600-year-old St Mary's Tower repairs complete

Repair work on an historic 600-year-old West Cork tower is now complete — and the ancient edifice and its surrounding Huguenot graveyard will soon be handed back into the care of local residents.

The landmark St Mary’s Tower has been restored by specialist contractors hired by Cork County Council at a cost of about €76,000 following a determined 10-year campaign by local people who have been fighting to have the work carried out after the building was damaged by lightning in 2000. It partially collapsed seven years later.

“It looks extremely well. It has been beautifully restored inside and out,” said best-selling author and local resident Alice Taylor, a member of the Friends of Innishannon Committee, which was set up several years ago to lobby for the restoration of the tower.