, 242, 256. 
 
 Roofs, — materials, mode, and style of con- 
 struction, of the roofs of the primitive 
 Irish churches, 186, 187; churches with 
 roofs of stone, 186, 188, 190; churches 
 with roofs of wood, covered with reeds, 
 straw, and oak shingles, 186, 187. 
 
 Rosa Failge, the son of Cathair More, 
 spoken of by Miss Beaufort, 36. 
 
 Author's refutation of assertion 
 
 that lie built the Tower of Rosenallis, 
 40,41. 
 
 Ros-analluis, Eccl., 41. 
 
 Roscrea Tower, examined at the request 
 of the South Munster Antiquaries, 88. 
 
 scvilptures on one of the upper 
 
 apertures of, 326. 
 
 doorway of, described, 369, 370, 
 
 407. 
 
 Round Tower or cloictheach of, 
 
 struck by lightning, 393. 
 
 J
 
 INDEX. 
 
 513 
 
 Koscrea Tower, large aperture over door- 
 way of, 413, 410. 
 
 Ros-darbreacli, the aneient name of Balla. 
 453. 
 
 liosenallis. Tow er of, noticed by Miss Beau- 
 fort, 37. 
 
 refutation of assertion that it 
 
 was built by Rosa Failgec, the son of 
 Cathair Jlore, in the second century, 
 40, 41. 
 
 ehurch of, dedicated to St. 
 
 Bridget, 41, 42. 
 
 Rosfinnglass, in Hyriegain, meaning of 
 name, 41. 
 
 Ros na Righ, burial of Cormac at, 98, 100. 
 
 Rossachi, three daughters and seven bro- 
 thers of, interred at Rathcroghan, 104, 
 105. 
 
 Rosscarbery, Round Tower of, compared 
 with Brunless Castle, in Brecknockshire, 
 367, 368, 398. 
 
 Round Towers, difficulties in the way of 
 former investigators of their origin and 
 uses stated, 1, 2. 
 
 . — ■ — — condition prescribed by the 
 
 Royal Irish Academy, in the investi- 
 gation of the origin and uses of, 2. 
 
 the Author's course of inves- 
 
 tigation of origin and uses of, beyond 
 the original contemplation of the Aca- 
 demy, stated, 2 ; conclusions respecting 
 them arrived at by the Author, 2, 3 ; 
 these conclusions shown to have been 
 already advocated separately by many 
 distinguished antiquaries, 3 ; nature of 
 evidences of Author's eonclusions,stated, 
 3, 4. 
 
 summarv of theories refuted,4. 
 
 theory of the Danish origin 
 
 of, examined and refuted, 5-11. 
 opinion of the Author of Cam- 
 
 brensis Eversus, respecting the origin 
 of, 5. 
 assertion of Peter Walsh, au- 
 
 thor of the " Prospect of Ireland," as 
 to the origin and uses of, 5, G. 
 
 Round Towers, Cambrensis's description 
 of the ecclesiastical towers of Ireland, 
 as given by Dr. Molyncu.x, C. 
 
 Dr. Slolyneux's opinions con- 
 cerning the origin and uses of, stated 
 in his own words, 6, 7. 
 
 refutation of Dr. Molyneux's 
 
 theory, 7-9. 
 
 no traces of such discovered 
 
 in the north of Europe, or in England, 
 Normandy, Sicily, or other countries 
 iu which the Northmen had settle- 
 ments, 9. 
 
 Dr. Ledwich's opinion concern- 
 ing the origin of, stated in his own 
 words, 9, 10. 
 
 refuted, 10, 11. 
 
 — theory of the Phoenician, or 
 
 Eastern origin of, stated, 1 1 ; originated 
 with General Vallancey, 11. 
 
 ■ theories of the pagan uses of 
 
 the Round Towers examined and re- 
 futed, viz., 
 
 1. That they were fire-temples, 12, 
 13, 21-52, 66-73. 
 
 2. That they were used as places 
 from which to proclaim the Druidical 
 festivals, 16, 17. 
 
 3. That they were Gnomons, or as- 
 tronomical observatories, 15, 33, 47, 48, 
 52-64, 65, 69, 72. 
 
 4. That they were Phallic emblems, 
 or Buddhist temples, adverted to, 109. 
 
 General Vallancey's opinions as 
 
 to the origin and uses of, examined and 
 refuted, 11-30. 
 
 - stated by Vallancey to hav( 
 
 been fire- temples, 12, 13; to have been 
 first erected in Ireland by the African 
 sea-champions, 13, 14; to have been 
 sorcerers' towers, 15 ; to have been used 
 in dancing festivals, 15. 
 ■ acknowledged by Vallancey 
 
 to have been used as belfries " in after 
 ages," 17. 
 — — ■ their supposed similarity to 
 
 3 u
 
 514 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 the Persian and Hindoo fire-temples, 
 
 28, 29. 
 
 Round Towers, notice of, by Vallancey, 
 
 in India, Bulgari, &c., 29. 
 Author's opinion of the same, 
 
 29, 30. 
 
 conformity between many in 
 
 the East, and those of Ireland, acknow- 
 ledged, 30. 
 
 Mr. Beauford's opinion as to 
 
 the Persian origin of, and their use as 
 fire- temples, 30, 31 ; refuted, 31, 32. 
 fallacious statement of Beau- 
 
 ford, as to the subsequent conversion 
 of, into belfries, 31, 32. 
 Dr. Lanigan's arguments in sup- 
 
 port of the hypothesis of the Eastern 
 origin of, stated and refuted, 32, 33, 
 34, 35. 
 
 architecture or masonry of, and 
 
 that of the ancient churches erected be- 
 fore the twelfth century, the same, 34. 
 found, without a single excep- 
 
 tion, near old churches, or where 
 
 churches are known to have existed, 34. 
 
 in most instances erected in the 
 
 most desolate and unfrequented places 
 that could be found, 33. 
 Miss Beaufort's arguments in 
 
 support of the hypothesis of their having 
 been used as fire-temples, stated and 
 refuted, 35-41. 
 examination and refutation of 
 
 the arguments advanced by Mr. D' Al- 
 ton in support of the fii-e-temple hypo- 
 thesis of, 41-47. 
 fifty-seven Towers which fell at 
 
 Constantinople in consequence of a 
 dreadful earthquake, in A. D. 448, sup- 
 posed by Mr. D'Alton to have been 
 Irish, 45 ; this opinion refuted, 45, 46 ; 
 Dr. O'Conor's conjecture concerning 
 the same, 45. 
 Dr. O'Conor's observations on 
 
 the uses of, originally, as astronomical 
 gnomons, and fire-temples, and subse- 
 
 quently as anchorite retreats, stated in 
 his own words, 47-49. 
 
 Examination of the authorities quoted 
 by him in support of his hjqjothesis, 
 and refutation of his inferences, 49-56. 
 
 Examination and refutation of his 
 etymological evidences, 56-64. 
 
 Examination and refutation of his 
 arguments in support of his theory, 
 64-66. 
 
 His observations as to the use of 
 the Eound Towers as Anchorite Towers 
 in subsequent times, 48, 50, 52. 
 Eound Towers, Mr. Moore's observations in 
 support of the theory of the use of, as fire- 
 temp>les, and examination of the various 
 other theories, given in his own words, 
 67-70. 
 
