NatCastle / fortified house · 1580–1600Rathfarnham CastleRathfarnham Road, RathfarnhamPhoto: AndrewH · Public domain · Commons file
Rathfarnham Castle · Photo: AndrewH · Public domain86buildings on the National Inventory
History of Rathfarnham · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Rathfarnham has 86 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Rathfarnham’s oldest recorded building dates from 1580. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 11 archaeological sites inside the town. For every 10,000 residents, Rathfarnham has 49 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48.
On the National Inventory
86
49 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
11
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1580
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
2.3%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
14 pictures of historic Rathfarnham
Pictures exist for 14 of the places Rathfarnham has on the record. You can start with Rathfarnham Castle and “School, Main Street, Rathfarnham”. Go back furthest in Rathfarnham with Rathfarnham Castle: 1580.
School, Main Street, RathfarnhamRegional rating (NIAH)
Beaufort College GatesRegional rating (NIAH)
Pearse Museum (folly)Regional rating (NIAH)
Rathfarnham Religious Society of Friends' Meeting HouseRegional rating (NIAH)
Church of the AnnunciationRegional rating (NIAH)+9See all photosPhotos 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 Rathfarnham’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 86, by rating
1 National and International85 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 Rathfarnham
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
85 more historic places in Rathfarnham
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 40, A to Z
Abbey ViewAshfield HouseBeaufort College GatesBolton HallButterfield HouseCastle LodgeCatholic Church of the Holy SpiritChurch of the AnnunciationEdenGate lodge, Rathfarnham CastleLoreto AbbeyLoreto Abbey LodgesLoreto High SchoolLoreto ProvincialateLourdes Nursing HomeOld MillOld OrchardOrchardstown HousePearse BridgePearse Museum (country house)Pearse Museum (demesne walls / gates / railings)Pearse Museum (folly)Pearse Museum (folly)Rathfarnham ChurchRathfarnham CourthouseRathfarnham HouseRathfarnham Religious Society of Friends' Meeting HouseRiversdale HouseRiversdale HouseRosebankRosevilleSnugboroughSt Bridget'sThe Mill HouseThe PrioryTourville LodgeWashington HouseWashington LodgeWillbrook HouseYellow House Bar and Restaurant
45 recorded by their type and address
45 are recorded only by their type and address: 39 homes, 3 public buildings and 2 other buildings; most date from the 19th century.
17th century1
18th century1
19th century41
20th century2
Historic streets
Grange Road has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Grange Road13 on the record
Main Street6 on the record
Willbrook Road5 on the record
Ballyboden Road4 on the record
Butterfield Avenue4 on the record
Dodder Road4 on the record
Rathfarnham Road3 on the record · 1 of national importance
Saint Agnes Terrace3 on the record
Daly's Terrace3 on the record
Whitechurch Road3 on the record
Of the 86 records, 56 give a street address.
What’s recorded
More homes than anything else in Rathfarnham: 78%
Second on the record: churches and chapels, 6 of them. Two of the highest-rated records are Rathfarnham Castle and The Priory. Counted by type, Rathfarnham’s record runs to 6 kinds of building.
Homes67
Churches and chapels6
Walls, gates and bridges4
Public buildings4
Mills, stations and works1
Other buildings4
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Rathfarnham’s dated buildings come from the 20th century or later
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries19
19th century 1800–189929
1900 and later to today38
19 of the 86 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Rathfarnham Castle, from 1580.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Rathfarnham
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
11 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.
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Graveslab1 record |
| House - fortified house1 record |
| Burial ground1 record |
| Ecclesiastical enclosure1 record |
| Enclosure1 record |
| Habitation site1 record |
| Water mill - unclassified1 record |
| Mass-house1 record |
| Bullaun stone (present location)1 record |
Homes by age
Few of Rathfarnham’s homes are newer than 2011: 1.5%, against 5.8%
30% of Rathfarnham’s homes were built from 1981 to 2000, more than the typical town’s 24%. Just 7.3% of the homes in Rathfarnham went up in the 2000s, short of the typical 25%. Building from 1946 to 1980 left Rathfarnham with 53% of its homes, above the usual 24%.
2.3%
Before 1919
6.1%
1919–45
53%
1946–80
30%
1981–2000
7.3%
2001–10
1.5%
Since 2011
RathfarnhamTypical 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
6 notable people born in Rathfarnham before 1900
From James Henthorn Todd (1805) to John Millington Synge (1871): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
James Henthorn Todd
Edward Bulfin
May Guinness
Herbert Scaping
Frank Hinde
John Millington Synge
1800182518501875190019251950
JS
John Millington Synge1871–1909 · Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore
Edward Bulfin1862–1939 · British Army general
James Henthorn Todd1805–1869 · Irish historian
FH
Frank Hinde1869–1931 · Cricketer
MG
May Guinness1863–1955 · Irish painter
Herbert Scaping1866–1934 · Irish architect
Everyone born in Rathfarnham → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Rathfarnham and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathfarnham | 17,508 | 86 | 1 | 11 |
| Ballyboden | 5,246 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Edmondstown | 5,451 | 41 | 0 | 6 |
| Churchtown | 10,044 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Rathgar | 5,768 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Ballinteer | 16,038 | 11 | 1 | 4 |
| Templeogue | 18,076 | 16 | 0 | 11 |
In brief
Rathfarnham in brief
The official list counts 86 places on the record in Rathfarnham, 1 of them in the top tier, including Rathfarnham Castle. Grange Road alone has 13 places on the record. Of the whole list, 78% are homes. John Millington Synge (1871), Edward Bulfin (1862) and James Henthorn Todd (1805) are among the 6 people born here before 1900.
Its homes are mostly newer: 2.3% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The archaeological record adds 11 sites. The oldest is Rathfarnham Castle, from 1580. Beyond that, it has 86 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 45); and 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 Rathfarnham’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Rathfarnham?
86 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Rathfarnham are of national importance?
Rathfarnham Castle.
What is the oldest building in Rathfarnham?
Rathfarnham Castle: the first date on its record is 1580.
Are there archaeological sites in Rathfarnham?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 11 archaeological sites inside Rathfarnham.
How old are the homes in Rathfarnham?
2.3% 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 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).