Callan Augustinian Friary

On the north bank of the Kings River in Callan, in an area known locally as the “Abbey Meadow”, stand the ruins of a medieval Augustinian friary. The nave, chancel and crossing tower make up the surviving sections of the friary. The friary dates to the second half of the 15^th Edmund MacRichard Butler petitioned Pope Pius II for the foundation of an Augustinian friary in Callan, which was granted in 1461. Edmund died in 1464, and so his eldest son James was instead credited with founding and building the friary in the late 1460’s. Following James’s death in 1487, he was buried in the friary.

In 1472 the friary became observant following a growing trend at the time to return to a stricter observance of the rules of the monastic order. An Augustinian presence in the Callan Friary continued until the dissolution of the monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII. At the time of its suppression in 1540 the last prior was William O’Fogarty, and the buildings of the friary included a church, belfry, dormitory, hall, three chambers, a kitchen and other rooms. The grounds of the monastery at this time covered three acres and a bake-house, two gardens, a watermill and an acre of meadow. The monastery and its grounds were leased to the Earl of Ormond in 1541. Interestingly, following its dissolution, there is some evidence that the church was altered to accommodate a domestic residence with the crossing tower forming part of this. Similar conversions to domestic use happened in a number of cases around the country including Tintern Abbey in Co. Wexford and Bective Abbey in Co. Meath.

There are some interesting decorative architectural features to be seen in the ruins, including window tracery, with the standout feature being the fine triple sedilia in the chancel, one of the most decorative to be found in the country. The sedilia was the seating for the officials conducting the mass and the one in Callan is reminiscent of that of the Cistercian abbey at Holy Cross in Co. Tipperary. The Butler family coat of arms is present on the sedilia at Holy Cross suggesting a familial connection between the two.

A short distance towards the river to the south of the monastery, and within its former grounds, lies a well. It is known as “St. Augustine’s Well” or the “Abbey Well”. Local folklore attributes a cure for swellings and strains to its waters.

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This national monument is protected in accordance with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014