NatFortification · 1825–1830Blackrock Castle (fortification)Castle Road, BlackrockPhoto: Raúl Corral · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Photo: Sebastian “sebrem” B… · CC BY-SA 3.0109buildings on the National Inventory
History of Mahon · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Mahon has 109 buildings on the National Inventory, 4 of them of national importance
History in Mahon goes back at least to 1720, the date of its oldest recorded building. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 14 archaeological sites inside the town. For every 10,000 residents, Mahon has 78 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48.
On the National Inventory
109
78 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
4
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
14
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1720
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
5.1%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Mahon in 3 photos and 2 old views
Blackrock Castle, dated 1825, is the oldest pictured in Mahon. 3 recorded places in Mahon have a photo. The old views of Mahon run from 1900 to 1910.
Blackrock Castle (fortification)National rating (NIAH)
Saint Michael's ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Saint Michael's Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)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.
Through time
Mahon from 1900 to 1910
2 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1900s
1910From 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.
The map
Where Mahon’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 109, by rating
4 National and International105 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
4 places of national importance in Mahon
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
House · 1780–1820DrumcoraBlackrock Road, Blackrock
Convent / nunnery · 1800–1820Ursaline ConventBlackrock Road, Blackrock
House · 1820–1825Dundanion HouseBlackrock Road, Blackrock
Regional and other sites
105 more historic places in Mahon
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 70, A to Z
AlmavilleAnaloreArdeenArdnacarrigArgideen and KilmonaArundelAvocaBallintemple HouseBayswaterBenedairBessborough (country house)Bessborough (farmyard complex)Bessborough (folly)Blackrock Castle (gate lodge)Blackrock Castle (gates / railings / walls)Blackrock Railway StationBriardaleBriardene and HazeldeneCarrigduve (gates / railings / walls)Carrigduve (house)CarriglasClonleaCoolimCoolineCulgreineDouglas HallDrumcora HouseDundanionDundanion House (bridge)Dundanion TerraceEastcliffeEudionGlanleamGlanmire ViewHome VilleIverniaLee ViewLichfield CottageLisnalee (gate lodge)Lisnalee (house)Mahon LodgeMahonvilleMemlingMenloe HouseMonavilleMoseley VillaMunster HouseNorth CliffePinehurstRannochRavenscourt HouseRingmahon HouseRingmahon House (gates / railings / walls)RiversideRiverview HouseRockcliffeRockcliffe HouseRockwardine and DanesfortRosettaSaint Michael's Catholic ChurchSaint Michael's ChurchSaint Michael's RectorySun LodgeTenby CottageThe Coach HouseThe CottageTowerviilleUrsuline Convent (church / chapel)Ursuline Convent (church / chapel)Waverley
35 recorded by their type and address
35 are recorded only by their type and address: 30 homes, 3 walls, gates and bridges and 1 street furniture; most date from the 19th century.
18th century15
19th century18
20th century2
Historic streets
Blackrock Road has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Blackrock Road33 on the record · 3 of national importance
Castle Road23 on the record · 1 of national importance
Rockcliffe Terrace12 on the record
Pierview Terrace4 on the record
Barrington's Avenue3 on the record
Bessboro Road3 on the record
Dundanion Terrace3 on the record
Of the 109 records, 92 give a street address.
What’s recorded
Mahon’s record leans to homes: 81%
Two of the highest-rated records are Drumcora and Ursaline Convent. Nationally, churches and chapels are 7% of the record; in Mahon they are only 5%. In second place come walls, gates and bridges, with 9.
Homes88
Walls, gates and bridges9
Churches and chapels5
Farm and estate buildings2
Public buildings2
Street furniture1
Other buildings2
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Mahon’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries35
19th century 1800–189966
1900 and later to today8
35 of the 109 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Ballintemple House, from 1720.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Mahon
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
14 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.
| Castle - tower house3 records |
| Country house3 records |
| Graveyard2 records |
| Excavation - miscellaneous2 records |
| Quarry1 record |
| Icehouse1 record |
| Railway station1 record |
| Railway bridge1 record |
Homes by age
Mahon’s houses run older than most: 5.1% from before 1919, against 3.4%
The busiest building years in Mahon were from 1981 to 2000, which account for 32% of today’s homes. 31% of Mahon’s homes were built from 1946 to 1980, more than the typical town’s 24%. New building in Mahon runs at the usual pace: 6.6% of homes date from 2011 on, the typical town 5.8%.
5.1%
Before 1919
3.6%
1919–45
31%
1946–80
32%
1981–2000
22%
2001–10
6.6%
Since 2011
MahonTypical 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 Mahon before 1900
From James Cavanah Murphy (1760) to John Coughlan (1898): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
James Cavanah Murphy
Dan Coughlan
Pat Coughlan
Denis Coughlan
John Kidney
Tom Coughlan
Dinny Kidney
Larry Flaherty
Andy Buckley
Mick Dorney
Vincent McNamara
William Dorney
John Coughlan
175017751800182518501875190019251950
James Cavanah Murphy1760–1814 · Irish architect and antiquary
DC
Dan Coughlan1870–2000 · Irish hurler
PC
Pat Coughlan1870– · Irish hurler
DC
Denis Coughlan1872–1903 · Irish hurler
JK
John Kidney1872– · Irish hurler
TC
Tom Coughlan1881– · Irish hurler
DK
Dinny Kidney1882–1917 · Irish hurler
LF
Larry Flaherty1882–1979 · Irish hurler
Everyone born in Mahon → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Mahon and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahon | 13,892 | 109 | 4 | 14 |
| Tivoli | 4,449 | 93 | 0 | 7 |
| Ballinlough | 5,435 | 45 | 0 | 3 |
| Douglas | 22,029 | 51 | 0 | 31 |
| Knockrea | 5,228 | 237 | 5 | 5 |
| Montenotte | 4,113 | 36 | 0 | 3 |
| Tramore | 4,803 | 56 | 0 | 1 |
In brief
Mahon in brief
More of Mahon’s homes are old than in most places: 5.1% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 109 places on the record, 4 of them in the top tier, including Drumcora. Blackrock Road alone has 33 places on the record. Of the whole list, 81% are homes.
Of the 109 with a date, 66 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Ballintemple House, from 1720. James Cavanah Murphy (1760), Dan Coughlan (1870) and Pat Coughlan (1870) are among the 13 people born here before 1900. Beyond that, it has 109 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 68); and per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more.
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 Mahon’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Mahon?
109 buildings on the National Inventory, 4 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Mahon are of national importance?
Drumcora, Ursaline Convent, Dundanion House and Blackrock Castle (fortification).
What is the oldest building in Mahon?
Ballintemple House: the first date on its record is 1720.
Are there archaeological sites in Mahon?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 14 archaeological sites inside Mahon.
How old are the homes in Mahon?
5.1% 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).