Taghadoe in

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

in Ireland is the site of an ancient monastic settlement and

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

. The site includes a graveyard and the ruins of a 19th-century church. It is situated 5 km from

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

, off the Straffan Road. The name is derived from ''Teach Tua'' or 'House of Tua' in Irish, Saint Tua (Ultan the Silent) the abbot of

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise or Clonmacnois (Irish language, Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery in County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise, Ciarán, ...

, was responsible for founding the monastic settlement here. The site dates back to the 6th century. The round tower was used for about 1000 years, but was left in ruins by the 17th century. Most of the burials in the graveyard were in the 17th and 18th century and it was used by Roman Catholics. A John Dillon of Carton had bequeathed £1,000 for the building of a church on the site; the Duke of Leinster was the executor of his will. The church which was constructed on the site in 1831 for the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

by a donation from the Board of First Fruits of £830.Taghadoe Church
Maynooth Archaeology website. This church was only active for 40 years and, while derelict, its walls are quite intact. The tower was declared a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in 1886, and the site is in the care of the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) (; legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Government of Ireland, Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of owned and ren ...

(OPW).

References

External links

* {{commons category inline Cemeteries in County Kildare Maynooth Archaeological sites in County Kildare National monuments in County Kildare