Rebuild suggestion for tower

A suggestion that the ancient round tower at Old Kilcullen be rebuilt has been made to Kilcullen Community Action.

Local veterinarian Vincent Nolan raised the idea through KCA's JJ Warren, suggesting that the origanisation might facilitate it as a heritage project.

There has been some discussion on the idea over recent meetings, but the concensus has been that further information on the tower is necessary.

Noel Clare said there is no evidence that the tower was ever completed with a conical top, typical of such constructions.

"There are drawings showing it taller than it is, with another window at a higher level," he noted.

The tower today is about 10m high and it has a round-headed doorway. This is less than 2m above ground level and about 1.7m high.

Ancient books such as the Annals of the Four Masters tell of Danish attacks on Kilcullen in 936 and 944 AD. This probably led to the construction of the tower.

The top parts suffered a lot during a nearby battle in the rebellion in 1798. An account written in 1782 tells of there being four large windows in the upper part of the tower.

Brian Byrne.