THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND [Illustration: Henry O’Brien _Author of “The Round Towers of Ireland.”_] THE ROUND TOWERS OF IRELAND OR THE HISTORY OF THE TUATH-DE-DANAANS BY HENRY O’BRIEN A NEW EDITION _WITH INTRODUCTION, SYNOPSIS, INDEX, ETC._ LONDON: W. THACKER & CO., 2 CREED LANE, E.C. CALCUTTA: THACKER, SPINK & CO. 1898 [_All Rights Reserved_] _750 Copies only of this Edition have been printed for Sale and the Type distributed, of which this is No. 324._ CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION vii SYNOPSIS xxxvii DEDICATION (FIRST EDITION) lxi PREFACE (FIRST EDITION) lxiii DEDICATION (SECOND EDITION) xciii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xcv AUTHOR’S TEXT (SECOND EDITION) 1 LIST OF THE PRINCIPAL IRISH TOWERS AND CROSSES 525 INDEX 529 INTRODUCTION “When all is dark, who would object to a ray of light, merely because of the faulty or flickering medium by which it is transmitted? And if those round towers have been hitherto a dark puzzle and a mystery, must we scare away O’Brien, because he approaches with a rude and unpolished but serviceable lantern?”--_Fraser’s Magazine_ for August 1835.