NatChurch / chapel · 1835–1845Catholic Church of the AssumptionGreen Street, Chapel Lane, CallanPhoto: The Speckled Bird · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
Catholic Church of the Assumption · Photo: The Speckled Bird · CC BY-SA 4.078buildings on the National Inventory
History of Callan · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Callan: 78 buildings on the National Inventory, the oldest from 1455
Old homes stand out in Callan: 11% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 84 archaeological sites inside it. Callan has 78 buildings on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2 of them of national importance. Few towns its size have as much: 291 per 10,000 residents, more than 93% of them.
On the National Inventory
78
291 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
2
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
84
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1455
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
11%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
20 pictures of historic Callan
You can start with Catholic Church of the Assumption and “House, Green Street, West Street, Callan”. Pictures exist for 19 of the places Callan has on the record. 1 of the highest-rated places in Callan have a photo.
House, Green Street, West Street, CallanRegional rating (NIAH)
Elm HouseRegional rating (NIAH)
Keogh's Model BakeryRegional rating (NIAH)
House, Lower Bridge Street, Mill Lane, CallanRegional rating (NIAH)
Allied Irish BankRegional rating (NIAH)+15See 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.
How old
Most of Callan’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
Middle Ages 500–14991
1500–1799 three centuries8
19th century 1800–189959
1900 and later to today10
9 of the 78 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Saint Mary's Church (Callan), from 1455.
The map
Where Callan’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 Callan
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Church / chapel · 1455–1465Saint Mary's Church (Callan)Green Street, Mill Street, Callan
Regional and other sites
79 more historic places in Callan
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 32, A to Z
Adelphi HouseAllied Irish BankBank of IrelandCallan Augustinian Abbey (church / chapel)Callan Augustinian Abbey (friary)Callan Augustinian FriaryCallan CourthouseCallan CreameryCallan Motor GarageCallan Motor Garage (cinema)Callan MotteCallan Town HallCallan Union WorkhouseClarke's or Bridge HouseDunne's BakeryEdmund Ignatius Rice MonumentElm HouseGarda station, Callan CourthouseGates, Callan Augustinian AbbeyGates, Catholic Church of the AssumptionGates, Saint Mary's Church (Callan)House, Saint Mary's Church (Callan)Keogh's Model BakeryNolanO'BrienP. FennellyP. O'HalloranPower or The Irish HouseSaint Augustine's WellSaint Mary's Convent of Mercy (church / chapel)Saint Mary's Convent of Mercy (convent / nunnery)School, Saint Mary's Convent of Mercy
47 recorded by their type and address
47 are recorded only by their type and address: 35 homes, 5 street furniture and 3 walls, gates and bridges; most date from the 19th century.
16th century1
17th century1
18th century3
19th century37
20th century5
Historic streets
Green Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Green Street25 on the record · 2 of national importance
West Street14 on the record
Upper Bridge12 on the record
Mill Street9 on the record
Kilkenny Road6 on the record
Lower Bridge4 on the record
Clonmel Road3 on the record
Of the 81 records, 76 give a street address.
What’s recorded
Callan’s largest group: homes, 62% of the record
The newest record in Callan dates from 1940. That mix leans to street furniture: 6% in Callan, against 3% across the National Inventory. 6 records make walls, gates and bridges the second group.
Homes48
Walls, gates and bridges6
Churches and chapels6
Public buildings5
Street furniture5
Inns, shops and warehouses1
Mills, stations and works1
Memorials and tombs1
Farm and estate buildings1
Other buildings4
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Callan
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
84 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.
| Graveslab38 records |
| Tomb - chest tomb10 records |
| Castle - tower house5 records |
| Bridge3 records |
| Church2 records |
| Architectural fragment2 records |
| Water mill - vertical-wheeled2 records |
| Stone sculpture (present location)2 records |
| Tomb - effigial2 records |
| Wall monument2 records |
| Stone sculpture2 records |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Battery1 record |
| Cross - Market cross1 record |
| 10 more kinds10 records |
Just outside Callan: 7
| Edmund Rice HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| Dixon's CottageRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Farm house, BroadmoreRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Farm house, MolassyRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Farm house, Monarche CommonsRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.5 km outside the town |
| Mill (water), Mill IslandRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| House, BallylineRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.6 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Callan has more new homes than most: 12% since 2011, against 5.8%
The largest single period is in the 2000s, with 40% of Callan’s homes. 7.1% of Callan’s homes were built between the wars, more than the typical town’s 3.9%. Against a typical 24%, only 13% of Callan’s homes went up from 1981 to 2000.
11%
Before 1919
7.1%
1919–45
17%
1946–80
13%
1981–2000
40%
2001–10
12%
Since 2011
CallanTypical 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
8 notable people born in Callan before 1900
From Mary Joseph Butler (1641) to Martin Power (1899): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Mary Joseph Butler
Thomas Nash
Edmund Ignatius Rice
Thomas Stevenson
Michael Cudahy
Patrick Cudahy
Charles Levinge Gregory
Martin Power
16001650170017501800185019001950
Edmund Ignatius Rice1762–1844 · Founder of the Congregation of Christian Brothers
TS
Thomas Stevenson1804–1845 · English cricketer
Mary Joseph Butler1641–1724 · Irish Benedictine nun
Michael Cudahy1841–1910 · Irish-American industrialist
Patrick Cudahy1849–1919 · American businessman
MP
Martin Power1899–1957 · Irish hurler
TN
Thomas Nash1745–1810 · Irish fisherman who founded Branch, Newfoundland and Labrador
CG
Charles Levinge Gregory1870–1944 · British army officer
Everyone born in Callan → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Callan has the 2nd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 2,600 to 2,800 residents, by buildings on the record.
Callan78
#2 of 16for buildings on the record per resident (291 per 10,000). Sunday's Well, Callan and Baltinglass lead.
Only Sunday's Well has more. The typical town its size has 25. 3 of the 16 have none.
Neighbours
Callan and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Callan | 2,678 | 78 | 2 | 84 |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 586 | 25 | 445 |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 95 | 1 | 38 |
In brief
Callan in brief
Few towns are as rich in recorded buildings as Callan: per resident it has more than 93% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. All told, the list holds 81 places on the record, 2 of them in the top tier, including Saint Mary's Church (Callan). Its housing is old: 11% of homes date from before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. Only one of the 16 towns nearest its size has more recorded buildings.
On Green Street alone there are 25 places on the record. Of the whole list, 62% are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 59 of 78.
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 Callan’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Callan?
78 buildings on the National Inventory, 2 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Callan are of national importance?
Saint Mary's Church (Callan) and Catholic Church of the Assumption.
What is the oldest building in Callan?
Saint Mary's Church (Callan): the first date on its record is 1455.
Are there archaeological sites in Callan?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 84 archaeological sites inside Callan.
How old are the homes in Callan?
11% 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).