Photo: Joseph Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0Ardara has 13 buildings on the National Inventory
Old homes stand out in Ardara: 9.9% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1800. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 archaeological sites.
Ardara from 1897 to 1897
2 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1897
1897From 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 Ardara’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).
13 historic places in Ardara
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 11, A to Z
2 recorded by their type and address
2 are recorded only by their type and address: 1 homes and 1 street furniture; most date from the 19th century.
More homes than anything else in Ardara: 62%
All of Ardara’s recorded buildings carry a regional rating. The next biggest group is churches and chapels, 4 in all. Among the highest-rated: Eddie Doherty Handwoven Tweeds and The Present Day Gift Shop.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Ardara’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
The oldest is Eddie Doherty Handwoven Tweeds, from 1800.
Archaeology in Ardara
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
3 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.
| Ecclesiastical site1 record |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
| Ringfort - rath1 record |
Just outside Ardara: 22
| Kiltiernan GraveyardRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Wood HillRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Bracky BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| Owenea BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| House, BrackyRegional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| House, Common (Glengash)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| House, KinnoghtyRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| House, ShanaghanRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| House, Drumalough Or Lough HillRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| House, GlengeshRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Farmyard complex, ArdvallyRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| House, AigheRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| House, AigheRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| House, Cashel (Mulmosog)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Lime kiln, CronkeeranRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Outbuilding, ShanaghanRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| House, CarnRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| House, CronkeeranRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Rectory, ArdaraRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| House, Shanagan UpperRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
More of Ardara’s homes date in the 2000s than from any other period: 37%
In most towns 24% of homes were built from 1981 to 2000; in Ardara only 18%. Ardara’s newest homes, from 2011 or later, are 8.3%, above the usual 5.8%. Building between the wars left Ardara with 6.1% of its homes, above the usual 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.
Ardara and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardara | 785 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Killybegs | 1,258 | 18 | 0 | 7 |
Ardara in brief
Old houses are part of Ardara’s character: 9.9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 13 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 62%, are homes.
Of the 13 with a date, 10 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Eddie Doherty Handwoven Tweeds, from 1800. Beyond that, it also has 3 archaeological sites.
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 Ardara’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ardara?
13 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Ardara?
Eddie Doherty Handwoven Tweeds: the first date on its record is 1800.
Are there archaeological sites in Ardara?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 3 archaeological sites inside Ardara.
How old are the homes in Ardara?
9.9% 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 (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).