The Killarney Franciscan Church was opened in 1867 after the revival of the Franciscan rule in the area; The Franciscans arrived in Killarney as early as the mid-15th century and were severely repressed over the centuries until the last of them left the area in 1849. Nearly a decade later the friars returned from Belgium to Ireland to re-establish the English Franciscan Province. The Franciscan Freire was founded in 1879, and in 1902 the Franciscan Killarney Church became one of the most important religious monuments in the area.