Askeaton, meaning, Waterfall of Géitine, is a historic town in County Limerick, on the banks of the River Deel, about 3 km upstream from the Shannon Estuary.
Desmond Castle was originally built in 1199 but was bought by the Earl of Desmond in 1348, from which time the current building dates.
However, the castle was abandoned in 1580 during the Desmond Rebellions, which culminated in the destruction of the Desmond dynasty and the plantation of Munster with English Protestant settlers.
Askeaton Abbey, a Franciscan friary, was founded in 1389. In October 1579, the friary was burned by English forces after they failed to take Askeaton Castle. Most of the friars were killed in the attack and the ancestral tombs of the Desmonds were destroyed.
In 1627, Monks returned to the friary, until it was abandoned again for a time in 1648 as Cromwell’s forces approached Askeaton. The friary permanently closed in 1740.
It is now one of the best-preserved ruins of a monastery in Ireland.
A walking tour of Askeaton is available, enabling you to explore the historic town and its surrounds in greater detail.
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