St.Cronan's Cathedral Church
Today, the main road cuts the early monastery of St Cronan in
two, isolating the Round Tower from the cathedral church and
the site of the High Cross (The original high cross will be
placed inside the mill exhibition area and a replica placed
on its original site).
These stone buildings are relics of the 12th century efforts
by Roscrea to retain its independent bishopric, the Diocese
of Ros Cré.
The Romanesque gable is all that remains of the twelfth century
Cathedral church. The once beautiful sandstone gable is now
very badly weathered from pollution and age. Its main composition
of tangent gable, blind arcades, ecclesiastical figure over
the three-ordered doorway, and the rosettes all echo the Romanesque
work at Cormac’s Chapel in Cashel.
The remainder of the Roscrea church was demolished in 1812 to
make way and allow the stone to be re-utilised in the building
of the ‘new’ St Cronan’s Church of Ireland parish
church in 1812. Because of its great beauty the gable was allow
to remain standing.
The twelfth century High Cross with its clothed Christ and shaft
figures is distinctive and memorable.
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