The Cathedral Church of St. Flannan, Killaloe is a cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 of the Church of Ireland

Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

 in Killaloe, County Clare

Killaloe, County Clare

Killaloe is a large village in east County Clare, Ireland, situated in the midwest of Ireland. The village is on the south end of Lough Derg, while the settlement spreads across the River Shannon, with the County Tipperary side known as Ballina...

 in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is in the ecclesiastical province

Ecclesiastical Province

An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...

 of Dublin.

Previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Killaloe

Diocese of Killaloe

The Diocese of Killaloe may refer either to a Roman Catholic or a Church of Ireland diocese, in Ireland.-Roman Catholic diocese:The Diocese of Killaloe is the second largest Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland....

, it is now one of three cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Limerick and Killaloe

Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe

The Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe is a diocese in the Church of Ireland, located in Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin.It is one of the twelve Church of Ireland dioceses which cover the whole of Ireland...

.

History

Killaloe Cathedral dates from the transition between the Romanesque and Gothic periods. The font is decorated with arabesque ornaments. On the north side of the cathedral is a small oratory or chapel of a date far prior to the cathedral; and probably the original sanctuary of the holy man who founded the abbey. Its roof is very deep, and made entirely of stone; it has a belfry, and two doorways to the east and west.

Recent restoration

A £200,000 restoration project involving the repair of a Romanesque doorway and the reconstruction of a 12th century high cross, was completed in 2001. The Kilfenora Cross, embedded in the walls of the Gothic cathedral in the 1930s, is once again free-standing. The imposing 12-ft monument is now in the nave of the building.