Rosserk Friary
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Rosserk Friary is a friary in County Mayo, Ireland and a National Monument.
Rosserk Friary is one of the finest and best preserved of the Franciscan Friaries in Ireland. It was founded by the Joye (Joyce) family circa 1440 for the Observatine Franciscans (Friars of the Third Order Regular, TOR).
Rosserk Friary and Moyne Abbey are located close to each other, north of Ballina on the west side of Killala Bay. Both were burnt by Sir Richard Bingham, Elizabeth I of England's governor of Connacht, in 1590 in reformationist zeal.
The stone doorway leading to the church still shows fine workmanship and carvings. The cruciform Church is built in the late Irish Gothic Style and consists of a single-aisle nave, with two chapels in the south transept and a bell-tower suspended over the chancel arch. In the south-east corner of the chancel is a double piscina with a Round Tower carved on one of its pillars, two angels and the instruments of the passion.
The conventual buildings are well-preserved with three vaulted rooms on each side. The dormitory, refectory and kitchen were on the upper floor, where two fireplaces still remain back-to-back.
