These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
Cill Fhionnúrach· Irish · main form · validated name
Kilfenora· English · main form
Place & story
A cathedral on an older church site
Kilfenora became a diocese at the Synod of Kells in 1152. The cathedral visible today dates mainly from the later twelfth century, on the site of an earlier monastery associated with Saint Fachtna. The Office of Public Works records successive fires and attacks on the older church before the present building rose. Its fabric thus belongs to a later phase than the monastery’s traditional foundation, while the cathedral continued the site’s importance as a religious centre.[2]
The reassembled Doorty Cross
The Doorty Cross was recovered in broken pieces and reassembled. It is now sheltered beneath the glass roof added to the cathedral’s Lady Chapel in 2004–05 to protect the crosses and chancel. The carving includes Saint Peter blessing two figures interpreted as a bishop and an abbot. The Office of Public Works relates this imagery to Kilfenora’s transition from a monastic centre to a diocesan one, an interpretation rather than a documented explanation from its makers.[2]
People & connections
The céilí band and Kitty Linnane
The Kilfenora Céilí Band formed in 1909, developing from earlier local band traditions. Band leader John Lynch’s centenary history describes its early appearances in the schoolhouse, raising money for church repairs and playing for dancers. During the 1950s, pianist Kitty Linnane took on its secretarial work and became leader for the following four decades. Successive generations sustained the group through dancehall performances, recordings and competition. A younger lineup won three consecutive All-Ireland titles from 1993 to 1995, echoing the achievements of its 1950s predecessors.[3]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Kilfenora — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Kilfenora, Clare — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Kilfenora, Clare
Published census settlement populations
175people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral west gable, Kilfenora illustration: based on a St Fachtnan's Cathedral Kilfenora by Matthew Chadwick. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
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