NatChurch / chapel · 1835–1845Saint Patrick's Catholic ChurchBallyroanPhoto: Sarah777 · Public domain · Commons file
Photo: Sarah777 at English Wikipedia · Public domain6buildings on the National Inventory
History of Ballyroan · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Ballyroan: 6 buildings on the National Inventory, 2 of them of national importance
History in Ballyroan goes back at least to 1600, the date of its oldest recorded building. 6.4% of its homes date from before 1919; the typical town has 3.4%. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 6 archaeological sites.
On the National Inventory
6
Of national importance
2
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
6
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1600
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
6.4%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Old buildings of Ballyroan
Photos show 1 of Ballyroan’s places of national importance. The photo shows Saint Patrick's Catholic Church, one of Ballyroan’s recorded places.
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.
The map
Where Ballyroan’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 6, by rating
2 National and International4 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 Ballyroan
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
House · 1600–1680Ó NuallainBallyroan
Regional and other sites
4 more historic places in Ballyroan
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Church / chapel · 1770–1810Ballyroan ChurchBallyroan
Building · 1800–1830Ballyroan HouseBallyroan
House · 1750–1800House, Ballyroan
Building · 1880–1910Building, Ballyroan
What’s recorded
The record in and around Ballyroan: homes first, at 50%
The highest-rated include Ó Nuallain and Saint Patrick's Catholic Church. Second on the record: churches and chapels, 2 of them. National importance: 2 on Ballyroan’s record.
Homes4
Churches and chapels2
Other buildings2
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped, for the records inside the town and those just outside it that belong to it; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Ballyroan’s dated buildings come from the 16th to 18th centuries
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries3
19th century 1800–18993
1900 and later to today0
3 of the 6 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Ó Nuallain, from 1600.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Ballyroan
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
6 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.
| Castle - motte1 record |
| Castle - unclassified1 record |
| Building1 record |
| Settlement deserted - medieval1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
Just outside Ballyroan: 2
| Blandsfort HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| GlenbrookRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
Homes by age
61% of Ballyroan’s homes were built in the 2000s
New building has been slow in Ballyroan: 3.9% of homes date from 2011 on, where most towns have 5.8%. Only 1% of Ballyroan’s homes were built between the wars, less than the typical town’s 3.9%. Ballyroan added comparatively little from 1946 to 1980: 13% of its homes, the typical town 24%.
6.4%
Before 1919
1%
1919–45
13%
1946–80
15%
1981–2000
61%
2001–10
3.9%
Since 2011
BallyroanTypical 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.
Neighbours
Ballyroan and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyroan | 657 | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| Abbeyleix | 1,897 | 35 | 0 | 0 |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 185 | 6 | 17 |
| Mountrath | 2,070 | 24 | 0 | 4 |
| Stradbally | 1,404 | 25 | 0 | 1 |
| Ballylinan | 1,167 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Castlecomer | 1,496 | 64 | 1 | 0 |
In brief
Ballyroan in brief
More of Ballyroan’s homes are old than in most places: 6.4% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 6 places on the record, 2 of them in the top tier. Most of its dated monuments come from the 16th to 18th centuries: 3 of 6. The oldest, Ó Nuallain, dates from 1600. It also has 6 archaeological sites on the record.
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 Ballyroan’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ballyroan?
6 buildings on the National Inventory, 2 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Ballyroan are of national importance?
Ó Nuallain and Saint Patrick's Catholic Church.
What is the oldest building in Ballyroan?
Ó Nuallain: the first date on its record is 1600.
Are there archaeological sites in Ballyroan?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 6 archaeological sites inside Ballyroan.
How old are the homes in Ballyroan?
6.4% 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 (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).