NatChurch / chapel · 1840–1845Saint Patrick's Catholic ChurchChapel Avenue, BallyraggetPhoto: A.-K. D · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Saint Patrick's Catholic Church · Photo: A.-K. D · CC BY-SA 4.020buildings on the National Inventory
History of Ballyragget · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Ballyragget has 20 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Ballyragget has kept more old homes than most towns: 8.3% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 4 archaeological sites inside it. The oldest record dates from 1750.
On the National Inventory
20
Of national importance
1
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
4
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1750
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
8.3%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
4 photos of Ballyragget’s landmarks
Of the places on Ballyragget’s record, 4 have a photo here. You can start with Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and Step House. Ballyragget Bridge, dated 1810, is the oldest pictured in Ballyragget.
Step HouseRegional rating (NIAH)
House, The Square, BallyraggetRegional rating (NIAH)
Ballyragget 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.
The map
Where Ballyragget’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 20, by rating
1 National and International19 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 Ballyragget
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Regional and other sites
19 more historic places in Ballyragget
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 12, A to Z
7 recorded by their type and address
7 are recorded only by their type and address: 4 homes, 1 walls, gates and bridges and 1 other buildings; most date from the 19th century.
19th century5
20th century2
What’s recorded
In Ballyragget, homes lead the record (60%)
The second-largest group on the record is walls, gates and bridges, with 3. Leading the record by rating: Saint Patrick's Catholic Church and Butler House. No fewer than 6 kinds of building are on Ballyragget’s record.
Homes12
Walls, gates and bridges3
Farm and estate buildings1
Churches and chapels1
Street furniture1
Other buildings2
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Ballyragget’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries3
19th century 1800–189914
1900 and later to today3
3 of the 20 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Butler House, from 1750.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Ballyragget
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
4 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 |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Bawn1 record |
| Enclosure1 record |
Just outside Ballyragget: 12
| Grange House (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Grange House (dovecote / pigeon house / aviary)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Grange House (bridge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Ballyconra House (gates / railings / walls)Regional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Ballyconra HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Grange BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Grange House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
| Grange House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Grange House (gates / railings / walls)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Ballyragget National SchoolRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Mount Eland HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Mill (water), BallyraggetRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
Homes by age
Most of Ballyragget’s homes went up in the 2000s: 33%
Building between the wars left Ballyragget with 5.8% of its homes, above the usual 3.9%. Homes dated from 1981 to 2000 are scarcer in Ballyragget than in most towns: 12%, against 24%. New building is strong in Ballyragget: 7.8% of homes date from 2011 on, where most towns have 5.8%.
8.3%
Before 1919
5.8%
1919–45
33%
1946–80
12%
1981–2000
33%
2001–10
7.8%
Since 2011
BallyraggetTypical 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
5 notable people born in Ballyragget before 1900
From Patrick Phelan (1795) to Bill Kenny (1899): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Patrick Phelan
Richard Phelan
Mabel Cahill
Tommy Moore
Bill Kenny
175017751800182518501875190019251950
MC
Mabel Cahill1863–1905 · Irish tennis player
RP
Richard Phelan1828–1904 · Catholic bishop
PP
Patrick Phelan1795–1857 · Catholic bishop
TM
Tommy Moore1890–1973 · Irish hurler
BK
Bill Kenny1899–1978 · Irish hurler
Everyone born in Ballyragget → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Neighbours
Ballyragget and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyragget | 1,116 | 20 | 1 | 4 |
| Castlecomer | 1,496 | 64 | 1 | 0 |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 586 | 25 | 445 |
| Urlingford | 1,196 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 20 | 0 | 4 |
In brief
Ballyragget in brief
Old houses are part of Ballyragget’s character: 8.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 20 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Saint Patrick's Catholic Church. Most entries on the list, 60%, are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 14 of 20. The oldest, Butler House, dates from 1750.
Of the 5 people born here before 1900, the best known include Mabel Cahill (1863), Richard Phelan (1828) and Patrick Phelan (1795). Beyond that, it also has 4 archaeological sites.
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 Ballyragget’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ballyragget?
20 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Ballyragget are of national importance?
Saint Patrick's Catholic Church.
What is the oldest building in Ballyragget?
Butler House: the first date on its record is 1750.
Are there archaeological sites in Ballyragget?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 4 archaeological sites inside Ballyragget.
How old are the homes in Ballyragget?
8.3% 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.
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 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).