Qualla: Kilfenora Cathedral

Kilfenora Cathedral: Introduction

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Chris06, CC BY-SA 4.0. The diocese of Kilfenora is so small that for the last 250 years no one has actually lived as its bishop. Since 1750 it has been administered by another bishop - first the Bishop of Kilmacduagh, then since 1883 the Bishop of Galway. The current title runs to twenty-eight words: Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora. The cathedral at the heart of this tiny see is partially roofless, has been since 1839, and stands in a small Burren village where the population would have been larger when Saint Fachanan founded a wooden church here in the sixth century.

Read more: Kilfenora Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Chris06 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kilfenora Cathedral: Saint Fachanan's Foundation

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit No machine-readable author provided. Bogman assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5. Tradition gives the first church at Kilfenora to Saint Fachanan, also called Fachtna or Fachtnan, in the sixth century. The first building was probably wood, replaced at some point by a stone church. The stone church was burned down in 1055 by Murchad O'Brien, in one of those med...

Read more: Kilfenora Cathedral on Qualla

Image: No machine-readable author provided. Bogman assumed (based on copyright claims). | CC BY-SA 2.5

Kilfenora Cathedral: A Curious Mix of Styles

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0. By 1839 the eastern thirty-six feet of the cathedral were roofless. The nave was preserved with a roof and is still used for occasional Church of Ireland worship - the bishop's throne was donated in 1981. The chancel, beyond the dividing arch, is open to the Clare sky. A large sq...

Read more: Kilfenora Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Elisa.rolle | CC BY-SA 4.0

Kilfenora Cathedral: The Crosses Under Glass

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0. What makes Kilfenora most distinctive is what stands in the churchyard and what now stands in the Lady Chapel. The village is sometimes called the City of the Crosses - seven high crosses survive, of which four remain reasonably intact, in styles spanning the ninth to twelfth cen...

Read more: Kilfenora Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Eirian Evans | CC BY-SA 2.0

Kilfenora Cathedral: An Administered Diocese

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Velela, Public domain. Kilfenora today has only a few hundred residents. The Catholic parish operates as part of the diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh, and Kilfenora, with the bishop based in Galway city. The Church of Ireland's nave still gets used for occasional services. The Pope has, in canon law, tec...

Read more: Kilfenora Cathedral on Qualla

Image: Velela | Public domain