Askeaton Abbey

Askeaton Abbey

Mainistir Eas Géitine
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Other names	Athskettin; Easa-geibhteine; Es-geibhteine; Inis-geibhthine; Easa-gebryny; Inisgebryny?
Order	Order of Friars Minor Conventual Order of Friars Minor
Established	1389–1420
Disestablished	1714
Diocese	Limerick
People
Founder(s)	Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond
Architecture
Status	Inactive
Site
Location	Moig South, Askeaton, County Limerick
Coordinates	52°36′14″N8°58′31″W / 52.603813°N 8.975413°W / 52.603813; -8.975413
Public access	Yes
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Askeaton Abbey
Reference no.	185

Askeaton Abbey or Askeaton Friary is a ruined medieval Franciscan friary located north of Askeaton, County Limerick, Ireland, on the east bank of the River Deel. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

History

Drawing by Paul Sandby (1731–1809)

Askeaton Abbey was founded for the Order of Friars Minor Conventual by Gerald FitzGerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond between 1389 and 1400; or by James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond in 1420. ^[5]

The abbey was reformed under the Order of Friars Minor in 1490; it was reformed again in 1513 and a provincial chapter held there in 1564. ^[6]

Askeaton was plundered and later abandoned by Nicholas Malby's men in 1579 during the Second Desmond Rebellion, and some of the friars were killed. ^[7] It was revived in 1627 and abandoned in 1648 when Cromwell’s forces neared. It was reestablished in 1658 and continued to house friars until 1714. ^[8]

In 1914, four of the "ancient" bells of the monastery were found buried beneath the friary's "front door". ^[9]

Architecture

Plan of the friary

The church and its north transept, sacristy, cloister arcade and domestic buildings survive. Notable features include the cloister with its carvings of Francis of Assisi with stigmata, a Mass dial, sedilia, several Fitzgerald dynasty tombs, and a carving of Christ as the Man of Sorrows. ^{[5] [10] [11] [12] [13]}

A sketch of the friary in the Pacata Hibernia, dated from some point prior to 1599, shows a large belfry associated with the structure, now entirely destroyed. ^[14]

The church is rendered in simple Gothic style and is lighted by a large window in the eastern wall. The gable and south wall are battlemented. A plain altar survives. Despite tradition attesting that the Stephenson family had removed the original altar to make a burial place beneath it, this is unlikely to be true. ^[15]

Gallery

• 
  Viewed from the north
• 
  Cloister
• 
  Cloister
• 
  Church ruins
• 
• 
  Statue of St Francis, claimed to cure toothache
• 
  Window with tracery

References

Notes

1. Westropp 1903, p. 240.
2. Hourihane, Colum (18 November 2000). The Mason and His Mark: Masons' Marks in the Medieval Irish Archbishoprics of Cashel and Dublin. British Archaeological Reports Limited. ISBN   9781841711324 – via Google Books.
3. Salter, Mike (18 November 2009). Abbeys and Friaries of Ireland. Folly Publications. ISBN   9781871731842 – via Google Books.
4. Wordsworth, William (18 November 1969). "Letters of the Wordsworth Family from 1787–1855". Ardent Media – via Google Books.
5. "Askeaton Franciscan Friary". Monastic Ireland. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
6. "A visit to Askeaton Friary". 30 April 2017.
7. Berleth, Richard (2002). The Twilight Lords: Elizabeth I and the First Irish Holocaust. Roberts Rinehart. ISBN   9781461733478 – via Google Books.
8. "Askeaton Franciscan Friary, Askeaton. County Limerick 1398".
9. Westropp 1914, p. 166.
10. Comerford, Patrick. "Strolling through the beautiful cloisters in Askeaton Friary".
11. "Askeaton Friary, Co. Limerick".
12. Leask, Harold Graham (1955). "Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings". Dundalgan Press – via Google Books.
13. "Franciscan Monastery, Limerick". www.libraryireland.com.
14. Westropp 1903, p. 241.
15. Westropp 1903, p. 242.

Sources

• Westropp, Thomas J. (30 September 1903). "Notes on Askeaton, County Limerick. Part III. The "Abbey" (Continued)". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 33 (3): 239–254. JSTOR   25507304.
• Westropp, T. J. (1914). "Bells of Askeaton Franciscan Friary, Co. Limerick". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 4 (2): 166. ISSN   0035-9106. JSTOR   25514350.