St. Cronan's Church is a 19th-century

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

church in Roscrea,

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The church was constructed in 1812 on the site of the original 12th century Romanesque church. The grounds include a graveyard and a replica

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

, enclosed by a rubble stone wall,

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

gate and railings.

Original church

The grounds include part of a 12th-century Romanesque church which was demolished in 1812 to make way for the construction of the current church. Only the western gable of the original church remains, including a

bell-cot A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...

which was added at a later date. Stones and material from the original church were used for the new building. The original church is registered as

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

number 126. Roscrea St

Current church design

The modern church was designed by local architect

James Sheane James Sheane (born 1772–78, died 1816) was an architect from Roscrea, County Tipperary, Ireland. Career Sheane designed St. Cronan's Church, Roscrea (Church of Ireland), as well as glebe houses at Modreeny and Kilrushall. Personal life Shean ...

, whose name is inscribed on a datestone in the tower and who was buried in the churchyard upon his death in 1816. A porch was later added by John Bowden. The church was restored in 1879 by Thomas Newenham Deane. The original construction was funded by the

Board of First Fruits The Board of First Fruits () was an institution of the Church of Ireland that was established in 1711 by Anne, Queen of Great Britain to build and improve churches and glebe houses in Ireland. This was funded from taxes collected on clerical inco ...

with a gift of £100 and a loan of £775. It is a detached, single-cell, gable-fronted church. The pitched roof is covered with artificial slate. There are 5 bays on each side of the nave which features

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

pointed-arch

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows, with a vestry to the south east, and a porch and 4-stage bell tower to the south west. The string coursed

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

walls and tower feature crenellation and

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s, as well as diagonal buttresses and pinnacles on the porch. The pointed-arch main doorway holds a timber battened double-leaf door.

Preservation

The church has been renovated several times, including a large renovation in the 1960s when the slate roof was replaced, the interior was redecorated, and the graveyard was

deforested Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

. Its most notable historical artefact is a 17th-century pre-Reformation silver chalice decorated with raised angelic figures. The chalice may have been used at a wedding as the letters ''S.C. M.P.'', thought to be the initials of the couple, are inscribed on the base.

References

Religious buildings and structures in County Tipperary Roscrea Church of Ireland church buildings in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-church-stub