Ennis Friary

PricingFree with English Heritage membershipEH memberFree entryNon-member€5

EH members go freeInfo

Free entry for English Heritage members

This place is cared for by the Office of Public Works, which runs Ireland's national heritage sites as Heritage Ireland. English Heritage members are entitled to free entry to all OPW sites from the first year of membership. Show your current membership card at admissions.

Bring the card itself: joint and family memberships admit the named holders only.
Guided sites may run tours at set times; unguided sites are free to everyone.
Prices here are in euro.

More information

Entry

Non-member prices

Adult€5.00

Child or student€3.00

Family€13.00

Group or senior€4.00

Pricing details

OPW's published walk-up price; tickets at the reception desk, no online booking. Under-12s free with a ticket; visitors with disabilities and their carers free. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's 'Child/Student' rate; under-12s free, students with ID. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's family rate (two adults and up to three children at OPW's other sites; the page gives no definition). Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's 'Group/Senior' rate (seniors 60 and over on OPW's booking sites elsewhere). Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

ParkingPay to park

Clare County Council's Abbey Street pay-and-display car park across the road from the friary, €1 an hour up to a three-hour maximum, Monday to Saturday 09:30 to 17:30; public toilets inside it. Not a Trust car park, so membership does not cover it.

Parking details

OPW's social guide sends visitors to the Abbey Street car park across the road for the nearest public toilets; it is one of Clare County Council's pay-and-display car parks, charged Monday to Saturday from 09:30 to 17:30 all year except bank holidays at €1 for one hour, €2 for two and €3 for three, the maximum stay, by machine or the ParkMagic app (zone 6507); free on Sundays and bank holidays. OPW says only that the friary is in the centre of Ennis town and names no bus or rail service.

Driving pin: the Abbey Street car park across the road; OPW's own pin is on the friary, whose main gate is on Abbey Street up a flight of steps, with a step-free entrance on request (ring the bell left of the gate).

About

The O'Briens of Thomond, who once ruled much of north Munster, founded this medieval Franciscan friary on Abbey Street in the centre of Ennis. It grew quickly into a huge foundation, with 350 friars and a famed school of 600 pupils by 1375, and it was the very last school of Catholic theology to survive the Reformation. The building contains an exceptional wealth of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century sculpture carved in the hard local limestone, including an image of St Francis displaying the stigmata and, on an arch between the nave and transept, a remarkable carving of Christ with his hands bound. Do not miss the sacristy with its ribbed barrel-vaulted ceiling and the five-lancet east window lighting the chancel. OPW guides at the desk give a short welcome talk before visitors explore the covered nave and the graveyard on their own; allow about forty minutes. The friary opens from mid March to early November; the nearest toilets are in the car park across the road.

Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices

Until 4 Nov: Daily 10:00–18:00, last admission 17:15
From 5 Nov: Closed

Today, Saturday 24 October

Ennis Friary10:00 – 18:00last admission 17:15

Prices, non-members

Adult€5.00
Child€3.00
Family€13.00

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open 13 March to 4 November 2026, daily 10:00 to 18:00 with last admission at 17:15; closed for the winter from 5 November until the 2027 season, whose dates are not yet published. A guide gives a short welcome talk and history at the start of each visit, included in the ticket. Free to everyone on the first Wednesday of each month (OPW's Free Wednesday scheme, first come first served).

The friary is both indoor and outdoor; the nave is covered, the ground outside can be slippery when wet and OPW notes limited access and uneven walkways, with a step-free entrance available on request. Cards accepted. No toilets, cafe or shop on site; public toilets in the Abbey Street car park across the road. Noise from the neighbouring pubs and the GAA pitch behind.

Photo: Ennis Friary's pinnacled bell tower, roofless nave and the five-lancet east window of the chancel, seen across the friary graveyard under a blue sky. Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:County_Clare_-_Ennis_Friary_-_20180705184130.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.