Martello tower · 1800–1810Carrickhill Martello TowerStrand Road, Portmarnock
Saint Marnock's (country house) · Photo: Dvcireland · CC BY-SA 4.08buildings on the National Inventory
History of Portmarnock · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Portmarnock: 8 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
History in Portmarnock goes back at least to 1500, the date of its oldest recorded building. Of its homes, 1% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 38 archaeological sites inside the town. Portmarnock has 7.4 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town.
On the National Inventory
8
7.4 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
38
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1500
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
1%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Portmarnock’s buildings in 2 pictures
2 of the places on Portmarnock’s record are pictured here; the others show their record card. Among them: Saint Marnock's (country house) and Saint Marnock's Church (Portmarnock). The oldest building in Portmarnock’s set dates from 1785: Saint Marnock's Church (Portmarnock).
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.
The map
Where Portmarnock’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 8, by rating
1 National and International7 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 Portmarnock
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
7 more historic places in Portmarnock
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
RegChurch / chapel · 1785–1790Saint Marnock's Church (Portmarnock)PortmarnockPhoto: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
RegCountry house · 1845–1850Saint Marnock's (country house)Strand Road, PortmarnockPhoto: Dvcireland · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
House · 1750–1850The Thatch CottageStrand Road, Portmarnock
Country house · 1880–1920Saint Marnock's (country house)Strand Road, Portmarnock
House · 1900–1920Saint Marnock's CottageStrand Road, Blackberry Lane, Portmarnock
Graveyard / cemetery · 1500–1700Graveyard, Strand Road, Portmarnock
Forge / smithy · 1830–1860Forge, PortmarnockPortmarnock
What’s recorded
More homes than anything else in and around Portmarnock: 50%
1 of Portmarnock’s records are rated of national importance. The second-largest group on the record is churches and chapels, with 2. At the top of the record: Carrickhill Martello Tower and The Thatch Cottage.
Homes4
Churches and chapels2
Mills, stations and works1
Other buildings1
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped, for the records inside the town and those just outside it that belong to it; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Portmarnock’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries3
19th century 1800–18994
1900 and later to today1
3 of the 8 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Portmarnock
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
38 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.
| Enclosure9 records |
| Structure5 records |
| Kiln - corn-drying3 records |
| Ritual site - holy well2 records |
| Ring-ditch2 records |
| Burnt mound2 records |
| Martello tower1 record |
| Quarry1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Ogham stone1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Wall monument1 record |
| Graveslab1 record |
| Mound1 record |
| Burial1 record |
| 6 more kinds6 records |
Homes by age
14% of Portmarnock’s homes are newer than 2011 (5.8% is typical)
Building from 1981 to 2000 fell short in Portmarnock: 9.7%, against 24% in most towns. Portmarnock added comparatively little between the wars: 0.9% of its homes, the typical town 3.9%. Homes dated from 1946 to 1980 are commoner in Portmarnock than in most towns: 51%, against 24%.
1%
Before 1919
0.9%
1919–45
51%
1946–80
9.7%
1981–2000
23%
2001–10
14%
Since 2011
PortmarnockTypical 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.
Neighbours
Portmarnock and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portmarnock | 10,750 | 8 | 1 | 38 |
| Malahide | 18,608 | 46 | 4 | 21 |
| Clongriffin | 7,438 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Baldoyle | 7,864 | 9 | 0 | 3 |
| Belmayne | 15,047 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
| Sutton | 5,789 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Donaghmede | 9,616 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
In brief
Portmarnock in brief
The official list counts 8 places on the record in Portmarnock, 1 of them in the top tier, including Carrickhill Martello Tower. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 4 of 8. The oldest, The Thatch Cottage, dates from 1750. Its homes are mostly newer: 1% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
The archaeological record adds 38 sites. For its size the list is short: per resident, it has more recorded buildings than only 23% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Beyond that, it has 8 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 72).
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 Portmarnock’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Portmarnock?
8 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Portmarnock are of national importance?
Carrickhill Martello Tower.
What is the oldest building in Portmarnock?
Graveyard, Strand Road, Portmarnock: the first date on its record is 1500.
Are there archaeological sites in Portmarnock?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 38 archaeological sites inside Portmarnock.
How old are the homes in Portmarnock?
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 (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).