Bonamargy Friary, Ballycastle (7)

[Ptarmigan]

Bonamargy Friary, Ballycastle



Bonamargy Friary ~ YouTube Video

Bonamargy Friary is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, off the Cushendall Road on the approach to Ballycastle. The name Bonamargy means ‘foot of the Margy River’, the river formed by the joining of the Cary River and Shesk Rivers.

Bonamargy Friary ~ Wikipedia

Situated on the right hand side, a short distance out of the town on the Cushendall road is Bonamargie Friary, one of the finest ruins along the north coast - originally thatched, the ruins consist of a chapel, vaults, gatehouse, cloisters, living quarters and a graveyard. Some accounts date this Third Order Franciscan Friary to around 1500 but it was perhaps built slightly earlier around the 1480s. The Franciscans first arrived in Ireland in 1226 and over a decade or so had created such an impression that many local rulers provided for them in their territories and funded the building of friaries.

Bonamargy Friary ~ North Antrim

The ruin of a Franciscan friary founded by Rory McQuillan about 1500 and used until the mid seventeenth century. One of the last friaries to be built before the Reformation, it was approached by a small, two-storey gate-house. The friary church, originally roofed with thatch, is long and rectangular, and retains much of a fine east window. Against the south wall is a fine McNaughten tomb of 1630, and a low, holed cross at the western end is traditionally said to mark the grave of Julia McQuillan, a recluse nun who lived here in the 17th century.

Bonamargy Friary ~ (Bun na Mairge)

The ruin of a Franciscan friary founded by Rory McQuillan about 1500 and used until the mid seventeenth century. One of the last friaries to be built before the Reformation, it was approached by a small, two-storey gate-house. The friary church, originally roofed with thatch, is long and rectangular, and retains much of a fine east window. Against the south wall is a fine McNaughten tomb of 1630, and a low, holed cross at the western end is traditionally said to mark the grave of Julia McQuillan, a recluse nun who lived here in the 17th century.

Bonamargy Friary ~ Discover Northern Ireland

This is the crumbling gatehouse that you pass through on the way to Bonamargy Friary in Ballycastle. At one time, it would have been thatched and may have provided shelter for Julia McQuillan, the Black Nun who lived at Bonamargy.

Bonamargy Gatehouse

Talk to any local Ballycastle person about the history of the area and inevitably one of the first people they mention is Julia McQuillan, "The Black Nun". She was a recluse, who reputedly lived in Bonamargy Friary.

Your Place & Mine ~ The Black Nun of Bonamargy