Welcome / Fáilte Romhat!

The Franciscan Abbey in Multyfarnham was founded in 1268 and continues to be an active centre of Franciscan mission in Ireland.  The only Franciscan Abbey in Ireland still standing on the footprint of its original foundation, the Franciscan fraternity continues its commitment of service from this special place.

Holy Week & Easter 2024

To see the full details of our services for Holy Week and our office opening hours, please click HERE to go to our Holy Week and Easter page or click on the menu item above.

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News

Latest book from John O’Brien OFM – a review

There is often a sense of astonishment when reading a new work from the ever-busy pen of John O’Brien OFM. One is tempted to ask, as the Lord’s Nazareth neighbours did: “Where did the man get all these ideas?” (Mk 6:3). His eclectic imagination and great gift for...

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Encounter, revelation, recognition!

At Sunday Mass, we heard the familiar story of the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus in their struggle to recognise Jesus. This echoed the message of the previous Sunday’s liturgy when Thomas faced a similar challenge. So my Sunday homily, preached in Athlone friary,...

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A light to the nation! The Friary on RTÉ for Easter.

First of all, I must apologise for the break in continuity of these reflections, due largely to the busy schedule we have been following in the friary, beginning even before Holy Week. If I may make bold to offer the comparison! I feel like the apostles coming down...

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From the desk of Fr Kieran OFM

Practising and preaching!

In his reflection on the Gospel reading for the thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) (Mt 23:1-12), Fr Kieran focuses on verse three of that Gospel: “You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say, but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach.”

The advice, to “practise what you preach” is one that is commonly and frequently given and heard. In his reflection, Kieran considers another sense, the positive sense, in which the word “practise” is used in everyday language and points to the musicians, artists, actors, and sportspeople who daily “practise” what they do, so as to improve.

Therefore to “practise” in this context, is to seek to remove the imperfections, to accept that one has work to do in order to get better.

Good advice for all of us!

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Beware of the Blame Game

Fr Kieran reflects on the Gospel of the 28th Sunday of the Year (Matt 22:1-14), about the invitation from the King to the Wedding Feast for his son. This is one of the passages from the Gospels that have been ‘used’ from time to time to target the Jewish people. However, Kieran challenges such an interpretation.

At the time of writing, the Israel – Hamas war is happening, taking place following the horrific attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens, enjoying themselves or just going about their business, and murdering over one thousand of them.

And Israel’s government and military are retaliating with massive force and in the process, killing thousands of civilians – men, women, and children. And so the blame game begins, in the media, on the streets, in parliaments.

Kieran challenges this instant blame game that emerges from equating the word, “some” with the word, “all.”

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“What do you do?”

What’s in a question? A chance encounter in the cark park at the friary and an unexpected question asked of Fr Kieran is the context for his sharing this week. In a place where there is so much history and so much beauty to be seen whether within the church building itself or in the grounds of the friary, most of the friers are well-versed enough to tell people about the ‘place’ when asked and indeed, they are asked this frequently. However, last Sunday, the question asked of Kieran was to enquire of what Franciscans in Multyfarnham ‘do’ – what is Franciscan life?

Buildings, gardens, decoration, surroundings – all of these are the canvas for the picture of life that is led in Multyfarnham but what is it that gives the picture its life? It is, of course, the friars and here in his reflection this week, Kieran opens the door, inviting us in as he answers the question put to him in the car park.

A thank you, perhaps, to the anonymous woman whose question lies at the source of Kieran’s words!

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Mary II and William III

in this latest chapter in the history of the friars at Multyfarnham, Paschal tells of of the years during the William and Mary (Queen Mary II and her husband, the infamous King William III of Orange, famous in Irish minds, for the Battle of the Boyne) 1689 – 1702.

These were difficult times for Catholics in Ireland and especially for priests, Bishops, friars, monks, and their many associates and friends.

Here, Paschal tell us something of this time in Ireland and the effect on the Franciscan fraternity in Multyfarnham.

Bishop Patrick Tyrrell, OFM

In this latest addition to his recounting the history of the Franciscans in Multyfarnham, Paschal Sweeney tells us the story of Bishop Patrick Tyrrell, who died in 1692.

