bonamargy franciscan friary

As this order was more involved in parish work than the First Order communities, particularly in the less anglicised parts of Connacht and Ulster, its buildings are less ambitious - and Bonamargy is no exception. One of the last friaries to be built before the Reformation, it was approached by a small, two-storey gate-house. The friary church, originally roofed with thatch, is long and rectangular, and retains much of a fine east window. Against the south wall is a fine McNaghten tomb of 1630, and a low, holed cross at the western end is traditionally said to mark the grave of Julia McQuillan, a recluse nun who lived here in the 17th century. There is a later MacDonnell vault (now closed) on the south side, and on the north side there is a two-storey domestic structure, which would have had a lean-to wooden cloister walk attached to it. In 1584, the church was burned when Irish and Scots attacked English troops quartered here, but the friars continued to use the church throughout much of the 17th century.

The friary, 1/2 mile east of Ballycastle, was probably founded by Rory McQuillan around 1500 for the Franciscan Third Order.