 Stated by him to have been used as 
 astronomical observatories, 69- 
 
 Mr. Windele's arguments in 
 
 support of the hypothesis, that they 
 were used as fire-temples, and occasion- 
 ally, in part, as places of pagan sepul- 
 ture, stated and refuted, 70-109. 
 believed by Mr. Windele to have 
 
 been subsequently used as anchorite re- 
 treats, 72. 
 
 further refutation of the theory 
 
 of the use of, as places of sepulture, 
 417-420. 
 theory of their having been 
 
 PHALLI, or PRIAPEIA TEMPLA, adverted 
 to, 109. 
 erroneous theories of the Chris- 
 
 tian origin and uses of, examined and 
 refuted, 109, 121. — See Harris, and 
 Smith. 
 true origin and uses of 122, et 
 
 still known in Irish by no other 
 
 names than "cloictheach" and "clogas," 
 114. 
 
 treated of as belfries, and a 
 
 class of Irish ecclesiastical buildings, 
 358, 367.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 515 
 
 Eoimd Towers, summary f of the facts 
 already established in refutation of the 
 theory of the pagan origin of, 'Ar>[>. 
 
 the form or features usual in, 
 
 found in no one pagan building in he- 
 land, 360. 
 
 referred by all writers, pre- 
 
 Round Towers, double doors of, 3G8-37I. 
 their Irish name " cloictheach," 
 
 ajiplicd by Irish writers to a tower of 
 
 defence, 372. 
 the term " castle" applied to. 
 
 viously to Yallancey, to a Christian, or 
 at least, a medieval origin, 359. 
 
 facts relative to, to be proved 
 
 in the Tliird Part of the Inquiry, but for 
 the present assiuned as proved, 359, 3G0. 
 the conclusions, I., that they 
 
 were intended to serve as belfries, and 
 II., as keeps, or places of strength, es- 
 tablished, 360-378. 
 
 the peculiarities of construction 
 
 of, described, 360-362. 
 general style of the doorways 
 
 and apertures of, 362. 
 not ill-adapted to the double 
 
 purpose of belfries and castles, 362. 
 evidences in support of Au- 
 
 thor's theory of their use as belfries, 
 362, 363. 
 always designated in Irish by 
 
 the people, cloictheach or clogas or 
 cuilgtheach, 363 ; explanation of these 
 terms, ib. 
 
 traditional use of, 363. 
 
 still used as belfries in many 
 
 places, 363. 
 
 — ■ objections to the theory of the 
 
 use of, as belfries, stated and answered, 
 64-66, 363. 
 use of, as belfries, acknowledged 
 
 by Dr. O'Conor, 363, 364. 
 
 payment for the erection of, 364, 
 
 365, 366. 
 rule for determining the height 
 
 of, 365, 366. 
 
 evidences of the use of, as ec- 
 
 clesiastical keeps, 367-378. 
 compared with the ancient mi- 
 
 litary towers or castles of England and 
 Wales, 367, 368. 
 
 3 
 
 by Duald Mac Firbis, 373. 
 evidences from the Irish annals 
 
 of the use of, for the ^^nrpose of safety 
 and defence, 373-376. 
 opinions of modern distin- 
 
 guished writers on the use of, as places 
 of safety and defence, 376-378. 
 arguments in favour of the 
 
 theory of the probable use of, as beacons 
 and watch-towers, 378-380. 
 probable eras of the erection of. 
 
 examined, 380-421. 
 
 first notice of, in the Irish an- 
 
 nals, 380. 
 earliest authentic record of the 
 
 erection of, 380. 
 used as sanctuaries, 381, 382, 
 
 404. 
 probably in existence in the 
 
 time of St. Patrick, 383, 384. 
 account of the fall of a monk 
 
 from a building identified with one of, 
 
 387-389. 
 
 attached to churches, 395. 
 
 belfries, placed on the churches. 
 
 395, 396. 
 
 — characteristic examples of the 
 
 various styles of, 397-417. 
 division of, into stories, some- 
 
 times marked externally by set-offs, 
 401 ; and in one instance by bands or 
 belts, ib. ; cornice beneath the roof of 
 Devenish Round Tower, 400, 401. 
 doorways of, treated of, 401- 
 
 of, 34. 
 
 413. 
 
 usual position of the doorways 
 
 second doorways of, 402, 403, 
 
 413, 416. 
 upper apertures of, treated oi. 
 
 413-416. 
 
 i:2
 
 516 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Round Towers, the windows of the, do 
 not always face the cardinal points, 34. 
 
 Etruscan character of the ma- 
 sonry found in many of the, 414. 
 
 observations on the recent search 
 
 for interments in the, 417-419. 
 Comments on the statements of 
 
 Sir William Betham, as to the discovery 
 of human bones in that of Timahoe, and 
 as to the uses of the Round Towers, 
 417-421. 
 
 Rout sula Midir, at Brugh na Boinne, 
 103. 
 
 Ruaidhri, King of Connaught, 144; year 
 of his death, 145. 
 
 Rubble, interior of walls of ancient Irish 
 churches, filled up with, and grouting, 
 163. 
 
 Ruiden, the son of Lainnen, chief of Ui 
 Drona, 340. 
 
 Rule of St. jNIochuda, of Rathain, an an- 
 cient Irish poem, quoted, 428. 
 
 Rule of St. Patrick's Refectory, referred 
 to by Colgan, 428, 429. 
 
 Rumann, the poet, called the Virgil of Ire- 
 land, account of a poem composed by, 
 ,3.53, 354, 355 ; goes on a pilgrimage 
 to Rahen, 353, 354 ; death of, 353, 
 354, 355; burial of, 354, 355; tradi- 
 tion preserved at Rahen concerning, ,355. 
 
 Ryland, his History of Waterford, noticed 
 by "Windele, 72. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sabceism, or star-worship, 70. 
 
 Sabhall, church of. — See Daimhliag an 
 
 t-Sabhaill. 
 Sab ildanach, 386. 
 
 Sacristy, in ancient Irish churches, 163. 
 Saingel, now Singland, near Limerick, 
 
 139. 
 St. Bridget, church of, at Armagh, 151. 
 
 — See Regies Brighde. 
 St. Doulagh's church, near Dublin, roof 
 
 of, 186. 
 
 St. Gall, original monastery of, 423. 
 
 St. Manchanus [qui iacet] in Lethmor, 138. 
 
 St. MuUin's See Tigh Moling. 
 
 Saliduic, SS. Gallos de, 138. 
 
 Gauls or Franks of, 166. 
 
 Salvator, a name inscribed by St. Patrick 
 on pillar-stone, 135, 136. 
 
 Sanctuary. — See Chancel. 
 
 Sandstone, red, churches built with, 169. 
 
 Sardinia, " an island once colonized from 
 Iberia and Phoenicia," 71. 
 
 Nuraghes of — See Nuraghes. 
 
 Sari, fire temjales at, 71. 
 
 Sashes, no provision for the reception 
 of, in the windows of ancient Irish 
 churches, 183. 
 
 Saviour, St., Priory of, church of the mo- 
 nastery at Glendalough, so called by 
 Archdall, &c., 256 See Glendalough. 
 
 Saxon Chronicle referred to, 327. 
 
 Saxon churches in England, baluster co- 
 lumns of, 239- — See Churches. 
 
 Saxon doorways, doorways of Irish church- 
 es resembling, 177-179. 
 
 Saxon ecclesiastics in Ireland, 137, 138. 
 
