Lusk Round Tower and Belfry

Lusk Round Tower & Belfry stands in the graveyard of St. Maccullins, within an ecclesiastical enclosure, in the village of Lusk, 20km north of Dublin city.

St. Maccullinn, 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 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 in 1534, legislation forced any monastery worth less than £200 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 England’s King Henry VIII to weaken the power of Rome and seize the monastery’s vast wealth for himself.

The adjacent square belfry tower, dated to 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 on the ground floor 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