ABSTRACT
The dominant feature of the period, in terms of sheer numbers and investment in stone building, is the proliferation of the tower-houses. This is not, of course a phenomenon confined to Ireland, but is as much a feature of Scotland and northern England and parts of France. In spite of the attempts, in Ireland as in Scotland or England, to push this surge of building back to the earlier fourteenth century, we must resist these and continue to regard it as something which started only at the end of the century (Dixon, 1993, 33-6). The dates matter for two reasons. The attempts to extend the date range of tower-houses dilute their concentration in time and blur the impact of their existence. As a result, they cease to be a separate phenomenon requiring explanation or shedding a peculiar light on the history of the fifteenth century in those areas where they occur so prolifically.