 Saxon pennies found near Rahen, 356. 
 
 Saxons, indications that they were estab- 
 lished in the neighbourhood of Rahen, 
 at an early period, 356. 
 
 ancient churches of, 1 27, 1 95. 
 
 intercourse of the ancient Irish 
 
 with, 213. 
 
 Ireland infested by, at a very early 
 
 period, 355. 
 of Mayo, 144. 
 
 Scaliger, Joseph, 47. 
 
 Scandinavians, Odin the legislator of, 68. 
 Scanlan Mac Eoghan, a poet, 106. 
 Scattery island, anchoritehabitations stated 
 
 by AVindele to exist on, 72. 
 Scha?pflin, M., Histoire de 1' Academic, &c., 
 
 quoted, 212, 230, 231. 
 Scotic race, ancient, peculiar characteristic 
 
 of, in building houses and churches, 
 
 125, 126; houses and churches of wood 
 
 erected by, 127.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 517 
 
 Scotio race, ancient, character of the se- 
 pulchral monuments of tlie pagan kings 
 of, 103-109. 
 
 characteristics of, as distin- 
 guished from the Tuatlia Dc Dananns, 
 387. 
 
 Scots, British, Pinkerton's account of the 
 ancient monuments of, 12-1. 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, his observations on the 
 seven churches at Glendalough, 171 ; 
 his admiration of the doorway of Our 
 Lady's Church at, iVi. 
 
 ojjinions of, quoted from his 
 
 Re\dew of Ritson's Annals, 377. 
 
 Screpall, sigal or siclus, a coin in use 
 among the ancient Irish, treated of, 
 weight and value shown, &c., 216-220, 
 222, 223; sigal, a term synonymous 
 with screpall, 217, 218. 
 
 Serin Colaim Cille, 98, 100. 
 
 Sculpture, art of, known to the Irish in 
 the tenth century, 272. 
 
 Scytliians, 24. 
 
 Seanchus beag, a ti'act of Brehon laws, 
 quoted, 382, 383. 
 
 Seanchus na Relec, or history of the ceme- 
 teries, in the Leabhar na h-Uidhre, 
 quoted, with translations, 97-101, 104, 
 105, 106, 107. 
 
 Sechnall, or Seciuidinus, one of the seven 
 sons of the Lombard, and nephew of 
 St. Patrick, 167. 
 
 Sechuasach, inscribed tombstone of, at 
 Clonmacnoise, 342. 
 
 Sechnasach, priest of Durrow, 343. 
 
 Secundinus, S., S. Patricii discipulus, ma- 
 ledicit lapidibus montis Usneach, 160. 
 
 . one of the seven sons of the 
 
 Lombard, and nephew of St. Patrick, 
 167. 
 
 ; original name, family, and 
 
 church of, 167- 
 SeincheaU, i. e. vetus cella, in the County 
 
 of Roscommon, dimensions of, prescribed 
 
 by St. Patrick, 193. 
 Semplan, priest of Tir da glas, 340. 
 
 SeneUus, S. de Killdareis, 384. 
 
 Sepulclires of the Firbolg and Tuatha De 
 Danann tribes, 127. 
 
 ancient Greek and Irish, 128. 
 
 Sepulture, examination and refutation of 
 the arguments adduced by Mr. Windcle 
 in support of the hypotliesis tliat the 
 Round Towers were used as tire tem- 
 ples, and occasionally, in part, as places 
 of pagan sepulture, 71-109. 
 
 theory of tlie use of the Round 
 
 Towers as places of, refuted, 417-421. 
 
 pagan modes of, in Ireland, as 
 
 shown from ancient MSS., 97-109- 
 
 Se-xes, separated in ancient churches, 198, 
 199, 200. 
 
 Shaw's Gaelic Dictionary, quoted, 219- 
 
 Sheepstown, in the parish and barony of 
 Knock topher, and County of Kilkenny, 
 doorway of the ancient churcli in, de- 
 scribed, 178. 
 
 Shekel, supposed by Colgan, Harris, and 
 Archdall to be the same as the Irish 
 coin siclus or sigal, 216. 
 
 Shingles, oak, roofs of ancient churches 
 and oratories covered with, 163, 187, 
 364, 365. 
 
 Ship-building, payment for, 346, 347. 
 
 Shrines, ancient, skill of the Irish in 
 making, 192. 
 
 of bishop Conlaeth and St. Bridget 
 
 at KUdare, described, 197, 198; re- 
 marks on, 200, 201, 202; monument of 
 St. Bridget, 200. 
 
 of saints, treated of, 201-204. 
 
 Siabhras, a name for the Tuatha De Da- 
 nanns, 98. 
 
 Siclus, or Sigal See Sigal and Screpall. 
 
 Sigal, or siclus, a term synonymous with 
 screpall, 217, 218 — See Screpall. 
 
 Sil-Cathasaigh, chief of, 215. 
 
 Silures See Damnonii. 
 
 Simon, St., thestylite, 109, 1 10, 1 11, 1 12, 
 117. 
 
 Sinach, the proper name of St. Mac Dara, 
 1 9 1 . — See Mac Dara.
 
 518 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 .SiiiclieUs, the two, death of, 437. 
 
 church of, at Glendalough 
 
 See Gk'udalough. 
 Sinchelhis, SS. duodecim Peregrini, socii 
 
 S. Sinchelli, 138. 
 Sinchellus, vterque Sinchelhis [qui iacet] 
 
 in Kill-achuidh, 138. 
 
 Singland See Saingel. 
 
 Siofog, tlie name of a locality at Kells, 
 
 429. 
 Sion, Mount, religious establishment on, 
 
 422. 
 Sith-druim, the ancient name of Cashel, 
 
 16. 
 Sitric I., 225, 226. 
 Sitric III., 225 ; coins of, ib. 
 Siva, or Mahadeva, 69. 
 Skeattas, 224. 
 Skeleton, human, and bones, said to have 
 
 been discovered within the base of the 
 
 Eound Tower of Ardmore, in tlie Co. 
 
 Waterford, 79. 
 liuman, stated to have been dis- 
 covered within the base of the Round 
 
 Tower of Cloyne, 80 ; observations on 
 
 this statement, 84-89. 
 Skeletons, unburned, found in the pagan 
 
 monumental remains in Ireland, 102. 
 Skye, Isle of, 38. 
 Slane, cloicteach or Round Tower of, 
 
 burned by the Danes, 48, 56, 373, 374. 
 Slea, Conchobhar Mac Nessa, buried at a 
 
 place between, and the sea, 99, 101. 
 
 Slepte, meaning of, 193 See Sletty. 
 
 Sletty, County of Carlow, account of the 
 
 foundation of the church of, 193. 
 Sletty, Fiac, bishop of, 338. 
 Sliabh Fuaid, 409- 
 Slinntiuch, translated tef/idce by Colgan, 
 
 152, 153 ; Daimhliac of Armagh, covered 
 
 with, ib. 
 Smerwick Harbour, ancient oratories in 
 
 the neighbourhood of, described, 132, 
 
 133; their antiquity, 133-136; other 
 
 ancient remains near, noticed, 132, 133. 
 Smith, Dr., author of some of the Irish 
 
 County Histories, theory of the use of 
 the Eound Towers as penitential prisons, 
 first promulgated by, 116; examination 
 and refutation of his evidences in sup- 
 port of his theory, 117-121. 
 
