The Friary of St.Mary the Virgin, also known as Killeenbrenan Friary (Pl. 1), is located in the townland of Moorgagagh, near Shrule, Co. Mayo.
The friary’s name has been variously rendered as Kilbrennan,
Killina Bonaina (Mooney 1958-9, 59) and
Cyllynbonnaynn (Twemlow 1909, 25).
It was a house of the Franciscan Third Order Regular, also known as the Franciscan Tertiaries
The Friary of St.Mary the Virgin, also known as Killeenbrenan Friary (Pl. 1), is located in the townland of Moorgagagh, near Shrule, Co. Mayo.
The friary’s name has been variously rendered as Kilbrennan,
Killina Bonaina (Mooney 1958-9, 59) and
Cyllynbonnaynn (Twemlow 1909, 25).
It was a house of the Franciscan Third Order Regular, also known as the Franciscan Tertiaries.
The Franciscan Third Order
The Franciscan Third Order Secular or Order of Lay Penance was probably established in Italy (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 263) for men and women, as an alternative form of religious life for those whose circumstances and other commitments, such as marriage, did not permit them to enter a conventual setting. The origins of the Franciscan Tertiaries are rather obscure and indeed, contentious. They were in existence by the early decades of th(thirteenth century (0 Clabaigh 2002, 82). Members who followed the Third Order Rule continued to live in their own homes, engaging in fasting and abstinence, reciting the office, observing simplicity of dress and undertaking works of charity, among other requirements (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988,263). The Third Order Regular subsequently emerged, consisting of cloistered communities, following the Third Order Rule, ‘the better to ensure their own sanctification and to undertake apostolic activities’ (Mooney 1958-9, 58).
The Third Order Regular became especially popular in late medieval Ireland, establishing 43 new houses in Ireland between 1400 and 1508, as compared with 47 new houses founded by the Franciscan First Order (Conventual and Observant), Dominicans, Augustinians and Carmelites combined (Watt 1998, 193). These were mainly concentrated in the west and north of the country, with 16 in the Archdiocese ofTuam, 22 in Armagh, five in Cashel and none in the Episcopal province of Dublin (Watt 1998, 193). While the popularity of this order is apparent statistically, it is difficult to account for its particular appeal in Gaelic Ireland. Ó Clabaigh (2002, 80) remarks on the paradox of the Franciscan Third Order being the ‘most widespread and influential formal religious movement’ of the time and yet the one which has left least trace archaeologically or in written sources.
The popularity of this order is unparalleled elsewhere in Europe, but in Ireland is primarily a phenomenon of the Gaelic world, where written records are scant. It is mainly through the lens of the Calendars of Papal Registers (CPR) that it is possible to gain
an insight into this order but, of course, these documents only tell part of the story in terms of official correspondence from the Holy See. The order had died out by the early seventeenth century, although Donatus Mooney, a seventeenth century Observant Franciscan, provides some useful insights ( Ó Clabaigh 2002, 80).
In Ireland, the Third Order Regular built its first convents in the first half of the fifteenth century (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 264). Irish evidence indicates that this form of Franciscan life was mainly for men, but perhaps not exclusively so, or at least, not in its early years.
A papal document of 1426 (discussed below) mandating the construction of Third Order friaries refers to ‘friars and sisters of the said order in Ireland’ (Twemlow 1906, 452-3).
It is not clear if this refers to secular Tertiaries (as opposed to those living in convents) as this is the only reference to sisters in the document in which friars are alluded to on several occasions. This reference should be approached with caution, as the use of ‘brothers and sisters’ that often occurs in papal letters may have been a formula used in Rome to refer to an order which had men and women among its congregations, though not necessarily living in conventual communities together (Gwynn and Had cock 1988, 264).
A 1428 grant to Killeenbrenan Friary refers only to brethren. No references to sisters occur in documentary accounts relating to the Third Order Regular in Ireland after 1457 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 264). There is little architectural evidence to support the notion that men and women lived together in Third Order Regular communities, nor is there any later memory of it (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 264). It is likely that the reference to sisters resulted from the use of a formula of address and is not an indication that women lived in these communities.
Foundation and founder
While the date of foundation of Killeenbrenan Friary is unknown, documentary accounts confirm that it was in existence by 1428 when a papal indulgence was granted to those who visited the friary and gave alms for the ‘repairs and conservation of the church … which by reason of the wars which have affected those parts is threatened with ruin’ (Twemlow 1909, 25).
