friaries ireland

Dominican Friary, Portumna

The Friary, was originally a chapel belonging to the Cistercians, an dwas dedicated to St. Peter and Paul. After it was abandoned by them, the O'Madden gave it to the Dominicans, who erected,a church and friary that was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Pope Martin V confirmed their status with a special "Bull" or document in 1426.

To the east are two narrow and pointed windows, that are date from the original 13th century Cistercian Church. But the...

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....

Franciscan Friary:
On the seashore south of the town are the scanty remains of a Franciscan Friary founded by the first Red Hugh O'Donnell and his wife Nuala O'Brien in 1474. Of the church only the chancel and a gable of the south transept remain. Better preserved are the remnants of the cloister arcade.
The English seized and fortified the Friary in 1591 but were driven out the following year by Red Hugh O'Donnell. Ten years later, the English seized it again. During a battle...

One of the finest and best preserved of the Franciscan Friaries in Ireland this was founded for the Franciscan Third Order friars around 1440. A finely carved west doorway leads to the single-aisled church which has a graceful east window. In the south chapel is another fine window. In the south-east corner of the chancel is a double piscina, unique in that it has a Round Tower carved on one of the pillars. Other carvings on the piscina include tow angels and the Instalments of the Passion....

The Friary was founded around 1351 by Sir Raymond de Burgo for the Franciscans. It is the most extensive and best preserved of the Franciscan friaries in Ireland. Although founded in the 14th century, most of the building dates from the late 15th century. The church consists of a nave and chancel, and has a double south transept with a later chapel added to it.

The church windows, which are all well preserved, present a good cross-section of the types of window used in the late 15th...

This is an attractive old world village, a National Tidy Town winner, set at the entrance to Multyfarnham Friary. The Fransciscans have a long association with this place, having set up a monastery there in the early 14th century. Despite the dissolution of the monasteries in 1535 and havig been evicted a number of times, they always returned and now run a modern agricultural college.

The church, recently restored in the traditional Franciscan style, incorporates original sections d...

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...

Situated beside an inlet of the sea, this Friary was founded in 1486 by Richard Burke, MacWilliam Iochtair, for the Dominicans. The church consists of a nave, chancel and south transept, the last two of which have well-preserved windows of the period. The stubby low tower is almost more Cistercian than Dominican in character. The eastern wall of the cloister, with its almost rounded windows, is preserved up to first-floor level; the other domestic buildings have vanished. A 15th century seal...

Askeaton Castle: The Castle was founded around the turn of the 13th century, on an island in the River Deel. Part of the 15th century tower on the site remains, itself a replacement of an older tower. Similarly the mid-15th century banqueting hall just inside of the outer wall on the island was built on the foundations of an earlier hall. This hall has finely carved windows and is one of the finest remaining medieval secular buildings, although there was once a chapel attached. After changing...

The Abbey of St. Francis was built in 1269 and has been rebuilt on several occasions since, the last reconstruction being completed about 1884. The oldest part of the building is the tower which dates from the 14th century. The most significant recent addition was the shrine of St. Anthony, which opened in 1959 and the stained glass windows which were put in 1960....