Round Towers of Treland. 355 
ings of rude and simple, but in some res- 
pects of curious construction, are the most 
ancient regular edifices in Treland, and they 
are almost universally attributed to the Ostmen, 
or Danes: the Round Towers, therefore, which 
as we stated before are generally attached 
to these buildings, and bear evidence of being 
of the same date, were the work of the same 
people. They were erected some time be- 
tween the period of the invasion of the Ost- 
men, and the conquest by the English :—that is, 
between the 9th and 12th century, when the 
superior style of building immediately no 
doubt superseded the use of the existing 
stone-roofed chapels, and prevented the far- 
ther erection of them, as the introduction at 
the same time of the modern steeple superse- 
ded the use of the Round Towers. Dr. 
Smith, onthe authority of an Irish manuscript 
containing the annals of Munster, states, that 
the Round Tower of Kenith, in the County 
of Cork, was built in the year 1015, (0) 
which date agrees with our supposition. 
Many of them however, and probably the 
greater part, were built before the Tower of 
Kenith, for Cormac’s chapel and square Tow- 
er, if we may judge from the rich and supe- 
rior style of architecture, is of a subsequen 
(0) Hoare’s Tour in Ireland, p. 280. 