This friary is especially significant as it appears to have been the first regular convent of the Franciscan Third Order established in Ireland (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 271). While this claim cannot be definitively proven, Killeenbrenan is the earliest house of this order in Ireland for which there is documentary evidence. A 1426 document gives the impression that there are already communities of the Franciscan Third Order Regular in Ireland by this time. It does not mention any specific house of the order, but rather permits members to have Mass and the divine office celebrated submissa voce (literally, in a low voice) ‘in their houses and monasteries, or … churches’ (Twemlow 1906, 427).
The petition of Patrick Yclinnan and other friars of the Third Order ‘to found ‘houses and ‘monasteries and churches’ for this order was granted in another papal letter of 1426, apparently a significant year for this order in Ireland.
They had been granted land in the diocese of Tuam and other dioceses for the foundation of regular friaries and were permitted to build a friary with a ‘church, bell-tower, bell, cloister and other offices’ (Twemlow 1906, 452).
The friars had already begun to construct a friary in the diocese of Tuam by this time. In addition, they were permitted to ‘celebrate the divine office according to the manner of the Roman court’. Those who heard the divine office and received the sacraments at these churches could not be compelled by parish priests to do so elsewhere, recognition of the official status of these establishments (Twemlow 1906, 452). This is perhaps also indicative of the tensions that sometimes existed between the mendicant orders and parish clergy. Killeenbrenan was one of the first Franciscan Tertiary friaries to be founded in Ireland, if not the first, as indicated by Gwynn and Hadcock (1988,271). If they are correct, then Killeenbrenan may be the friary in the diocese of Tuam referred to above.
The Sloane Manuscript1 lists the founders of a number of Franciscan friaries of the First and Third Orders in Connacht, but it does not mention Killeenbrenan (Blake 1928-9, 25-9). Knox (1908, 96) proposes that Killeenbrenan was founded by a member of the Burke family, a logical suggestion given the friary’s location in the heartland of Burke control and its short distance from the Burke castle of Shrule, a fourteenth-century hall house near the Black River (Burke 2001, 91). The papalletter of 1426, which mandated the petition of Patrick Yclinnan, indicates that Walter Burke, ‘lord of Congnacnicuile’, chief of his sept; and his brothers had granted lands to the friars.
Given the date of this document and the probability that it alludes to Killeenbrenan, despite not mentioning it by name, it is likely that Walter Burke (Mac William fochtair 1402-40) (Moody et al. 1984, 171) was the founder of this house. He was a brother of Richard (Risdeard) Burke, who was responsible for the foundation of the Dominican friary at Burrishoole. Walter is also thought to have been the founder of a religious house at Annagh on the shores of Lough Carra, although this foundation may have been the work ofhis father, Thomas (Knox 1908, 156). Mendicant friaries, such as Killeenbrenan, were completely reliant on the generosity of others to ensure their survival and they often had multiple patrons who contributed on different levels, according to their means. Some of the confusion surrounding the patrons of mendicant friaries arises from the fact that a number of patrons were involved in founding and supporting these religious houses.
An Armagh Friary?
In addition to having been erroneously believed to be located in Galway, due to its proximity to the border with that county, Killeenbrenan has also, much more surprisingly, been mistakenly located in Armagh. This error
was discussed in Mooney’s (1969, 34-6) article ‘A Ghost Friary in Armagh;
which traced this frequently repeated error through Archdall’s Monasticon Hibernicum back to Louis Alemand’s 1690 study of Irish monasteries. The friary is referred to by the name ‘Kilsleve’ in relation to discussion of the appointment ofFr Thomas Ornay’ as Perpetual Commissary of the Franciscan Third Order in 1457 and as Visitor of this order in Ireland. (Fr Ornay was a friar ofKilleenbrenan, an appointment which will be explored in more detail below). While Alemand claimed to have derived this information from the writings of Luke Wadding, Mooney (1969, 35-6) concludes that the error first appears in Aleman d’s Monasticum Hibernicum in combination with a number of inaccuracies relating to this friary. Taken together (and subsequently
repeated), these errors cemented the impression that Killeenbrenan was in Armagh.._ Alemand refers to the friary as ‘Killave: unlike Wadding who uses ‘Killavabrenaynd: Mooney (1969, 36) explains that Alemand may have
dispensed with the second element of the name as being unimportant and possibly confused Killavae and Killevy in the diocese of Armagh. He must also have disregarded Wadding’s account that the friary was in the diocese of
Tuam, not Armagh.
