The Franciscan Friary at Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath is over Seven Hundred Years Old and was originally founded in 1268. It was suppressed by Henry V111 in 1540 but the Friars remained in the neighbourhood and the Abbey was destroyed by fire in 1601 and again by Cromwell forces in 1651. Over the next three hundred years, the Franciscan Friars maintained a presence in Multyfarnham and although the Abbey lay in ruins during the nineteenth century, the Friars reoccupied it in 1827 and a new Abbey was built in 1839. A Seraphic College was opened in the grounds in 1899 and the Abbey was fully restored in the 1970's. The Abbey continues to function as a Catholic Church up to this day.
