Standing beside St Brigid's Cathedral, this round tower is one of the tallest and best-preserved in Ireland — 32 metres of early medieval engineering that has been watching over the plain for more than a thousand years. Round towers were built as bell towers and places of refuge, their raised doorways designed to be entered by ladder which could be drawn up in times of Viking raid. This one retains its Romanesque doorway and conical cap, and in summer it is possible to climb to the top for a panoramic view across the Curragh.