Catholic Church of Saint Kieran and Saint Michael · Photo: Renehanf · CC BY-SA 4.0Johnstown: 16% of homes built before 1919
Against 3.4% in the typical town, Johnstown has 5 times the share. On the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Johnstown counts 13 buildings. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1795. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 archaeological sites.
Historic Johnstown through 4 photographs
So far the camera has reached 2 of Johnstown’s recorded places. First come Catholic Church of Saint Kieran and Saint Michael and Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh). The oldest building in Johnstown’s set dates from 1795: Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh).
Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh)Regional rating (NIAH)
Foulkscourt House (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH)
GrangefertaghArchaeological monument (SMR)+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.
Where Johnstown’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).
13 historic places in Johnstown
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 5, A to Z
8 recorded by their type and address
8 are recorded only by their type and address: 7 homes and 1 other buildings; most date from the 19th century.
Johnstown’s largest group: homes, 62% of the record
The newest record in Johnstown dates from 1935. 2 records make churches and chapels the second group. Two of the highest-rated records are Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh) and Catholic Church of Saint Kieran and Saint Michael.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Johnstown’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1 of the 13 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh), from 1795.
Archaeology in Johnstown
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
7 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.
| Architectural feature3 records |
| Ringfort - rath1 record |
| Font (present location)1 record |
| Crucifixion plaque1 record |
| Stone sculpture (present location)1 record |
Just outside Johnstown: 12
| GrangefertaghArchaeological monument (SMR) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Ballyspellan HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| EllenvilleRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| The Old RectoryRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| Melrose HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Foulkscourt House (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.1 km outside the town |
| Foulkscourt House (gates / railings / walls)Regional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Foulkscourt House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Tullanvoolty HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Farm house, BaungarrowRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| House, JohnstownRegional rating (NIAH) · 500 m outside the town |
| Rectory, Balief CrossroadsRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
Little new building in Johnstown: 2.3% of homes date from 2011 on, against 5.8%
Johnstown’s largest group of homes, 33%, went up from 1946 to 1980. Homes dated between the wars are commoner in Johnstown than in most towns: 7.9%, against 3.9%. Building in the 2000s left Johnstown with 18% of its homes, below the usual 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.
3 notable people born in Johnstown before 1900
From Patrick Phelan (1856) to John Holohan (1891): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Everyone born in Johnstown → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Johnstown and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnstown | 450 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| Urlingford | 1,196 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| Ballyragget | 1,116 | 20 | 1 | 4 |
Johnstown in brief
More of Johnstown’s homes are old than in most places: 16% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 13 places on the record. Of the whole list, 62% are homes. Of the 13 with a date, 9 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh), from 1795.
Ethel Colburn Mayne (1865), Patrick Phelan (1856) and John Holohan (1891) were all born here before 1900. The archaeological record adds 7 sites.
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 Johnstown’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Johnstown?
13 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Johnstown?
Saint Mary's Church (Fertagh): the first date on its record is 1795.
Are there archaeological sites in Johnstown?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 archaeological sites inside Johnstown.
How old are the homes in Johnstown?
16% 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).