Temple Cronan, Medieval church ruin in County Clare, Ireland

Temple Cronan is a ruined one-room oratory of limestone blocks measuring about 6.6 by 3.9 metres, its side walls and gables still standing though the high pitched roof has collapsed. The west door is blocked by rubble; the present entrance, in the north wall, is topped by a carved stone head. Six or seven Romanesque carved human and animal heads are set at irregular points along the walls, and two slab-built tomb shrines stand east of the building.

The ruin was built in the 12th century on a site possibly linked to Saint Cronan from the 7th century. Parts of the structure were rebuilt or altered in the 15th century.

The name Temple Cronan derives from Teampall Chrónáin, linking the site to Saint Cronan of Roscrea or Tuamgraney. Two tent-shaped stone shrines near the church are thought to mark Saint Cronan's grave, and pilgrims likely travelled here to visit them. The nearby holy well, Tobar Chrónáin, is surrounded by stone penitential stations still used for devotion.

Temple Cronan stands in the civil parish of Carran, about eight miles from Corofin and sixteen miles from Ennis, reached by minor roads in the Burren. The oratory is entered through the north doorway, since the original west door is blocked by rubble. The ground between the chapel, the two shrines and the termonn cross is uneven limestone.

The two slab-built tomb shrines east of the church are thought to date from the 12th century and may have been the goal of medieval pilgrims; one is held to be the grave of St Crónán. Similar shrines stand at Kilabounia and Killoluaig on the Dingle Peninsula.