Castledermot – battlements!

The town of Castledermot in Co. Kildare gets its name from a hermitage founded by St. Dermot. The date when it was founded isn’t entirely clear but it seems to have been some time after 810AD. The monastery was raided twice during that century and burned in 1106. The tower is now the only intact remnant of the monastery.

The tower which stands beside St. James’s Church of Ireland is rather unusual looking. Unlike most round towers, it is built from field stones and looks a bit like it has been coated with crinkled bubble wrap. Instead of being topped with the usual conical-shaped roof, it has castle-like battlements. It isn’t known when the battlements were added to the tower or when it lost its original roof. Another unique feature of this tower is that it doesn’t have a raised doorway. It is just 53 centimetres from the ground. The doorway can’t be seen from outside because it is at the end of a short passageway running between the church and the tower. The photo above is the nearest anybody can get to the tower’s doorway, unless they can gain access to the church. It is believed the doorway is original to the tower and not something that was added later.

The tower was used as a belfry in more recent times. According to Brian Lalor’s book, the bell is still up there, as are the internal floors and ladders. The tower is locked up though so it isn’t accessible. The tower seems to have been altered in other ways too, starting with a little window at floor level. It may also be missing a floor at this stage. It is not known for sure where the original monastery church stood at this point.

Apart from the tower, this churchyard also has two high crosses plus the base of a third one. It is also home to the only known Scandinavian style “hogsback” grave slab in Ireland. There is also a reconstructed Romanesque archway close to the church and tower. It is all that is left of a now-vanished medieval church.