Location – At the top of Tower Hill opposite the Odeon Cinema.
OS: S 471 985 (map 54)
GPS: S 47164 98542 (Accuracy - 5m)
Longitude: 7° 17' 48.65" W
Latitude: 53° 2' 7.83" N
See map at the bottom of the page.
Description and History – This is another site that I saw every day when I was in school. The CBS was located with this tower at one end of the street and Maryborough fort at the other. Built around 1556 this makes the remains one of the oldest structures in Portlaoise. A Reverend Thomas Mosse was listed as being here and his son Bartholomew founded the Rotunda Maternity Hospital in Dublin. The Jacobs family are also buried here who also had strong medical connections. John Wesley is alleged to have preached here also. ‘Grant the Robber’, whom I know little about, is also buried here. The remains of a nave and tower survive in poor condition in a much overgrown graveyard. As with the nearby fort it is amazing that more is not done with the site. However, it is in very poor condition and would require a lot of work to be opened up to the public. Unless something is done here it will eventually fall down.
Update: The above blog post was written many years ago when the site was in quite a poor state. It is absolutely wonderful to be able to write that work has been done on the site and it has now been cleaned up and conserved, and even more wonderfully, it is now open to the public. After almost 30 years of living near Portlaoise I have finally been inside the tower, and the pictures as posted below. While this is not the most impressive structure you will ever see, it is part of Portlaoise's unique history and well deserving of preservation.
Difficulty – East to find, with plenty of on street parking nearby and a multistorey across the road.
Date of Visit - 7th October, 2010. 25th April, 2023.
For more ecclesiastical sites, click here.
For more sites in Co. Laois, click here.
It's difficult to get a full view of the tower with these houses in the way.
The graveyard need some attention.
The surrounding walls could also do with some work.
The following pictures were all taken following conservation work in 2023.
The mural is great in making the place more attractive, and hiding the ugly building behind. However, while it is good to see artwork depicting the Rock of Dunamase, I would argue that it is somewhat disconnected from the history of Portlaoise and this tower. Saying that, I can understand there would be a certain amount of uncomfortableness with having plantation as a subject for public art.
Looking up and out of the tower.