About
On the east bank of the River Deel at the north end of Askeaton village, the Franciscan friary was first recorded in 1400 and founded by the FitzGerald earls of Desmond, whose tombs lie within it. Reformed under the Observant friars, it was sacked in 1579 by Sir Nicholas Malby during the Second Desmond Rebellion, yet the friars returned on and off until 1714. Its limestone church has a five-light east window, and the cloister survives intact, a pointed arcade on clustered colonettes that still holds traces of its original plaster and wattle centering. On the cloister's north side is a carving of St Francis in deep relief, the stigmata clear on his hands and chest, which one reviewer urges visitors to seek out, and a Mass dial is cut into the ambulatory wall. Around it stand two-storey ranges with barrel-vaulted rooms, a refectory with a reader's recess and a cell known as the prison. OPW offers tours on request.
Open in daylightFrom OPW Heritage Ireland's published times
- Open any reasonable time in daylight
Opening times may change at short notice.
An unguided open-air national monument in OPW's care with no staff and no facilities. OPW warns that care and caution should be kept throughout a visit to its unguided sites.
OPW's notice: 'Askeaton Friary is available to visit all year round with tours available upon request: Summer: 09:00 - 18:00 Winter: 09:30 - 17:00'. OPW does not say when summer and winter begin; the gates may be locked outside these hours.
A May 2026 visitor found restoration works preventing a walk round the friary; OPW posts no notice. Askeaton Castle in the village is closed until further notice.
Steps, a spiral stair and uneven floors in a graveyard still in use. No toilets at the site.
Photo: Askeaton Friary's high gables and church ranges above the graveyard lawn on a bright day. Stevesphotography, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Askeaton_Franciscan_Friary,Limerick,_Ireland.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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