The finest round tower in the north of Ireland

A monastery was reputedly founded here by St Aedh in 495 AD and had a strong association with the monastery at Bangor. According to the Annals, it was attacked by Vikings during the 9th century and plundered and burned in 1018 and 1147.  The only remnant of this once-thriving monastery is this 10th-century tower. It is regarded as one of the finest examples in Ireland standing 28m tall and is locally known as The Steeple. Beside the tower, you can see a large boulder which is known as The Witches Stone. Folklore says that a witch, upset at the construction of the tower, jumped off the top and landed on this stone, leaving an impression of her knee and her elbow in it.  Sorry to spoil the story but this is actually a bullaun stone that was originally located beside the nearby stream. Another tale however tells that one of the hollows will never dry out!