In early medieval times, the Vikings built a fortified settlement with a tower close to the sea. When the Anglo-Normans captured the town in 1170, this tower was rebuilt and the settlement was enclosed in stone walls.
When the Spanish spy Don Diego Ortiz visited Waterford in 1574, he said that the town was enclosed in a stone wall with a perimeter of about 1 mile, with seventeen defensive towers with cannons on them.
Today only six towers survive, along with long stretches of town wall, the largest collection of all Ireland.
The name of this tower comes from the fact that it has a half-moon shape when seen from above, though it might resemble more of a "D".
It is now included in the grounds of the St. Stephen de La Salle National School on Patrick Street. I was able and lucky enough to find the gates open and someone to seek the permission from.
The tower is halfway a long segment of medieval wall that now is a boundary wall inside the school complex, with a nice garden in front of it.
The tower clearly had defensive purposes, because the only openings it has are the arrow-loops or gun-loops on all sides. A rectangular doorway is at the parapet level on the south side of the tower.
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