08 Jun 2014. <IE> Ennis, Co. Clare; Galway, Co. Galway —
Ennis Friary
Ennis (Inis). A gloomy day. Had breakfast, then did a little shopping in Dunnes. We then went round to the
old Friary to look around. Another OPW site, this one in the throes of conservation, and the entire chancel area was closed to the public — one wall is heavily braced, as it is in danger of falling. The nave has been fully re-roofed, and is now safe from further damage. The Creagh and Royal tombs, from near the altar, have been dismantled and brought inside the nave to protect them from weathering, and are currently being displayed as if a single unit — which is not far wrong, as parts of one were almost certainly used later on in the other.
Royal Tomb
Work in Chancel
St Francis in Nave
Cloister fragment
While we were inside, the weather broke. A huge clap of thunder signalled this, and then the heavens opened.
We explored the friary — a lot of similarity with Quin, and with Askeaton, and other friaries we had visited. The parts (like the cloister) that were incomplete, we could fill in from our memories of the other sites.
We returned to our van in a break in the weather, looking at a couple of the older streets of the town on the way. Then the weather really set in, so we decided to push on to Galway. You can guess at the driving conditions from the on-road photo!
Distance driven — today, 50 miles ( 81 km ); to date, 2,172 miles ( 3,496 km )
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