Cloyne Round Tower is a

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

in the historically monastic town of

Cloyne Cloyne () is a small town to the southeast of Midleton in eastern County Cork. It is also a see city of the Anglican (Church of Ireland) Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, while also giving its name to a Roman Catholic diocese. St Colman's Ca ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Cloyne was also the "

see city See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

" of the Anglican (

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

)

Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross The Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, also referred to as the United Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, is a diocese in the Church of Ireland. The diocese is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. It is the see of the Bishop of Cork, Cloyn ...

. The tower is a symbol for the town of Cloyne.

History

The monastic settlement at Cloyne dates to about 560 AD, when Saint Colman mac Lenene (who died in 604) founded the original monastery. The round tower itself dates to around the 10th century, and is approximately 30m high and 16.25m around when measured about 1.5m above the ground. The stone in the tower is dark purple sandstone. As with some other round towers, a lightning strike caused some damage to the top of the tower. The strike was in 1749. There is also the ruin of a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

watchtower on a hill overlooking the town. The town has a cathedral from its time as a religious centre, as well as a more recent church. The

Cathedral dates to 1250 A.D. The local

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church, St. Colmans, was built in 1815. The round tower was used to hang the Cathedral bell in the 19th century.

References

{{reflist National Monuments in County Cork Religion in County Cork Towers in the Republic of Ireland

History

Further reading

References