The story of Bonamargy
Bonamargy Friary was founded around 1485 by Rory MacQuillan, chief of the MacQuillan clan, as a house for Franciscan friars of the Third Order, who lived as lay preachers and teachers alongside a few ordained brothers. It sat on low ground near the mouths of the Carey and Shesk rivers, close to the sea east of Ballycastle.
The friary stood at the heart of a long rivalry between the MacQuillans and the incoming MacDonnells of Antrim, a Scots family who pushed into the Glens through the 16th century. By 1588 the MacDonnells had taken control of the friary, and it became their burial place. Sorley Boy MacDonnell, born near Ballycastle around 1505, spent his life fighting and bargaining with the O'Neills, the MacQuillans and the English crown before dying in 1590. His remains lie in the sealed vault here, along with several later Earls of Antrim.
The friary fell out of use as a religious house in the 17th century. It was then that Julia McQuillan, remembered as the Black Nun, came to live alone among its ruins. Said to be a prophetess and recluse, she is the only McQuillan buried in this MacDonnell stronghold. At her own request she was laid at the west doorway, marked by a holed stone cross, so that anyone entering the church would walk over her grave as a sign of her humility.
Today the friary is a state care monument looked after by the Department for Communities Historic Environment. The thatched roof is long gone, but the church, cloister, gatehouse, altar, east window and staircase survive, making it one of the most complete and atmospheric small monastic ruins on the Antrim coast.