NatCathedral · 1580–1590St Fachtna's Church of Ireland CathedralCarbery's Lane, RosscarberyPhoto: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral · Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.037buildings on the National Inventory
History of Rosscarbery · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Rosscarbery: 16% of homes built before 1919
The typical town has 3.4%: Rosscarbery has 5 times the share. Rosscarbery has 37 buildings on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, one of them of national importance. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1580. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 16 archaeological sites inside it.
On the National Inventory
37
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
16
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1580
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
16%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Rosscarbery in 3 photos and 1 old views
The oldest building pictured in Rosscarbery is St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral, from 1580. Rosscarbery as it was in 1905, in old photographs. You can start with St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral and Benduff Castle.
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
Rosscarbery in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1902–1908From 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.
The map
Where Rosscarbery’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 37, by rating
1 National and International36 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 Rosscarbery
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
36 more historic places in Rosscarbery
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 17, A to Z
Building misc, Sisters of Mercy ConventGossipHouse, Sisters of Mercy ConventIvy CottageLily House Chinese RestaurantO'Callaghan Walshe Seafood RestaurantParish HallPligrims RestRosscarbery PharmacyRosscarbery Post OfficeSisters of Mercy Convent (convent / nunnery)Sisters of Mercy Convent (convent / nunnery)St Faughna's Roman Catholic ChurchThe DeaneryThe Olde Post HouseThe StarTully Bookmakers
19 recorded by their type and address
19 are recorded only by their type and address: 11 homes, 3 street furniture and 2 farm and estate buildings; most date from the 19th century.
18th century1
19th century18
Historic streets
The Square has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
The Square10 on the record
Chapel Lane7 on the record
Barrack Lane3 on the record
Carbery's Lane3 on the record · 1 of national importance
Of the 37 records, 29 give a street address.
What’s recorded
The record in Rosscarbery starts with homes, at 62%
The highest-rated include St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral and Parish Hall. 4 records make churches and chapels the second group. Counted by type, Rosscarbery’s record runs to 8 kinds of building.
Homes23
Churches and chapels4
Street furniture3
Farm and estate buildings2
Public buildings2
Walls, gates and bridges1
Inns, shops and warehouses1
Other buildings1
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Rosscarbery’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries2
19th century 1800–189933
1900 and later to today2
2 of the 37 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral, from 1580.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Rosscarbery
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.
| Ritual site - holy well2 records |
| Graveyard2 records |
| Font2 records |
| Burial ground1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Ecclesiastical site1 record |
| Religious house - Benedictine monks1 record |
| Souterrain1 record |
| School1 record |
| Cathedral1 record |
| Standing stone1 record |
| Bastioned fort1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
Just outside Rosscarbery: 17
| Drombeg Stone CircleNational monument to visit · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Coppingers CourtNational rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| Benduff CastleNational rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Roury BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
| Castle FrekeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
| Rathbarry (farm house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Rathbarry (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Creggane ManorRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Benduff Slate QuarryRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.8 km outside the town |
| Strand RoadRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Signal tower, DowneenRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Bridge, RosscarberyRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, BallyvireenRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| Office, BarleyhillRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.8 km outside the town |
| Gate lodge, CastlefrekeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Bridge, RosscarberyRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, Little IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Rosscarbery has more new homes than most: 16% since 2011, against 5.8%
Homes built between the wars make up 7.4% of Rosscarbery’s, against 3.9% in the typical town. No period built more of Rosscarbery than in the 2000s: 21% of its homes. Before 2001, Rosscarbery had already built more than half of the homes it has now.
16%
Before 1919
7.4%
1919–45
20%
1946–80
21%
1981–2000
21%
2001–10
16%
Since 2011
RosscarberyTypical 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
5 notable people born in Rosscarbery before 1900
From Dennis Mahony (1821) to Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (1855): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Dennis Mahony
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
Maurice J. Power
Patrick O'Reilly
Margaret Wolfe Hungerford
1800182518501875190019251950
JR
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa1831–1915 · Irish Republican Brotherhood member, editor
MH
Margaret Wolfe Hungerford1855–1897 · Irish novelist
MP
Maurice J. Power1836–1902 · American sculptor
DM
Dennis Mahony1821–1879 · American politician, writer and newspaper publisher
PO
Patrick O'Reilly1843–1914 · New Zealand religious leader
Everyone born in Rosscarbery → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Rosscarbery and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosscarbery | 638 | 37 | 1 | 16 |
| Clonakilty | 5,112 | 174 | 1 | 16 |
| Skibbereen | 2,903 | 119 | 0 | 5 |
| Dunmanway | 1,964 | 45 | 0 | 14 |
In brief
Rosscarbery in brief
More of Rosscarbery’s homes are old than in most places: 16% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 37 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral. On The Square alone there are 10 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 62%, are homes.
Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 33 of 37. The oldest, St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral, dates from 1580. Of the 5 people born here before 1900, the best known include Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (1831), Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (1855) and Maurice J. Power (1836).
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 Rosscarbery’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Rosscarbery?
37 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Rosscarbery are of national importance?
St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral.
What is the oldest building in Rosscarbery?
St Fachtna's Church of Ireland Cathedral: the first date on its record is 1580.
Are there archaeological sites in Rosscarbery?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 16 archaeological sites inside Rosscarbery.
How old are the homes in Rosscarbery?
16% 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).