Saint Patrick's Church (Kenmare) · Photo: Podstawko · CC BY-SA 4.0Kenmare: 24 buildings on the National Inventory
Old homes stand out in Kenmare: 6.8% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1650. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 19 archaeological sites. Kenmare has 94 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town.
typical town: 48
1 old views and 3 photos of Kenmare
Saint Patrick's Church (Kenmare) and Catholic Church of the Holy Cross lead the set. The photos cover 2 of Kenmare’s recorded places; the rest have a record card. From 1893 come the old photographs of Kenmare.
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.
Kenmare in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1893From 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.
Where Kenmare’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).
24 historic places in Kenmare
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 12, A to Z
12 recorded by their type and address
12 are recorded only by their type and address: 11 homes and 1 public buildings; most date from the 19th century.
More homes than anything else in Kenmare: 58%
Regional importance is the highest rating any of Kenmare’s buildings holds. The second-largest group on the record is churches and chapels, with 4. At the top of the record: Cromwell's Bridge and Kenmare Market House.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Kenmare’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
3 of the 24 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Cromwell's Bridge, from 1650.
Archaeology in Kenmare
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
19 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.
| Excavation - miscellaneous3 records |
| Standing stone2 records |
| School2 records |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
| Cross-inscribed stone1 record |
| Stone row1 record |
| Courthouse1 record |
| Market-house1 record |
| Barracks1 record |
| Metalworking site1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Fever hospital1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| House - vernacular house1 record |
Just outside Kenmare: 3
| Riversdale HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Kenmare BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| The Music MakersRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
Kenmare grew fastest in the 2000s, when 47% of its homes were built
Building from 1946 to 1980 fell short in Kenmare: 13%, against 24% in most towns. New building is strong in Kenmare: 8.5% of homes date from 2011 on, where most towns have 5.8%. About as many of Kenmare’s homes as usual date between the wars: 3.5%, against 3.9%.
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.
Kenmare in brief
Old houses are part of Kenmare’s character: 6.8% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 24 places on the record. Of the whole list, 58% are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 21 of 24. The oldest, Cromwell's Bridge, dates from 1650.
The archaeological record adds 19 sites. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: it has 24 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 20); per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more; and George Mayberry (1883) and McCarthy Downing (1814) were born here before 1900.
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 Kenmare’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Kenmare?
24 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Kenmare?
Cromwell's Bridge: the first date on its record is 1650.
Are there archaeological sites in Kenmare?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 19 archaeological sites inside Kenmare.
How old are the homes in Kenmare?
6.8% 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).