Sherkin Island

Franciscan Friary

A local chieftain Fineen O'Driscoll founded the friary on Inisherkin in 1449, but there is no record of the building until the 1460s. The nave and chancel church is separated by an inserted tower. A cloister is situated to the north of the church with several domestic buildings around it. The axis of the nave is not directly east which is the norm but is about 30° to the north. Another oddity is the placement of the main doorway in the southern wall rather than the usual west wall. The southern transept has two side chapels. The building was attacked and burnt in 1537, but subsequently repaired.