Quin Abbey, found just five miles outside Ennis, was built in the 15th Century in the tradition of Irish Franciscan Monasteries.  Fathers Purcell and Mooney, both ordained under the order of St. Francis, had dreamed of building monasteries for Irish Franciscans, and the location where Quin was finally built seemed perfect for this purpose (Meehan 1877: 2). This was an ideal location because it was right next to a river and was on the main route from Limerick to Galway, providing access for transportation and trade.   Quin Abbey was erected at the beginning of this Franciscan monastery-building period, between the years 1402 and 1433.  The original monastery of Quin was founded very early, but this burned down in 1278.  After this, Thomas DeClare, a Norman commander, built a castle fortress on these ruins because he realized that a fortress was essential in this strategic location.  This location was important to him for the same reason that it was perfect for Fathers Purcell and Mooney, thus making it a vital point in his desire for westward expansion.  This castle-fortress was built with enormous round towers, the ruins of which can still be seen, but yet another church, founded by the MacNamara clan, had been built on the castle ruins by 1350.  They used the south curtain-wall of DeClare’s castle to build the church from east to west.  To the north of the church lay a sacristy and a residence for the clergy.

This church did not last long, however, and in 1402, Sioda Cam MacNamara began to build the main cloister for the abbey of Quin for the Franciscan friars.  There was a story at the time that, several years earlier, MacNamara’s son had fallen in the River Ryan while playing near the site of the ruined castle.  According to the tale, MacNamara made a promise to God that if He spared his son’s life, he would do a good deed for the Church.  Thus, when his son survived the river accident, he decided to build the abbey on the ruins of the old castle.  In 1430, near the end of construction, Mahon MacNamara added the bell-tower and the Lady Chapel.  The construction was finally completed in 1433, and at this time the friars were sponsored, and they were granted license to live there in a life of observance.  There are no real records of the abbey for the next hundred years, so it is assumed that the friars lived quiet, sparing, peaceful lives (Clonmacnois 1906: 89).  Some folklore tells a tale that, each evening during this time, some of the friars would go down to a place called Ardsolas, “The Mound of Light”, and would light a beacon for the travelers crossing over the river.

Above is a present day picture of the pillars that still stand around the intact cloister built by Sioda Cam MacNamara.

During the English Reformation in 1541, the monastery was confiscated by Henry VIII, and parts of the church land were offered to whichever English chieftain that was willing to pay the highest price.  This new individual ownership of land varied dramatically from the traditional clan ownership.  The “highest bidder” for Quin Abbey was Conor O’Brien, Earl of Thomond, who allowed the abbey to fall into disrepair and eventual destruction.  He only kept the abbey until 1584, when it was attacked by Donnchadh O’Brien.  Donnchadh defeated Conor, but his victory was short-lived, as English troops were sent in to reclaim the abbey.  Though Elizabeth I pardoned this attack, the English in Ireland knew that she could not keep track of all matters so far away, so they took it upon themselves to punish Donnchadh by hanging him alive from the abbey steeple.  Repairs had to be made to the abbey as a result of the attack, and English forces stayed at the abbey until the threat of attack was minimized.  The MacNamaras eventually regained control of the abbey and, with the help of the new friars living there, made the necessary repairs that Conor O’Brien and the English had neglected (Meehan 1877: 102).  Sometime between then and 1641, a college was opened in the monastery with an enrollment of 800 students.  When Cromwell came ten years later, though, the friars were all put to death and the monastery destroyed and desecrated.  Nineteen years later, the abbey was restored and friars returned once again, but there were very few that came back at this time.  Friars came and went for several years up until 1691, when the defeated Irish army retreated to the outside walls of the monastery.  The friars maintained their link to the abbey until 1760, when they were expelled. However, Friar John Hogan stayed inside the castle ruins up until his death in 1820.  He had stayed in the abbey, watching over and guarding it for several years, and when no successor was appointed after his death, the history of the friars of Quin Abbey ended (Clonmacnois 1906: 90).

Although events regarding the abbey are fairly certain, the architecture and design of the abbey raise some questions regarding the dates of all these events.  Though the fortress is believed by most to have been built by DeClare after the Norman invasion, some archaeologists believe that it was built before this time.  They base this on the idea that they do not know who could have destroyed the castle between its building by DeClare in 1278 and the building of the new church in 1350.  Also, if it were built by the Normans, this means that the castle would have had to be erected, destroyed, and the foundations of the abbey would have had to be constructed in less than a century.  This theory of the castle being built before the Norman invasion brings up several questions.  The most important of these is that, if the castle actually was built before the Norman invasion, how did these people acquire such advanced military knowledge so early?  Most archaeologists do not believe that features such as the four round corner towers (among other things) would have been present in castles before the time of the Normans.  There is no evidence of such structures among the O’Briens or the MacNamaras.  Thus, though it will never be able to be answered definitively, most archaeologists have assumed that the fortress castle was built by DeClare after the Norman invasion (Clonmacnois 1906: 90).

Above is a picture of one of these revolutionary designs: the double archway through the middle of the Abbey.

Through its long and ever-changing history, Quin Abbey has always been constant in its revolutionary architecture and design.  The southern windows in the curtain wall were quite new when the castle was built in the 13th Century, and while DeClare resided there, it was also known through the country for its amazing round towers on each corner whose size and design were unprecedented.  In the 15th Century it was known for being a “beautiful strong building of black marble” (Meehan 1877: 104).  This type of marble had only been used sparingly elsewhere, so the fact that much of the abbey’s composition was made of this material makes it utterly unique.  Throughout its history of perpetual building and rebuilding, Quin Abbey has undergone many different constructions, thus leaving a very complex inner and outer structure.  Some of the attributes that stand out most are the carved terminals of the hood molds of the western windows, the detail of the work in the cloisters, the setting of the barge courses with each stone jointed with a bird’s mouth joint, and building an arch in the tower to keep out rain (Clonmacnois 1906: 90).

Controversy has always surrounded Quin Abbey, but this only adds to its rich and illustrious history.  If not for the many battles that occurred there and the subsequent changes of ownership and reconstructions, the abbey would not have the extraordinarily diverse attributes that it now possesses.  Even though much of the original structure has been destroyed or fallen apart over time, Quin Abbey still stands as one of the remarkable landmarks that spans and typifies Irish history.

Floor Layout of Quin Abbey

“75th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.”  Clonmacnois, King’s County.  Dublin: Alexander Thom & Co., 1906.

Meehan, C.P.  The Rise And Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries.  Dublin: James Duffy And Sons, 1877.