What is recorded here

Kilfenora Cathedral still holds six limestone crosses, yet the Doorty cross required rebuilding because the Doorty family had buried its lower section upside-down as a tombstone. That inverted marble likely protected the shaft from total erosion while denying the church its own landmark for generations. The completed cross now stands in a glass-roofed chamber, displaying St. Anthony, a horseman on a shingled roof, and a worn crucified Christ. Its recovery turns a grave marker into a public monument, proving that even buried sacred things can reappear when someone remembers enough to look.

Erected c. 2006 in the middle of the ‘sacristy’ situated N of the chancel in Kilfenora Cathedral (CL016-015002-) due to weathering. Listed in the SMR (1992) and the RMP (1996) as ‘Cross’. This is the 12th-century high cross known as the ‘Doorty’ cross which formerly stood in the graveyard (CL016-015003-) W of the church. It was one of originally 6 limestone high crosses at Kilfenora, five of which are still there (see CL016-015005-, CL016-015007-, CL016-015008-, and CL016-015013-) and one of which was moved to Killaloe in 1821 (CL045-033009-). This cross is constructed from fragments found c. 1956 and later. The lower part was used upside-down by the Doorty family as a tombstone, hence the name. The cross (H 2.83m; Wth 0.75m across the arms) has a tapering shaft (Wth 0.56m at the bottom; T 0.19m) and has an imperforate uneven ringed head. Harbison (1992, vol. 1, 114-15) describes the carved images as follows: E face (now facing W), lower portion: Two clerics, likely to be St. Anthony and St. Paul linking arms, one holding a drop-headed crozier, the other a T-headed one, over a winged beast. Upper portion: An unidentified bishop or abbot (possibly St. Fachtnan, the founder of the church at Kilfenora). S face (now facing N): Above a single human head is a figure with right hand down by the side and with the left hand placed across the chest, holding a book. Above is interlace. W face (now facing E), lower portion: A horseman on top of a shingled roof with ornamental scrolls interlaced by a narrow-bodied animal above. Upper portion: A badly worn crucified Christ. N face (now facing S): An irregular interlace on the shaft surmounted by a chequer-board pattern. (See Harbison 1992 for detailed description.) This is a national monument in State care, no. 8. (de Paor, 1955-6, 55-8) The following images have been uploaded: CL016-015006-_01.jpg The Doorty cross, E face (after Harbison) in its former location in the graveyard. CL016-015006-_02.jpg The lower portion of the E face (after Harbison) of the Doorty cross now housed in the cathedral. CL016-015006-_03.jpg The Doorty cross, W face (after Harbison) in the glass-roofed 'sacristy' of the cathedral. CL026-015006-_04.jpg The Doorty cross, S face (after Harbison). Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 19 September 2017

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