Ross Errilly Friary, Medieval Franciscan monastery ruins near Headford, Ireland.

Ross Errilly Friary is a Franciscan monastery ruin in County Galway, built around a cloister with a church, bell tower, kitchen, dormitories, and other stone buildings arranged around it. The site is one of the most complete surviving examples of a medieval friary in Ireland, with most of its main structures still standing to roof height.

Luke Wadding and the Four Masters date the foundation to 1351, but architectural evidence points to the mid-15th century, around 1460; the first document is John Blake's 1469 will leaving 40 pence. In 1538 English authorities imprisoned 200 friars, and the community was expelled seven times, the friary serving as a garrison during the Nine Years' War. Cromwellian soldiers sacked it on 10 August 1656. The last friars left in 1753, and worship ended in 1804.

The Franciscan brothers who lived here followed a daily rhythm shaped by prayer, work, and community, all of which the layout of the friary was designed to support. Walking through the cloister today, you can still read how each space connected to the next.

The site sits just outside the town of Headford in County Galway and can be reached by car along a short local road. There are no gates or restricted hours, so you can visit at any time and walk through the ruins at your own pace.

The friars kept a stone tank in the kitchen for live fish taken from the Black River, holding them fresh until they were cooked. The friary also has a second courtyard, added to house a growing community, which is unusual for a Franciscan house. Local tradition holds that the monks sank the tower bell in the Black River before fleeing Cromwell's soldiers in August 1656.