The Irish Times

Glendalough, Ardmore,Clones, Kilmacduagh

The 75th anniversary of the National Monuments Act is being celebrated by An Post with a set of four postage stamps, each depicting one of Ireland's round towers. The towers, each representing one of the four provinces, have been drawn in pen and ink by artist Michael Craig, who drew the originals to a stamp-size scale. An Post has chosen heritage-inspired themes before, most usually animals, birds and flowers. This is the first time a symbol celebrating the archaeological and architectural heritage has been featured. As heritage is among the most controversial of issues today, with preservation versus development consistently at odds, the selection of the round tower, the origins of which caused intense debate in 19th century Irish antiquarian circles, is an apt one. Invariably found at monastic sites, such as the four selected towers of Glendalough, Co Wicklow; Ardmore, Co Waterford; Clones, Co Monaghan; and the singular leaning tower at Kilmacduagh, Co Galway, the towers, for all their splendour, were practical structures.