Saint Mary's Catholic Church · Photo: Rauenstein · CC BY-SA 3.0Rathkeale: 33 buildings on the National Inventory
Rathkeale has kept more old homes than most towns: 7.1% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. It is a historic town on the Sites and Monuments Record, with 10 archaeological sites inside it. Its oldest building dates from 1740.
Rathkeale from 1880 to 1911
4 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
c. 1880
1880
1890s
1911From 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.
Where Rathkeale’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).
33 historic places in Rathkeale
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 12, A to Z
21 recorded by their type and address
21 are recorded only by their type and address: 18 homes, 2 street furniture and 1 walls, gates and bridges; most date from the 19th century.
Main Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Of the 33 records, 29 give a street address.
Rathkeale’s largest group: homes, 64% of the record
The record in Rathkeale comes up to 1945 at its newest. Second on the record: churches and chapels, 4 of them. At the top of the record: Christopher Lynch Bridge and “Mausoleum, Holy Trinity Church”.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Rathkeale’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
4 of the 33 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Christopher Lynch Bridge, from 1740.
Archaeology in Rathkeale
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
10 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.
| Graveyard2 records |
| Graveslab2 records |
| Historic town1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Religious house - Augustinian canons1 record |
| Memorial stone1 record |
| Excavation - miscellaneous1 record |
Just outside Rathkeale: 15
| StonevilleRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Riddlestown ParkRegional rating (NIAH) · 3 km outside the town |
| Embury and Heck Memorial Methodist ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Cloghanarold HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Rockfield TowerRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Kilcool BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| Mount SouthwellRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| BallywilliamRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Beechmount HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| The RectoryRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Ballingarrane Junction Railway StationRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| The VulcanRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Kiln, CloghanaroldRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
| Bridge, RathkealeRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Milestone, CastlematrixRegional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
Most of Rathkeale’s homes went up from 1946 to 1980: 32%
The last decade or so added 4.8% of Rathkeale’s homes, much as in most towns (5.8%). 6.2% of Rathkeale’s homes date between the wars, well above the typical 3.9%. Count back from today and half of Rathkeale’s homes are older than 2001.
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 Rathkeale before 1900
From Samuel Crumpe (1766) to Patrick F. Dealy (1827): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Everyone born in Rathkeale → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Rathkeale and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathkeale | 1,231 | 33 | 0 | 10 |
| Askeaton | 1,236 | 23 | 2 | 18 |
| Adare | 1,224 | 61 | 1 | 5 |
| Newcastle West | 7,209 | 48 | 1 | 19 |
| Croom | 1,240 | 27 | 0 | 10 |
Rathkeale in brief
More of Rathkeale’s homes are old than in most places: 7.1% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 33 places on the record. Main Street alone has 17 places on the record. Of the whole list, 64% are homes.
Of the 33 with a date, 26 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Christopher Lynch Bridge, from 1740. Samuel Crumpe (1766), John Conway Bourke (1815) and Patrick F. Dealy (1827) were all born here before 1900.
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 Rathkeale’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Rathkeale?
33 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Rathkeale?
Christopher Lynch Bridge: the first date on its record is 1740.
Are there archaeological sites in Rathkeale?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 10 archaeological sites inside Rathkeale.
How old are the homes in Rathkeale?
7.1% 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).