NatChurch / chapel · 1870–1880Catholic Church of the Immaculate ConceptionWestern Road, Bridge Street, ClonakiltyPhoto: Chmee2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception · Photo: Chmee2 · CC BY-SA 3.0174buildings on the National Inventory
History of Clonakilty · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Clonakilty has 174 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
For its size, Clonakilty has more on the record than 94% of towns: 340 buildings for every 10,000 residents. Of its homes, 12% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 16 archaeological sites inside it. Its oldest building dates from 1730.
On the National Inventory
174
340 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
16
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1730
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
12%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Clonakilty in 6 photos
There are photos of 4 of Clonakilty’s recorded places so far. Two to begin with: Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clonakilty Methodist Church. Of the buildings pictured in Clonakilty, Old Mill is the oldest, from 1800.
Clonakilty Methodist ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Old MillRegional rating (NIAH)
Clonakilty Post OfficeRegional rating (NIAH)
Kilnagross ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Shannonvale BridgeRegional rating (NIAH)+1See all photosPhotos 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 Clonakilty’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 174, by rating
1 National and International173 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 Clonakilty
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
173 more historic places in Clonakilty
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 34, A to Z
1798 MonumentAllied Irish BankBank of IrelandBeechgroveC. FitzpatrickCash and Company (house)Cash and Company (house)Clonakilty Church (Kilgarriff)Clonakilty CourthouseClonakilty Garda Síochána StationClonakilty Methodist ChurchClonakilty Post OfficeClonakilty Technical SchoolClonakilty Town HallConvent of the Sacred Heart (church / chapel)Convent of the Sacred Heart (convent / nunnery)CoughlanCross HouseGate lodge, Convent of the Sacred HeartGlebe HouseHill HouseImperial HotelJ. MacCarthyKilgarriff Parochial HallOld Linen HallOld MillSchool, Convent of the Sacred HeartStrand HouseSunvilleThe GrainstoreThe Lucky HouseWestern PlaceWeston LodgeÓstán Uí Dhonnabháin
139 recorded by their type and address
139 are recorded only by their type and address: 121 homes, 7 street furniture and 3 walls, gates and bridges; most date from the 18th century.
18th century81
19th century55
20th century3
Historic streets
Pearse Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Pearse Street45 on the record
Ashe Street27 on the record
Emmet Square19 on the record
Rossa Street16 on the record
Western Road14 on the record · 1 of national importance
Kent Street9 on the record
McCurtain Hill8 on the record
Convent Road6 on the record
Wolfe Tone Street5 on the record
Connolly Street4 on the record
Astna Street4 on the record
Astna Square3 on the record
Of the 174 records, 171 give a street address.
What’s recorded
More homes than anything else in Clonakilty: 80%
The latest date on Clonakilty’s record is 1950. Across Ireland churches and chapels make up 7% of the record, so Clonakilty’s 3% is low. In second place come public buildings, with 9.
Homes140
Public buildings9
Street furniture7
Churches and chapels6
Mills, stations and works3
Walls, gates and bridges3
Inns, shops and warehouses2
Memorials and tombs1
Other buildings3
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Clonakilty’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries43
19th century 1800–1899124
1900 and later to today7
43 of the 174 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Clonakilty
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
16 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.
| Church2 records |
| Ringfort - rath2 records |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Souterrain1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Brewery1 record |
| Prison1 record |
| Standing stone1 record |
| Enclosure1 record |
| Market-house1 record |
| Mass-rock1 record |
| Fulacht fia1 record |
| Ring-ditch1 record |
| Road - road/trackway1 record |
Just outside Clonakilty: 30
| Ashgrove HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Northring HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Shannonvale HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Shannonvale MillsRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Prospect HallRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Arundel MillsRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Noel PhairRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Ring BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Ring HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
| Shannonvale BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Villa MariaRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Youghals HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| The RectoryRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| Kilnagross ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Lisselan House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Lisselan House (walled garden)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Lisselan House (outbuilding)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Clonakilty Agricultural College (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Catholic Church of the Sacred HeartRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Clonakilty Agricultural College (lecturer's house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Clonakilty is still building: 9.6% of its homes are from 2011 or later, against 5.8%
Building from 1946 to 1980 fell short in Clonakilty: 18%, against 24% in most towns. The busiest building years in Clonakilty were from 1981 to 2000, which account for 28% of today’s homes. In most towns 3.9% of homes were built between the wars; in Clonakilty, 5.3%.
12%
Before 1919
5.3%
1919–45
18%
1946–80
28%
1981–2000
28%
2001–10
9.6%
Since 2011
ClonakiltyTypical 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.
Born here
13 notable people born in Clonakilty before 1900
From Alfred Elmore (1815) to Michael Collins (1890): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Alfred Elmore
George Bullen
Timothy Anglin
Timothy Deasy
Robert Travers Atkin
Mary O'Donovan Rossa
George Wright
William Harnett
Michael Callanan
Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll
William O'Brien
John O'Donovan
Michael Collins
1800182518501875190019251950
Michael Collins1890–1922 · Irish revolutionary and politician
WH
William Harnett1848–1892 · American artist
AE
Alfred Elmore1815–1881 · British artist
William O'Brien1881–1968 · Irish politician and trade unionist
Timothy Anglin1822–1896 · Canadian politician
Mary O'Donovan Rossa1845–1916 · Irish nationalist, poet (1845–1916), editor
MC
Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll1878–1945 · Irish politician
GB
George Bullen1817–1894 · Irish-born librarian at the British Museum (circa 1817-1894)
Everyone born in Clonakilty → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Clonakilty has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 4,900 to 5,400 residents, by buildings on the record.
Clonakilty174
#3 of 16for buildings on the record per resident (340 per 10,000). St Stephen's Green, Knockrea and Clonakilty lead.
Only St Stephen's Green and Knockrea have more. The typical town its size has 104.
Neighbours
Clonakilty and its neighbours
In brief
Clonakilty in brief
For its size, Clonakilty has more recorded buildings than 94% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. All told, the list holds 174 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception. Of its homes, 12% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. Only 2 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings.
Pearse Street alone has 45 places on the record. Of the whole list, 80% are homes. Of the 174 with a date, 124 come from the 19th century.
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 Clonakilty’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Clonakilty?
174 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Clonakilty are of national importance?
Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception.
What is the oldest building in Clonakilty?
House, 14 Rossa Street, Clonakilty: the first date on its record is 1730.
Are there archaeological sites in Clonakilty?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 16 archaeological sites inside Clonakilty.
How old are the homes in Clonakilty?
12% 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).