Moyne Franciscan Friary
Map Reference: G233287 (1233, 3287)
Moyne Friary was founded by permission of Pope Nicholas for the Observantine Franciscans in the late 1450s. The founder may have been MacWilliam Burke or one of the Barrett Family but the instigator was possibly Fr Nehemias O’Donohoe who, in 1460, became the first Vicar Provincial of the Irish Observants.
The church was consecrated in 1462 and building was continued for another 50 years. By this time Moyne had become a student house and had a community of about 50. The friary was raided in 1578 and the building was destroyed and the community dispersed when it was raided in 1590 by Sir Richard Bingham. Some friars remained in the area but their numbers were reduced considerably during the succeeding centuries. The last friar of Moyne, Fr Thomas Burke, died in 1800. The church consists of a rectangular nave and chancel with a wide eastward extension of the nave. The west doorway was added in the 17th century. There is a chapel running southwards from the east end of the church.
The central tower is a later addition but was apparently part of the original plan. The cloisters were added towards the end of the 15th century. The buildings surrounding the cloister include a sacristy next to the church with a chapter house beside it. On the side opposite to the church is a kitchen and a refectory, under which a stream flows.
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