IRISH WAYS AND IRISH LAWS

Bernardine took me to see the round tower in Clondalkin.
She explained to me the significance of the structure:  it is considered to be the oldest of the 52 remaining round towers and there is evidence that it may have been among the first constructed in the country, sometime in the late 8th Century.

Bernardine explained the struggle by local people to protect the round tower from the encroachment of inappropriate development and the subsequent struggle to have the local county council accept responsibility for its maintenance.
Fortunately, those struggles are now over.  A local committee is at work preparing plans for an interpretive center and monks' garden.  The interpretive center will display information about all of the round towers as well exhibits about daily life in a medieval Irish monastery.

This story of successful local action to protect an important piece of Ireland's heritage is instructive.  It points the way for other communities struggling to preserve their local history and protect the quality of the built environment.  It also suggests a route for the restoration of Irish as the language of our past, our present, and our future.  The round tower in Clondalkin is a beacon of hope in so many ways.

Playlist:

Irish Ways and Irish Laws
Christy Moore and Moving Hearts