The earliest stone churches
in Ireland are scarcely likely to be older that the 9th century and were
probably modelled on the already existing wooden churches, which they
replaced. These early churches ranged from small, dry-stone oratories,
to churches with naves and chancels, to decorated Romanesque churches.
Some churches were built during the Norman period, but the main period
of church building was post-Norman, during the 15th and 16th centuries.
There are over 150 of these older churches surviving in County Clare.
Photos
of churches of Clare Map
of the churches of Clare (based on the Sites and Monuments Record created
by the OPW overlaid on the 1842 Ordnance Survey index map).