Sitting in a peaceful spot on the quay in Donegal Town, where the River Eske meets Donegal Bay, this ruined Franciscan monastery was founded in 1474 by the first Red Hugh O’Donnell and his wife, Nuala O’Brien of Munster. It was generously endowed by the O’Donnell family and became an important center of religion and learning; records show that there was a great gathering of clergy and lay leaders here in 1539. It was from this friary that some scholars undertook to salvage old Gaelic manuscripts and compile The Annals of the Four Masters (1632–36). Enough remains of the abbey’s glory—ruins of a church and a cloister—to give you an idea of how magnificent it once was.