St. Fachanan, Kilfenora parish is a parish in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Ireland, and part of the Kilfenora Deanery of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Roma ...

. As of 2021, the parish priest is Edward Crosby. The parish incorporates the parish of Kiltoraght. The main church of the parish is the Church of St. Fachanan in

Kilfenora Kilfenora ( , meaning 'church of the fertile hillside' or 'church of the white brow') 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 ...

, mentioned in or shortly before 1837. The second church of the parish is the Church of St. Attracta in de

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

Toormore in Kiltoraght. According to Samuel Lewis, this church was built while writing his book "County Clare: A History and Topography", published in 1837. The history of the parish is rather chequered, with beginnings around the year 590 when an abbey was founded here. The role of the abbey was recognized at the

Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...

and then elevated to be an separate diocese:

Bishop of Kilfenora The Bishop of Kilfenora () was a distinct episcopal title which took its name from the village of Kilfenora in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. In both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, the title is now united with ot ...

.History of the Diocese - Diocese of Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora (1132–1883)
/ref> The bishop had his see in

Kilfenora Cathedral Kilfenora Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Part of the structure is occasionally used as a place of worship by the Church of Ireland and it includes a bishop's throne among its furniture. The church is located in the village ...

References

{{Clare-geo-stub Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora