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Clonfert Cathedral
Clonfert, only a short distance west of the Shannon, has a Cathedral with the most famous and exuberant Irish doorway in the Romanesque style, full of inventive ornament which rises to a triangular gable above the rounded door, and dating from around 1200. Though it may seem old, it fits in only roughly half-way along the history of this remarkable site which brings us back to the sixth century. It was then that a monastery was founded here by St Brendan, a Kerryman who is noted for the maritime adventures he experienced in a skin-covered wooden vessel, as related in a ninth-century tale known as The Navigation of St Brendan. It tells how the saint set off with twelve companions in search of the Promised Land of the Saints, and from the descriptions of the fancifully-named islands visited, we can envisage that the route went from Ireland to Scotland, and from thence via the Faroes and Iceland probably to Greenland - and perhaps even on to North America. The lively narrative of what he saw and did en route ensured that this account became one of the great travelogues of the Middle Ages, and made Brendan into one of the bestknown Irish saints in the length and breadth of Europe. Having finally reached the Land of Promise, he returned to Ireland and died around 584, when his body was brought to Clonfert for burial. The presence of the mortal remains of such a notable saint at Clonfert must have made it into a great centre of his cult and of pilgrimage, which explains why there is such an ornate doorway to greet the pilgrim who came to venerate his relics within the church.
- Directions:
- St Brendan’s Cathedral, Clonfert is located in Clonfert which is signposted off the R335 road from Ballinasloe to Portumna in East County Galway.
- Opening Details:
- The Church is locked but a key is available locally from the house at the right hand side of the Cathedral.
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