Moyne Abbey

A large Franciscan friary near the mouth of the river Moy, founded around 1460 and among the most complete monastic complexes of its kind in the west. A slender central tower rises over the church, and the cloister, dormitories, kitchen and refectory survive to a height that lets visitors trace the full plan. It was burned by the provincial governor in the late sixteenth century during the Elizabethan conquest of Connacht. Reached across farmland, the extensive grey ruins stand close to the tidal estuary.