Killala was the last of the five Mayo round towers for me. I visited it in September, so it was nice to finally cross it off the list and mark Mayo as done.
This one is impossible to miss. It towers (ha!) over the town and is in wonderful condition. Unlike all too many of these towers, it is complete and still has its cap.
The frustrating thing is the location. It’s just off a side street and at the top of some stone steps. It’s jammed into a small yard with very little room around it, which just feels like a waste of a really good tower. You can get a good look at it up close and personal, but there’s no room to stand back and enjoy it properly.
Some repairs were carried out in the 19th century, including the restoration of the cap (roof). The caps fell in on most of these towers but were later reinstated. At least they did a good job here, unlike the one in Swords, where the restored cap looks like the round tower equivalent of the infamous Spanish fresco restoration fail.
The ruins of Rosserk Abbey are 8km down the road. There is a small carving of a round tower on a piscina (stone basin) there, and it’s thought to depict this tower.
Getting There
Drive into Killala and look up. It’s hard to miss! Big tower, hill...you get the idea. There is a car park beside the nearby Church of Ireland cathedral. On the off-chance you can’t find the tower, they’ve signposted it
