Founded by MacSwiney Banagh sometime in the latter half of the 15th century, this religious settlement served its community for roughly 150 years before historical upheaval forced its abandonment. The friars were driven from their home shortly after 1601, following the Irish defeat at the Battle of Kinsale, a pivotal moment that marked the end of Gaelic Ireland’s resistance to English rule.

The remaining church ruins have endured centuries of Atlantic weather, though not without consequence. In 1907, the western gable collapsed entirely, and a significant gap opened beneath the eastern window. Restoration efforts undertaken about thirty years ago saw these damaged sections rebuilt, with both the interior and exterior faces of the southern and eastern walls carefully repointed to help preserve what remains of the structure.

Not all of the friary’s architectural elements remain on site. In 1868, locals removed a shaft and capital from the eastern side of the ruins, relocating these medieval stonework pieces to St. Catherine’s Catholic Church in nearby Killybegs. Rather than being incorporated into the church itself, these fragments found an unexpected home as part of a garden gate pier, directly opposite the church’s western gable, where they continue to serve as tangible links to the area’s monastic past.