Moyne Abbey

Located on the western shores of Killala Bay, close to the mouth of the River Moy. Situated immediately to S of a hill, on a low lying ground which slopes down gently towards the shore 100m to E. Killala is 3km to NW, and Rosserk Fransican friary (MA022-082----) is 5km to SE on the banks of the River Moy.

Moyne Franciscan friary was established c. 1455 as an Observant friary, and was under the authority of a Conventual Minister Provincial of the order until 1460, when Irish friaries received papal authorisation to follow the Observant reform under their own vicar provincial. It may have been one of the friaries established following papal permission in 1450 to establish Observant houses in the dioceses of Killala, Achonry and Elphin (Mooney 1958, 43). The church was consecrated in 1462 by Donatus O’Connor, Bishop of Killala (O’Hara 1898, 260). The friary was probably established under the patronage of the Mac William Burkes, lords of Lower Connacht, and the friars also benefitted over the centuries from the patronage of local merchants. Provincial chapters of the Irish Franciscan Observants took place in Moyne in 1464, 1498, 1504, 1512, 1541 and 1550.

After the Dissolution, the friars were able to stay in Moyne under the protection of the Mac William Burkes, but still suffered violent English attacks in 1579 and 1582. In 1590 the friary was burnt by Sir Richard Bingham, governor of Connacht, and five years later the property was granted to Edward Barrett. By 1616, it was occupied by an English widow who rented the church and a few rooms to the six remaining friars (Mooney 1958, 45-51).

Moyne friary is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 103). It is amongst the best-preserved mendicant friary in Ireland, allowing visitors to get a really good sense of the life of a religious community in the late Middle Ages. It is similar in plan to another impressive surviving Franciscan friary, Ross Errily (GA041-047----), Co. Galway. The austere, undecorated architectural style may be seen as an embodiment of the mendicant ethos of poverty espoused by the friars of the Observant reform.

Remains are comprised of a long rectangular nave and chancel church, with a central tower, a large lateral aisle, and a chapel or transept to S of the nave, and another chapel to S of the chancel; located immediately N of the church is the cloister arcade, enclosed at E, N and W by three ranges of domestic buildings. An 18th-century house (MA022-024002-) is appended to the E range. Unusually, the domestic ranges were built directly above a steam, which flows W towards the bay; it provided water for the friars’ daily activities and helped dispose of waste and sewage (Mooney 1958, 46). The remains of a mill are on the stream to the E of the friary. A subrectangular walled precinct (MA022-024009-) encloses the main complex, and a possible hospital (MA022-024005-) is located c. 70m to E.

The nave (int. 18.05m E–W; 6.05m N–S) is accessed by a doorway in the W gable. The doorway is a round-headed 17th-century insertion, with a projecting moulded hood. Above the doorway is a triple-light window, each light round-headed under a pointed arch with switchline tracery. Along the S side of the nave is an unusually wide lateral aisle (12.95m E–W; 7.30m N–S) with a chapel or transept (int. 11.25m N–S; 6.80m E–W) at its E end, very similar to the chapel at nearby Rosserk friary (MA022-082001-). The nave is separated from the lateral aisle and S chapel by an arcade of four rounded arches resting on large octagonal pillars with moulded capitals and bases. Two similar arches stand between the lateral aisle and the chapel.

The lateral aisle is lit by three graded, pointed lancets with chamfered mullions in the W wall and two round-headed double-lights in the S wall.

In the E wall of the chapel/transept there are two round-headed altar recesses with piscina associated, and a small intervening room (int. 1.95m N–S; 1m E–W), which functioned as a sacristy to the two altars. Each of the alter recesses has a window: in the N recess, a trio of pointed lancets with chamfered mullions, and in the S recess, a smaller ogee-headed double-light. An elegant four-light window dominates the S wall of the chapel, each light round-headed under a pointed arch with switchline tracery and a quatrefoil in the central interlace. The masonry fabric of the lateral aisle and chapel is different to the rest of the nave, indicating a time lag in their construction, though it was likely short. A piecemeal approach to construction was characteristic of mendicant architecture in Ireland, as the friars were dependent on alms and donations from the laity to build their friaries, with elements such as side aisles and chapels, planned from the start, added only when sufficient funds had been secured.

Wall plaster survives in areas, and in the W wall of the nave it preserves unique etchings of boats dating to 16th or 17th century (Macalister 1943, 107-17).

Between the nave and chancel is a six-storey tower (ext. 4m E–W; 6.05m N–S), rectangular in plan, with two low, round-headed arches to the E and W and a barrel vault. String courses mark the different floors, and the tower is surmounted by assymetrical crenellations. The upper stories are accessed through a spiral stairs in the S wall. The tower is lit by simple round- or square-headed windows in each wall at first to fourth floor levels, with one ogee-headed window in the E wall at the second floor. In the S wall a pointed doorway, leading to the S chapel, is now blocked by an 18th-century grave slab. In the N wall, a pointed doorway leads to the cloister, and at first floor, a doorway opened to the gallery above the cloister ambulatory.

The chancel (int. 14.95m E–W; 6.05m N–S) is graced in its E gable by a window of four round-headed lights with chamfered mullions under pointed arches, with switchline tracery and a quatrefoil between the central interlace. In the N wall there are two pointed doorways, with a holy water stoup between, both leading to the sacristy. There are two blocked windows in the N wall, and in the S wall are two round-headed lights under a pointed arch with switchline tracery, and two pairs of round-headed lancets. Under the eastern-most window in the S wall is a tomb niche.

A large rectangular chapel (11.6m N–S; 4.95E–W) extends to S off the E end of chancel, unusual in a mendicant context. A piscina is built into the NW corner of the large square opening into the chapel. The window in the S wall of the chapel is a double light with switchline tracery, and in the E and W walls are pairs of round-headed lancets. The chapel is an addition, but the windows are similar in design to those of the chancel, suggesting a short time lag.

There are several 18th-/19th-century graveslabs and headstones throughout the church; one graveslab (MA022-024004-), located in the NE corner of the chancel, may be 17th-century in date.

A cloister of integrated type, whereby the upper floor of the ranges extends over the ambulatory or walkway, survives fully intact to the N of the church. The ambulatory (int. c. 14.50m E–W; c. 14.60m N–S) is barrel-vaulted on E, N and W sides, with the vault reinforced at each corner by three transverse arches. On the S side, the cloister walk had a lean-to roof, with a gallery above leading from the E range dormitory to the tower. The cloister arcade has pointed arches resting on large rectangular pillars with rounded edges, two of which at SW are of the more common dumbbell type. In the middle of the W, N and E sides of the cloister arcade are slim tapered buttresses. The cloister garth or courtyard (int. c. 9.60m E–W; 9.70m N–S) is accessed through a large rounded archway in the middle of the S ambulatory.

The original two-story E range, with sacristy and chapter room at ground floor, and a dormitory above, was later extended to the N to accommodate a large refectory. The sacristy is accessed from the chancel through two pointed do