Athenry News & Views Summer 2026

Athenry News & Views

The restoration of St. Kerrill’s Abbey, Cloonkeenkerrill. The iconic ruins of Cloonkeenkerrill Franciscan Friary, familiarly referred to by local people as St. Kerrill’s Abbey, located within Cloonkeenkerrill Graveyard, has always held a special place in the hearts & minds of the people of Gurteen & surrounding areas. The influence of St. Kerrill remains deeply woven into local life to this day. The local national school proudly bears his name, St Kerrill’s National School, while Kerrill continues to be a common name throughout the parish & beyond. Indeed, it is probably true to say that almost anyone named Kerrill anywhere in the world can trace some family connection, ancestry or allegiance back to Gurteen & Cloonkeenkerrill area. Such is the enduring legacy of the saint & the affection in which he is held. By: Martina Donnellan

Annually on June 13th, the parish honours its patron saint with celebrations of St Kerrill’s Day. Traditional Mass is celebrated at 12 noon, followed by a walk from Gurteen Church to St Kerrill’s well in Gortnalone. The day concludes with music & social gatherings that continue long into the evening. For many years these celebrations were centred in Mitchell’s Bar, Gurteen, formerly known as ‘The Ace of Hearts’, until its closure over two years ago. Since then, the festivities have remained firmly within the parish & are now hosted in Burke’s Bar, Colemanstown, ensuring that the tradition continues to thrive for future generations. So first for you readers: just a little bit of history on the abbey itself: The following extracted from the writings of Dr. Joe Mannion, Woodford (6th April 2021) gives a brief history of ‘St Kerrill’s Abbey’ “Bearing silent witness to more than fifteen hundred years of Christian worship and tradition, these late medieval ecclesiastical remains mark the site of an early church founded by local evangelist and disciple of Saint Patrick, Caireall mac Curnáin, now known as Saint Kerrill. Following the introduction of the diocesan system of church organisation from the mid-twelfth century onwards, Clonkeenkerrill became the centre of worship for the

medieval parish of Clonkeen, which is reflected to a large extent in the current half-parish of Gurteen. A parish church was erected at Clonkeenkerrill during this period, which some two hundred years later would be incorporated into a friary for the Third Order of Saint Francis. About the year 1435, Thomas O’Kelly, Bishop of Clonfert, gave permission to friars David and John O’Mulkerrill, to ‘convert the said temple into a monastery for the propagation of religion and the increase of divine worship’. In 1441, Pope Eugenius IV confirmed Bishop O’Kelly’s grant, but it appears from a petition to the

pope in 1453 by David O’Mulkerrill that although the building of the new friary had begun it was not yet completed. In 1482, Cornelius O’Mulkerrill, described as ‘the master’ of Clonkeenkerrill, journeyed to Rome to obtain an indulgence for those giving alms for the repair of the fabric of the monastery and the upkeep of certain roads leading to it. The pastoral services rendered by the friars to the local community gradually came to an end with the suppression of the monasteries during the sixteenth century, which led to the custody of the friary being granted to a succession of individuals from

The restored St. Kerrill’s Abbey in 2026

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