NatCastle / fortified house · 1490–1510Desmond CastleCork Street, KinsalePhoto: ME · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Saint Multose Church (Kinsale) · Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0175buildings on the National Inventory
History of Kinsale · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Kinsale: 175 buildings on the National Inventory, the oldest from 1490
Kinsale has kept more old homes than most towns: 9.6% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 41 archaeological sites inside it. Kinsale has 175 buildings on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 3 of them of national importance. Few towns its size have as much: 292 per 10,000 residents, more than 93% of them.
On the National Inventory
175
292 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
3
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
41
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1490
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
9.6%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
6 pictures of Kinsale today and 1 from before 1950
The old photographs show Kinsale in 1902. So far the camera has reached 4 of Kinsale’s recorded places. Photos show 2 of Kinsale’s places of national importance.
Desmond CastleNational rating (NIAH)
House, 26 Lower O'Connell Street, KinsaleRegional rating (NIAH)
Catholic Church of Saint John the BaptistRegional rating (NIAH)
James's FortNational rating (NIAH)
Lighthouse, Charles FortRegional 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.
Through time
Kinsale in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
c. 1902From 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.
How old
Most of Kinsale’s dated buildings come from the 16th to 18th centuries
Each building by the first date on its record.
Middle Ages 500–14991
1500–1799 three centuries95
19th century 1800–189963
1900 and later to today16
96 of the 175 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Desmond Castle, from 1490.
The map
Where Kinsale’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
National and InternationalRegional and other sites400 m from Desmond Castle
3 of 3within 400 m of Desmond Castle, the heart of the town’s history
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 175, by rating
3 National and International172 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
3 places of national importance in Kinsale
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
NatChurch / chapel · 1700–1900Saint Multose Church (Kinsale)Church Street, KinsalePhoto: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Town / city walls · 1710–1750Town, Kinsale
Regional and other sites
172 more historic places in Kinsale
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 56, A to Z
Ard CarrigArdbrack HouseArdcarrig HouseBellevue HouseCappagh HouseCatholic Church of Our Lady of Mount CarmelCatholic Church of Saint John the BaptistCliff HouseCommercial HallCompass Hill HouseCreagh CottageDesmond CourtDesmond HouseDromderrig HouseDuncarrigDutch HouseE. KirbyFerryview HouseFisherman's HallGates, Saint Multose Church (Kinsale)Kinsale Methodist ChurchKinsale MuseumKinsale Post OfficeKinsale Railway StationKinsale Temperance HallKinsale Union WorkhouseKinsale Water WorksLong Quay HouseMarian HouseMentoneMichael O'HerlihyO'Flaherty HousePerryville HouseProspect VillaQuay HouseRaffeenRampart HouseRock LodgeSaint Catherine's Church (Ringcurran)Saint Joseph's ConventSan AntonioSovereign HouseSpring CottageStork's NestStormkind IVSummer Cove HouseThe Custom HouseThe GranaryThe Mall houseThe Old Bank HouseThe Old DispensaryThe Old Post HouseThe Old PresbyteryThe White HouseThree Fishesde Courcey House
116 recorded by their type and address
116 are recorded only by their type and address: 93 homes, 8 inns, shops and warehouses and 5 street furniture; most date from the 18th century.
17th century5
18th century74
19th century30
20th century7
Historic streets
Main Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Main Street22 on the record
Lower O'Connell Street15 on the record
Market Street9 on the record
Cork Street8 on the record · 1 of national importance
Pearse Street8 on the record
Compass Hill7 on the record
Newman's Mall6 on the record
Market Square6 on the record
Church Street5 on the record · 1 of national importance
Scilly Terrace5 on the record
Saint John's Hill4 on the record
Long Quay4 on the record
Of the 175 records, 130 give a street address.
What’s recorded
In Kinsale, homes lead the record (79%)
All told, 7 kinds of building appear on Kinsale’s record. Across Ireland churches and chapels make up 7% of the record, so Kinsale’s 3% is low. 9 records make inns, shops and warehouses the second group.
