Building in Abbeylands

Located on the shoreline of Killala Bay, 140m E of Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). A rectangular building, annotated ‘Ruin’, is depicted on the 1838 OS 6-inch maps, its long axis extending roughly NW−SE parallel to the shoreline; ‘Ruin’ is also indicated on the 1929 edition, but the building is no longer clearly delineated. The extant remains consist of a short broken length of mortared stone wall (L. c. 3m NNE−SSW; Wth 0.95m). It straddles the land-edge scarp (H c. 2m), extending on a NNE-SSW alignment perpendicular to the shoreline. The SSW two thirds of the wall stand in a pasture field, reaching a height of 2m, but the NNE end of the wall drops to the shoreline, giving it an overall height of c. 3m. The wall is thickly overgrown with ivy. A sod-covered mound (6m NW−SE; H 1m) of rubble and earth abuts the W face of the wall, perhaps incorporating collapsed remnants of other walls. The exact original form, function and date of this structure are unknown. Given its proximity to the monastery and its shoreline location, it is possible that it was used for the loading/ unloading and storage of goods transported by ships which plied trade routes and fisheries at sea and on the River Moy. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 15 June 2020