Kilfenora

The village

Kilfenora (Cill Fhionnúrach in Irish, meaning “church of the fertile hillside” or “church of the white brow”) is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland, situated south of the karst limestone region known as the Burren. Since medieval times, when it was the episcopal see of the Bishop of Kilfenora, it has been known as the “City of the Crosses” for its seven high crosses — now five — which stand in the townland and make the village’s name. The village had around 150 inhabitants in 2022; the 2011 census counted 463 people in the wider Kilfenora area. Much of the TV show Father Ted (1995–98) was filmed there, and the show is the reason many visitors’ first picture of the village is a comedy — the crosses are the reason it is worth seeing.

The crosses

The high crosses are the village’s landmark: seven of them from the medieval see, now five standing, in the townland around the village. The name “City of the Crosses” comes from them, and from the medieval episcopal see that made Kilfenora a place of learning as well as a place of worship. The walk through the village to the crosses is the walk that gets done — the street, the church, the crosses in the fields around it.

The position

Kilfenora is on the south side of the Burren, between the karst country to the north and the Shannon estuary country to the south, and it is the small village that the Burren’s south side turns on. From it, the road runs west to the Shannon estuary and east back over the Burren country. A day out of Kilfenora can be the crosses, the Burren’s south edge, or the estuary road west — the village is the base for all three.

Practical

Kilfenora is south of the Burren, a short drive from Ennis and Doolin; the crosses are in the townland around the village. The village is small — the walk is a short one, and the light on the crosses is best in the afternoon.