 Smith, Dr., his Ancient and present State 
 of the County of Kerry, quoted, 169. 
 
 Somner, Mr., his opinion on the material 
 of the Saxon churches, 127. 
 
 Sorcerers' Towers, Eound Towers stated 
 by Vallancey to have been, 15. 
 
 Soter, the name inscribed by St. Patrick 
 on a pillar-stone, 135, 136. 
 
 South Munster Society of Antiquaries, 
 proceedings of, headed "Round Towers," 
 quoted, 87, 88. 
 
 report of proceedings of, en- 
 titled " Researches amongst the Round 
 Towers," as drawn up by Mr. Windele, 
 quoted, 79-81 ; examination of their 
 proceedings and theory, 81-109. 
 
 Spelraan, Sir Henry, his Concilia, quoted, 
 196. 
 
 Sperlingius, " De Nummorum Bracteato- 
 rum et Cavorum Origine et Progressu," 
 referred to, 211. 
 
 Star-worship, or Saboeism, 70. 
 
 Stations. — .See Pilgrimages. 
 
 Steel-yard See Ouncel. 
 
 Steeple, of Armagh, 54. 
 
 " y' steeple with y^ bells," at Ar- 
 magh, 149; "the steeple," at Armagh, 
 151. 
 
 Stele, of the Greeks, upright monumental 
 stones in Ireland compared to, 102. 
 
 Stephen, coins of, 228. 
 
 Stephens, Mr., drawings made by, referred 
 to, 248. 
 
 Stone, custom of building with, seems to 
 have prevailed more in the west and 
 south, than in the east and north of 
 Ireland, 423. 
 
 St. Bernard's account of St. Ma- 
 
 lachy's laying the foundation of a chapel 
 of stone at Bangor, as given by Ware 
 (Harris's ed.), 123. 
 
 I
 
 INDEX. 
 
 519 
 
 Stone and lime cement, statement of Sir 
 James Ware, that the Irish did not be- 
 gin to build with, until the twelt'th 
 ecutury, 123; Ware's niiiiiinn univer- 
 sally adopted liy English and Scotcli 
 antiquaries, 124 ; the same opinion 
 adopted by Ur. Lanigan, 126, 127 ; re- 
 futation of this opinion, 127, et seq. 
 
 art of building with, known to 
 
 the Saxons at a very early period, 141. 
 
 first church built of, with lime ce- 
 
 ment, in Scotland, 141. 
 
 Stone buildings, statement of I'oter Walsh, 
 author of the Prospect of Ireland, as to 
 the absence of, in Ireland, in ancient 
 times, 6; when introduced, according 
 to Dr. Molyneux, 6. 
 
 Stone buildings, ecclesiastical, in Ireland, 
 conclusion as to the recent date of, 
 erroneous, 127- 
 
 Stone churches, the first builders of, in 
 Ireland, 142. — Sec Uainddiag. 
 
 Stone-housing, statcMuent of Sir William 
 Petty, that " when the Irish were first 
 invaded, they had not any stone-housing, 
 any foreign trade," &c., 123. 
 
 Stone roofs in ancient churches, 186, 188, 
 190. 
 
 Stones, upright, indicating the monu- 
 mental character of tlie earns and 
 mounds, 102. 
 
 Strabo, WallaiVid, Life of St. Gall by, 
 quoted, 423. 
 
 Straw, roofs of ancient Irish churches 
 covered with, 163, 187. 
 
 Streets, ancient monastic, situation of, 
 pointed out by tradition in many parts 
 of Ireland, 428. 
 
 Streets at Ai'magh, noticed, 152. 
 
 Stuart, Dr., his History of Armagh 
 (juoted, 159. 
 
 Stylite columns See Anchorite Towers. 
 
 Suibhne Mac Maelehumai, 327, 328 ; in- 
 scribed tombstone of, at Clonmacnoise, 
 ib. 
 
 Suidhe Coeil, [eccl. vel mon.], 138. 
 
 Sun-worship, connexion of, with the sci- 
 ence of astronomy, 69- 
 
 Swords, lower and upper doorways of the 
 Round Tower of, descrilxil, 402, 403. 
 
 origin of the church of, 403. 
 
 Sylloge. — See Ussher. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tadgan, or Tadhgan, inscribed tomb- 
 stone of, at Cloiunacnoise, 329. 
 
 chief of Teffia, at the close of the 
 
 ninth century, 329 ; progenitor of the 
 Foxes, ib. ; period at which he flou- 
 rished, 330. 
 
 Tailtenn, or Taillteann, pagan cemetery 
 of, 98, 99, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106. 
 
 annual marriage custom of, 39. 
 
 battle of, 40. 
 
 sports of, 48. 
 
 number of mounds at, 106. 
 
 Tallaght, Martyrology of — See Martyro- 
 
 Tamlaghtard, tomb of St. Catanus at, 454. 
 
 Tanilaghtfinlagan, County of London- 
 derry, Round Tower ot', age of, 395. 
 
 Tamnach, ancient church of, founded by 
 St. Patrick, 180. 
 
 Tara, battle of in 974 ; 276. 
 
 court held by Cormac at, 97, 100. 
 
 History and Antiquities of, by the 
 
 Author, referred to, to disprove the 
 existence of a Tower at Tara, .39. 
 
 kings of, used to bury anciriitly at 
 
 Oenach Cruaehan, 98, 100. 
 departure of Lughaidli Laiuhfliaiia 
 
 from, 386, 387. 
 
 kings interred at, 9!*, 101. 
 
 or Teamhair, palace of, noticed liy 
 
 Comerford, 39- 
 
 St. Patrick at, 337. 
 
 unlawful that a king with a per- 
 
 sonal blemish should reside at, 98, 100. 
 Tassach, one of St. Patrick's artificers, 
 
 202. 
 Teach screptra, at Armagh, 148, 150;
 
 520 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 noise, prostrated, 270. 
 remains of, treated of, 267- 
 
 271 ; chancel archway of, described, 
 267, 268; measurements of archway of, 
 268; age of church of, 268-271. 
 Round Tower attached to, 188, 
 
 domus Scripturarum sanctarum, a mis- 
 translation of tlio name, by O'Conor, 
 149; translated Bibliotheca, by Colgan, 
 150; translated the Libmri/ by Mageo- 
 ghegan, ib. 
 
 Teamhair, or Tarah, palace of, noticed by 
 Comerford, 39- 
 
 TeampullBeagMhioDuach, on the greater 
 Island of Aran, dimensions and age of, 
 351. 
 
 Teampull Chormaic, 290, 291, 312 — See 
 Cormac's Chapel. 
 
 Teampull Finghin, or Fineeu's church, 
 at Clonmacnoise, historical notice of, 
 
 269. 
 
 the cemetery of the Mac Carthy 
 
 family, 269, 271. 
 the great oak of, at Clonmac- 
 
 267, 271, 393 ; detailed description of, 
 416,417. 
 
 Teampull Mac Diarmuid at Clonmacnoise, 
 274. 
 
 Teampull Mor Mhic Duach, cluirch erect- 
 ed by St. Colman Mac Duach, on the 
 Great Island of Aran, 176, 177 ; door- 
 way of. 176, 177- 
 
 Teampull naSourney, dimensions of, 351. 
 
 Teffia, chief of, 329; chiefs of, 330, 331. 
 
 Teige, the brother of Cormac Mac Carthy, 
 312. 
 
