Moyne Abbey

Moyne Franciscan friary was founded c.1460, by the MacWilliam Burkes, a powerful local family who were generous patrons of the religious orders.

During the 16th century, Moyne friary had housed up to fifty friars, including a large number of students.

However it suffered severe persecution in the late 1570s and early 1580s and was burnt down by Sir Richard Bingham in 1590.
It lay in ruins by 1595.
In the early 17th century, the convent was in the possession of an English widow who lived there. She was possibly the wife of Edmund Barrett, the man who had been granted the friary and its possessions by Elizabeth I in 1595. She rented the church and some other buildings to the friars, with the rent paid on behalf of the friars by Thomas de Burgo, a descendant of the original patron.

The friary church had been kept in good repair up to 1616 at the great expense of the local Catholics who were very generous in the “hope for better times.”

To learn more about Ireland’s uniquely rich medieval monastic remains, please visit www.monastic.ie