For some period before its fragments were gathered up around 1956 and reassembled, the lower section of this twelfth-century limestone high cross had been repurposed, upside-down, as a tombstone by the Doorty family. That a medieval carved cross of nearly three metres should spend any portion of its existence serving as grave furniture for a local family says something about the long, complicated relationship between the living and the ancient stonework scattered across this corner of County Clare. The cross now stands inside the roofed sacristy to the north of the chancel at Kilfenora Cathedral, moved indoors around 2006 to protect it from further weathering.

Kilfenora was once remarkable for having six limestone high crosses, a concentration rare even in Ireland. One was removed to Killaloe in 1821; the remaining five, including the Doorty Cross, are still on site in various states of completeness. The Doorty Cross itself, standing 2.83 metres tall with a span of 0.75 metres across the arms and an imperforate ringed head, meaning the ring does not pierce through the stone, carries carved imagery on all four faces. The east face, now orientated westward following its re-erection, shows two clerics linking arms, identified as likely being St. Anthony and St. Paul, each holding a different style of crozier, above a winged beast. Above them is a figure tentatively identified as St. Fachtnan, the reputed founder of the church at Kilfenora. The west face, now facing east, includes a horseman positioned above a shingled roof with interlaced scrollwork and, higher up, a badly worn crucified Christ. The south face carries a standing figure holding a book across the chest, while the north face is decorated with interlace and a chequer-board pattern. The reassembled cross is a national monument in State care.

Visitors to Kilfenora Cathedral can view the cross in the glass-roofed sacristy, where the light makes the worn carving easier to read than it would be outdoors. The other crosses remain in the graveyard to the west of the church, so a single visit allows for comparison across the whole surviving group.