 Telach Ard, near Trim, Round Tower of, 
 burned, 376. 
 
 Telach n-ionmainne in Ossory, supposed 
 to be the present TuUamaine, near Cal- 
 lan, in the County of Kilkenny, cloic- 
 theach or belfry of, split by lightning 
 in 1121, according to the Four Masters, 
 (56. 
 
 Temhair Erann, a pagan cemetery, 98, 
 100, 106, 107. 
 
 Temhair Erann, tlie burial place of the 
 Clann Dedad, 99, 101. 
 
 Temple Conor at Clonmacnoise, treated of, 
 275, 276; age of, and by whom erected, 
 276 ; doorway of, 275, 276 ; present 
 state of church, 276. 
 
 Temple Fineen at Clonmacnoise, orisin' of 
 the name, 269, 270 — See Teampull 
 Finghin. 
 
 Temple Geal, County of Kerry, Ogham in- 
 scription on pillar-stone at ancient ora- 
 tory of, 136. 
 
 Templepatrick, small church called, on 
 the island of Inis an Ghoill Chraibh- 
 thigh, now Inchaguile, in Lough Cor- 
 rib, Co. Gal way, 164; doorway of, ib. ; 
 age of church, 164-168 ; sepulchral 
 inscription at, 164, 165, 168. 
 
 Temples, none used by the ancient Per- 
 sians, 30. 
 
 Templum, application of, by Irish wri- 
 ters, 144, 145, 152, 153. 
 
 Tempull, origin and application of word, 
 143-145, 151-153, 158. 
 
 Tempull Bhrighde at Armagh, 151. 
 
 Tempull Ceanannach, on Inis Meadhoin, or 
 the Middle Island of Aran, in the Bay 
 of Galway, style of masonry, &c., of, 
 188, 189 ; notice of the saint whose 
 name it bears, 189. 
 
 Tempull Finghin, at Clonmacnoise, style 
 of masonry of Round Tower belfry of, 
 188. 
 
 Tempull Gerailt, daimhliag of Mayo, usual- 
 ly so called, 144, 145. 
 
 Tempull na bh-Fearta, at Armagh, 153 ; 
 Latin translation of latter part of name, 
 ib. 
 
 . erected by St. Patrick, 158; 
 
 called Ecclesia De Ferta, and Ferta^ 
 Martyrum juxta Arddmache, in Book 
 of Armagh, ib. 
 
 Termann Feichin, now Termonfeckin, in 
 the County of Louth, monastery of, 
 394 ; great church of, ib. 
 
 Termoncronan, in the parish of Carron,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 52.1 
 
 barony of Burren, and County of Clart', 
 St. Cronan's church at, window of, 184. 
 
 Teutonic nations, 68. 
 
 Thabor, Mount, description of ancient 
 monastery on, 421, 422. 
 
 Tliesaurus Teniporum, 46. 
 
 Thomond, princes of, 139- 
 
 [lord of], 311. 
 
 Tiaghs or satchels for books, treated of, 
 339, 340. 
 
 Tiffhernach, Annals oi.—See Annals. 
 
 continuator of, referred to, 310. 
 
 Tighernach, St., ofClones, mother of, 348, 
 349. 
 
 Tigh Moling, now St. Mullin's, County of 
 Carlow, St. Moling of, 348. 
 
 Tillemann Frize, M., his Miintz-Spiegel 
 referred to, 2 1 2. 
 
 Tillemont, his opinion concerning the re- 
 lations of St. Patrick, 168. 
 
 Timahoe, in the Queen's County, original 
 founder and patron saint of, 239. 
 
 Bound Tower of, 235, 239 ; door- 
 way of, exhibits peculiarities not found 
 in bviildings of the Norman times, 234 ; 
 description of doorway of, 234-238 ; com- 
 parison of, with details of the ancient 
 ornamented church of Eathain, or Ea- 
 hin, 242, 243. 
 
 human bones stated to have 
 
 been discovered in, 71 ; Author's ob- 
 servations on this statement, 78, 82 ; 
 human bones and a sepulchral urn 
 stated, on the authority of Sir William 
 Betham, to have been found in, 88 ; ob- 
 servations on, 91, 92 ; statement as to 
 the discovery of a pagan urn, filled with 
 human bones in, commented on, 417- 
 420. 
 
 Tinne Eigln of the Highlands, probably a 
 remnant of the ancient Belltaine, account 
 of, given by Dr. Martin, 38 ; Dr. Mar- 
 tin's explanation of the term, 38. 
 
 Tiprait Finghin, a holy well at Clonmac- 
 noise, origin of the name, 270. 
 
 Tir Cronin, 340. 
 
 Tirechan, Annotations of, in tlie Book of 
 Armagh, quoted or referred to, 12(), 
 142, 161, 166, 179, ISO, 193,220, 338. 
 — See Book of Armagh. 
 
 Tirerrill, Barony, County of Sligo, ancient 
 name of, 1 80. 
 
 TirOililla, now anglicised Tirerrill,Couiity 
 of Sligo, 180. 
 
 Tlachtgha, fair of, celebrated with fires, 
 28, 39. 
 
 Tobar Maine, at Aghannagh, County t)f 
 Sligo, whence called, 180 See Munius. 
 
 Tobar na druadh. County of Kilkenny. 
 453. 
 
 Toi, church of, at Armagh, 147. 
 
 Toirdhelbhach, King of Counauglit, 144,' 
 145. 
 
 Toirdhelbhach, or Turlough O'Conor, 
 monarch of Ireland. — See O'Conor. 
 
 Toirinis, " which was called Tor Conn- 
 ing," Vallancey's explanation of, 14 ; 
 author's opinion as to the origin of the 
 name, ib. 
 
 Tomb, ancient, at the church of Boveva, 
 in the County of Londonderry, 454, 455. 
 
 Tombs of the ancient Irish ecclesi- 
 astics, architecture of, 453, 454, 455. 
 
 on the Islands of Aran, like 
 
 pagan monuments, 453. 
 
 Tombstones, ancient Irish, ornaments com- 
 mon on, 259, 325-331, 342. 
 
 Tomgraney, County of Clare, Eound Tower 
 of, repaired, 277, 389, 390. 
 
 erection of the great church 
 
 and Eound Tower of, 380. 
 
 Tor See Tur. 
 
 Torach, a name for Tory Island, 15. 
 
 Toracha Insula, a Latinising of Torach, 
 ib. 
 
 Tor-Breoghain, 43. 
 
 Tor-Conuiug, a name for Toirinis, 43 ; 
 Vallancey's explanation of, 14 ; Author's 
 opinion as to the origin of the name, ib. 
 
 Torna Eiges, the poet, 106. 
 
 Ciarraigi, given as a reward to. 
 
 106, 107. 
 
 3 X
 
 522 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Torus, or bead moulding, used in door- 
 ways of ancient Irish churches, 178, 180. 
 
 Tory Island, off the north coast of the 
 County of Donegal, derivation of name 
 of, 14. 
 
 monastery of, foundation of, 
 
 406. 
 
 Round Tower of, 15 ; door- 
 way of, 406. 
 
 Tower of the patriarch Jacob, near Beth- 
 lehem, 17. 
 
 Tower of St. Bridget, at Kildare, Val- 
 lancey's observations concerning the 
 name of, 26. 
 
 Towers, Anglo-Saxon, detached, 379. 
 
