Ardmore Round Tower

Ardmore Round Tower stands in the village of Ardmore, in County Waterford in Ireland.

Irish Round Towers are slender stone towers which were built between the 9th and 12th century. They are generally found in the vicinity of a church or monastery.

Their purpose seems to have been to act as a belfry. However, other purposes are also suggested, like high-status royal chapels, lookout towers, status symbols, defendable places to store religious valuables, hiding places for monks in times of trouble or just markers of religious sites. The lower portion is solid masonry with a single door raised 2 to 3 meters above, often accessible only by a ladder. Usually they originally had a stone conical roof.

The Ardmore Round Tower was built in the 12th century and is considered to be one of the last Irish Round Towers built. It is now situated in the churchyard of the ruined cathedral of St. Declan's Monastery. There are 2 Ogham stones inside the cathedral.

Ardmore Round Tower can freely be visited but you can not get into the tower itself. A nice tower.

Gallery