Oranmore Castle · Photo: KevinSchnippkoweit · CC BY-SA 4.0Oranmore has 9 buildings on the National Inventory
Of its homes, 0.7% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1760. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 21 archaeological sites inside the town. For every 10,000 residents, Oranmore has 15 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48.
typical town: 48
Where Oranmore’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
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).
10 historic places in Oranmore
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
SMRThe record in and around Oranmore: homes first, at 68%
None of Oranmore’s records is rated of national importance; all are of regional interest. The next biggest group is churches and chapels, 2 in all. At the top of the record: Castle Pier and MacDonagh.
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.
Most of Oranmore’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
3 of the 9 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Castle Pier, from 1760.
Archaeology in Oranmore
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
21 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.
| Church3 records |
| Graveyard2 records |
| Graveslab2 records |
| Fulacht fia2 records |
| Ringfort - rath1 record |
| House - 18th/19th century1 record |
| Well1 record |
| Mill - corn1 record |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
| Brewery1 record |
| House - indeterminate date1 record |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Designed landscape - tree-ring1 record |
| Enclosure1 record |
| Moated site1 record |
| 1 more kind1 record |
Just outside Oranmore: 10
| Bay ViewRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| RocklandsRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Rinville ParkRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| Rockhill HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 500 m outside the town |
| House, FrenchfortRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| House, FrenchfortRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| House, Garraun LowerRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| House, KilcaiminRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| House, MoneymoreRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Water tower, Oran BegRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
New homes stand out in Oranmore: 13% built since 2011, where most towns have 5.8%
Few of Oranmore’s homes date between the wars: 0.4%, the norm 3.9%. Homes built from 1946 to 1980 make up just 8.3% of Oranmore’s, against 24% in the typical town. Oranmore has an unusual share of homes built in the 2000s: 58%, where most towns have 25%.
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.
Oranmore and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oranmore | 5,819 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 3 | 0 | 30 |
| Murrough | 2,909 | 4 | 0 | 17 |
| Mervue | 4,126 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Eyre Square | 6,801 | 81 | 2 | 27 |
| Castlegar | 4,315 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 120 | 6 | 59 |
Oranmore in brief
The official list counts 10 places on the record in Oranmore. Most entries on the list, 68%, are homes. Of the 9 with a date, 5 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Castle Pier, from 1760.
Its homes are mostly newer: 0.7% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. It also has 21 archaeological sites on the record. Beyond that, it has 9 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 27); and per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more.
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 Oranmore’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Oranmore?
9 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Oranmore?
Castle Pier: the first date on its record is 1760.
Are there archaeological sites in Oranmore?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 21 archaeological sites inside Oranmore.
How old are the homes in Oranmore?
0.7% 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).