This is the only remaining gate of the five that once gave access to the town of Ross in the 13th century.
At those time it was known as The Earl's Gate. Through it sheep, goats, pigs and other animals were brought into town in the fair days.
What really made Ross a rich town was the trade of wool. The Cistercian monks, brought over here from England by the Normans, improved the quality and the quantity of Irish wool, and most of the hundreds ships leaving the Ross port were laden with Irish wool bales.
Very close to the Earl's Gate was the Maiden Tower, one of the nine defensive towers built along the town walls. This tower was built by the women of the town as a prison for those who committed crimes or offences against the fair sex. Hence the name of this gate.
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