friaries ireland

This Franciscan Friary was founded in 1353 on the site of an older monastery founded by St. Conall in the sixth century. The buildings consists of a church with nave, choir, south transept and aisle, and some domestic buildings.

There are two fine tomb niches in the north wall of the church. Tradition says that the friars were expelled from the monastery only a few weeks before the Battle of Aughrim in 1691....

This Friary was founded for the Franciscans by David Oge Barry in 1251 and was dedicated to St Thomas a Becket. Of the monastic complex only the church remains; the domestic buildings have disappeared. The church consists of a long nave and choir, with a south transept. The door originally stood in the south part of the nave, but it was transferred (presumably in the 15th century) to the west gable; at he same time the original gable windows were blocked up and later Tudor windows inserted....

A Franciscan Friary founded by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muskerry in 1465. The long church has a south aisle and transept, but the lack of decoration gives a rather austere impression. The tower is contemporary with the church. An unusual feature is the multi-windowed sacristy and scriptoria to the north of the chancel which is the most decorative part of the building. Although nothing remains of the cloister, the buildings which surrounded it are well preserved. The Friary may not h...

This Franciscan Friary is said to have been founded by John de Cogan around 1250 and was richly endowed by the De Feoris or de Bermingham family. The ruins consist of a nave-and-chancel church and portions of the cloister. The chancel has six side-windows and has a triple sedilia of about 1300.

The north aisle was added to the nave at a later stage. In the 15th century the lancet windows in the east wall were replaced by the present well-preserved splayed window, the tower was added,...

A church which stood on the site was burned in 1278, but two years later DeClare built it up as a castle forming a square with massive rounded towers at the corners. Parts of these towers still survive. In 1236 the garrison killed an Irish chief called O'Liddy, whereupon the Irish under Cuvea Macnamara attacked and ransacked the castle. By 1350 another church was built on top of the castle ruins, but much of this church was renewed by Sioda Cam Macnamara around 1433 when the Franciscans were...

Founded by the Vikings in the 9th century, the town was granted to the Fitzgeralds in Norman times, though the Byrnes held sway there for a considerable time up to 1542, and burned the town in 1580. Romanesque Doorway: In the 18th century Church of Ireland church of St. Thomas, a fine Romanesque doorway of mid 12th century date has been inserted in the porch, though some of its stones have been wrongly re-set. It comes from a medieval church which was dedicated to St. Thomas, and some of it...

The Castle:
this Norman castle was built by Robert de Ufford, Lord Justice of Ireland, in 1269. But it passed into Irish hands seven years later when it was taken by Hugh O'Conor, King of Connacht. It was restored in 1280. The O'Kellys gained possession of the castle in 1308 when Donogh O'Kelly slaughtered many of the inhabitants. But the O'Conors took it again in 1341. Taken by the Earl of Kildare on an expedition to Connacht in 1499, it was granted to Mac William Bourke in 154...