 ■ character of the ancient military, 
 
 in the British isles, 367- 
 
 Towns, birth usually given to, by monas- 
 teries, not to monasteries by towns, 35. 
 
 Traigh Tuirbi, now Turvy, County of 
 Dublin, origin of the name, 385, 386. 
 
 Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy 
 quoted, 36, 37. 
 
 of the Iberno-Celtic Society, 37. 
 
 Treana, i. e. Trians, or Thirds, of Armagh, 
 148, 150, 151 ; Dr. O'Conor's transla- 
 tion of, 148, 149. 
 
 Treasure-houses, monastic See Keeps. 
 
 Trees, a usual ornament in the immediate 
 vicinity of the ancient Irish churches, 
 64. 
 
 Tresc, the mound of. — See Dumha Tresc. 
 
 Trevet, Treoit, anciently Dumha Derglua- 
 chra, the burial-place of king Art, the 
 son of Conn, 99, 101. 
 
 duirtheach of, two hundred and 
 
 sixty persons burned in, 352. 
 
 Triangular-headed windows, examples of, 
 183, 184. 
 
 Trian masan, at Armagh, burned, 152. 
 
 Trian mor, at Armagh, burned, 152, 446. 
 
 Triau Saxon, at Armagh, burned, 446, 
 
 Trim, Irish name of, 375, 376. 
 
 church of, burned, 375, 376. 
 
 cloichtheach of, burned, 375, 376. 
 
 Trinity, church of the, at Glendalough, 
 
 window in, described, 183 ; chancel 
 arch of, 186. — See Glendalough. 
 
 Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, quoted or 
 referred to, 27, 165, 179, 193, 222, 337, 
 350, 383, 384, 429, 445 See Evin's. 
 
 Triquetra, an ancient ornament, siipposed 
 to be a mystical tyjje of the Trinity, 
 treated of, with examples, 323-325. 
 
 Truaghan, Dr. O'Conor's mistake of, for 
 Turaghan, and his explanation of the 
 latter, 49, 50 ; Mr. O'Reilly's observa- 
 tions on the same, 50 ; Mr. O'Dono- 
 van's observations on the same, 5 1 ; Dr. 
 O'Conor's mistake in deciphering of, 
 accounted for by Author, 5 1 ; explana- 
 tion of the word, 52. 
 
 Trummery, County of Antrim, Round 
 Tower of, age of, 395. 
 
 Trumpet, a kind of, dug up in the neigh- 
 bourhood of some of the Towers, 69- 
 
 Tuaim Greine, cloictheach or Round Tower 
 of, renewed, 277. — See Tomgraney. 
 
 Tuam, archbishop of, letter of, and his 
 suffragans, written about the year 1214, 
 171; quoted, 172. 
 
 archiepiscopal crozier of, 314, 315, 
 
 316. 
 
 cathedral of, rebuilt, 272 ; treated 
 
 of, 314-319; age of, considered, 314- 
 317 ; characteristic features of the chan- 
 cel of, described, 317-319; great stone 
 cross at, 315, 316, 317; inscriptions on 
 the base of, 315, 316, Irish inscriptions 
 formerly in the choir of the present 
 church of Tuam, 314, 315. 
 
 stone cross at, age of, purpose of 
 
 erection of, &c., 272. 
 Tuathal, abbot of Clonmacnoise, 113. 
 Tuatha De Dananns, 14. 
 Tuatha De Dananns, the nobles of the, 
 
 buried at Brugh, 99, 101, 106; seven 
 
 of, interred at Tailtenn, 106. » 
 otherwise called Siabhras, said 
 
 by some to have killed KingCormac, 98. 
 sepulchral monuments of, 102, 
 
 103.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 523 
 
 Tuatha De Danann, original country of, 
 127; character of buildings of, 127, 129. 
 
 race, characteristics of, 387. 
 
 Tuirbi Traghmar, the father of the Goban 
 Saer, legend concerning, 386, 387 ; pro- 
 bable race of, 386, 387. 
 
 Tulach in bhiaU, near Turvy, County of 
 Dublin, 386. 
 
 Tullaherin, County of Kilkenny, Eound 
 Tower of, compared with the great 
 Tower of Clonmacnoise, 412, 413 ; up- 
 per apertures of, 413. 
 
 Tullamaine, County of Kilkenny. — See 
 Telach-n-ionmainne. 
 
 Tur, or tor, a tower, not derived from 
 the Latin, but from a common source, 
 117. 
 
 Turaghan, 70. 
 
 Turaghan Angcoire, erroneously explained 
 " Fire-tower of the Anchorite," 71. 
 
 Turas, explanation of the word, 118, 119, 
 120. 
 
 Turkish mosques, turrets in the neigh- 
 bourhood of, 69. 
 
 Turlough, King of Connaught. — See Toir- 
 dhelbhach. 
 
 Turris, the Latin word, never applied 
 by the Irish to a tour, or penance, in 
 the Irish language, nor ever adopted by 
 the Irish into their own language, 117- 
 
 Turvey, in the County of Dublin. — See 
 Traigh Tuirbi. 
 
 Tyre, temple of, two columns at, dedicated 
 to the wind and to fire, 69- 
 
 u. 
 
 Ua Briain, Conchobhar, King of Munster, 
 308. 
 
 Ua Ceallaigh Diarmaid, abbot of Eathain, 
 245. 
 
 Saerbhrethach, abbot of Ea- 
 thain, 245. 
 
 Ua Conchobhair, Toirdhelbbach, King of 
 Connaught, 308.— fe O'Conor. 
 
 3 
 
 Ua Maelsechlainn, Murcath, King of 
 Mcath, 308. 
 
 Uamnach, airchinneach of Lciudruim, 340. 
 
 Ua Ruaidhne, Flannchadh. — See Flann- 
 chadh. 
 
 Ua Suanaigh, St. Fidhairle, abbot of Ea- 
 thain, historical notices of, &c., 245 ; 
 successors of, 245, 246; new establish- 
 ment at Kathain founded by, 245. 
 
 Ua Suanaigh's Cross at Eathain, 246. 
 
 Ui Amhalgaidh, annual meeting of, 107, 
 108. 
 
 Ui Briuin, poet of, 308. 
 
 Ui Drona, lord of, 286, 287, 340. 
 
 Ui Eachdach. — See Iveagh. 
 
 Ui Fiachrach Aidhne, 380. — See Aidhne. 
 
 Ui Focertaidh, plundered Clonmacnoise, 
 273, 274. 
 
 Ui Neill, northern, 226 ; southern, do. ib. 
 
 Ui Neill race, southern, cemetery of, 330. 
 
 Ui Neill, southern, chief steward of, 409- 
 
 Ui NiaUain, familia de, a quo, 158. 
 
 Ui Eiagain, 41, 42. 
 
 Uisneach, palace of, noticed by Comerford, 
 39. 
 
 convocation of, fires lighted at, 
 
 ib. 
 
 Mons, 159; stones of, cursed by 
 
 SS. Patrick and Secundinus, 160. 
 
 Uladh, king of, 308. 
 
 Ulidia, devastated, 203. 
 
 king of, 151, 152. 
 
 Ulster, the chiefs of, buried at TaHtenn, 
 99, 101, 105, 106. 
 
 Unga, or ounce, 221. 
 
 Universal History referred to, 46. 
 
