This vanished round tower at Kilbarry provides a detailed example of how Irish round towers were systematically destroyed and their materials reused during the 18th and 19th centuries. The tower’s story, from its collapse around 1770 to the final removal of its stump around 1830, illustrates the practical fate that befell many of these ancient monuments during Ireland’s period of agricultural improvement and development.

The Collapse of 1770

The round tower, which stood approximately 4.5 meters west of Tempall Mór (the Great Church), collapsed around 1770, joining the many Irish round towers that succumbed to structural failure during the 18th century. This collapse may have resulted from various factors: age-related deterioration of mortar, foundation settlement, weather damage, or possibly human interference that weakened the structure.

The specific dating of the collapse to around 1770 suggests this event was notable enough to be remembered and recorded by local residents, indicating the tower had been a significant landmark whose destruction marked an important change in the local landscape.

Sixty Years as a Stump

After the 1770 collapse, the tower’s base survived as a stump measuring 2.75-3.35 meters in diameter for approximately sixty years. This survival period demonstrates that even after collapse, substantial portions of round towers could persist as recognizable ruins, continuing to mark the site’s ecclesiastical significance.

The variation in diameter measurements (2.75-3.35 meters) may reflect either the irregular nature of the surviving remains or measurement differences, but suggests a tower of moderate size compared to other Irish examples.

Systematic Stone Removal, 1830

Around 1830, “the stump was removed,” representing the final obliteration of this ancient monument. This timing coincides with the period of intensive agricultural improvement and land clearance that characterized early 19th-century Ireland, when ancient ruins were often viewed as obstacles to progress and sources of valuable building materials.

Practical Reuse of Medieval Stones

The fate of the tower’s stones illustrates the practical economy that drove monument destruction: “some of its stones were incorporated into the graveyard wall.” This reuse pattern was extremely common, as medieval masonry provided high-quality building material that required no quarrying or preparation.

The incorporation of round tower stones into graveyard walls represents a form of inadvertent preservation, where fragments of the ancient monument continue to serve structural purposes within the same ecclesiastical context. These reused stones may still be identifiable today through their distinctive size, shape, or tooling marks.

The Surviving Conical Capstone

Most remarkably, the tower’s “conical capstone (diam. 0.46m; H 0.45m) with a mortice on top is just N of Teach Geal.” This survival represents an extraordinarily rare preservation of one of the most vulnerable elements of Irish round tower architecture. Conical capstones were typically the first elements lost when towers collapsed or were dismantled, making this example invaluable.

The capstone measures 46 centimeters in diameter and 45 centimeters high, providing precise evidence about the scale and proportions of round tower caps. The presence of “a mortice on top” indicates this capstone originally supported a cross or other crowning element, demonstrating the Christian symbolism that topped these ecclesiastical structures.

Archaeological Significance of the Capstone

The surviving capstone provides crucial evidence about round tower construction techniques and symbolic elements that is rarely available from other sites. The mortice hole confirms that Irish round towers were originally crowned with Christian symbols, probably stone or wooden crosses that emphasised their religious function.

The capstone’s current location “just N of Teach Geal” suggests it was preserved and relocated rather than being incorporated into other construction, indicating some recognition of its archaeological or symbolic value even when the main tower was destroyed for practical purposes.

Relationship to Tempall Mór

The tower’s position approximately 4.5 meters west of Tempall Mór (the Great Church) places it within the broader ecclesiastical complex at Kilbarry, where it would have served the traditional round tower functions of bell-ringing, storage, and symbolic representation of monastic authority.

The proximity to the Great Church suggests a carefully planned medieval layout where the round tower was positioned to complement rather than compete with the main ecclesiastical building, probably providing acoustic and visual coordination for religious services.

Pattern of Systematic Destruction

The Kilbarry tower’s fate; collapse, persistence as a ruin, final removal for building materials—represents a common pattern that affected dozens of Irish round towers during the 18th and 19th centuries. This systematic destruction reflects changing attitudes toward ancient monuments and the practical pressures of agricultural improvement and development.

Documentation and Memory

The preservation of specific dates (c. 1770 for collapse, c. 1830 for removal) and precise measurements demonstrates how local communities maintained detailed knowledge about their ancient monuments even as they participated in their destruction. This documentation provides valuable evidence about monument loss that complements archaeological and architectural studies of surviving examples.

Conservation Lessons

The Kilbarry case illustrates both the challenges and opportunities in monument preservation. While the tower itself was lost, the survival of the capstone and the incorporation of stones into the graveyard wall show different forms of preservation that maintained connections to the original monument.