Religious house — Franciscan friars in St. Francisabbey

E of Friar Street and outside the southern end of the E length of the medieval town wall (TS061-025023-). The site is currently occupied by an RC Church and a former Convent complex. The friary, also known as Hacket's Abbey, was founded in c. 1265 by Lord William Hacket for the Conventual Franciscans (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 244). The foundation became Observant in 1538 and in the same year the Archbishop of Cashel Edmund Butler obtained the friary for a small rent (ibid.). During the course of the dissolution of monasteries, the Cashel friary was seized, but the friars were apparently allowed to stay on (ibid.). An inquisition of the 7th April 1540 described the precinct as comprising a church and steeple, dormitory, hall, four chambers, kitchen and two gardens, one acre, all in a ruinous state and not valued; the possessions included 18 messuages and gardens, and 16 acres of land, valued at £3 10s. 2d.(ibid.). The friars finally abandoned the premises in c. 1550 (ibid.). There are no extant structural remains of the Franciscan Friary. An 18th-century illustration (Grose 1791 (reprint 1982), 47-8) shows the friary church from the SE, with three tall lancet windows in the E gable and sequential lancets in the S wall of the chancel, though the most easterly appears enlarged with a segmental head. The partial E wall of a S transept is depicted, as well as the S gable and E wall of a possible side chapel, W of the transept. This side chapel is shown with a three-light traceried window with hood-moulding in the S gable. The text accompanying the sketch states that 'On the night of the 14th of February, 1757, the lofty and beautiful steeple of this church fell to the ground. This religious house was situate at the rear of Friar-street, and is now so much gone to ruin, that it is scarcely possible to trace the divisions of the building: what remains measures east and west, one hundred and fifty feet (45m) in length, and twenty-five (7.6m) in breadth; on the south side, opposite the centre of this range, is a small chapel, with niches for candles, and a handsome window. In the year 1781, the great east window and many other parts of the Abbey were pulled down, to employ the materials in private buildings.' In 1888 John Davis White noted that not a stone of the abbey was still standing, having been replaced by the modern Catholic church. He added that a 'stone coffin' (TS061-025077-), said to be that of Sir William Hackett, had been placed at the entrance to the church and was being used as a holy water recepticle. Other graveslabs and effigies from the Franciscan Friary have been moved to the C of I Catherdral of St. John the Baptist and to the Vicar's Choral on the Rock of Cashel. There are several architectural fragments visible in the external face of the RC church boundary wall. Two limestone capitals (TS083-019104-; TS083-019105-) from the friary, dating to the latter half of the 13th century, are currently stored in South Tipperary County Museum. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of revised upload: 10 February 2015