There is No Need to Sweep the Steps this Evening - Another "Tick" on the Life List

 

With ideas it is like with dizzy heights you climb: 

At first they cause you discomfort 

and you are anxious to get down, 

distrustful of your own powers; 

but soon the remoteness of the turmoil of life 

and the inspiring influence of the altitude calm your blood; 

your step gets firm and sure 

and you begin to look – for dizzier heights. 

~ Nikola Tesla

I will admit the entire series of steps and railings are beautifully built. The structure is sound, if tilting a little. [Of course the tilts in these photos is from my desire to take them and finish.]

I was halfway up the second (maybe third) flight of stairs when I realized that I would have to go back down all these steps, but without looking. I began to rethink my climb, but DH was encouraging me onward.*

I was breathing hard, but it was fear - not exertion. Yes, I was terrified as the soon-to-be-irritating recording explained the height of the tower was 90 feet. But it is one of the few things I have always wanted to do -- climb to the top of a round tower in Ireland. And we found ourselves in Kilkenny** with time on our hands.  Kilkenny boasts of one of only three round towers in Ireland where people may climb to the top.***

St. Canice's Cathedral and Round Tower, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, Ireland.

Yes, the tower is taller than the cathedral. I noted that we were above the top of the flag as we looked out. Originally there was a conical cap on the top of the tower. I'm not sure how much taller that might have made it (4 feet? 6 feet?). [I'll post a photo below of a "complete" round tower below.]

We have seen them all over the country. And it may have been here we (the children and I) hoped to climb in 1997. Wet weather kept us off the ladders that day and so DH and I hoped the misty rain we've enjoyed the last two days would not be too much for a climb.

At about the 30 foot mark (admittedly there was not a "mark") I suggested we must be close to the top and DH replied that we were only about 1/3 of the way there.

Was this item REALLY on that life list?

Wait - there isn't a list! There are just thoughts and "nice" ideas (as in "wouldn't it be nice").

If nothing is in writing and there are no witnesses (other than DH who will love me if I climb to the top or chicken-out and go down) I can crawl down, release my death-grip on the rusty railings and shake the dust of the stairs out of my clothes. Who would be the wiser? No one would care.

But I kept hearing that calm and soothing voice, "You've got this." And I did indeed have it.

The last few ridiculously uneven steps. It was distracting to climb up, but seriously disconcerting stepping down them backwards (and not able to see where you were). DH let me know when I had the long and when the short steps to contend with. It helped. These steps might give you a little idea of what it was like climbing the old stone stairs. Of course the tower was initially accessed by a long wooden ladder that could be pulled inside to prevent marauders from entering.

The roof access.

Honestly, it wasn't a difficult climb.  Everyone we saw attempt the climb made it.  And there were quite a few people attempting the climb today. We met an Australian couple and an American family. We heard French spoken and more than a few Irish accents. People took turns climbing up and down the stairs and squeezed into small spaces to let folks pass in the tight (one might say claustrophobic) tower.

The view from the top is glorious.

Looking over the roof of the cathedral

Looking down toward the river Nore. Note: The white "signs" indicate points of interest viewed from the different sides of the tower.

St. Mary's Cathedral. It looks farther away than it is. I'll walk there tomorrow. Mass is at 9:00 a.m.

I am serious - the flag was below us. I did notice a "look-out" spot on the corner of the church. You can see the railing to the left here. I mentioned it to DH, but we both decided one tower was enough for the day.

Looking down into part of the churchyard and surrounding wall.

One can see the whole city of Kilkenny City (and then some). There are buildings and ruins waiting for us all around and we were able to get our minds around where we would go next.

I was a little more excited about the panorama than one of the Australians. She was almost immediately ready to start back down, but DH waving his hands in an animated telling of a story about an alligator in Florida (I think he might have been blocking the exit just a bit).  It was a good story, but perhaps you had to have been there...

DH gestures as he talks about the alligator eating a dog.

When we reached the bottom I let the young ticket taker know there was no need to dust the stairs today. It was fairly obvious I'd be taking it back with me.

A little dust and dirt never hurt anyone.

  Life List

- Climb to the top of a round tower  √


NOTES:

*He is good at this kind of thing. He can make people do things. He can give orders and he has the kind of voice that forces you to comply - we call it "the command voice." But he also has a calm, persuasive way of talking. His confidence is contagious and you suddenly know you will be just fine. 

** The round tower is on the grounds of St. Canice's (Kenneth's) Cathedral (Church of Ireland) http://www.megalithicireland.com/St%20Canice%27s%20Cathedral,%20Kilkenny.html
Also read a little here about Kilkenny (which means church of Canice):  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilkenny

***The others are in Kildare: http://atriptoireland.com/2014/02/20/climbing-kildares-round-tower-a-must-for-your-irish-bucket-list/
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Kildare%20Round%20Tower.html and

Devenish Island, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland:
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Devenish%20Round%20Tower.html


Other photos in need of a place to be:

DH poses on the steps up to the "Tower reception." A young man sat there ready to take our tickets.

I suppose I was not surprised to see that "Love-locks" had been applied to each of the windows. I took the time for a quick photo. I took very few inside the tower.

What the complete tower might have looked like. This one is similar in the location of the "windows." Most towers have 4 - one facing each direction, north-south-east-west. The tower at Kilmachduah and the one in Kilkenny have 6 openings. Jim Dempsey may explain this (see www.Megalithicireland.com) as he has a section for early Christian sites including a special section on round towers - 63 of them!

Round tower at Kilmacduagh