12th Century High Cross & Church Ruins in County Clare

by

12th Century High Cross and Romanesque Church Ruins in Ireland's

12th Century High Cross and Romanesque Church Ruins in Ireland’s County Clare

Nestled in the countryside of Ireland’s County Clare,  near the quaint little village of Corofin, is the Clare Archaeology Centre, which features 25 original monuments and points of interest dating to 1000 B.C.

This was my second visit to this area, which features as its centerpiece the restored 15th Century Dysert O’Dea Castle, and I still haven’t scratched the surface of what this fantastic walk through history has to offer.

In this image, a 12th Century High Cross greets visitors to Dysert O’Dea church, which was built on the site of an early Christian monastery founded by Saint Tola in the 8th Century.

While Conor O’Dea is believed to have substantially rebuilt the cross and the church in 1683, many of the older features of the building as well as the adjacent Round Tower date from the 11th Century.

The church ruins include an elegantly carved “illuminated” Romanesque Doorway, a Medieval reconstruction of a doorway from the 12th Century church. Carvings on this arched entrance include human and animal heads, chevrons and scalloped arches.

Next to the church are the ruins of the Round Tower and a graveyard, still in use, with views of the castle in the distance.

If you’re interested in Irish History, this definitely is a place to put on your boots and spend the day hiking around its four kilometers of trails.