This round tower exists now only in historical memory and scattered stones, but its story offers a fascinating glimpse into how Ireland’s medieval monuments have been lost over the centuries.

The tower once stood in the southwest section of Brigown graveyard, about 30 yards from the southwest corner of the church. According to local accounts recorded by historian Moore, the structure survived largely intact until 1720, when a violent storm brought down most of it, leaving only a 15-foot fragment standing. Even this remnant didn’t last long—by 1807, the remaining base was completely removed to provide building stone for a nearby glebe house (which has since been demolished).

During the 1807 dismantling, workers discovered that the tower had been built on a square foundation. At one corner, they found a fragment of a large inscribed stone with three rows of letters. While the inscription was largely illegible, the letters H, U, and O could still be made out, along with what appeared to be repeated P’s and C’s or G’s—tantalizing evidence of some long-lost dedication or memorial.

Moore believed that twelve stones from the original round tower were later incorporated into the southwest corner of the graveyard wall, positioned close to where the tower originally stood. The rounded external corner of the graveyard, built from large, well-coursed sandstone blocks, may indeed contain these recycled medieval stones, identifiable by their distinctive shape and color.The tower’s historical importance extends beyond its physical remains. The Annals record that Brigown was attacked and plundered by Norsemen in 839 AD, when it was described as having both an ecclesiastical tower and a church. The medieval text Crichad an Chaoille notes that Brigown had its own “aistre”—a minor ecclesiastical officer specifically responsible for bell-ringing, suggesting the tower served its traditional function as a bell tower for the monastic community.