Thomas de Clare was a grandson of Isabel Marshal, the eldest daughter of William Marshal. Thomas’ older brother, known as Gilbert the Red, had inherited some of their great grandfather’s Kilkenny lands. Their father’s sister, Isabel de Clare, had married Robert Bruce of Annadale, the grandfather of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, and Edward Bruce who invaded Ireland in 1315, so it was a little ironic that Gilbert the Red’s son, also Gilbert, was killed during the Battle of Brannockburn in Scotland in 1314 at the hands of Robert Bruce’s forces. As a younger brother of Gilbert the Red, who succeeded to his father’s estates and titles, Thomas de Clare had to make his own fortune. In 1274, Thomas de Clare arrived in Ireland, and two years later he received a speculative grant of Thomond from Edward I, which comprised much of modern-day Co. Clare. The similarity between the family name de Clare and the placename Clare is entirely coincidental. The placename derives from the Irish word an Clár, meaning a board or plank, believed to have been used to form a bridge over the River Fergus at Clarecastle near Ennis. The family name also derives from a placename, the village of Clare in Suffolk, in the southeast of England.

The lands in the Irish Clare, then still known as Thomond, had been the heartlands of Muircertach Ua Briain, and his great grandfather Brian Boru. Their descendants continued to live in this area, having been forced west of the River Shannon by William de Burgh during his conquest of Munster after 1194. In 1277, only a year after receiving his speculative grant of Thomond, Thomas de Clare succeeded in overcoming Brian Rua Ua Briain, and thereby established himself in the east of the county. Shortly later, he made an alliance with the Geraldine Barons of Offaly by marrying Juliana fitzMaurice, daughter of Maurice fitzGerald, third Baron of Offaly. By now Thomas was firmly established at Bunratty, a short distance west of Limerick city and the River Shannon. Soon afterwards, he constructed a castle at Quin to further the English colonisation of Thomond.

In 1287, only ten years after taking Thomond by storm, Thomas died, while his sons were still young boys. He was initially succeeded by his eldest son, Gilbert (a traditional family name), but after he died in 1308, his brother Richard became Lord of Thomond. One of the effective tactics used by Thomas and his sons was to divide and conquer the local Gaelic O Briain families. Indeed, in 1317, when Domhnall Ua Néill of Ulster penned his famous Remonstrance to Pope John XXII in support of Edward Bruce’s claim to the kingship of Ireland, he outlined a series of terrible deeds carried-out by the English against their Gaelic neighbours. One of those specifically named was Thomas de Clare for his actions against one of the O Briain chieftains in Thomond. Even thirty years after his death, the actions of Thomas de Clare during his ten years as Lord of Thomond were still remembered with deep resentment. A year after Domhnall Ua Néill wrote to the pope, Thomas’ younger son Richard was killed in what became known as the Battle of Dysert O’Dea, near Corofin. This decisive battle brought a sudden to the English influence in Thomond. In the years that followed, the Gaelic families reasserted their hold west of the Shannon. Thomas de Clare’s castle at Quin lay abandoned and fell into ruin. That is, until 1402, when a local Gaelic chieftain, Síoda Cam MacNamara, found a new purpose for the crumbling remains. In that year, MacNamara founded a Franciscan Friary here. While there were many contentious examples of Anglo-Norman castles being built on church lands, this is a rare example of a church being constructed on top of a castle. Indeed, this was a very clever ploy by MacNamara, as it ensured the castle was decommissioned and could not be used by the next man who might receive a speculative grant of Thomond from the king of England. Today, three of the corner towers of the old de Clare castle are still readily identifiable within the extensive ruins of the large friary built here after 1402. 

The first friars to follow the teachings of St Francis of Assisi arrived in England at Dover in September 1224. It is reputed that in the same year, Maurice fitzGerald, second Baron Offaly, founded a Franciscan friary in Youghal, Co. Cork. The four foundation principles of the order were humility, simplicity, poverty and prayer. However, unlike the Cistercians, the Franciscans believed that it was important to integrate within society, and for this reason the order very quickly established themselves throughout the major towns across England and Ireland. Indeed, for the first forty years after they first arrived in Ireland, they almost exclusively established their friaries in the towns of the English colony in Ireland and were extremely popular with their respective townspeople.

During these early years, the Franciscans rarely founded their friaries outside the English towns, and previous attempts by the Franciscans to expand into the Irish countryside had failed. This changed dramatically after the foundation of the friary at Quin in 1402. It marked the beginning of a Gaelic Renaissance outside the English colony, throughout the southwest, west and northwest of Ireland. This was not an Italian renaissance inspired by a new love for ancient classical architecture. It was a reinvention of Gothic architecture introduced from England and mainland Europe at the beginning of the 13th century, motivated by a growing confidence and wealth of the Gaelic Irish. It is no coincidence that this newfound Gaelic independence flourished as the English crown became increasingly distant from affairs in Ireland. Franciscan friaries were soon founded throughout the west, sponsored by local Gaelic chieftains. Parish churches throughout the west and north also received increased patronage from their parishioners and frequently invested in upgrading their churches. The Gaelic chieftains also began building large castles, known as tower houses, emulating similar castles that were had become fashionable in the English colony. For well over a century, this remarkable renaissance continued uninterrupted, transforming the rural countryside throughout the Gaelic heartlands.

By 1460, a split had occurred within the Franciscan order, a division that was also replicated among the Dominican and Augustinian priories. By this time, many in these orders had become disillusioned with the growing wealth of the friaries and priories, which was seen as a direct contradiction of the guiding values of their original founders. This resulted in the Observant reform movement, whereby new foundations sought to re-establish and return to a strict observance of the founding principles of humility, simplicity, poverty and prayer. This split between conventual and observant occurred throughout Europe and was not unique to Ireland, but an interesting pattern resulted here whereby the new observant reform took hold in the rural Gaelic areas beyond the influence of the Anglo-Irish towns, where the friars were reluctant to forego the patronage of their wealthy benefactors. Of course, the foundation of friaries in rural Ireland also required substantial financial patronage from local Gaelic families. One of the interesting aspects about the friary at Quin is that it was one of the first Franciscan establishments in Gaelic Ireland when it was founded in 1402, and in 1433, Maccan MacNamara, son of the original founder, successfully petitioned to pope to have permission to introduce Observant friars to Quin. This was the beginning of the Observant reform in Ireland.