Quin Abbey

In 1278 Thomas de Clare built a large quadrangular castle at Quin with round towers at each corner. By around 1350 it was a ruin, which the MacNamaras rebuilt as a church, and between 1402 and 1433 they built the present Franciscan friary on it - building the church and cloister directly inside the castle's curtain walls and reusing them. Three of the four round towers are still visible embedded in the friary structure, which makes the layering unusually legible: a Norman fortification and a fifteenth-century religious house occupying the same footprint. The cloister is small, complete on all four sides and one of the best preserved in Ireland. The friars were expelled several times and kept returning; the last of them, John Hogan, died in 1820 and is buried here. The site is free and unstaffed, with the tower and stairs accessible in parts. Ground and stairs are uneven and slippery in wet weather.

History

An earlier monastery on the site burned in 1278, and soon after Thomas de Clare built a Norman castle here, whose great corner towers still show in the foundations. Around 1350 the castle, by then a ruin, was rebuilt as a church by the MacNamaras, and the present abbey was built between 1402 and 1433, using the south curtain wall of the old castle (Wikipedia, Quin Abbey).

What to look for

• The castle towers - three round corner towers embedded in the friary walls.
• The cloister - complete on four sides, among the best preserved in Ireland.
• The church and tower - fifteenth-century MacNamara work.
• The layering - a 1278 castle and a 1433 friary in one structure.

When to go

April to September for the ground conditions; the site is open all year and unstaffed. An hour covers it. Combine with Ennis Friary and Knappogue.

Good to know

Unstaffed with limited interpretation. Stairs and floors are uneven, worn and slippery when wet, with unlit passages. Roofless throughout, so poor in rain.

Nearby

Knappogue Castle and Craggaunowen are close; Ennis is north-west.

Key facts