The Aghadoe church and round tower are just off the R563, in a position that allows you to overlook the Killarney lakes. The round tower is just a stump of a tower, it is 6 metres tall and it wasn't worth a photo.
The church is in complete ruins, but two nice windows can still be seen on the east side, with a double carving on the inner wall.
On the south wall there are a slab with a bas-relief of a crucifixion, a small slab with a figure that looks like a tree, and an ogham stone. On the west end of the church there is a wonderful Romanesque doorway.
UPDATE: June 16th, 2016 - New visit to Aghadoe Church and Round Tower.
According to the tradition, St. Finian the Leper founded a monastery here in the 7th century, but the church is first mentioned in 939. This was likely built in timber and replaced by a stone church in 1061.
The church that we see today was built in 1158 by Amhlaoibh O'Donoghue and was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St. Mary.
It has two east (100°) windows with wonderful carved heads and a floral motif in their corners. It also has a fine Romanesque doorway in the west wall, but this is not original, it was rebuilt in the 18th or 19th century.
The ogham stone set horizontally in the south wall of the church has an ogham inscription which reads "BRRUANANN".
Two decorated stone slabs next to the ogham stone show a crucifixion and the outline of a tree. These two stones date to the 18th century.
The round tower stands to a very low height about 15 metres to the northwest of the church. Most of the tower is not higher than 3.35 metres, the southwest (220°) side reaches 5.20 metres. It has a diameter of 3.55 metres.
The first nine photos are from the visit in 2006, the photos from 10 to 25 are from the second visit.
|