Bonamargy Friary in County Antrim was a Franciscan house believed to have been founded by Rory McQuillan around 1485.

The friary stood within the territory of the powerful MacQuillan family, a Gaelic lordship that dominated much of north Antrim during the late medieval period. Their influence would eventually be challenged by another rising dynasty in Ulster – the MacDonnells – and the region would experience its share of conflict during the turbulent centuries that followed.

Bonamargy was established as a Franciscan community where friars lived lives devoted to prayer, scholarship and service to the local population. The complex would have included a church, cloister, domestic quarters and workspaces for the friars who lived and worshipped here.

Like many religious houses in Ireland, however, Bonamargy did not escape the violence of the era. The friary was burned in 1584 during English military campaigns in Ulster. It was later restored in the early seventeenth century by Randal MacDonnell, the first Earl of Antrim, whose family had by then become the dominant power in the region.

Although the friary eventually fell into decline following later upheavals, the ruins remain remarkably well preserved today. Visitors can still explore the cloister and a small gatehouse containing a workroom and steps leading to accommodation on the upper level. The church itself survives, with the remnants of an altar still visible, surrounded by an ancient graveyard. Within the friary grounds is also a crypt containing the remains of several important historical figures.

The ruins are fascinating to explore and many visitors remark on the sense of calm that seems to linger around the place.

But naturally, Bonamargy carries its own stories. Not of ghostly warriors – but of a mysterious woman dressed in black.

When the friary had long been abandoned, a recluse named Julia McQuillan chose to live alone among the crumbling buildings. Julia is believed to have been connected to the same MacQuillan family who had originally founded the friary centuries earlier. Over time she became known locally as The Black Nun — a name thought to refer either to the dark garments she wore or to the sombre, solitary life she chose to lead.

Despite her isolation, Julia was remembered as a friendly figure by local people and would occasionally speak with visitors. Nineteenth-century accounts describe her as a deeply spiritual woman who was believed to possess unusual insight. One historical source refers to her as a woman of extraordinary piety who was reputed to have knowledge of events before they occurred. Several prophecies were later attributed to her.

One of the most well-known concerned the nearby river in Ballycastle. Julia reportedly said that the river would one day run red. Centuries later, a tragic accident occurred when a workman fell into the river and was dragged through a waterwheel. He was killed and the water in that section of the river was said to have turned red with his blood. Another prophecy claimed that two standing stones located four miles apart would one day be united. Years later those stones were indeed brought together and placed side by side at a pier in Ballycastle harbour. In yet another prediction she is said to have foretold that a red-haired priest would drown at Pans Rocks — something many believe came true in 1940 with the death of Father James McCann. Julia was also said to have spoken of strange inventions not yet imagined by the people of her time — describing what some later interpreted as horseless carriages travelling along roads and iron vessels crossing the sea.

Despite her peaceful reputation and her supposed gift of foresight, the Black Nun died alone within the ruins of the friary.

How she died, however, remains uncertain.

One possibility is that she was struck by falling debris as the building gradually deteriorated around her. Given the age and condition of the structure, this explanation is entirely plausible. Another suggestion is that she suffered a fatal fall while climbing the narrow staircase that once led to her small living quarters on the upper floor. Those same steps were once surrounded by an unusual superstition. It was widely believed that misfortune would befall anyone who stepped on the thirteenth step of the staircase. As a result, visitors deliberately avoided it. Over time that step became noticeably less worn than the others — a small but curious physical reminder of the superstition that once surrounded the place. For safety reasons today, the staircase has been sealed off.

There is, however, another theory. One that is far darker.

Some have suggested that Julia McQuillan may have been murdered while sitting near the upper window of the friary, perhaps while watching the surrounding countryside. In recent years a group of paranormal investigators even claimed they captured a female voice using a spirit box at the friary gate. The voice allegedly said, quite clearly: “I was killed.”

Despite the mystery surrounding her death, one thing is known with far greater certainty — Julia’s remarkable final request. Before she died, she asked to be buried beside the entrance to the church so that people would walk over her grave as they entered to pray. It was intended as a final act of humility. Some accounts even claim she asked to be removed from her coffin before burial in case a poorer person might need it.

Her grave is marked by an unusual stone that many visitors still stop to examine today. Some say the marker resembles a small rounded Celtic cross with a circular hole through its centre. Over time, that curious feature has given rise to its own legends and superstitions.

What is widely said, however, is that Julia’s spirit still wanders the ruins of Bonamargy Friary. Local stories describe sightings of a woman in dark robes moving silently through the grounds or appearing on the staircase inside the building. Others claim to have seen a figure standing at the upper window, gazing out across the surrounding landscape. Interestingly, many who report encountering the Black Nun describe not fear — but a sense of calm. Witnesses often say they experienced an unusual feeling of peace and wellbeing during and after their encounter.

In 2019, investigator Stephen McKinley claimed that spirits “followed him home” to London after his own visit. He was recording a thunderstorm from his fourth floor window, and when he played it back later, heard monks singing in Latin. He was adamant that the only audible sounds at the time were the rain and thunder. He could offer no other explanation.

Yet not every story associated with Bonamargy suggests such a gentle presence. Some visitors have spoken of a heavy atmosphere within certain parts of the ruins, or the unsettling sense that they are being watched.

One strange incident in the early 2000s added further mystery to the site. BBC Radio Ulster reporter Brian Willis had been photographing the Black Nun’s grave when a young family accidentally wandered into the frame. Realising they had interrupted his photograph, they stepped aside and waited in a nearby passageway. As they stood there, a large stone – part of the friary structure itself — suddenly flew past them and smashed into the ground. The startled family fled and told Willis what had happened. Concerned that the building might have become unstable, the police were called and the Heritage Department sealed off that section of the friary pending investigation. Rather worryingly, the inquiry concluded that the stone had not simply fallen from above. Instead, it appeared to have popped out of the thick stone wall – “almost as if it had been pushed from behind”.

Another enduring legend associated with Bonamargy concerns the possibility that something valuable may still lie hidden beneath the ground.

According to local tradition, when the friary was abandoned the monks hid sacred treasures inside an iron chest and buried it somewhere on the grounds. In 1822 a collection of medieval manuscripts was reportedly discovered hidden inside an old oak chest at the friary. Among them were religious texts dating back several centuries, including works attributed to the medieval philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas.

In 1851 a beautifully carved key embellished with gold was found at the site. A few years later a round silver box was discovered nearby, and further treasures were uncovered in a nearby stream during the twentieth century.

These discoveries suggest that more may still lie hidden beneath the ground.

And perhaps under guard.

Is there a protective presence watching over the site… one that might attempt to frighten — or even attack — anyone who ventures too close? And might it use the very stones of the ancient building itself to deter would-be treasure hunters? If so… Was it perhaps a stone displaced by such a presence that ultimately brought about the death of the Black Nun?