‘The chief of all houses in Ireland’
A papal letter of 1456-7 mandated the petition of the Franciscan Third Order Regular requesting that visitations of houses of this order should be carried out by one of their own members (Twemlow 1921, 141). This resolved the previously existing situation whereby they had been visited by friars from other mendicant orders, perhaps a reflection of the relative newness of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. This practice was discontinued on the basis that it was impractical due to the location of the Third Order houses and ‘the
dangers of the roads’ (Twemlow 1921, 141). In addition, the Tertiaries had friars within their order who were suited to carry out this duty, thus it was unnecessary to appoint an external friar to this end (Twemlow 1921, 141).
Thomas Oruayn, friar of Killeenbrenan, was therefore appointed visitor of the Franciscan Third Order Regular in Ireland. He was described as a priest of this order and an expert in canon law, in addition to being the oldest friar of the house of St Mary in Killeenbrenan, which is significantly described as ‘the chief of all [Franciscan Third Order Regular] houses in Ireland’. Upon his death, it was stated that the order could choose a replacement visitor from amongst their own members or from any other order (Twemlow 1921, 141).
The architecture of Killeenbrenan Friary
There is a poor survival rate for Franciscan Third Order friaries in Ireland, with a number of houses having no extant remains. This may be an indication of these houses having been flimsily constructed and may also reflect the use of perishable materials, such as timber, in construction. These friaries that survive range in size from modestly-sized houses, such as Kilboght, Co.Galway, to larger houses, such as Rosserk, Co. Mayo. Indeed, the latter is exceptional for both the extent and good condition of its remains. Alemand (1722, 304) describes Killeenbrenan as ‘one of the most considerable houses of the [Franciscan Third] Order’. On the basis of the surviving evidence, it appears not to have been as extensive as Rosserk Friary, but was probably superior in size to many houses of this order in Ireland. This is indicative of the prominence of Killeenbrenan in the Franciscan Third Order in Ireland, as discussed above, in addition to the support they received from its patrons in constructing this friary. As to its current condition, the friary is now in a ruinous state and while a decent portion of the building still stands, a great deal of masonry has collapsed, and, unusually, has not been removed from where it fell. Much of this rubble has subsequently overgrown with grass,
rendering it difficult to make one’s way around the friary. While such a state had befallen many friaries in the past, most have benefitted from official interventions to secure their structures. Sadly, Killeenbrenan has not been
so fortunate. The walls have been prey to ivy and while some of this growth has been cleared, the growth of creepers has caused the walls to bow out significantly in places. These factors present challenges when it comes to interpreting the architecture of this friary.
In considering the architecture of this friary, it is worthwhile to firstly describe the overall layout of the friary as it now stands (Fig. 1). The friary consists of a long rectangular church, with a transept located to the south and a domestic range to the north. Both of these structures are towards the west end of the church. The church would once have been divided into a nave for the laity and a choir for use by the friary’s religious community during Masses. There is an additional structure to the north of the choir.
This account of the architecture of the friary will begin at the west doorway (Pl. 2), the point of entry for lay visitors to the church and the principal point of entry to the friary. The western approach of a friary church typically sets the tone for what one can expect of the architecture of the site. The western gable of the friary has two principal features, the portal with a window above it. The doorway is of a simple, flat-headed type. It is surmounted by a lintel and has simple, unmoulded jambs. On the inner side of the wall, there is a relieving arch of wedge-shaped stones. A collapse of the masonry on the north inner side of the doorway has caused a slight tilt in the outer jamb on this side. There is a single-light ogee-headed window above the western portal. The window does not have either a hood-moulding or spandrels but does have a chamfered intrados. With the exception of the west wall of the nave, little of the rest of this part of the church still stands, although a small section of the south wall remains, immediately to the east of the transept. There is a blocked-up opening in this wall, which was probably once a window, considering its location. A series of voussoirs or wedge-shaped stones surmount this feature.
The choir
A circuit of walls indicate the former extent of the choir of Killeenbrenan.
These do not survive to their full height, however. This fact, in combination with their overgrown state, makes it difficult to pinpoint the location of the windows in the choir.