Homes139
Inns, shops and warehouses9
Public buildings6
Churches and chapels6
Street furniture5
Walls, gates and bridges4
Other buildings6
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Kinsale
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
41 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.
| Church4 records |
| Architectural fragment4 records |
| Burial ground3 records |
| Enclosure2 records |
| Ritual site - holy well2 records |
| Graveyard2 records |
| Armorial plaque (present location)2 records |
| Military camp2 records |
| Cross - Market cross2 records |
| Workhouse1 record |
| Religious house - Carmelite friars1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Town defences1 record |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Market-house1 record |
| 12 more kinds12 records |
Just outside Kinsale: 36
| James's FortNational rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Mount Long CastleNational rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Charles Fort (fortification)National rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Store, CastleparkNational rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Magazine, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Officer's house, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Stables, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Store, Charles Fort (store / warehouse)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Charles Fort (barracks)Regional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Store, Charles Fort (store / warehouse)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Outbuilding, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Charles Fort (fortification)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Ballinacurra HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Officer's house, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Brown's MillRegional rating (NIAH) · 500 m outside the town |
| Guard house, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| BallywilliamRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
| Lighthouse, Charles FortRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Bridge, Oyster CreekRegional rating (NIAH) · 500 m outside the town |
| House, Sandy CoveRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
Homes by age
New homes stand out in Kinsale: 15% built since 2011, where most towns have 5.8%
The midpoint of Kinsale’s housing falls before 2001: half the homes are older. Building in Kinsale peaked from 1981 to 2000: 28% of the homes now standing. Just 16% of the homes in Kinsale went up from 1946 to 1980, short of the typical 24%.
9.6%
Before 1919
3%
1919–45
16%
1946–80
28%
1981–2000
28%
2001–10
15%
Since 2011
KinsaleTypical 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
18 notable people born in Kinsale before 1900
From William Markham (1719) to Snipe Watson (1899): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
William Markham
Patrick Cotter
Edward Bowen
William Napier, 9th Lord Napier
John Heard
William Coppin
Geraldine Scholastica Gibbons
John William Fenton
Joseph Ward
Henry Gillman
John Beavor-Webb
R. G. Acton
L.C. Nash
Eamonn O'Neill
Mortimer McCarthy
Timothy McCarthy
Larry Cummins
Snipe Watson
170017501800185019001950
Timothy McCarthy1888–1917 · Royal Navy sailor
William Napier, 9th Lord Napier1786–1834 · Royal Navy officer
JF
John William Fenton1828–1890 · British composer
William Markham1719–1807 · Archbishop of York
PC
Patrick Cotter1760–1806 · Sideshow performer
Henry Gillman1833–1915 · Irish-American anthropologist and curator
EO
Eamonn O'Neill1882–1954 · Irish politician
Edward Bowen1780–1866 · Canadian politician
Everyone born in Kinsale → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Kinsale has the 2nd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 5,700 to 6,200 residents, by buildings on the record.
Kinsale175
#2 of 16for buildings on the record per resident (292 per 10,000). Passage West-Monkstown, Kinsale and Gillabbey lead.
Only Passage West-Monkstown has more. The typical town its size has 22.
Neighbours
Kinsale and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinsale | 5,991 | 175 | 3 | 41 |
| Inishannon | 1,043 | 22 | 0 | 11 |
| Carrigaline | 18,239 | 12 | 0 | 40 |
| Bandon | 8,196 | 228 | 2 | 38 |
| Lehenagh | 4,154 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Frankfield and Grange | 7,687 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Inishkenny | 5,552 | 11 | 0 | 27 |
In brief
Kinsale in brief
For its size, Kinsale has more recorded buildings than 93% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. All told, the list holds 175 places on the record, 3 of them in the top tier. Of its homes, 9.6% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. Its places of national importance cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Desmond Castle.
Only one of the 16 towns nearest its size has more recorded buildings. Main Street alone has 22 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 79%, are homes.
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 Kinsale’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Kinsale?
175 buildings on the National Inventory, 3 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Kinsale are of national importance?
Desmond Castle, Saint Multose Church (Kinsale) and Town, Kinsale.
What is the oldest building in Kinsale?
Desmond Castle: the first date on its record is 1490.
Are there archaeological sites in Kinsale?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 41 archaeological sites inside Kinsale.
How old are the homes in Kinsale?
9.6% 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.
This page describes its history; it gives no grade.
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).