Aghagower

Round Tower

The round tower and monastic site at Aghagower totally dominate the village. It is believed that this 7th century monastic site was founded by St Senach. The church and tower are located in a small enclosure in the centre of the village. I arrived here just as the light started to fade and I remember being quite disappointed with the condition of the site. The 15.85 metre high tower is damaged and leans slightly to the north. The southern side of the tower is higher than the northside. There was a huge breach in the north side that was poorly repaired in the 1960s. The original coursed masonry on the southside is of a much better quality. You can see the area that was repaired in the picture opposite. There are two doorways present in the drum. The original arched doorway faces east and is 2.18 metres above ground level. There is evidence of fire damage to the doorway. A second lintelled doorway was later inserted into the northwest of the drum. There are three lintelled windows remaining in the tower. Also present at the site is a medieval church, two dried up holy wells and a small Sheela-na-gig is inserted into one of the walls surrounding the small well. The sheela is very hard to spot in poor light, I was planning to call back the next day in the hope I would get a good shot of the tower and the sheela, but I really enjoyed my visit to Killadangan megalithic complex and spent more time there than originally planned. I am sure I will call back soon.