Some insights into the pattern of fenestration at this site can be gleaned from comparison with other friary sites. The east window would most likely have been the largest window of the friary. The character of the original phase of the church, namely the nave and choir, indicates that the design of the window would have been reasonably simple.
This is not conclusive, however, given that only one window and doorway survive from this portion of the church. Other windows would have been built along the south wall of the choir. It is not possible to conclude whether there would have
been any windows in the north wall of the choir, as this is largely dependent on the layout of the domestic ranges, which are too fragmentary to permit such an interpretation. An additional mass of masonry stands at the south east corner of the choir (Pl. 3). Its location indicates that it was a buttress constructed to strengthen the choir wall. It is not keyed into the adjoining wall, which suggests that it was a later addition.
The transept
The transept lies to the Plate 4: Transept arch, looking towards nave. The west doorway can be seen towards the centre of the image south of the church, emerging at a right angle from the nave (Pl.4). This placement is somewhat unusual, as
transepts are typically located midway along the church’s length, where the nave and choir meet. The floor level of the transept is much lower than the rest of the friary, as its walls are still standing and thus no rubble has fallen here.
However, the archway between the transept and nave is in a very precarious condition and looks likely to collapse (Pl. 5). The arch is only two stones deep at one point, as some of the masonry, which was originally above it, has fallen. The west side of the arch is in a particularly poor state. In addition, some masonry from the eastern jamb of the arch has collapsed, while only the construction of a modern pillar from concrete blocks on the western side of the arch, the result of a local initiative, has prevented the arch from collapsing (Pl. 6). This is, admittedly, not an ideal solution, but was considered necessary in the absence of any official attempts to ensure the building’s structural stability. The transept was a later addition to the friary.
This becomes apparent when one examines the fabric of the structure. The masonry is not bonded into that of the adjoining nave.
A twin -light cusped ogee-headed window is located in the south transept wall (Pl.s 7 & 8). The window is finely wrought, especially when compared with the example in the west wall of the nave, discussed above. The superior finish in the transept in indicative of the availability of generous patronage to finance its construction. The transept, of course, post -dates the construction of the rest of the church and came at a time when the Franciscan community here was well established in the locality. A stepped pattern embellishes the hood-moulding, spandrels and intrados of this south-facing window. This treatment is similar to that found on a ground floor window at the crossing of Burrishoole Dominican Friary, except that example has a five-stepped pattern, compared to three at Killeenbrenan. Nor does this window feature the punch-dressed surround used at Burrishoole.
The Killeenbrenan window has been partly blocked up. There is a piscina, an arched recess with a drain hole, used for washing sacramental vessels, to the east of this window. It was executed from cut stone and has a simple pointed arch. Its presence indicates the former existence of an altar at this location. This in turn suggests that the transept may have served as a chantry chapel, a part of the church endowed by a founder or founders for the regular saying of masses for the souls of the founder or others intended (Stevens Curl2000, 140).
Chantries range from being an altar to a partitioned area of the church, to a separate structure or addition to the building. The absence of an altar in the transept may indicate that the altar was removed or that it was constructed of wood. While stone altars were most desirable, perhaps because of their associations of greater permanency, and were most sought after for the principal altar beneath the east window, wooden altars were also used in medieval churches, particularly in subsidiary locations, such as chapels and transepts.
The second window in the transept faces east (Pl. 9), permitting the rising sun to illuminate this area of the church. Like the previous example, this twin-light window has also been partly blocked up. Its two lights are cusped; this time there are four cusps adorning each light. The upper part of the mullion has broken away. The mullion and intrados feature the same stepped pattern employed on the southfacing transept window, but it was not used on the hood-mouldings or Window ill east wall of the transept. spandrels in this second instance.
Domestic buildings
There is no evidence for a cloister at this site. This is commonly the case with Franciscan Third Order houses. The absence of cloisters may reflect the smaller size of Franciscan Third Order houses compared to those of the Franciscan First Order, such as Moyne and Ross Errilly. Smaller friary communities sometimes constructed a single L-shaped range of domestic buildings at a right angle to the church, as they did not need a full three ranges of conventual buildings. However, even the largest surviving Franciscan Tertiary friary in Ireland, Rossserk, has a courtyard but no cloister arcade. The construction of wooden cloisters is a possibility worth considering.
