Pope Leo ordered
a consistorial investigation to be made, as was usual with the sees of
all Catholic countries, and fortunately the minute of this inquiry is
still preserved in the Vatican archives. We cull from it the following
interesting particulars:

"The city of Ross was situated in the province of Cashel, in the
middle of a vast plain which stretched along the sea-shore. It
consisted of about two hundred houses, and was encompassed with a
wall. The country around was fertile, yielding an abundance of corn
and fruit. In the centre of the town was the cathedral church,
dedicated under the invocation of Saint Fachnan, an Irish saint,
confessor, whose feast is celebrated on the vigil of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The walls of the church were of cut
stone, and it had two entrances--one lateral, the other in front,
and in both you descended by three steps to the level of the
church. Its floor was unpaved, and its roof was of wood, covered
with slates. The interior of the church presented the form of a
cross, and in size corresponded with the church of S. Maria del
Popolo in Rome. Its central nave was separated by stone pillars
from the aisles. Its choir was of wood, and at the head of the
choir was placed the high altar. Its sacristy was well supplied
with vestments and other sacred ornaments. It had a mitre and
crucifixes; its chalices were of solid silver, some of them being
gilt, and its crozier was also of silver. In the cemetery, outside
the church, there was a belfry built in the form of a tower, in
which there was one large bell. As for the dignitaries of the
church, there was a Dean with a yearly income of 12 marks, an
Archdeacon with 20 marks, and a Chancellor with 8 marks. There were
also twelve Canons, each having a revenue of 4 marks, and four
Vicars with a similar income. All these assist daily in choir, and
celebrate low Mass. On the festival days a solemn Mass is sung. The
Canons reside here and there through the diocese, which is twenty
miles in extent. The Bishop's residence is about half-a-mile from
the city, and is pleasantly situated on the sea-shore. The
episcopal revenue consists of corn, tithes, and pasturage, and
amounts annually to 60 marks. There are also twenty-four benefices
in the Bishop's collation"--(Theiner, _Ib._,