On a peaceful site in low-lying pastureland, near the spot where the Black River separates Co Galway from Co Mayo, stands the beautiful 15th-century Franciscan friary of Ross Errilly. The immediate area of this national monument is traditional farming landscape. Viewed from the distance across the fields when approaching the village of Headford, Co Galway, from the Mayo side, Ross Errilly presents a strong silhouette against the sky. It is easy to imagine a thriving, self-contained community still at work there. No ivy rampages across the stone. There are no trees to colonise the site.
Unlike many ancient ecclesiastical sites, there is no air of desolation, no trace of "bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang", no doubt because while there are grave slabs within the church, there is no churchyard and no signs of later generations having used it as a burial ground. After the suppression of the monasteries in 1540, the monks were expelled. But they returned. Expulsion and return became a pattern thanks to the stormy politics of the period. Ross was granted to the de Burgo (or Burke) Earls of Clanricardes, yet the family twice restored it to the community.
The monks experienced contrasting fortunes. At one time, the friary owned some 1,300 acres of land over three townships. In 1580, the friary was granted to Richard de Burgo (or Burke), second earl of Clanricarde, who promptly returned it to the monks. Far less conciliatory were the Cromwellians who attacked the friary in 1656. Luckily the monks had been warned, and escaped. Eight years later, they were back. Exile that time was relatively brief compared with expulsion in 1610 on the orders of the Lord Deputy. (On that occasion, the monks had not been reinstated until 1626.)
This see-saw possession continued. An act of William III ordering the banishment of "all Papists exercising any ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and all regulars of the Popish clergy", was enforced in 1697 and emptied the friary until 1715. The monks returned thanks to the help of a local lord.
Further tensions led to Ross being disguised as a wool factory. The scam was a success. But eventually, by 1753, after seven dramatic returns, the monks made a final departure. For 50 years Ross Errilly stood in ruins.
The friary is believed to have been founded about 1351 by Sir Raymond de Burgo, but this date continues to be widely disputed. Other sources suggest a far later establishment, possibly before 1470. A plausible theory was suggested by the brilliant antiquarian Sir James Ware (15941666), who proposed 1498 as the foundation date and that the friary was built by the Gannard family, local people about whom little is known. Another theory maintains that William, Lord Granard, founded it for Franciscan Observantine Friars, also in 1498.
Could Gannard and Granard be one and the same? Is there a connection? Who knows.
Regardless of who founded the friary, it is possibly the most extensive and wellpreserved Francisican ruin in Ireland (Ennis and Quin in Co Clare are also impressive) and appears to have been built largely in the late 15th century as a cohesive unit, with some later additions. This integrated quality adds to its sense of completeness. It has a deliberate plan.
Nothing is haphazard here; a large circular stone water tank sunk into the kitchen floor was probably used for holding fish. Also evident are fireplaces and an oven. The cloister arcade is among the splendours of the superb masonry work. Light plays on Ross Errilly with marvellous effect.
The church is unusual, having a double transept. There is also a nave and chancel as well as an intriguing series of conventual, domestic buildings. The religious is juxtaposed with the practical.
Daily life and worship went on within walls that also contain two courtyards. Ross Errilly possesses an impressive number of surviving traceried windows representing a variety of styles. The magnificent four-light traceried window in the east wall is a dramatic backdrop to the church. It would have overlooked the high altar which once stood against the wall beneath it.
A three-storey tower, known as Burke's Castle, is obviously a later addition. Crows tend to gather on it, surveying visitors with some curiosity, reserving righteous disapproval for the careless who leave their plastic bottles and wrappings behind them.
Dignified and elegant, with its various gables like the crest of a crown, Ross Errilly Friary is a miniature Canterbury. It is also one of the finest and most vividly cohesive statements of late medieval Irish church architecture.