“Are there many round towers in Ireland?” asked Kathleen.
“There are eighty still standing,” Deena told her, “and twenty of them are perfect; but the others are more or less in ruins.”
“What were they like?” asked little Tommy Butler. “I never saw one of them.”
“They were round, stone towers, from sixty to one hundred and fifty feet tall,” Deena replied. “Some of the tallest had six or seven stories, each story lighted by one window, and at the top there were four windows, facing north, south, east and west. There was only one small door, ten feet or more from the ground, which was reached by a ladder, and there were ladders inside to climb from one floor to the next.”
“What were the towers for?” asked Kathleen.
“They were built hundreds of years ago, in connection with the ancient churches, and were probably used as belfries, and also as a place of refuge for the monks,” answered Deena.
“Are there many ruins in Ireland?” asked Mary Butler.
“Yes,” replied Deena, “there are hundreds and hundreds of them. There is the ‘Seven Churches of Kells,’ over beyond Stonyford, for one, and the ‘Seven Churches of Glendalough,’ too. You should see the Round Tower at Glendalough.”
“Connie is calling,” interrupted Feena.
“Hurrah, lunch is ready!” shouted Columba, and they all clattered down the stone steps in a hurry.