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| ROUND TOWER, CASTLEDERMOT, CO. KILDARE. -Castledermot, to which reference has been made in another sketch, is rich in antiquities. The picture shows the rear of a chapel, and the ruins of a splendid arch of the Norman period, dominated by the remains of a found tower, whose origin is lost in the mists of tradition, almost wholly manteled by a growth of the virile Irish ivy. This tower stands in the churchyard, where the dust of countless generations of the sons and daughters of "rich Kildare," reposes, and where the present and future generations, so long as this planet has life, will sink also to their long rest. Many Celtic crosses, of very artistic design, stand as monuments above the graves of the more distinguished among the departed. Castledermot was among the first of the ancient towns of Kildare to fall into English hands, and most of the ecclesiastical remains which adorn it, show a very distinctive Norman origin. A strong, square tower, once embattled, stands in the neighborhood and is supposed to have been built by the Knights Templars, in the days of crusading chivalry. There are also the ruins of a castle, and many other architectural relics in which antiquarians take delight; but, of all its ruins, the round tower, shown above, is considered the most curious and impressive. |
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