Kilfenora is a village and a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is 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. The village had around 220 inhabitants in 2011. Much of the TV show Father Ted (1995–98) was filmed there.
Main Street, Kilfenora
A plaque on the Kilfenora village hall commemorating "Ted Fest"
The Gothic sedilia in the chancel of Kilfenora Cathedral
Detail of a pillar on the east window in the chancel of Kilfenora Cathedral
A high cross or standing cross is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. These probably developed from earlier traditions using wood, perhaps with metalwork attachments, and earlier pagan Celtic memorial stones; the Pictish stones of Scotland may also have influenced the form. The earliest surviving examples seem to come from the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, which had been converted to Christianity by Irish missionaries; it remains unclear whether the form first developed in Ireland or Britain.
Muiredach's High Cross, Monasterboice, 9th or 10th century
A simpler example, Culdaff, County Donegal, Ireland
Three views of the Northumbrian Easby Cross of 800–820
King Doniert's Stone in East Cornwall, Ninth century
