Temple Cronan
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| Temple Cronan | |
|---|---|
| Native name Teampall Chrónáin (Irish) | |
 One of the carved stone faces in the walls of Temple Cronan | |
| Location | County Clare, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°2′47″N 9°3′40″W / 53.04639°N 9.06111°W |
| Built | 12th century |
| Reference no. | 13[1] |
  Location of Temple Cronan in Ireland | |
Temple Cronan is a ruined medieval oratory or chapel built near a holy well in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland. The current building apparently dates from the 12th and 15th centuries, although it may partly incorporate earlier buildings or some of the masonry thereof. It may have been the site of an early Christian monastery. Temple Cronan is located in the civil parish of Carran, eight miles from Corofin and about sixteen miles from Ennis.[2]
Some have argued on the basis of the existing visible structures that Temple Cronan was originally built to serve as a pagan temple.[2] The current building had a window on the eastern wall as well as a small "Cyclopean" doorway on the west side,[2] which is currently blocked by rubble. More conventional archaeologists see an early Christian (i.e. pre-12th-century) structure that was likely rebuilt or altered in the 12th and 15th centuries. It probably replaced one, perhaps of wood, set up under the reputed founder in the 7th century, one "Cronan" who may have been Saint Cronan of Roscrea, who died in 640, or Cronan Mochua, who died in 637.[3][4][5]: 53
Early features include the "cyclopean" masonry, trabeate doorway (with inward sloping jambs) and the small window in the west wall.[5]: 54
Some parts of an older construction, such as part of a doorway, may have been reused in the 12th-century construction.[2] In the 12th century Temple Cronan was a site for pilgrimages. The building was most likely renovated again in the 15th century as is evidenced by the Gothic arch of the door.[3][5]: 55
No excavations have been conducted here, so much of the history of the place remains speculative.[5]: 53