Bishop Tyrrell joined the Franciscans in Multyfarnham in or around 1647 / 1648. Due to later persecutions of Catholics in Ireland and of the Franciscans in Multy, he was the last clothed in the brown habit of the Friars for a very long time.

Tyrell went on to become one of the most prominent members of the Irish hierarchy. He served as Bishop at the same time as now Saint Oliver Plunkett was in Armagh.

Read Paschal’s story here for the rest of the story.

Multyfarnham Friary in the years 1669 to 1687

Our local historian, Paschal Sweeney, takes us further along the path of Multyfarnham’s history, this time looking at the years 1669 to 1687 and at all the key events during this time.

Paschal’s insights tell us not just of the events but go beyond just the dates to what was actually happening at the time.

Enjoy this next instalment from Paschal and learn a little more of the hundreds of years of history embedded in the very stones of the Friary church!

The Friars at Knightswood

Our history of the Friary continues in this latest segment from Paschal Sweeney.

A return to the friary at Multyfarnham wasn’t immediately possible. Restoring the Friary from the damage caused to it was an expensive task. Hence, through the generosity of Sir Thomas Nugent, the found a home at Knightswood and here, once again, the Franciscan charism and mission flourished.

In this segment, Paschal writes of the friars time in Knightswood, including a report by Saint Oliver Plunkett to Rome about the presence of the Friars in this place.

Events following Cromwell’s death

The historical story of the Friary at Multyfarnham continues when Paschal Sweeney, our ‘resident historian’ takes us through the years that followed the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1658.

With anti-Catholic sentiment easing, the friars could take tentative steps towards a return to their ministry in Multyfarnham.

In this segment, Paschal takes us through the developments in the years from 1658 through 1670.

An Evening of Beautiful Music in the Friary

Some buildings lend themselves, naturally, to having good acoustics and the Friary church can count itself among those. And when music is played and sung here, the tones of the voices and of the played music combine with the very stones themselves to deliver a sound that cannot be replicated in any other place. In every sense, it is a unique experience, both for the artists and for their audience.

And so it was last Sunday evening when The Lynn Singers from Mullingar, the Irish Concert Orchestra Quintet, and Vocative, a small six-man group of singers visited us to perform their Winter Concert. An audience of just over 300 people were treated to a beautiful evening of perfect singing, and magnificent and uplifting music. The first half of the evening was given over to The Lynn Singers, Vocative and the ICO Quintet performing “Magnificat” from St Luke’s Gospel (LK 1:46-55). Few of us can say that we have not heard the amazing words of Mary’s prayerful response to the Angel sung. However, Sunday’s performance was one with which few would be familiar. In an arrangement by Kim André Arnesen, a young Norwegian classical composer from Trondheim in that country, the performance of “Magnificat” was quite simply, beautiful. How such a sound could be obtained from so few voices is a mystery and the individual performances were so perfect, that the soprano voices were like the voices of angels filling the Friary church. This arrangement was sung in Latin and while this might, at first, risk disconnecting the audience from the magnificence of the words, having the Latin and English, side-by-side on the back page of the accompanying programme, allowed us to engage with the prayer. A spectacular performance, with Musical Director, Dervilla Conlon skillfully encouraging every note and pause to deliver an impeccable performance.

This was followed by the ICO Quintet with a performance of three pieces, two by Arthur Duff (“Windy Gap” and, “Meath Pastoral”) before concluding with McAnanty’s Reel. Kenneth Rice led the quintet in a spirited uplifting, toe-tapping, rendition of this well-known reel and at times, it seemed that Robin Panter on Viola was going to step forward, put his viola down, and break into the reel itself. Joyful!

The evening concluded with three songs, again from the The Lynn Singers, with Vocative and the ICO. First, we had Moonset, by Don McDonald, a thoughtful piece, followed by Blackbird, a Lennon and McCartney icon to an arrangement by Kenneth Rice of the ICO Quintet, and the evening finished with a song that seldom fails to bring to mind old friends, the Parting Glass, again to a Kenneth Rice arrangement with Audrey Snyder.

Evenings such as this are as rare as they are special, and it will take a few weeks for the last echoes of music from the evening to fade away. It is evenings such as this that remind us of why the Friary church in Multyfarnham has a special place in the hearts of all of us.

T. Gerard Bennett