I took these photos in 2014 when we lived in Ballinrobe.
This was the first Augustinian friary built in the Connacht. It
was founded in 1313 by Elizabeth de Clare, the youngest of the three
daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford. Her maternal
grandfather was king Edward I. She married John de Burgh in 1308 and
had a son, William, in 1312. It is said that the friary was built to
celebrate the birth of this son.
In 1400 Pope Boniface IX granted
indulgences to all that could assist in the restoration and conservation
of the friary, but a fire damaged it in 1413.
It was a wealthy monastery and in 1584 it owned approximately 120 acres of land, a mill and a water course.
The monastery kept going on despite the suppression ordered by King Henry VIII.
Info courtesy of Irishstones website.
