Dunmore Abbey is a medieval

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ireland.

Location

Dunmore Friary is located in the northern part of

Dunmore, County Galway Dunmore () is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It is located on the N83 national secondary road at its junction with the R328 and R360 regional roads. The town belongs to an ancient tuath called Conmhaícne Dúna-Móir and Cenél Dubáin ...

History

Dunmore was an early monastic site, allegedly founded by

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

in the 5th century. The site was founded for the

Augustinian friars The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

before 1425 by

Walter de Bermingham Walter de Bermingham was an Anglo-Irish lord who died in 1428. Little seems to be recorded of his term. In 1426, the annals relate that ''John, son of Mac Feorais Bermingham, was slain by Thomas, his own brother's son.'' When Walter died in ...

Baron Athenry Baron Athenry is one of the oldest titles in the Peerage of Ireland, but the date of its creation is thoroughly uncertain; each of the first four Berminghams listed below is claimed by some writers to have been Lord Athenry, but the evidence is di ...

. Dunmore Abbey was dissolved in 1569, but the friars remained in occupancy. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

part of the friary was converted into a parish church of the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

. In 1574 the land was held by John Fitz-Thomas Burke. In 1641 there were still a prior and thirty

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

s in the community. The friars left in 1645, taking refuge at Mayfield. In 1698 a comprehensive inventory was made.

Buildings

There is a fine and decorative 15th century west doorway.

References

{{Reflist Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Galway Archaeological sites in County Galway National monuments in County Galway