Hospital / infirmary · 1880–1920Saint Ita's HospitalPortrane Road, Donabate
Photo: Maj Adev · CC BY-SA 2.02buildings on the National Inventory
History of Portrane · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Portrane has 2 buildings on the National Inventory
Portrane has kept more old homes than most towns: 7% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. Its oldest building dates from 1880. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 9 archaeological sites.
On the National Inventory
2
Of national importance
0
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
9
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1880
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
7%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Places to see in Portrane
Only Balcarrick Martello Tower has a photo so far; more of Portrane awaits one.
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 Portrane’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Regional and other sites
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 2, by rating
2 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).
Regional and other sites
2 historic places in Portrane
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Nurses' home · 1890–1900Nurses' home, Saint Ita's HospitalPortrane Road, Donabate
What’s recorded
No single kind leads in Portrane: public buildings and homes have 1 each
The highest-rated include Balcarrick Martello Tower and Rogerstown House. In and around Portrane, the earliest date on the record is 1770. National importance: 1 on Portrane’s record.
Public buildings1
Homes1
Other buildings3
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.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Portrane
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
9 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.
| Chapel1 record |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Bullaun stone1 record |
| Burial1 record |
| House - 18th/19th century1 record |
| Martello tower1 record |
Just outside Portrane: 3
| Balcarrick Martello TowerNational rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Rogerstown HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Folly, Saint Ita's HospitalRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
Homes by age
Few of Portrane’s homes are newer than 2011: 3.2%, against 5.8%
55% of Portrane’s homes date from 1946 to 1980, well above the typical 24%. In most towns 25% of homes were built in the 2000s; in Portrane only 8.8%. Building between the wars left Portrane with 7.5% of its homes, above the usual 3.9%.
7%
Before 1919
7.5%
1919–45
55%
1946–80
19%
1981–2000
8.8%
2001–10
3.2%
Since 2011
PortraneTypical 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
Portrane and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrane | 1,262 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Donabate | 9,669 | 18 | 0 | 11 |
| Rush | 10,875 | 25 | 1 | 5 |
| Lusk | 8,806 | 14 | 1 | 30 |
| Malahide | 18,608 | 46 | 4 | 21 |
| Portmarnock | 10,750 | 8 | 1 | 38 |
| Kinsealy-Drinan | 7,526 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
In brief
Portrane in brief
More of Portrane’s homes are old than in most places: 7% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 2 places on the record. It also has 9 archaeological sites on the record. The oldest is Saint Ita's Hospital, from 1880.
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 Portrane’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Portrane?
2 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Portrane?
Saint Ita's Hospital: the first date on its record is 1880.
Are there archaeological sites in Portrane?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 9 archaeological sites inside Portrane.
How old are the homes in Portrane?
7% 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).