Heuston Station (railway station) · Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0

188buildings on the National Inventory

History of Dolphins Barn · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage

Old homes in Dolphins Barn: 16% built before 1919

For Dolphins Barn, that is 5 times the typical town’s share, 3.4%. On the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Dolphins Barn counts 188 buildings, 7 of them of national importance. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1670. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 65 archaeological sites inside the town.

7of national importance 1670oldest record 65archaeological sites

On the National Inventory

188

100 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48

Of national importance

NIAH National or International, and national monuments

Archaeological sites

Sites and Monuments Record

Oldest building

1670

the first date on its record

Homes built before 1919

16%

typical town: 3.4%

In pictures

14 photos of Dolphins Barn’s landmarks, and 4 old views

Pictured and oldest in Dolphins Barn: Irish Museum of Modern Art, 1675. Of the places on Dolphins Barn’s record, 14 have a photo here. The oldest view of Dolphins Barn dates from 1888, the latest old one from 1922.

Health Service Executive (hospital / infirmary)National rating (NIAH)

Irish Museum of Modern Art (hospital / infirmary)International rating (NIAH)

Guinness StorehouseNational rating (NIAH)

James Joyce House of the DeadNational rating (NIAH)

Bully's AcreRegional rating (NIAH)+9See all photos

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

Dolphins Barn from 1888 to 1922

4 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.

VictorianUpper Johns Lane West looking from Thomas StreetPhoto: National Library of Ireland · No known copyright restrictions; made by 1925

VictorianCastellated entrance to the Royal Hospital, KilmainhamPhoto: Robert French / National Library of Ireland · No known copyright restrictions; photographer died 1917

VictorianT'would put you off the drink!Photo: National Library of Ireland · No known copyright restrictions; made by 1925

RevolutionArmoured train at Inchicore WorksPhoto: National Library of Ireland · No known copyright restrictions; made by 1925

From 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.

National and International

7 places of national importance in Dolphins Barn

Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.

Hospital / infirmary · 1675–1685Irish Museum of Modern Art (hospital / infirmary)Military Road, Kilmainham, Dublin 8Photo: self · Public domain · Commons file

Hospital / infirmary · 1715–1735Health Service Executive (hospital / infirmary)Steevens's Lane, Saint John's Road West, Dublin 8Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file

House · 1770–1780James Joyce House of the Dead15 Usher's Island, Dublin 8Photo: Dvcireland · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file

Railway station · 1845–1855Heuston Station (railway station)Saint Johns Road West, Dublin 8Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file

Fermentation building · 1900–1910Guinness StorehouseRobert Street, Market Street, Dublin 8Photo: psyberartist · CC BY 2.0 · Commons file

Hospital / infirmary · 1740–1760Saint Patrick's HospitalSteevens's Lane, Bow Lane, Dublin 8

Turbine house · 1945–1950Guinness Brewery (turbine house)James's Street, Dublin 8

Regional and other sites

181 more historic places in Dolphins Barn

Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.

All 119, A to Z

62 recorded by their type and address

62 are recorded only by their type and address: 42 homes, 5 street furniture and 4 other buildings; most date from the 18th century.

17th century3

18th century28

19th century26

20th century5

See all 62 on the map

Historic streets

James's Street has the most

Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.

James's Street45 on the record · 1 of national importance

South Circular Road26 on the record

Thomas Street24 on the record

Military Road10 on the record · 1 of national importance

Robert Street6 on the record · 1 of national importance

Saint Johns Road6 on the record · 1 of national importance

Pim Street6 on the record

Steevens's Lane5 on the record · 2 of national importance

Rainsford Street4 on the record

Crane Street3 on the record

Of the 188 records, 158 give a street address.

What’s recorded

51% of Dolphins Barn’s recorded buildings are homes

The record in Dolphins Barn comes up to 1950 at its newest. Compared with the National Inventory (6%), Dolphins Barn has a high share of public buildings: 12%. Among the highest-rated: Irish Museum of Modern Art and Health Service Executive.

Homes95

Public buildings23

Churches and chapels13

Walls, gates and bridges13

Mills, stations and works9

Farm and estate buildings6

Street furniture6

Inns, shops and warehouses3

Memorials and tombs1

Other buildings19

Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.

How old

Most of Dolphins Barn’s dated buildings come from the 19th century

Each building by the first date on its record.

1500–1799 three centuries60

19th century 1800–189990

1900 and later to today38

60 of the 188 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Irish Museum of Modern Art, from 1670.

Archaeology and around

Archaeology in Dolphins Barn

The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:

65 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.

Bridge6 records

House - 18th century6 records

Water mill - unclassified4 records

Hospital4 records

House - indeterminate date4 records

Watercourse4 records

Gateway2 records

Ritual site - holy well2 records

Chapel2 records

House - 18th/19th century2 records

Barracks2 records

House - 16th/17th century2 records

Mill - unclassified2 records

House - 17th/18th century2 records

Building1 record

20 more kinds20 records

Homes by age

Dolphins Barn has more new homes than most: 9.5% since 2011, against 5.8%

Dolphins Barn reached half its present housing before 2001. Building between the wars left Dolphins Barn with 13% of its homes, above the usual 3.9%. The busiest building years in Dolphins Barn were in the 2000s, which account for 27% of today’s homes.

16%

Before 1919

13%

1919–45

13%

1946–80

22%

1981–2000

27%

2001–10

9.5%

Since 2011

Dolphins BarnTypical 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.

Towns its size

Dolphins Barn has the 4th most of 16 towns its size

Towns of 18,100 to 19,300 residents, by buildings on the record.

Clonmel239

Dolphins Barn188

Crumlin17

Esker13

#4 of 16for buildings on the record per resident (100 per 10,000). Stoneybatter, Clonmel and The Liberties lead.

Only Stoneybatter, Clonmel and The Liberties have more. The typical town its size has 16.

Neighbours

Dolphins Barn and its neighbours

Town	People	National Inventory	National	Archaeological sites
Dolphins Barn	18,799	188	7	65
The Liberties	18,460	191	8	222
Kilmainham	10,240	52	7	8
Stoneybatter	18,644	326	3	48
Crumlin	19,287	17	0	10
Christchurch	6,778	122	4	122
Temple Bar	7,276	607	26	187

In brief

Dolphins Barn in brief

Old houses are part of Dolphins Barn’s character: 16% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 188 places on the record, 7 of them in the top tier, including Irish Museum of Modern Art. Its places of national importance cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Guinness Brewery. Only 3 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings.

On James's Street alone there are 45 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 51%, are homes. It also has 65 archaeological sites on the record. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 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 Dolphins Barn’s history

How many historic buildings are recorded in Dolphins Barn?

188 buildings on the National Inventory, 7 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.

Which places in Dolphins Barn are of national importance?

Irish Museum of Modern Art (hospital / infirmary), Health Service Executive (hospital / infirmary), Saint Patrick's Hospital, James Joyce House of the Dead, Heuston Station (railway station) and Guinness Storehouse, and 1 more.

What is the oldest building in Dolphins Barn?

Irish Museum of Modern Art: the first date on its record is 1670.

Are there archaeological sites in Dolphins Barn?

Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 65 archaeological sites inside Dolphins Barn.

How old are the homes in Dolphins Barn?

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 (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).