Kilconnell or Killconnell Abbey( Irish: ) is a ruined medieval

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

located in

Kilconnell Kilconnell () is a small rural village in County Galway, Ireland. The village gives its name to the barony of Kilconnell, formerly held by the Lords de Freyne. In 2006 David Tye purchased the original feudal Barony of Kilconnell created in 1170 ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

History

Kilconnell Abbey was founded by William Buí O'Kelly between 1353 and 1414. The Observant reform was introduced at some point prior to 1464. In the 1680s the abbey underwent repairs. Following the Bishops' Banishment Act of 1697, the Franciscan community largely dispersed from the area. Though local tradition identifies the departure of the monks from the abbey as being just before the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

in 1691, in reality the friars were present until at least 1766, when there were ten friars working in the area, though by 1801 the last of the friars had left the area. Writing in 1901, the abbey ruins were described as being in a near perfect state of preservation. In 1978, Patrick Conlan stated that though the some sections of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

were missing, the east range of the

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

and the church (including the tower and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

) were complete.

Historical artefacts

A number of artefacts, including chalices and several books were associated with the friary. One of these chalices, known as the Frances Guiffe chalice, dates from 1638 and is in the keeping of the University College Dublin. Another, the Irish Provincial Chalice, also known as the Terlagh O Briene chalice is in possession of the

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamation ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{coord, 53.3327, -8.4009, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Franciscan monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Ruins in the Republic of Ireland National monuments in County Galway