Kells Monastic Site: the Round Tower and High Crosses
About
This is the monastery the Book of Kells was kept in, and what is left of it stands in the churchyard of St Columba's, the Church of Ireland church on the high ground at the top of Cannon Street. The round tower is by the churchyard wall, roofless and without its cap, with a doorway well above the ground and five windows at the top rather than the usual four. The council's heritage trail says they look out over the five roads into the town and the five medieval gates. It is recorded as the place where Murchadh Mac Flainn, a claimant to the high kingship, was murdered in 1076. There are no stairs inside and it cannot be climbed. Around the church are three high crosses. The South Cross, the Cross of Patrick and Columba, is the one to look at closely, with Adam and Eve, Daniel in the lions' den and David with his harp on its faces. The West Cross is a broken shaft, and the East Cross is unfinished. The OPW conserved the tower from early 2024 under scaffolding, and completion was reported in early November 2026, but the OPW's heritageireland.ie listing still says the site is closed for conservation works. Treat it as closed until that page changes, and check it before you travel.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓The round tower with five top windows instead of four
- ✓The South Cross, the Cross of Patrick and Columba
- ✓The unfinished East Cross, blocked out but barely carved
- ✓St Columba's Church, built in 1778 on the site of the monastery
Tips
- →The round tower has no internal stairs and is not open to climb. You see it from the churchyard.
- →The OPW carried out conservation works on the tower from 2024. Its heritageireland.ie listing says the site is closed for conservation works, although completion was reported in November 2026. Check that page before travelling.
- →Low afternoon sun is the light for reading the carving on the crosses.
- →St Colmcille's House is a five-minute walk up Church Lane. Ring the Courthouse a day ahead if you want to go inside.
Best Season
More Heritage Activities
St Colmcille's House
A steep-roofed early stone church at the top of Church Lane, possibly the oldest building in Kells. Locked; the Courthouse opens it with a day's notice.
Spire of Lloyd
An eighteenth-century inland lighthouse, a 1791 Headfort folly on the Hill of Lloyd 2 km west of Kells, with a free park, a famine graveyard and Friday tours up the 164 steps in summer.