Survey Data
Reg No
13705100
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Archaeological, Architectural, Historical, Social, Technical
Original Use
Bell tower/stand
Date
1230 - 1250
Coordinates
305356, 307520
Date Recorded
11/07/2005
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Corner-sited freestanding former bell tower to Franciscan friary, built c. 1240. Square-profile tower, exposed random rubble walls, buttresses to all elevations, crow stepped crenellated parapet. Pointed arch traceried window opening and pointed arch window openings. Square-headed door opening with stone lintel, vertically sheeted timber door accessed by flight of stone steps. Bell tower situated on corner. Recent protective railing encases tower to south and west, squared rubble wall with coping to north. Plaques to west elevation.
Appraisal
This tower was once the bell tower to the Franciscan friary which occupied this site. The Friary no longer survives yet the tower remains as a fitting monument to a past period in Irish history. It was on this site in 1315 that twenty-two friars were killed by Bruce's soldiers and in the early sixteenth century the friary wall were destroyed. This tower stands as an important monument and holds importance for the role the friary played in creating the prosperous town.