NatCathedral · 1170–1200Saint Fachtnan's CathedralKilfenoraPhoto: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Saint Fachanan's Catholic Church · Photo: Draceane · CC BY-SA 4.02buildings on the National Inventory
History of Kilfenora · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
History in Kilfenora reaches back to 1170: 2 buildings on the National Inventory
Old homes stand out in Kilfenora: 14% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 19 archaeological sites.
On the National Inventory
2
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
19
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1170
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
14%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Look around Kilfenora: 2 photos
Photos show both places on Kilfenora’s record. Among them: Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral and Saint Fachanan's Catholic Church. Of the buildings pictured in Kilfenora, Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral is the oldest, from 1170.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its licence; names open the place’s page. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
The map
Where Kilfenora’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
National and InternationalRegional and other sites
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 2, by rating
1 National and International1 Regional and other sites
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is the State’s survey of buildings from 1700 to today, county by county; each record gives a rating, dates, a type and an appraisal. Being on it is not legal protection: that is each council’s Record of Protected Structures.
Points from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and the Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0).
National and International
One place of national importance in Kilfenora
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
One more historic place in Kilfenora
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
RegChurch / chapel · 1860–1870Saint Fachanan's Catholic ChurchKilfenoraPhoto: Draceane · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
What’s recorded
Kilfenora and its edges: homes first, 67%
Kilfenora has 2 records rated of national importance. The second-largest group on the record is churches and chapels, with 2. At the top of the record: Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral and Ballykeel House.
Homes4
Churches and chapels2
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped, for the records inside the town and those just outside it that belong to it; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Kilfenora
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
19 archaeological sites inside the town
Sites on the Record of Monuments and Places, the statutory list drawn from this record, are protected by law: anyone planning work at or near one must give the National Monuments Service two months’ notice.
| Cross - High cross5 records |
| Tomb - effigial3 records |
| Wall monument2 records |
| Graveslab2 records |
| Cathedral1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Tomb - chest tomb1 record |
| Font1 record |
| Cross - Churchyard cross1 record |
| Architectural fragment1 record |
Just outside Kilfenora: 4
| Ballykeel HouseNational rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Hollywell HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| The DeaneryRegional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| Ballyshanny HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
Homes by age
New homes are rare in Kilfenora: 1.6% since 2011, against a usual 5.8%
Just 18% of the homes in Kilfenora went up from 1946 to 1980, short of the typical 24%. 9.5% of Kilfenora’s homes were built between the wars, more than the typical town’s 3.9%. No period built more of Kilfenora than in the 2000s: 33% of its homes.
14%
Before 1919
9.5%
1919–45
18%
1946–80
24%
1981–2000
33%
2001–10
1.6%
Since 2011
KilfenoraTypical town
Census 2022, households by the year their home was built (CSO, Small Area Population Statistics, CC BY 4.0); the typical town is the middle Irish town of 2,500 or more.
Neighbours
Kilfenora and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilfenora | 152 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Ennistimon | 1,137 | 39 | 1 | 7 |
| Lehinch | 1,018 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
In brief
Kilfenora in brief
Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral, from 1170, is the oldest monument in Kilfenora. All told, the list holds 2 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral. Of its homes, 14% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The archaeological record adds 19 sites.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The National Inventory. The State’s survey of post-1700 buildings, made county by county since 1990 (NIAH); a few records are older. It records; it does not protect.
- Ratings. International and National: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Regional: in its region. Local and record-only buildings get no page here.
- Archaeology. The Sites and Monuments Record (National Monuments Service) lists known archaeological sites; the national monuments to visit and the sites with an encyclopedia article get pages here.
- Protection. Both registers are surveys, not protection: a building is protected by its council’s Record of Protected Structures, and no national open list joins the 31 councils’ records.
- The grade. Ireland’s History grade is not built yet: the page describes, and gives no grade.
Questions about Kilfenora’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Kilfenora?
2 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Kilfenora are of national importance?
Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral.
What is the oldest building in Kilfenora?
Saint Fachtnan's Cathedral: the first date on its record is 1170.
Are there archaeological sites in Kilfenora?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 19 archaeological sites inside Kilfenora.
How old are the homes in Kilfenora?
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
Are the buildings on this page protected?
Being on the National Inventory or the Sites and Monuments Record is a record, not protection by itself: buildings are protected by their council’s Record of Protected Structures, which each council keeps and no national open list gathers, so this page can’t say which are on it.
History is described here, not graded.
Source: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and Sites and Monuments Record, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (CC BY 4.0); Wikidata (CC0).
Sources: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (buildingsofireland.ie) · Sites and Monuments Record and the National Monuments Service’s monuments to visit · CSO Census 2022 (homes by the year built) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, including the National Library of Ireland’s collections, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata (CC0) for other names and articles. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).