The church’s transept is located to the south, so the principles of mendicant friary planning indicate that the domestic buildings would have been located to the north of the church. There is a two-storey structure located at a right angle to the nave (Pl. 10). That it was indeed a two-storey structure is indicated by the presence of corbels to support a floor and the existence of windows on two levels. This structure continues the line of the west gable of the nave; however, the masonry of this structure is not keyed in with that of the nave.
Part of a doorway survives in the west wall of this northern building, but the masonry on the north side of it has fallen away, leaving only the lower part of its south jamb in situ. There is a series of narrow windows with flat heads in the lower floor. As the building does not survive to its full height, only the sill stones and jambs of the windows survive at this level.
Another structure emerges immediately to the north of the one described above. This is in an even more ruinous state than its neighbour and its walls only survive to a low level, particularly in the northerly wall where they are scarcely above ground level. This building is connected to the two-storey building to the south of it by means of a section of masonry on the west side.
The meeting point of these two buildings is indicated in the masonry fabric by the presence of a line of quoin stones, demarcating the end of the first building. There is an opening where these two walls meet, which spans the width of the space between the two buildings. It could possibly have been a doorway, although the opening into which it leads is rather narrow to have served as a passageway. The purpose of the northerly extension is not clear.
The site is now approached by means of a track coming from a north-easterly direction. However, the principal entrance to the site was once located to the west. This is indicated by the presence of two pointed arches, one larger than the other, which stand to the west of the complex of friary buildings (Pl. 11). Both arches are now blocked up, but would once have served as the principal entry point to the friary grounds, affording a view of the western doorway which the laity would have used to enter the friary.
Conclusion
Killeenbrenan Friary was ‘the chief of all [Franciscan Third Order] houses in Ireland; according to a mid-fifteenth century account (Twemlow 1921, 141). This reflects its position as one of the earliest, if not the first house, of this order to be founded in Ireland. Killeenbrenan was part of a new movement in the mendicant orders, which saw the previously lay Third Order begin to establish cloistered communities. The friary struggled initially and required the papal grant of indulgences to obtain sufficient support to sustain its community, which was bound to a life of poverty, The friary is of modest proportions when compared to contemporary houses of the Franciscan First Order in Ireland, such as Moyne and Ross Errilly. It is also smaller than Rosserk Third Order Friary, although Rosserk appears to represent the exception rather than the rule for houses of this order. Conversely, Killeenbrenan is larger than other Tertiary houses, such as Kilboght, Co.Galway.
While the Franciscan First Order tended to found large houses in late medieval Ireland, the Third Order favoured smaller houses and these often occurred in clusters. For example, Killeenbrenan is located close to the Tertiary houses of Cloonyvornoge and Beagh, both of which are in Co.Galway and have no extant standing remains. This friary was constructed in a piecemeal fashion, with additions being made gradually, in different phases, as patronage and resources became available. Decorative features in stone are kept to a minimum and are confined to the windows of the transept, which are not part of the original phase of construction of the church.6 The simplicity of the buildings and restraint in decoration is indicative of something constructed out of necessity rather than being intended for display or status. The transept is slightly more elaborate in appearance; this is perhaps a reflection of a patron’s generosity and specified requirements. While this friary was evidently significant amongst its own order in Ireland, its architecture is in keeping with small-to-medium sized houses of the Franciscan Tertiaries in Ireland, probably reflecting the size of the community it once housed.
Notes
1’British Museum MS No. 4814.
2 Refers to Conmaicne Cuile Talad, an early medieval kingdom approximately coterminous with the lordship of Clann Uilliam Iochtair (Lower Mac William Burke) or the modern baronies of Kilmaine and Ross, Co. Mayo (FitzPatrick 2005, 358).
3 Elsewhere rendered as Oruayn (Twemlow 1921, 141). _
4 His Irish-speaking neighbours may have known him as Tomas 0 Ruadhain, according to Mooney (1969, 36).
5 ‘The bar of stone that divides the widow opening into two.
6 ‘The use of perishable material for decorative purposes cannot be ruled out. Late medieval friaries in Ireland provide evidence of the use of wooden statues, walls paintings and stained lass, but these rarely survive in situ. However, the_re was much more to the decorative scheme of these buildings than their ruinous state and the preponderance of stone may suggest to the popular imagination.
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Yvonne McDermott graduated from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Castlebar, with a B.A. in Heritage Studies and subsequently completed an M.A. by research on the topic of mendicant friaries at the same institute.
She lectures on the Heritage Studies programme in GMIT Castlebar, where she teaches Archaeology and Folklore