The closure of the Franciscan Friary in Athlone is symptomatic of the wider loss of religion in Ireland, says Ronan Doheny.
In recent years, Ireland has seen religious orders close community houses across the country due to lack of vocations. These closures are normally accompanied with brief news articles with local people expressing sadness, but few others in the wider public take notice of the impact. As an archivist, before Christmas I had the sad task of helping to close the Franciscan Friary in Athlone, Co Westmeath. Set upon the banks of Ireland’s biggest river, the River Shannon, Athlone is a small town of 20,000, in a part of Ireland that is less populated and left behind both economically and infrastructurally. It lies about 12 miles from the ruins of the important monastery of Clonmacnoise, founded by St Ciarán. Historically a key military base, Athlone is now trying to regenerate itself. However, in contrast to the larger cities, life feels more natural and less stressed in Athlone, the birthplace of the famed Irish tenor Count John McCormack.
