Kilfenora High Crosses

Kilfenora was a diocesan seat - the smallest diocese in Ireland, and one whose bishop is nominally the Pope, an arrangement dating from the nineteenth century - and its cathedral, dedicated to Saint Fachtnan, is now partly roofed and partly ruin. Around and within it stand a group of high crosses of the twelfth century, more concentrated here than anywhere else in the country. The Doorty Cross is the best known, carved with a bishop figure and two clerics and a beast at the base, and there are the West Cross in a field beyond the churchyard, the North Cross fragment, and others. The chancel was glazed over in 2005 to bring the most vulnerable crosses indoors out of the weather, which was overdue given how much the carving had already lost. The Burren Centre in the village covers the region's geology and archaeology and keeps seasonal hours.

What you actually see

• The Doorty Cross - a bishop and clerics carved on the twelfth-century shaft.
• The glazed chancel - the crosses brought indoors for protection in 2005.
• The West Cross - standing separately in a field beyond the churchyard.
• The cathedral - partly roofed, partly ruin, seat of Ireland's smallest diocese.

When to go

April to October. The Burren Centre is seasonal; the cathedral and crosses are accessible year-round. An hour covers it.

Honest expectations

Much of the carving is heavily weathered - the reason for the glazing. The Burren Centre closes for winter. It is a small village with limited facilities.

Nearby

The Burren and Poulnabrone are north; the Cliffs of Moher are west.