NMCastle - tower houseListowel CastleListowelPhoto: No machine-readable author provided. Larsoner assumed (based on copyright claims) · Public domain · Commons file
Saint Mary's Catholic Church · Photo: Patrick Wyse Jackson · CC BY-SA 4.080buildings on the National Inventory
History of Listowel · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Listowel: 80 buildings on the National Inventory, 2 of them of national importance
History in Listowel goes back at least to 1750, the date of its oldest recorded building. The Sites and Monuments Record adds 15 archaeological sites inside the town. For every 10,000 residents, Listowel has 167 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48. 6.6% of its homes date from before 1919; the typical town has 3.4%.
On the National Inventory
80
167 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
2
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
15
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1750
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
6.6%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
4 pictures of Listowel today and 3 from before 1950
There are photos of 4 of Listowel’s recorded places so far. The old photographs show Listowel between 1900 and 1910. 2 of the highest-rated places in Listowel have a photo.
Listowel CastleNational monument to visit
Saint John's Arts Centre and TheatreRegional rating (NIAH)
Listowel BridgeRegional rating (NIAH)+1See 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.
Through time
Listowel from 1900 to 1910
3 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1900
1900
1910sFrom 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 Listowel’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 81, by rating
2 National and International79 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
2 places of national importance in Listowel
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. With one national monument the State cares for and opens to visitors. Each one opens its own page.
NatChurch / chapel · 1860–1870Saint Mary's Catholic ChurchThe Square, ListowelPhoto: Patrick Wyse Jackson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Regional and other sites
79 more historic places in Listowel
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 30, A to Z
Allied Irish BankBank of IrelandCollinsD.J. FlavinGurtenard HouseGurtenard House (gate lodge)Holy Cross ConventJ. McKennaJ. MurphyJ. O'DonovanListowel Arms HotelListowel BridgeListowel Carnegie Free LibraryListowel Garda Síochána StationListowel Railway StationListowel Railway Station (store / warehouse)M.J. CarrollMulvihillO GealbháinQuilleSaint John's Arts Centre and TheatreStack (house)Stack (house)T. O'SullivanThe EmporiumThe Harp and LionThe HorseshoeThe Maid of ErinThoumplebawn Burial GroundW. Keane
49 recorded by their type and address
49 are recorded only by their type and address: 47 homes, 1 public buildings and 1 churches and chapels; most date from the 19th century.
18th century3
19th century46
Historic streets
Church Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Church Street21 on the record
William Street20 on the record
The Square18 on the record · 1 of national importance
Market Street4 on the record
Convent Road3 on the record
Tea Lane3 on the record
Of the 81 records, 79 give a street address.
What’s recorded
The record in Listowel starts with homes, at 85%
5 records make public buildings the second group. Two of the highest-rated records are Saint Mary's Catholic Church and The Emporium. Listowel’s record spans 6 kinds of building.
Homes68
Public buildings5
Churches and chapels4
Inns, shops and warehouses1
Walls, gates and bridges1
Mills, stations and works1
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Listowel’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries1
19th century 1800–189974
1900 and later to today5
1 of the 80 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Listowel
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
15 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.
| Ringfort - rath6 records |
| Fulacht fia2 records |
| Enclosure1 record |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Mound1 record |
| Weir - fish1 record |
| Water mill - unclassified1 record |
Just outside Listowel: 3
| Billeragh HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Bedford HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| House, FinugeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
Homes by age
More of Listowel’s homes date in the 2000s than from any other period: 34%
The midpoint of Listowel’s housing falls before 2001: half the homes are older. Building between the wars went further in Listowel than in most towns: 6.9%, against 3.9%. Homes built since 2011 make up just 4.4% of Listowel’s, below the 5.8% of the typical town.
6.6%
Before 1919
6.9%
1919–45
21%
1946–80
28%
1981–2000
34%
2001–10
4.4%
Since 2011
ListowelTypical 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
7 notable people born in Listowel before 1900
From John Connors (1830) to Tom McEllistrim (1894): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
John Connors
Richard Alphonsus O'Connor
James Crowley
Alfred O'Rahilly
Henry Marshall
Michael J. Stack
Tom McEllistrim
1800182518501875190019251950
Richard Alphonsus O'Connor1838–1913 · Canadian Catholic bishop
AO
Alfred O'Rahilly1884–1969 · Irish academic and politician
Michael J. Stack1888–1960 · Politician
John Connors1830–1857 · Recipient of the Victoria Cross
JC
James Crowley1880–1946 · Irish politician
TM
Tom McEllistrim1894–1973 · Irish politician and military activist
Henry Marshall1884–1955 · Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford
Everyone born in Listowel → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Listowel and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listowel | 4,794 | 80 | 2 | 15 |
| Abbeyfeale | 2,206 | 31 | 1 | 2 |
| Ballybunion | 1,618 | 20 | 0 | 8 |
In brief
Listowel in brief
More of Listowel’s homes are old than in most places: 6.6% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 81 places on the record, 2 of them in the top tier. Per resident, it has more recorded buildings than 83% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Church Street alone has 21 places on the record.
Of the whole list, 85% are homes. Of the 80 with a date, 74 come from the 19th century. The oldest is The Emporium, from 1800. The rest is about typical: it has 80 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 56).
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 Listowel’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Listowel?
80 buildings on the National Inventory, 2 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Listowel are of national importance?
Listowel Castle and Saint Mary's Catholic Church.
What is the oldest building in Listowel?
Church, Upper Church Street, Listowel: the first date on its record is 1750.
Are there archaeological sites in Listowel?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 15 archaeological sites inside Listowel.
How old are the homes in Listowel?
6.6% 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).