Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart · Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Old homes in Castletownbere: 18% built before 1919
The typical town has 3.4%: Castletownbere has 5 times the share. On the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Castletownbere counts 23 buildings. The oldest record dates from 1800. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites.
3 pictures of Castletownbere today and 3 from before 1950
The old photographs show Castletownbere between 1900 and 1908. So far the camera has reached 2 of Castletownbere’s recorded places. Two to begin with: Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart and J. Dwyer.
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.
Castletownbere from 1900 to 1908
3 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1900s
1900
1908From Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server: public domain, or from the National Library of Ireland’s collections (Lawrence, Poole, Eason and others) with no known copyright restrictions. Each credit opens the image’s page.
Where Castletownbere’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
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).
23 historic places in Castletownbere
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 11, A to Z
12 recorded by their type and address
12 are recorded only by their type and address: 11 homes and 1 inns, shops and warehouses; most date from the 19th century.
Castletownbere’s record leans to homes: 78%
Second on the record: churches and chapels, 3 of them. The highest-rated include The Old Presbytery and The Silver Dollar Bar. In Castletownbere, every record stops at a regional rating.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Castletownbere’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
Archaeology in Castletownbere
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
13 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.
| Standing stone4 records |
| Fulacht fia3 records |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
| Mill - fulling1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Stone row1 record |
| Burial ground1 record |
| Souterrain1 record |
Just outside Castletownbere: 18
| Dunboy CastleRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.5 km outside the town |
| Heath MountRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Ardnakinna LighthouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Gate lodge, Dunboy CastleRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| House, CastletownbereRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
| House, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| House, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| Battery, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| House, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Battery, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Battery, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Officer's house, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Pill box, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Pill box, Fort Point, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Pill box, Fort Point, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| House, Felane EastRegional rating (NIAH) · 3 km outside the town |
| House, Bere IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
More of Castletownbere’s homes date in the 2000s than from any other period: 25%
Since 2011 Castletownbere has added 5% of its homes, close to the typical town’s 5.8%. Before 2001, Castletownbere had already built more than half of the homes it has now. 4.2% of Castletownbere’s homes were built between the wars, close to the typical town’s 3.9%.
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.
Castletownbere in brief
More of Castletownbere’s homes are old than in most places: 18% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 23 places on the record. Of the whole list, 78% are homes. Of the 23 with a date, 20 come from the 19th century. The oldest is The Old Presbytery, from 1820.
The archaeological record adds 13 sites. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: William Martin Murphy (1845) was born here before 1900.
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 Castletownbere’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Castletownbere?
23 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Castletownbere?
Hotel, Main Street, Castletownbere: the first date on its record is 1800.
Are there archaeological sites in Castletownbere?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites inside Castletownbere.
How old are the homes in Castletownbere?
18% 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 and English Wikipedia for people born here · 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).