Saturday 1 April 2023

Kilconnell Friary, Galway

Kilconnell Friary
Galway

I came across Kilconnell Franciscan Friary through a stroke of good fortune and quite by accident when travelling through that part of east Galway some time ago.

According to a Dr. Thomas Molyneux in his Journey to Connaught 1709 there were 50,000 skulls neatly arranged on a wall at Kilconnell Friary.

Presumably this was some sort of Ossuary of which no trace remains today.

Masons Marks, Armorial Plaques, Kilconnell Friary, Galway

East Galway is often overlooked as an area worth visiting in favour of its much better known and westerly parts which are packed with visitors during the Summer months.

This is a bit of a pity because the eastern and southeastern parts of the County are an undiscovered gem awash with pretty little towns and villages and dotted with weird and wonderful antiquities waiting to be discovered.

The founding of the Franciscan Friary at Kilconnell followed along in a common pattern seen throughout Ireland.

This saw quite a lot of the large well established religious Orders from mainland continental Europe build their Churches, Monasteries and Friaries on sites which preceded them in an already established native ecclesiastical tradition.

This was usually a form of pre-existing and semi-independent Irish monasticism.

It's believed a Monastery existed here in the 6th Century while a still yet later structure preceded Kilconnell Friary and was built some time in the 1300's.

The largescale establishment of the continental Religious Orders in Ireland began during the 1300's.

Most Orders were the beneficiaries of either Anglo-Norman or native Gaelic Lord patronage although Kilconnell Friary itself was not itself established until much later in 1414.

To complete the paradox which these beautiful buildings represent today, the Monks, Friars and Priests of these ecclesiastical settlements and Monasteries were eventually quite literally "thrown out" and "run out of town."

The one time Patrons had founded a new Church under Henry VIII and those who didn't follow were subject to being discommoded, evicted, penury or death.

Henry VIII who at one time held the title "Defender of the Faith" was excommunicated from the Church in Rome.

Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII during the period from 1536 to 1540/41 most Monasteries which refused to follow the new Church with its break from Rome were either confiscated or destroyed, their lands and wealth absorbed by the Crown.

Occasionally through either good fortune, conflicting interest or with local help or perhaps native patronage some very few Monasteries and Churches survived and carried on as before without submitting to Henry and the new Church.

It would appear that Kilconnell was one such ecclesiastical site that escaped both destruction and suppression.

Today Kilconnell Friary stands as a beautiful and haunting reminder of times long since past. It links Kilconnell to the Franciscan tradition established by Francis of Assisi in the early 1200's.

The Friary holds a wealth of beautiful memorial, familial and armorial plaques. These represent the families and history of the surrounding area and are quite interesting to read and beautiful to look at.

The Friary is believed to have been initially established by the O'Kelly family.

Below is what I believe to be an O'Kelly familial plaque. The Coat of Arms seems almost identical to a Kelly family plaque at Scregg House in County Roscommon which is about 25 Kms away as the Crow flies.

The memorial plaque below dates to 1674 and commemorates the Daly's/ O'Daly's. The unusual spelling and beautiful carving caught my attention.

It was also unusual to see one brother refer to himself as Daly and yet the other brother is referred to as the more Gaelic O'Daly.

Pray for the Soules of Lifftenant Collonell Dearmot Daly........................... for the use of himself and his brother Major Teige ODaly and all there posterity 1674.

And yet later still in 1897 a Colonel J.A. Daly of Raford has erected the plaque below.

Below is a Family Coat of Arms with the following phrase inscribed in Latin.

Vincam Vel Moriar

I shall Conquer or die.

It is a familial plaque of the Stanford family of Ballinderry and if I'm not mistaken also of Baltinglass in County Wicklow.

The plaque was erected in 1849 by the last member of the family in the area, one Captain Francis Stanford. Presumably the conquering didn't work out so well.

A huge amount of the Friary is still perfectly intact. A possible Sedilla, beautiful Tombs, Piscina, Stoup, Cloisters and carvings are just a few of the artifacts in situ at Kilconnell.

There is also a Cross located nearby. The mount of the Cross dates to 1682 and commemorates the Donnellan family.

There is a huge variety of Stone Masons marks to be found dotted throughout the Friary and these I believe are made so that each individual Stonemason got paid for their particular pieces of work.

An alternative historical version to using a Clock Card system and clocking in for work.

I've posted photographs of quite a few below. It is the first time I have seen such a profusion of these marks in one place.

One particular tomb is very ornately decorated with Weepers and a beautiful canopy over which two further figures are mounted.

It is not known for whom this tomb was constructed although its detailing suggests a figure of importance from the surrounding the area.

It was most likely either an influential high ranking Cleric such as a Bishop or a local Lord.

Below are photo's of an Angel and an Owl I spotted near the cross of the Transept. Presumably the Owl represents wisdom.

From Thomas Molyneux -1709 -

At Killconnell we saw the famous old Abby of Franciscans, where was little of antiquity or remarkable. Their churchyard is surrounded by a wall of dead men's sckulls and bones, pil'd very orderly, with their faces outwards, clear round against the wall to the length of 88 foot, about 4 high, and 5 f. 4 in. broad, so that there may be possibly here to the number of 50000 sckulls: within they shew you Lord Gallway's and other great men's heads kill'd at Aghrim.