Ennis Friary

Thirteenth-century Franciscan friary, the heart of medieval Ennis

Address Abbey Street, Ennis

The Franciscan friary of Ennis was founded around 1240 by the O'Brien kings of Thomond, and the surviving ruins remain the most important medieval monument in the town. The friary's church, slender bell tower, and cloister stand a short walk east of the town square, on the bank of the River Fergus.

The interior contains an exceptional collection of late-medieval carving: the McMahon Tomb, the Ecce Homo panel, and a series of figure sculptures that mark the friary out from other Irish Franciscan houses of its date. The friary was dissolved in 1543 but the friars returned several times over the next two centuries; the buildings were eventually abandoned in the late 17th century. Now managed by the Office of Public Works, with knowledgeable on-site guides and a modest admission charge from April to October.

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A story
The friary's 15th-century 'McMahon Tomb' bears one of the finest sequences of carved stone panels in Ireland — the Passion of Christ shown in deep relief, from Christ before Pilate to the Resurrection. The faces are sharp enough that you can read the expressions five centuries on.