Burriscarra Abbey is a former Carmelite Priory in County Mayo, founded in c. 1298. The abbey was abandoned before 1383 and in 1413 it was transferred by Pope Gregory XII to the Order of Saint Augustine who already had a friary in Ballinrobe. It was burned in 1430 but repaired soon after. It was usurped by the Cromwellians and in 1607 James I granted the land to John King, who sold it to Oliver Bowen in 1608. Later Charles II granted it to John King and then Sir Henry Lynch whose family kept it until the 19th century. It now belongs to the Office of Public Works who restored it in the 1960s. The current remains are largely of the 15th century.
The lower church has some 13th century niches but much of it was rebuilt in the 15th century when the present windows were inserted. The rectangular church has a south aisle with a two-arch arcade. It has a traceried east window and a piscina. The cloister lies to the north of the church but there are no remains of an arcade.
References:The Beckov castle stands on a steep 50 m tall rock in the village Beckov. The dominance of the rock and impression of invincibility it gaves, challenged our ancestors to make use of these assets. The result is a remarkable harmony between the natural setting and architecture.
The castle first mentioned in 1200 was originally owned by the King and later, at the end of the 13th century it fell in hands of Matúš Èák. Its owners alternated - at the end of the 14th century the family of Stibor of Stiborice bought it.
The next owners, the Bánffys who adapted the Gothic castle to the Renaissance residence, improved its fortifications preventing the Turks from conquering it at the end of the 16th century. When Bánffys died out, the castle was owned by several noble families. It fell in decay after fire in 1729.
The history of the castle is the subject of different legends.