Abbey of Kells to its presence at the abbey. Later in the same century, the monastery was dissolved with the abbey becoming a parish church and the Book of Kells continued to be kept there. Catholic landowners acquired the land. The Book of Kells remained at Kells until the 1650s when Cromwell's troops were stationed in the town. At that point it was sent to Dublin for safekeeping. In 1661, the Book of Kells ended up in Trinity College, Dublin where it has stayed ever since. Today, the monastic site includes a 10th-century round tower that rises around 90 feet from the original
Kells Round Tower Kells Round Tower Kells Round Tower is a round tower in Kells, County Meath in Ireland. The tower, and the high crosses nearby, are National Monuments. Kells was founded as a monastic settlement by Saint Columba c. 550 on land that had been gifted to him by the King of Tara - Diarmait mac Cerbaill. Columba was exiled after the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (AD 561). The Abbey of Kells was refounded in the early 9th century by monks from Iona. The high crosses were erected in the 9th/10th century and the round tower in the 10th century. The Annals