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Title:	South Dublin Village Walks - Clondalkin Stop 3: Round Tower.
Authors:	South Dublin Libraries - Local Studies
Keywords:	South Dublin Village Walks Clondalkin Round Tower
Issue Date:	3-Sep-2013
Description:	South Dublin Village Walks - Clondalkin Stop 3: Round Tower. The outstanding ancient feature of Clondalkin village is its Round Tower. Built around 790 A.D. It is constructed of rough calp limestone with door and window openings framed with granite erratics. The tower may have been built to house the relics of St. Mochua or Crónán, who founded the monastery of Clondalkin in the late 5th Century. It is now accepted that one of the the main functions of a round tower was the safety and veneration of the relics of the monastery's founder. The height of the tower is calculated at 27.5m and the circumference immediately above the buttress is 12.7m. This makes it the most slender of the remaining measurable examples. The circumference ranges between 15 and 17 metres . The door is 4.20m above the pavement. An unusual feature is the offset around the base of the tower which is 1m thick and up which a flight of stone steps ascends to the door. This appears on all known views of the tower and dates back to at least 1727. This combined with the fact that it is almost cylindrical gives it the appearance of a rocket about to take off.
URI:	https://hdl.handle.net/10599/10656
Copyright:	South Dublin Libraries - Local Studies
Location:	Click here to view the location in Google Maps
Appears in Collections:	Published Items South Dublin Heritage Walks Collection

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