timoleague franciscan friary

Founded possibly by the Mac Carthy Reagh, Lord of Carbery, in 1240 or by William de Barry during the reign of Edward 111 for the Friars of the Strict Observance of St. Francis. The buildings date from various periods. The original church was much shorter than the present one, extending only as far westwards as the third arch from the tower. The church was probably lengthened when the tower was added by Edmund de Courcy, Bishop of Ross, who died in 1518. There is an aisle and a transept with a later chapel on the south side of the nave. An unusual feature is the stairs which begin at the passage leading from the choir to the sacristy, and go across the east windows to the south wall of the choir. There was a kitchen on the west side of the cloister; the north side consisted of store-rooms below and a library on the first floor, but the eastern side was adapted, possibly in 1604, to serve as a store-room. At the north-east corner is the attractively sited dining-hall, with 5 windows looking out over the water, and beyond it lies the infirmary.