348 Observations on the 
admit that the Round Towers are coeval with 
the churches near which they stand, but main- 
tain, that they were not built for Belfries, 
but for “Penitential Houses: and the account 
they give of their application is, that ‘ the 
penitents were first placed on the top of the 
tower, when having madea probation of a 
particular number of days, according to their 
crimes, they were allowed to descend to the 
next floor, and so on till they came to the 
door which always faced the entrance of the 
church, where they stood and received the 
absolution of the clergy, and the blessings of 
the people.”’(#) Such appears to have been 
the opinion of Dr. Smith.(@) Mr. Collinson 
in 1763, ina memoir on the subject, main- 
tains the same idea; and it is further coun- 
tenanced by an intelligent traveller of the 
present century, Sir R. Hoare.(w#) But we 
shall require much stronger evidence than 
any hitherto produced, before we can per- 
suade ourselves that slender towers, 130 feet 
high, and perhaps not more than six feet of 
internal diameter at the summit, were built for 
the confinement of penitents. The height of 
(F) Sir R. Hoare’s Travels in Ireland, p, 280. 
(G) History of Cork, published in 1750, 
(#) Tour in Ireland, page 284. 
