The only example of a round tower with a hexagonal base

Kinneigh was originally the site of a monastery founded by St. Mocholmóg in 619 AD. It later became a prominent ecclesiastical center for the O’Crowley Clan as it bordered their territory. The round tower is one of only 2 round towers in County Cork and is the only one in the country with a hexagonal base. Its foundations are built on a rocky outcrop of dressed slate and the craftsmanship is regarded as being exemplary. It was built around 1,000 years ago and would have originally had a conical cap. The large bare and plain sections in the surrounding graveyard are where victims of the Great Famine were buried in unmarked graves between 1845 and 1852.