North Kerry

Ballyduff | Irish An Baile Dubh : Black Town

Here one can visit the Rattoo Heritage Museum. It contains local Archaeological finds and houses exhibits covering the history of the area in all ages, including a Bronze- Age ferry – boat carved from a split oak trunk.

Rattoo Round Tower: on the other side of Ballyduff is an exceptionally well-preserved round tower dating from the 10th or early 11th century. These were thought to be bell towers, which doubled as places of refuge for the monks during times of attack. The entrance is several feet above the ground. The ruins of a 15th century church mark the spot where an earlier abbey, founded in 1200AD and taken over by the Augustinian order after two years, was burnt to the ground in the 1600s.

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