 Urn, pagan, found within tlie Tower of 
 Timahoe, stated by Sir William Betham 
 to have contained cremated bones, 81 ; 
 comments on this statement, 417, 420. 
 
 with Iniman bones stated to have 
 
 been found in the Tower of Aber- 
 nethy, 88 ; comments on this statement, 
 91, 92. 
 
 Urns, cinerary, dug out of old pagan cairns 
 and tumuli, 72. 
 
 X 2
 
 524 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Urns, or jars, pieces of, and sundry other 
 articles, stated by Mr. Black to have 
 been found witliin the Tower of Brechin, 
 94, 95. 
 
 sepulchral, 102. 
 
 Ussher, archbishop, his Primordia quoted 
 or referred to, 126, 196. 
 
 his Eeport on the Diocese of 
 
 Meath, quoted, 268. 
 
 MS. of the Registry of Clonmac- 
 
 noise in the possession of, 268. 
 his Sylloge quoted, 216. 
 
 Utensils, belonging to the altar, skill of 
 the ancient Irish ecclesiastics in the art 
 of manufacturing, 202. 
 
 V. 
 
 Valentia, Lord, Eound Towers discovered 
 
 by, in India, 29. — See Bhaugulpore. 
 Vallancey, General, the originator of the 
 
 theory of the pagan uses of the Round 
 
 Towers, 12. 
 • his Essay on the Antiquity of 
 
 the Irish Language quoted, 12, 13. 
 his conjecture as to the Phoeni- 
 
 cian or Indo-Scythian origin of the 
 Round Towers, and their uses as fire- 
 temples, and for various other purposes, 
 stated and refuted, 12-30. 
 his fanciful derivations of Irish 
 
 words and names, 13-27, 453. 
 his translation of fid neimead. 
 
 61. 
 
 his Collectanea quoted, 134, 135. 
 
 the first writer who attributed 
 
 to the Round Towers any other than a 
 
 Christian, or at least, a medieval origin, 
 
 359. 
 Vedrafiord, or Vedra's Ford, a name of 
 
 Waterford, 262. 
 Veils, linen, which screened the sanctriary 
 
 of Kildare, 198, 199, 205 ; such veils 
 
 suspended in all the ancient churches, 
 
 205, 206. 
 Virgin, Blessed, none of the ancient Irish 
 
 churches dedicated to, previously to 
 the twelfth century, 173. 
 Vossius, opinion of, 200. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wall, broad, of stones, surrounded the 
 ancient monastic establishments, 128. 
 — See Cashel. 
 
 Walsh, Peter, author of the Prospect of 
 Ireland, his assertion as to the origin 
 and uses of the Round Towers, 5, 6; 
 his assertion as to the non-existence of 
 stone buildings in Ireland before A. D. 
 838 ; 6. 
 
 Ward, his Life of St. Eomuald, referred 
 to, 137. 
 
 Ware, Sir James, his statement that the 
 Irish did not begin to build with stone 
 and mortar until the twelfth century, 
 122, 123; refutation of this statement, 
 127. et seq. 
 
 Book of Armagh, so named by, 334. 
 
 assertion of, 310; opinions of, 200, 
 
 224, 269; quoted in English, 278, 281 ; 
 referred to, 328. 
 
 his Antiquities of Ireland referred 
 
 to, or quoted, 7, 314, 426. 
 
 Irish MS. translated into Ensrlish 
 
 for, 269. 
 
 his Bishops referred to, 203. 
 
 Harris's edition of his Bishops quoted 
 
 or referred to, 272, 275. 
 
 Ware, Dr. Hibbert, of York, opinion of, 
 communicated to Author, 379- 
 
 Warner, the historian, 66. 
 
 Watch-To wers and Beacons, theory of the 
 use of the Round Towers exclusively 
 as, rejected, 121; in conjunction with 
 other uses, advocated, 121 See Bea- 
 cons. 
 
 Waterford, called Vedrafiord, or Vedra's 
 Ford, by the Danes, 262. 
 
 engagement of the Danes and 
 
 Irish at, 262. 
 
 Wattles, churches built of, 124, 142. 
 
 ^
 
 INDEX. 
 
 525 
 
 Wattles, churches built with, and oak 
 timber, 125. 
 
 houses built with, and oak tim- 
 ber, 125. 
 
 Weapons, found in the monumental re- 
 mains in Ireland, 102. 
 
 WeU, holy, called Tobar Maine, at Agluvn- 
 nagh, County of Sligo, 180. 
 
 Wells, blessed by St. Columbkille, 339. 
 
 Well-worship, Dr. O'Conor's remarks on, 
 quoted, 118. 
 
 Werner, bishop of Strasburgh, 212. 
 
 Wilkin, Mr., his description of Melbourne 
 Church, in Derbyshire, referred to, 441. 
 
 William the Conqueror, 211, 227- 
 
 Winchester, marble font in cathedral of, 
 294. 
 
 new tower at, used as a beacon, 
 
 379. 
 
 ■ old church and tower of, 379. 
 
 AVindele, Mr., of Cork, his arguments in 
 support of the hypothesis, that the 
 Eound Towers were used as fire-tem- 
 ples, and occasionally, in part, as places 
 of pagan sepulture, with Author's re- 
 futation thereof, 70-109. 
 
 fragment of Ogham inscription, 
 
 stated to have been discovered by, in the 
 nave of the ruined church of Ardmore, 
 County of Waterford, 79. 
 
 Windows, of ancient Irish churches, num- 
 ber and description of, 1G2. 
 
 characteristic forms of, with 
 
 examples, 181-185. 
 
 many in the ancient church of 
 
 Kildare, 198, 199, 201. 
 remarkable circular one, richly 
 
 ornamented, in the ancient cluirch of 
 Rathain, King's County, 243, 244 ; in 
 Cormac's Chapel, at Casliel, 304. 
 
 Withern. — See Candida Casa. 
 
 Wood, the custom of building both houses 
 and churches with oak timber and wat- 
 
 tles, a peculiar characteristic of the 
 
 Scotic race, 125. 
 Wood, church at Lindisfarno, built by 
 
 Bishop Finian, of sawn wood, covered 
 
 with reeds, "more Scotorum," 125, 126. 
 ■ St. Bernard's remarks on a cliapel 
 
 made of timber, built at Bangor, by 
 
 St. Malachy, as given by Ware (Harris's 
 
 ed.), 123. 
 Dr. Lanigan's assertion, that the 
 
 ancient Irish churches were usually 
 built of, 127. 
 
 chapels, or oratories of oak, 345 ; 
 
 oratories, or duirtheachs of, 345-350. 
 churches built of, 125, 12^, 127. 
 
 —See Wattles. 
 
 houses built of, 127. 
 
 churches built of wattles and 
 
 boards, 142. 
 church of Kildare erroneously sup- 
 
 posed to have been built of, 200. 
 most probable that, in their mo- 
 
 nastic houses and oratories, the Irish 
 continued the Scotic mode of building 
 with wood, in most parts of Ireland, 
 till the twelfth or thirteenth century, 
 141. 
 roofs of, in ancient churches, 186, 
 
 187. 
 
 Works, earthen military, shown to be 
 Irish, not Danish, 8. 
 
 Yew-tree planted by St. Patrick at Newry, 
 burned, 64; planted by St. Kevin at 
 Glendalough, 64. 
 
 Zend, language, 24. 
 
 Zerdust or Zcrdusht, Zoroaster, 21, 32. 
 
 Zig-zag moulding See Chevron. 
 
