Cloyne campaign to restore access to 1,000-year-old tower

Residents living near a spectacular 1,000-year-old round tower said to be one of the finest of its kind in the country — but closed to the public for the past 30 years —are to launch a campaign to raise money to refurbish it and reopen it.

As the stonework in the 105-foot-high tower in the east Cork village of Cloyne is superb, it doesn’t need any work, despite the fact the monument dates from 900AD.

All that’s required is to replace the six internal wooden staircases linking each of the tower’s six floors, says campaigner Rory Allen.