Though the origins of this church may be much older, the first mention of this Franciscan Friary is of 1247, when the Justiciary of Ireland John Fitz Geoffrey, upon request of the King, granted 15 marks (one mark was equal to two thirds of a pound) to the local community for the erection of the building.
The Scottish army of Edward Bruce attacked the village of Castledermot and destroyed the friary in 1317, but it was soon repaired and extended with the addition of a north aisle and a north transept with its huge north window and its three east chapels. In the same period the north tower might have been added.
While we were visiting the friary we met a hen. She was most probably lost and visibly scared by the fact she couldn't find her way back home.
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