y. It
was erected, in 1236, by Lord Delemere; and from its retired situation,
and the powerful protection of its noble patrons, escaped many of the
calamities which befell other houses of the Order. The church and
convent were built "in honour of God and St. Francis." The monastery
itself was of unusual size, and had ample accommodation for a number of
friars. Hence, in times of persecution, it was the usual refuge of the
sick and infirm, who were driven from their less favoured homes. The
church was remarkable for its beauty and the richness of its ornaments.
Here were the tombs of its noble founders and patrons; and the
south-eastern window was gorgeous with their heraldic devices. The
convent was situated on Lake Derravaragh, and was endowed with many
acres of rich land, through which flow the Inny and the Gaine. Such a
position afforded opportunity for mills and agricultural labours, of
which the friars were not slow to avail themselves.

The site, as we have remarked, was secluded, at some distance even from
any village, and far from the more frequented roads. In process of time
the family of the Nugents became lords of the manor, but they were not
less friendly to the religious than the former proprietors. Indeed, so
devoted were they to the Order, that, at the time of the dissolution of
the monasteries, Multifarnham would have shared the common fate, had
they not again and again repurchased it from those to whom it had been
sold by Henry. Even during the reign of Elizabeth it was protected by
the same family. But the day of suffering was even then approaching. In
the October of the year 1601, a detachment of English soldiers was sent
from Dublin by Lord Mountjoy, to destroy the convent which had been so
long spared. The friars were seized and imprisoned, the monastery
pillaged; and the soldiers, disappointed in their hope of a rich booty,
wreaked their vengeance by setting fire to the sacred pile.

The Convent of Kilcrea was another sequestered spot. It was founded in
the fifteenth century, by the MacCarthys, under the invocation of St.
Brigid. The richness and magnificence of the church, its graceful
bell-tower, carved windows, and marble ornaments, showed both the
generosity and the taste of the Lord Muskerry. Cormac was interred here
in 1495; and many noble families, having made it their place of
sepulture, protected the church for the sake of their ancestral tombs.

Nor was the Monastery of Timoleague less