Standing as one of Ireland’s best-preserved round towers, the Grangefertagh example rises majestically to 31.5 meters through eight stories, maintaining its conical stone roof and representing a masterpiece of medieval Irish ecclesiastical architecture. Despite surviving in excellent condition, the tower bears witness to dramatic historical events, including a tragic fire in 1156 that claimed the life of a prominent scholar.

Tragic Historical Event

According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the round tower was burned in 1156 along with “Eochaidh O’Cuim, the Chief Master” who was inside at the time. This devastating event represents one of the most poignant documented incidents in Irish round tower history, highlighting these structures’ use as places of refuge and study. The title “Chief Master” suggests O’Cuim was a senior scholar or ecclesiastical figure, emphasizing the tower’s role as a center of learning within the monastic community.

Local Traditions and Folk Memory

The tower remains known locally by its Irish name “Cloigtheach” (bell-house), preserving the linguistic connection to its original function. Local tradition, recorded in the Ordnance Survey Letters, maintains that “its bells are buried in a swamp a little to the west, since the time of Cromwell”—reflecting folk memory of the traumatic mid-17th century when religious artifacts were often hidden or destroyed during the Cromwellian period.

Exceptional Preservation

The tower demonstrates remarkable survival, constructed from roughly dressed coursed limestone and tapering elegantly as it rises. The base measures 4.7 meters external diameter with 2.7 meters internal diameter, narrowing to 2 meters at the top. Wall thickness reduces from approximately 1 meter at the base to 0.9 meters at the summit, showing the medieval builders’ understanding of structural requirements.

Most remarkably, the tower survives “up to and including the lower portion of its conical stone roof”—making it one of the few Irish round towers to preserve significant portions of its original cap. This survival provides invaluable evidence about medieval roofing techniques and the towers’ complete architectural form.

The Missing Doorway

One of the tower’s most intriguing features is its problematic entrance. The doorway in the northeast face sits 3.42 meters from the ground but was described in the OS Letters as “looking more like a breach in the wall than a regular doorway.” Originally, it was “built up with brown gritstone, of which no specimens can, they say, be met with in this country”—indicating the doorway surround was constructed from imported stone, emphasizing its importance.

Tragically, this unique stonework was lost to practical reuse. A local farmer named Switzer removed all the gritstone blocks “some few years ago,” believing they were fire-proof and placing them at the back of his kitchen fire, “where they soon flew to pieces.” This loss represents not just the destruction of medieval craftsmanship but also the ironic failure of the stones’ supposed fire-resistant properties.

Window Arrangement and Interior Access

The tower contains nine windows total—five in the main body and four triangular-headed windows on the bell floor facing the cardinal points. The body windows show variety in their design, featuring in ascending order: triangular-headed, two lintelled, and two triangular-headed openings. This arrangement provided controlled lighting throughout the tower’s eight levels.

Internally, each level was accessed by wooden ladders, allowing movement between floors while maintaining security. The eight-story arrangement made this one of the tallest round towers in terms of floor divisions, providing extensive space for storage, living, and bell-ringing activities.

19th-Century Conservation

The Board of Works undertook important conservation work in 1881, repairing several cracks in the tower and addressing damage to the doorway surround using cement. This early conservation effort helped preserve the tower for future generations, though it also illustrates the ongoing maintenance challenges faced by these ancient structures.