Somewhere in a steep-sided east-west valley in County Waterford, roughly 900 metres south-east of the village of Aglish, a Franciscan friary once stood. Nothing of it remains above ground today; a house built around 1820 occupies the site, still standing, while the medieval structure it replaced has left no visible trace. The absence itself is the curiosity here, a place that exists in the historical record but not in the landscape.

The friary's origins lie in disruption. During the sixteenth century, the Franciscan order was expelled from their friary at Youghal in County Cork, and a community subsequently established itself at Aglish. The move was most likely made possible by the FitzGeralds of Dromana, a prominent Waterford family who appear to have extended their protection to the displaced friars. This kind of arrangement was not uncommon in the period; religious houses under lay patronage could survive in relatively remote or sheltered locations long after more exposed foundations had been suppressed or dissolved. The valley setting, steep-sided and tucked away, would have suited a community seeking to continue quietly beyond the reach of official attention. By the early nineteenth century, whatever remained of the original friary was gone, and the present house was constructed in its place around 1820.