This weathered section of mortared stone wall, stretching over nine metres in length and rising to roughly three metres high, follows the route of an ancient causeway that connected the friary to the surrounding landscape. Though the 1838 Ordnance Survey map rather optimistically labelled it ‘Gateway (in ruins)’ and placed it some 80 metres north of its actual position, today’s visitors will find only this solitary wall fragment, its 1.15-metre thickness suggesting it once formed part of a substantial entrance structure.

The wall itself tells an intriguing story through its blocked openings, whose outlines remain visible in the stonework despite centuries of weathering. Running from southeast to northwest, with a modern wall now abutting its southeastern end, this survivor appears to have been part of the defensive perimeter that once encircled Ross Errilly. According to historian Fahey, writing in 1901, this gateway marked a point along the enclosing wall and ditch system that protected the monastery complex, creating a defined boundary between the sacred grounds and the wider medieval landscape.

Ross Errilly itself, one of Ireland’s best-preserved Franciscan friaries, would have relied on such gateways to control access and maintain the distinction between monastic and secular spaces. While the main friary buildings have survived remarkably well, these outlying structures offer valuable glimpses into the broader infrastructure that supported medieval religious life; the causeways, walls, and gateways that channelled movement through the Galway countryside and regulated who could approach the monastery’s inner sanctum.