Franciscans

Franciscans (Friars Minor) were established in Ireland c.1230. They spread rapidly, chiefly in the towns and boroughs of the Anglo‐Irish colony, and by 1325 had founded 32 houses. Racial tension was acute and may have led to the deaths of sixteen friars at the hands of their confrères at the Cork chapter of 1291, though this has been challenged in the most recent study. The province was controlled by Anglo‐Irish friars until the emergence of William O'Reilly (Uilliam Ó Raghallaigh) as first Gaelic provincial c.1445 and from then on the Gaelic friars were in the ascendant. The Observant reform, fully established by 1460, had been adopted by 38 (out of 61) communities in 1540. The reformed friars strongly opposed the Reformation and were closely identified with Gaelic opposition to Tudor expansion. By the early 17th century most of their houses had been suppressed but they continued to work in the localities.

The establishment of colleges in Louvain (1617), Rome (1625), and Prague (1630) allowed the Irish Franciscans to train new members and the intellectual activity of the Louvain friars and of Luke Wadding in Rome was particularly important for the preservation of Irish culture. Following the closure of their Irish novitiates in 1751 (see religious orders), along with the loss of their continental colleges at the end of the century, the Franciscans went into a decline which lasted until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Colmán N. Ó Clabaigh