Timahoe Round Tower, County Laois

The wonderful round tower at Timahoe in County Laois has to be one of the finest in Ireland. The Round Tower stands on the site of a monastery, said to have been founded by Saint Mochua in the seventh century AD. 

Sculpture of St.Mochua's Desk, with his rooster, mouse and fly. Created in by Michael Burke with the staff and students of Scoil Mhuire Fatima in 2004.

 St. Mochua was a seventh century warrior who converted to christianity and became a hermit, he had no worldly possessions at all apart from his psalter, a rooster, a mouse and a fly. The Rooster kept the hour of matins for him so he never missed prayers, the mouse made sure he never slept more than three hours a night by licking his ears if he fell asleep while praying, and the fly would mark his position in the psalter so he never lost his place. The dwelling where St. Mochua lived – Teách Mochua – gives its name to Timahoe.

The site is most famous for the wonderful round tower that is thought to date from the early part of the twelfth century. It has the most ornate, romanesque-style doorway of any round tower in Ireland, and in the right light conditions you can make out wonderfully intricate carvings of interlacing chevrons and representations of human heads. This doorway is positioned approximately 5m up from the ground level, with the tower itself standing almost 30m tall. For centuries scholars debated about what exactly these iconic Irish round towers were actually used for, with ideas ranging from them serving as look out points or refuges in case of Viking raids. However it is likely that round towers were primarily bell towers, even their name in Irish 'Cloig Teach' translates to 'bell house'. The towers would have also been highly visible markers in the landscape, serving almost as a lighthouse to weary pilgrims who would know that a Round Tower meant a monastic site, where they can buy accommodation and warm food for the night.

You can also discover the remains of a fifteenth century Franciscan Friary church. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1540's, the church and friary were converted into a defensive castle, though little of that survives today. The nineteenth century church next to the round tower is now used as a library.

Timahoe is a wonderfully peaceful site to visit and is very easy to access. You'll find it about 10km south from Portlaoise on the R426 heading towards Carlow. If you're visiting Timahoe why not try the amazing Rock of Dunamase that is located close by to the north. We have a free audioguide available that will lead you around this magnificent site and tells you the story of its bloody and tempestuous history. You can download the guide for free from www.abartaaudioguides.com and it is now available as a great free audio-visual app for iPhone. Simply download the free Guidigo app and access Dunamase from there.

I hope you enjoy this blog, we're trying to cover as many sites as we can across Ireland. If anyone has any suggestions about sites you'd like us to cover please do leave us a comment. If you enjoy information and images of Irish heritage sites then do follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

All photographs © Neil Jackman / abartaaudioguides.com

Oughterard Round Tower and Church, Kildare

  

Usually when we visit historical sites we have done a little bit of homework and researched the basic information in advance, this is usually the best way of finding out not only the details of the site, but also any particular feature that we should look out for to ensure we don't miss anything. However our visit to Oughterard Round Tower was an occasion that proved that sometimes it's great to just pick a site off the Ordnance Survey Discovery Series Maps and turn up without any expectations as you may get a nice surprise! 

Oughterard Round Tower and Church is located between Straffen and Kill in County Kildare. The site is accessed by a set of steps and stile in the tall wall that surrounds the site. The name Oughterard derives from the Gaelic Uachtar Ard - which translates to 'High Place', the name is very apt as one of the first things you notice about this site are the stunning views of the countryside of County Dublin and Kildare that surround you. 

A monastery was said to have been founded here some time in the early 6th Century by Saint Briga. The site was recorded in the Annals as being burned by the Dublin Vikings led by Sihtric Silkenbeard in 995 AD. Later during the Norman invasions of Ireland, Oughterard was included in the vast estates given to the Norman leader of the invasions, Richard de Clare (Strongbow), by Diarmuid MacMurrough King of Leinster as part of the dowry when Strongbow married MacMurrough's daughter Aoife. Today you can see the well preserved remains of a medieval church (looks to date to around the fourteenth century) with a barrel-vaulted roof, it's adjoining rectangular tower is in a slightly precarious position and is held up by large concrete supports. The round tower now only stands approximately 9 metres high, but what is left is in good condition. It is constructed of limestone, with large granite blocks used to frame the doorway. 

The site itself is well worth a visit, with it's beautiful views and peaceful air you can really get a sense of history and tranquility. The site also holds a nice surprise that I alluded to in the opening paragraph. Before you enter the church, take a look at the gravestone marking a tomb in the wall on the right hand side. This marks the resting place of none other than the famous Arthur Guinness himself, founder of the Guinness Brewery and the creator of countless sore heads. The slab reads: In the adjoining Vault are deposited the mortal remains of ARTHUR GUINNESS late of JAMES'S GATE IN THE CITY and of BEAUMONT IN THE COUNTY OF DUBLIN ESQUIRE who departed this life on the 23rd of January A.D 1803 aged 78 years and also those of OLIVIA HIS WIFE who died in the month of March 1814 aged 72 years. They lived universally beloved & respected and their memory will long be cherished by a numerous circle of friends relations and descendants.

So if you are ever inclined to go on a pilgrimage to thank the man who created the brand synonymous with Ireland then you may find yourself in a quiet and peaceful ancient burial ground in County Kildare.

If anyone would like more information on Irish history, or if you are interested in enjoying the amazing tale of some of Ireland's superb historical sites then take a look at www.abartaaudioguides.com we provide audioguides packed with sound effects and original music to really help immerse you in history in a fun way, the guides can be enjoyed at home or at the sites and are also available from iTunes, Eircom Music Hub, Sony Music Unlimited, Amazon and Spotify. 

Thank you all for taking the time to read this blog, we really hope you find some of the suggestions for great places to visit useful. If anyone has any suggestions or comments please do get in touch by commenting below or send us an email at info@abartaaudioguides.com