While today you’ll find religious buildings on this spot, they’re actually built atop the foundations of what was once a medieval manor castle. The original fortification belonged to James Butler, the first Earl of Ormond, who made a rather generous donation to the Franciscans in 1336; he gave them his entire castle to convert into a friary.

The transformation from military stronghold to religious house was documented by the friary’s first guardian, Friar Clyn, who recorded that James Butler “gave the Franciscans his castle as a friary at Carrick”. This wasn’t uncommon in medieval Ireland, where noble families often donated property to religious orders as acts of piety or political manoeuvring. The Franciscans quickly established themselves here, and their presence continued through the centuries, with a Roman Catholic church later being built on the same historically significant site.

Unfortunately for castle enthusiasts, there’s nothing left of the original manor castle visible above ground today. The medieval fortification has completely vanished beneath centuries of religious architecture and development. Local historian Bradley noted this absence in 1985, confirming that whilst the site’s castle origins are well documented, any physical traces have long since disappeared into the foundations of the buildings that came after.