A third head was simply left lying in the graveyard. That casual repurposing was not unusual in an era when early medieval stonework was often absorbed into later structures without much ceremony, but it does mean that these crosses had a long period of practical obscurity before anyone thought to stand them upright again.

The three crosses, now re-erected to the west, northwest, and north of the cathedral, are plain ringed crosses, the ring being the characteristic halo of stone that connects the arms to the shaft in what is sometimes called a Celtic or wheel cross. Unlike the elaborately carved examples found at Clonmacnoise or Monasterboice, these are unadorned, relying on form rather than ornament, with mouldings running along the edges. Their bases may always have stood in their current positions, suggesting the heads were removed and relocated at some earlier point while the bases remained in place. The westernmost cross head, which measures roughly 1.25 metres wide and 1.2 metres tall and sits beside the cathedral chapter-house, has a small anomaly: the eastern face carries none of the moulding found on the other sides, a detail that presumably reflects either a deliberate design choice or a later alteration. Ferns itself was one of the most significant ecclesiastical sites in early medieval Ireland, seat of the kings of Leinster and a major centre of church authority, which makes the survival of even plain, fragmentary crosses here historically significant.