378 Mr. PETRIE'S Inquiry into the Origin and 



Life of Christ, preserved in theLeabharBreac, which is unquestionably older 

 than the eleventh century, the following allusion to the height of the Towers 

 occurs in relation to the star which guided the eastern kings to Bethlehem : 



"Came ictpum UIDI na .pen. mip ppi .;eii. la; 7 om ba h-aipoi ma cloiccech h-f pemaino." 



Fol. 60, a, a. 



" It [the star] came afterwards a journey of the twelve months in twelve days ; and it was 

 higher than a doicthech before us." 



Thus also, in a tract of much higher antiquity, entitled Imraimh Curaich 

 Mailduin, the Wandering of the Curach of Maelduin, the illegitimate son of 

 an Irish chief, in the seventh century, the following passage occurs, from 

 which it can be fairly inferred, that a belfry, separate from the church, existed 

 at Kildare before his time. Copies of this tract are preserved in the Library 

 of Trinity College, Dublin, and in the British Museum : 



"t)o Go^anacc Ninaip DO TTlaelouin ap m-buna&up. Qilell Qcep Qja a aeaip ; cpnpep 

 epioe 7 oajlaec 7 cijepna a ceneoil pen. TTlaccaillec, 7 ban-aipcmnec Cille cailleac a mar- 

 aip. Jp amlaiD oin popcaemnacaip a compepc pom. peccup oo luio pi ojanacca pop cpeic 

 n7 inpuo ilcenDaoac 7 Qilell Ocaip Qja ma comairecr, 7 jubpao ounao a pleib" ano. 6ui 

 cell cuillec a compocup ip an maijin pin, .1. Cell oapa a n-om. TTleoon aioci mpam 6 po an 

 cac Do imcecc ip ounao, IUID Qilell oo'n cill, 7 ip e epoch pon came an ban-aipcinoeac DO 

 bem cluij na cille DO lapriieipje, oopcuip DO Qilell, 7 jabaip Qilell a lairh laip, 7 DO oacpap- 

 caip, 7 DO jm coib-liji ppia; 7 apbepc an caillec ppip : ' m pejoa,' ol pi, ' ap compuc, ap ip 

 atnpip compepca oarn.'" H. 2, 16, col. 370. 



" Maelduin was of the Eoganacht Ninais as to his origin. His father was Ailell Acher Agha, 

 a mighty man and goodly hero, and lord of his own tribe. A young nun, and [who was] the Ban- 

 airchinneach of a church of nuns, was his mother. In this manner, then, was he begotten. On 

 one occasion, the king of Eoghanacht set out to prey and spoil many territories, and Ailell Acher 

 Agha in his company, and they encamped in a certain mountain. There was a church of nuns 

 near that place, i. e. Kildare at this day. At midnight, when all remained quiet within the camp, 

 Ailell went to the church, and this was the time when the Ban-airchinnech came [out] to ring 

 the bell of the church for midnight prayer. She met Ailell, and Ailell took her to him, and laid 

 her down, and cohabited with her; and the nun said to him: 'not fortunate,' said she, 'our meet- 

 ing, for this is my time for conception.' " 



The next passage which I have to adduce is of still more importance than 

 the preceding, and should properly have been inserted amongst the evidences 

 adduced to prove that the Towers were erected as places of safety, inasmuch 

 as that it shows that they were regarded in the light of sanctuaries, which 

 should on no account be violated. This passage is found in an authority of 