 Zoroaster, 21, 32, 67, 70. 
 
 THE END.
 
 i^ 
 
 V 
 
 I' 
 
 '^ /
 
 ;5? 
 
 ♦^ 
 
 WITOJO^' ^OJITVDJOV 
 
 CS? 
 
 ^^m% 
 
 
 J* 
 
 -< 
 
 ^A 
 
 hoi\mi^'i' %oi\miQ'^ 
 
 CAIIF0% 
 
 .^0FCA1IF0% 
 
 
 ^W[■UNIVER5•//i 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 
 ,avnani^^ 
 
 
 l)NIVER% ^lOS^CtU 
 
 UNIVERS/A 
 
 %a3AiNii]\ 
 
 ^lOSANCfl/ 
 
 o 
 DNVSOl^ 
 
 %a3AiNn]V 
 
 IBRARYd?/ 
 
 ^ a;iMUBRARY( 
 
 J^i I 
 
 juvj-jo"^ ^.jojnvjjc 
 
 CAllFOP^ ^OFCAilFO/? 
 
 ^11 
 
 ivaaiH'^'^ ^(JAavaaii-y 
 
 JNIVERJ/A 
 
 ^lOSANCflf, 
 
 }NVS01' 
 INIVERJ/A 
 
 
 %a3AIN(l-3WV' 
 
 University of California 
 
 SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 Return this material to the library 
 
 from which it was borrowed. 
 
 muR-gCj^i^ 
 
 »,^^ 2 3 ISSI 
 
 fir ^irjowr 
 
 %aaAiNn3\V^ 
 
 ^lOSANC[lfj> 
 
 
 <;;OFCAIIFO% 
 
 
 .-^OFCAIIFO% 
 
 
 
 Ki 
 
 sf 
 
 i 
 
 -n 
 
 I 
 
 fe 
 
 .^;OFCAIIFO% 
 
 ^CAavaall•l'^'^ 
 
 ^lOSANCE[fj> 
 
 ^Aa3AIN(l]l\V^ 
 
 ^lOSME[fj> 
 
 o ■ ^ 
 
 %a3AINM-3\\V^ 
 
 r^ ^tllBRARYO/: 
 
 1 ? 
 
 ^;OFCAIIFO% 
 
 
 of,lOSANCElfj> 
 
 ^smmm^ ^/^a3AiNn-3i\v' 
 
 .^WE■UNIVERi•//, 
 
 vlOSANCElfj> 
 
 ^avaaii-i^^ ^-tjijon-vsoi^^ "^ahimnmiwv 
 
 BRARYO/: 
 
 SI 
 
 :aiifo% 
 vaaiii^ 
 
 ^tllBRARYQc 
 
 ^.OFCA1IFO% 
 
 .^\UyNIVERS/A 
 
 ^>;lOS/\NCElfj> 
 
 "^nwrnm^ 
 
 .\yEUNIVER5'/A 
 
 5 ^— '' •- £? 
 
 ^<?Aavaaii-i'<^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 ■^/ya3AiN(i3i\v^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 o 
 
 <rjHDNVS01^ 
 
 > -< 
 ■%a3AINI13WV^ 
 
 ^ILlBRARYOc 
 
 ^^t-llBRARYO/ 
 
 ij - - — ' ^ 
 
 
 ,-;iOFCAllF0% 
 
 ^<yo3iivjjo'^ 
 
 ^OFCAIIFO/?^ 
 
 ^OAavaaii# 
 
 -^^^Aavaany*^
 
 )i i^\i i(SA)i lv2A)i i:n 
 
 ..^ %,i^.l0 ♦.^n:::.:^ ♦J^.^s^ ^ri. 
 
 ^^"^ %83AINI13WV^ 
 
 K 
 
 o 
 
 i 
 
 O 
 
 
 , -< 
 
 %a3AiNnmv^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ ^.OFCAllfOff^ 
 
 '^<?Aavaaiii^^ '^OAavaaii^^ 
 
 ?^^^§ 
 
 %mmov 
 
 .^Mt•l!MVtW/A ^vlOSANCFlfjv 
 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 
 IFOS-^ 
 
 ^tfojnvjjo'f^ 
 
 ^OFCAIIFO/?^ 
 
 5MM)NIVER% ^lOSANCFlfj"^ 
 
 >&Aav!iaii#- 
 
 ^JJUWSOV"^ 
 
 .^V\E■UNIVERJ/A. 
 
 (-1 
 
 ■^/sajAiNiimv 
 
 ^■lOSANCflfj-^ 
 
 ■^/iajAiNiimv^ 
 
 ^>^l-llBRARYaf^ ^^MIBRARYd?A 
 
 D 000 041 237 9 
 .4^ . A>\- ■::::r"''5r 
 
 ^<?Aavn8iH^ *%A!ivaaiii^'^ 
 
 VER5/^ .^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj^ 
 
 ^^lllBRARYQr 
 i? 1 It—' ^ 
 
 -5j^VllBRARYQ<;^ 
 
 soi=^ "^/iajAiNnwv^ %Qi\miQ^ '^•i/ojitojo^ 
 
 .\WEUNIVERJ/A 
 
 o 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 "^/ia^AiNnjwv^ 
 
 ^ERJ/A ^lOSANCfl^^ 
 
 ■sov"<>' "^/jaaAiNnrnv^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^^^ 
 
 '^OAavHaiH'^^ 
 
 ^OAavaaiH^ 
 
 aWEUNIVERJ/a 
 
 o 
 '^•rj]33NYSOV<^ 
 
 ^lOSANCflfj-^ 
 
 %a3AINI1]WV^ 
 
 •VRYO/-, ^lllBRARYQc^ 
 
 ^WJIIVJJO^ 
 
 ,^W[liNIVERj•/A. 
 
 ^lOSANCflfj-^ 
 
 '■TiUDNVSOl^ ^AajAINfiaWv 
 
 -^lllBRARYQ^ 
 
 ^^lllBRARYO/;^ 
 
 —; a 
 
 ^OJIIVJJO^ 
 
 ^.JOJIlVJJO'i^ 
 
 IFO% ,-;;OFCAllFO%, 
 
 
 .^«^INIVERJ/A. 
 ^1 cxF*'^ 
 
 ^lOSANCFlfj-^ 
 
 o ^' 
 
 <rji]DNvsoi^ "^/iaBAiNnm^^ 
 
 ^OFCAIIFO/?^ 
 
 ^OAavaan-1^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOff^ 
 
 ^<?Aavaanis^^ 
 
 milt. 
 
 ^vlOSWCFlfj-^ 
 
 39 
 > 
 30 
 
 t -< 
 
 "%a3AIN(l-3ftV^ 
 
 ^tUBRARYQ^^ 
 
 A^tllBRARYQr 
 
 %OJI1V3JO'<^ 
 
 5 
 
 A\\El)NIVER%. 
 
 o 
 
 ^lOSANCElfj> 
 
 "^/^a^AINllJWV^ 
 
 ^lOSANCElfr^ 
 
 %a3AiNn]ftV 
 
 j^;OFCAllF0ff^ 
 
 ^OFCAllFOSV 
 
 ^OAavaani'^ 
 
 ^<7Aavaain'^'*' 
 
 ,^MEUNIVERS/A 
 
 < 
 
 ^lOSANCElfr^ 
 
 '^ilDNVSOl^ 
 
 ■^/ia3AIN(U\Vi>