Standing in the south sector of a roadside graveyard, this well-preserved round tower forms part of an early monastic foundation at Taghadoe. Rising 19.8 meters through five stories, it represents one of the most complete surviving round towers in County Kildare, despite being roofless and showing evidence of various modifications over the centuries.

Construction and Dimensions

The tower has an external diameter of 4.96 meters and internal diameter of 2.54 meters, with walls 1.02 meters thick at the doorway level. Built from roughly coursed, poor-quality slatey limestone, the structure sits on a slightly projecting plinth that extends just 10 centimeters beyond the main wall face. While the limestone quality may be described as “poor,” the tower’s survival to nearly 20 meters height demonstrates the effectiveness of medieval building techniques.

The Doorway Mystery

The round, three-stone arched doorway presents one of the tower’s most intriguing features. Positioned 3.5 meters above ground level and facing south-southeast, it measures 1.57 meters high and tapers from 66 centimeters wide at the base to 58 centimeters at the springing point. The doorway is predominantly granite with some limestone in the east jamb—a material mix that expert Lennox-Barrow interprets as “an uncompleted attempt to replace an original limestone doorway with one of granite.”

This suggests the tower underwent a significant medieval renovation project that was never finished, leaving us with a doorway that tells the story of changing architectural ambitions or interrupted construction work. Above the center stone of the arch, a weathered stone may have been decorated with a human head, though erosion makes this difficult to confirm.

Interior Organisation and Lighting

The five-story interior organization is marked by setbacks in the wall face measuring 5-10 centimeters wide, which would have supported wooden flooring at each level. This system allowed for multiple functional spaces within the tower while maintaining structural integrity.

Three windows with inclined jambs and square tops provide interior lighting: one on the second floor facing west, another on the third floor above the doorway facing south-southeast, and a third at the probable fourth-floor level facing west-northwest. This arrangement ensures light reaches the interior throughout most of the day.

A ring of small, square putlog holes just below the tower’s top provides evidence of the scaffolding used during original construction, offering rare insight into medieval building techniques.

Later Modifications and Use

The tower’s history extends well beyond the medieval period. In the 19th century, a doorway was inserted at ground level to allow coal storage for heating the nearby church—a practical adaptation that shows how these ancient structures continued to serve community needs. This ground-level entrance has since been blocked up, but its presence demonstrates the tower’s continuous use and adaptation over centuries.

Architectural Significance

The combination of the mixed-material doorway, evidence of renovation work, and later practical adaptations makes Taghadoe’s round tower particularly valuable for understanding how these structures evolved over time. The “uncompleted” granite doorway replacement provides rare physical evidence of medieval renovation projects, while the 19th-century coal storage adaptation shows the practical reuse of ancient monuments.