Lusk Round Tower and Belfry

This round tower is standing in the graveyard of St. Maccullin’s, within an ecclesiastical enclosure, in Lusk, 20km north of Dublin city. In Irish mythology Lusk, known as Bregia, was the birth place of Emer, daughter of Forgall Monach. Emer was offered in marriage to the King of Munster, Lugaid mac Noís, by her father. However, Emer was in love with another: Cú Chulainn. Forgall refused to accept Cú Chulainn as a match for his daughter, leading the couple to escape together after Cú Chulainn attacked Forgall’s home in Bregia, killing 24 men, including Forgall who fell to his death from the ramparts.

St. Macculinn, an early Irish saint, founded the monastery here after being made Bishop of Lusk by Pope Gregory in the 5^th century. The monastery suffered the fate of being raided and plundered during the Viking Age. St Macculinn’s monastery was plundered in 827 and 856 AD. Interestingly, after the raids at Lusk, the Vikings then established a settlement known as Dubh Linn, known today as Dublin city.

The round tower was built in the late 10^th century, has 8 floors and a basement, rises to 34m, and is built of coursed limestone. The entrance door of the tower appears within reach of attacking Vikings, however the ground around the base has been raised over the last several hundred years. Narrow window slits provide light to the interior of the tower, with windows facing the cardinal points just under its cap. The once conical roof was restored by Rector William Reeves in 1860, replaced in later times with a flat cap.

After the Act of Supremacy, legislation forced any monastery worth less than £200, after 1536, to close. In 1539 the Act for the Dissolution of Greater Monasteries saw the compulsory closure and abandonment of monasteries. These Acts were used by Henry VIII to weaken Rome and seize their vast wealth for Henry’s own.

The adjacent square belfry tower, built by the 15^th century, contains a 17^th century font, ballaun stone, and part of a fireplace decorated to depict the Annunciation. Numerous medieval tombs with effigies are found throughout the belfry tower, including commemorations of Walter Dermot d.1538, James Birmingham d. 1637, and the double effigy tomb of Sir Christopher Barnewall d.1575, along with his wife Marion Sharl d.1589.

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This national monument is protected in accordance with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014