Burriscarra Friary was founded in 1298 by Adam de Staunton of Castlecarra as a Carmelite House. The Carmelites were one of the first mendicant orders that arrived in Ireland during the 13th century. Members of these orders took a vow of poverty and supported themselves by alms or begging. The friary was abandoned by the Carmelites sometime before 1383. In 1413 the ruinous friary was occupied by the Augustinians, another mendicant order. It appears the church was burned around 1430 and then rebuilt using alms collected from parishioners, much of the building we see today is from this 15th century period. After the rebuilding of the friary there was a dispute between the Carmelites and the Augustinians over ownership of the buildings however the Augustinians stayed at the site until it was suppressed. In 1607 the friary was granted to John King (of Dublin) and then to Sir Henry Lynch during the time of King Charles, it remained in the Lynch family until the early 19th century. The office of public works carried out restoration works during the 1960s.

GPS: 53.73099, -9.2457