Barracks · 1695–1705The BarracksMain Street, Ballyshannon
Saint Patrick's Catholic Church · Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.076buildings on the National Inventory
History of Ballyshannon · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Ballyshannon has 76 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Old homes stand out in Ballyshannon: 12% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. It is a historic town on the Sites and Monuments Record, with 30 archaeological sites inside it. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1600.
On the National Inventory
76
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
30
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1600
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
12%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
2 photos of Ballyshannon’s landmarks, and 1 old views
Of the places on Ballyshannon’s record, 2 have a photo here. The old photographs show Ballyshannon in 1870. Two to begin with: Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and Saint Anne's Church (Kilbarron).
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
Ballyshannon in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1870sFrom 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 Ballyshannon’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 64, by rating
1 National and International63 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 Ballyshannon
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
63 more historic places in Ballyshannon
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 28, A to Z
Allied Irish BankAllingham HouseArdmeelish HouseBallyshannon Infantry BarracksBallyshannon Methodist ChurchBallyshannon Presbyterian ChurchCatsbyCondon HouseDanby HouseDanby House (gate lodge)EpworthErne MillsGalbraithInis SamerKilbarron HouseLia-FáilManor HousePortnason HousePortnason House (gate lodge)Portnason House (outbuilding, stables)Portnason House (walled garden)Saint Anne's Church (Kilbarron)Saint Catherine's ConventSaint Joseph's Catholic ChurchSaint Patrick's Catholic ChurchSheil HospitalThe Market HouseThe Thatch
35 recorded by their type and address
35 are recorded only by their type and address: 22 homes, 5 walls, gates and bridges and 3 street furniture; most date from the 19th century.
16th century1
18th century12
19th century19
20th century3
Historic streets
The Mall has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
The Mall12 on the record
Main Street6 on the record · 1 of national importance
College Street5 on the record
Castle Street3 on the record
Rossnowlagh Road3 on the record
College Road3 on the record
Of the 64 records, 40 give a street address.
What’s recorded
59% of Ballyshannon’s recorded buildings are homes
The highest-rated include The Barracks and Catsby. That mix leans to public buildings: 9% in Ballyshannon, against 6% across the National Inventory. Ballyshannon’s record covers 9 kinds of building in all.
Homes38
Public buildings6
Churches and chapels6
Walls, gates and bridges6
Street furniture3
Mills, stations and works2
Farm and estate buildings1
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 Ballyshannon’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries14
19th century 1800–189944
1900 and later to today6
14 of the 64 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Ballyshannon
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
30 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 well4 records |
| Graveyard3 records |
| Standing stone3 records |
| Church2 records |
| Graveslab2 records |
| Religious house - Cistercian monks1 record |
| Architectural fragment1 record |
| Cave1 record |
| Bullaun stone1 record |
| Promontory fort - coastal1 record |
| Barrow - ring-barrow1 record |
| Souterrain1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Bastioned fort1 record |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
| 6 more kinds6 records |
Just outside Ballyshannon: 17
| Wardstown House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Wardstown House (outbuilding)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.1 km outside the town |
| Fort WilliamRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Reynolds' FollyRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Tullymore BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Camlin CastleRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Coolmore HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Templenew HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 3 km outside the town |
| Bunatrahan PierRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| House, Cool BegRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| House, Tully More (Ballyshannon)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| House, LegaltanRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| House, LegaltanRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Bridge, DunmuckrumRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| Water pump, LissachollyRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Bridge, BallymacawardRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Bridge, KilbarronRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Little new building in Ballyshannon: 2.5% of homes date from 2011 on, against 5.8%
The period that gave Ballyshannon the most homes is from 1946 to 1980: 33%. 10% of Ballyshannon’s homes date between the wars, well above the typical 3.9%. Ballyshannon built little in the 2000s: 18% of its homes, where most towns have 25%.
12%
Before 1919
10%
1919–45
33%
1946–80
25%
1981–2000
18%
2001–10
2.5%
Since 2011
BallyshannonTypical 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
7 notable people born in Ballyshannon before 1900
From William Conolly (1662) to Edward Kelly (1883): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
William Conolly
John Johnston
William Allingham
John Reade
John J. Keane
Louis Lipsett
Edward Kelly
1650170017501800185019001950
WA
William Allingham1824–1889 · Irish man of letters and poet
JK
John J. Keane1839–1918 · American Catholic archbishop
WC
William Conolly1662–1729 · Irish politician
LL
Louis Lipsett1874–1918 · Anglo-Irish First World War general killed in action
JR
John Reade1837–1919 · Canadian writer
EK
Edward Kelly1883–1944 · Irish politician
JJ
John Johnston1775–1861 · Indian agent in the United States Northwest Territory
Everyone born in Ballyshannon → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Ballyshannon and its neighbours
In brief
Ballyshannon in brief
Old houses are part of Ballyshannon’s character: 12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 64 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including The Barracks. The Mall alone has 12 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 59%, are homes.
Of the 64 with a date, 44 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Catsby, from 1690. Of the 7 people born here before 1900, the best known include William Allingham (1824), John J. Keane (1839) and William Conolly (1662).
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 Ballyshannon’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ballyshannon?
76 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Ballyshannon are of national importance?
The Barracks.
What is the oldest building in Ballyshannon?
Bridge, Abbey Lane, Ballyshannon: the first date on its record is 1600.
Are there archaeological sites in Ballyshannon?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 30 archaeological sites inside Ballyshannon.
How old are the homes in Ballyshannon?
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.
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).