The Religious Houses of Adare

From Walsh's History of the Irish Hierarchy:

Adaire formerly a place of note in the barony of Kennery.

Trinitarian Friary This house was founded for the order of the holy and undivided Trinity for the redemption of captives in the reign of king Edward I by John earl of Kildare.

November 4th, thirty seventh of Elizabeth, this abbey with all its possessions was granted to Sir Henry Wallop knight for ever by fealty only in free and common soccage at the annual rent of 26 17s 8d Irish money, Sir Henry engaging to maintain two horsemen on the premises mises and that no part whatever of the same should he alienated to the Irish.

From the invasion of Ireland by Henry II to the close of Elizabeth's reign, almost a period of four hundred years, the insidious policy of England has exhibited, because it has engendered them, the most tragic scenes of infatuated misrule, on the one side, and of insubordination necessarily arising from oppression and of resistance, sanguinary but unsuccessful, on the other, ever since that fatal period the history of Ireland, is that of physical or moral opposition, as circumstances dictated, to the leaders of Ireland and during this melancholy period the actuating principle which guided the rulers of England in their schemes of devastation and horror, a principle which according to even Protestant writers originated, with the false and insidious Cambrensis, whose mode of civilizing the Irish was to exterminate them and seize their estates seems to have been inherited by their successors of the present day who have manifestly improved on the system of their predecessors adding thereto all that infuriate malice and bigotry of which the government of England, as well as her people are so susceptible, when a consciousness of her strength can dictate aggression on the rights as well as the religion of the Irish people.

Some large and perfect ruins of this abbey still remain. The steeple resembles a castle and is supported by a plain arch with four diagonal ogives meeting in the centre and stairs leading to the battlements.

Augustinian friary situated on the south side of the river Mague was founded by John earl of Kildare, son to earl Thomas, who died AD 1315. King Edward II confirmed the grants of the founder AD 1317. This friary with its possessions was granted to Sir Henry Wallop, knight, on the terms of the former grant of the Trinitarian property. A great part of this friary still remains in good preservation. The steeple similar to the former is supported on an arch the choir is large with stalls and the nave answerable thereto with a lateral aisle on the south side. To the north of the steeple are some beautiful cloisters with pointed windows within which on three sides of the square are corridors and on most of the windows are escutcheons with English crosses ranged alternately with saltire ones. The workmanship is simply elegant the principal parts being of hewn stone which appear so fresh as to give it a modern yet venerable appearance. Adjoining the cloisters were several apartments which seem to be more ancient than the other parts of the building.

Gray friary was founded in the year 1465 by Thomas earl of Kildare and his wife Joanna at their sole expense and was consecrated the following year the founders presenting it with two silver chalices and a bell. No vestiges of this building remained in 1781 except a lofty square steeple. This abbey and its possessions were granted to Sir Henry Wallop, knight.