Ardfert Abbey

It is thought that Ardfert was the original site of the monastery founded by Brendan the Navigator, which burned down c.1089.[5]

Ardfert Friary was founded for the Order of Friars Minor Conventual c. 1253 by Thomas Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Kerry; he was purportedly buried here c. 1280–1.[6] In 1310 a disagreement with the Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe Nicol Ó Samradáin led to some friars suffering violent beatings.

A residential tower was added to the west end of the church in the 15th century.[7]

It was refounded in 1517 for the Observant Franciscan Friars and finally dissolved in 1584; Col. John Zouche turned it into a barracks. Some friars remained in the area. In 1590 it belonged to James FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond.[8]

In 1636 the friary was absorbed into the estate of the Earls of Glandore (Crosbie family).[9][10] In 1670 the 15th-century window of the church was moved to Ardfert Cathedral;[11] it was returned to the friary in 1815.

The layout of the building follows the standard layout of most Franciscan friaries: a large church, a cloister, and residential offices.[12]

The church features a long nave and a chancel. A residential tower was added to the west end in the 15th century. It contains five floors, some with window seats and garderobes.

There is a thirteenth-century window divided into five lights at the east gable which would have lit up the choir. There are also nine lancet windows in the south wall; the design appears to be copied from Ardfert Cathedral.

Below the nine south windows there are 5 niche tombs added in the later centuries.[13][14][15][16][17]

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  Nave and choir
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  Cloister walk
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  Cloister arcades
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  South window
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  Cloister and dormitory
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  Arms of Susan Ann Crosbie
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  Tomb niches
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  Tomb niches

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