NatChurch / chapel · 1825–1835Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght)Main Street, TallaghtPhoto: SunseekerNM · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght) · Photo: SunseekerNM · CC BY-SA 4.05buildings on the National Inventory
History of Tallaght · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Tallaght has 5 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Tallaght is a historic town on the Sites and Monuments Record, which lists 13 archaeological sites inside it. 0.4% of its homes date from before 1919; the typical town has 3.4%. The oldest record dates from 1800. For every 10,000 residents, Tallaght has 3.2 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48.
On the National Inventory
5
3.2 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
13
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1800
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
0.4%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
3 pictures of Tallaght today and 1 from before 1950
The oldest building pictured in Tallaght is Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght), from 1825. 3 recorded places in Tallaght have a photo. Tallaght as it was in 1890, in old photographs.
Saint Mary's PrioryRegional rating (NIAH)
Saint Mary's Priory (church / chapel)Regional rating (NIAH)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
Tallaght in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1890sFrom 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 Tallaght’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 5, by rating
1 National and International4 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 Tallaght
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
4 more historic places in Tallaght
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
RegPriory · 1860–1865Saint Mary's PrioryMain Street, TallaghtPhoto: Tdr112 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
RegChurch / chapel · 1880–1890Saint Mary's Priory (church / chapel)Main Street, TallaghtPhoto: Tdr112 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Presbytery / parochial / curate's house · 1800–1850Presbytery, Main Street, Tallaght
House · 1900–1920House, Cookstown Road, Jobstown
What’s recorded
Level pegging in Tallaght: homes and churches and chapels, 2 apiece
1900 brings Tallaght’s record up to its newest entry. The highest-rated include Saint Maelruain's Church and Saint Mary's Priory. 1 of Tallaght’s records are rated of national importance.
Homes2
Churches and chapels2
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 Tallaght’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries0
19th century 1800–18994
1900 and later to today1
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Tallaght
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
13 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.
| Historic town1 record |
| Ecclesiastical enclosure1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Tomb - unclassified (present location)1 record |
| Cross1 record |
| Mill - unclassified1 record |
| Font1 record |
| Gatehouse1 record |
| Ritual site - holy tree/bush1 record |
| Tomb - chest tomb1 record |
| Tomb - unclassified1 record |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
Homes by age
Tallaght’s building boom came from 1946 to 1980: 49% of its homes
Just 14% of the homes in Tallaght went up from 1981 to 2000, short of the typical 24%. Against a typical 3.9%, only 0.5% of Tallaght’s homes went up between the wars. From 2011 on, Tallaght built 6.5% of its homes, near the typical 5.8%.
0.4%
Before 1919
0.5%
1919–45
49%
1946–80
14%
1981–2000
30%
2001–10
6.5%
Since 2011
TallaghtTypical 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
Tallaght and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 5 | 1 | 13 |
| Old Bawn | 18,758 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Kilnamanagh | 11,703 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Fettercairn | 12,970 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Bohernabreena | 4,613 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Jobstown | 23,437 | 12 | 0 | 9 |
| Firhouse | 12,254 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
In brief
Tallaght in brief
Tallaght has 5 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght). Of the 5 with a date, 4 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght), from 1825. Its homes are mostly newer: 0.4% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
The archaeological record adds 13 sites. For its size the list is short: per resident, it has more recorded buildings than only 14% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Beyond that, it has 5 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 13).
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 Tallaght’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Tallaght?
5 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Tallaght are of national importance?
Saint Maelruain's Church (Tallaght).
What is the oldest building in Tallaght?
Presbytery, Main Street, Tallaght: the first date on its record is 1800.
Are there archaeological sites in Tallaght?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites inside Tallaght.
How old are the homes in Tallaght?
0.4% 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).