This site presents one of the more puzzling entries in Ireland’s round tower records, a tower that may never have existed at all. Located on high ground with commanding views of the surrounding countryside near Carlow, no surface remains of any round tower are visible today.

The only evidence for a round tower at Lorum comes from Ordnance Survey Letters from 1837-40, which recorded local traditions about a “steeple” associated with both St. Molaise and St. Laserian. The OS surveyors noted: “at Lorum, there was, it is said, an old Church before the present Parish one… which is now falling to ruin, was erected. The spot where it stood is shown in a field, a few perches to the northeast corner of the Parish Church and a few yards to southwest corner of a Church (C of I church) which is now in progress of being built. Tradition says there was a steeple (round tower) here.”

Crucially, the surveyors added a telling qualifier: “Tradition means here the local information of those who heard there was such a building here, but never saw it.” This suggests the “tradition” was based on hearsay rather than living memory or physical evidence.

Modern scholarship is skeptical about this supposed tower. According to round tower expert Barrow, “there is no other evidence for it and it is unconvincing. It is possible that it was confused with Kellistown”—referring to a genuine round tower site elsewhere in the region.

The case of Lorum serves as an important reminder of how local traditions can sometimes create “phantom” monuments, and highlights the careful detective work required to distinguish between genuine archaeological sites and later folklore. Without physical evidence or reliable historical documentation, the round tower at Lorum remains highly doubtful—a cautionary tale about the difference between tradition and historical fact.