School, King Street, Drogheda · Photo: Bpmurray · CC BY-SA 4.0
324buildings on the National Inventory
History of Drogheda · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Drogheda, recorded since 1350: 324 buildings on the National Inventory
The Sites and Monuments Record marks Drogheda as a historic town and lists 105 archaeological sites inside it. On the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Drogheda counts 324 buildings, 6 of them of national importance. Per 10,000 residents that makes 73; the typical town has 48.
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
105
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1350
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
4.5%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
Drogheda in 17 photos and 3 old views
You can start with “School, King Street, Drogheda” and Boyne Viaduct. So far the camera has reached 16 of Drogheda’s recorded places. Drogheda before 1950 appears in old photographs from 1880 to 1900.
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.
Through time
Drogheda from 1880 to 1900
3 old photographs, in date order. All made before 1950.
1875190019251950VictorianEdwardianRevolutionFree State
From 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.
How old
Most of Drogheda’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
Middle Ages 500–14992
1500–1799 three centuries105
19th century 1800–1899200
1900 and later to today17
107 of the 324 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Magdalene Tower, from 1350.
The map
Where Drogheda’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
National and InternationalRegional and other sites400 m from Saint Peter's Catholic Church
5 of 6within 400 m of Saint Peter's Catholic Church, the heart of the town’s history
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 325, by rating
6 National and International319 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
6 places of national importance in Drogheda
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Fair Street40 on the record · 1 of national importance
Saint Laurence Street34 on the record
West Street30 on the record · 2 of national importance
Saint Peter's Place16 on the record
Dublin Road13 on the record
Palace Street13 on the record
Saint Peter's Street10 on the record
Barrack Street10 on the record
Peter's Hill9 on the record · 1 of national importance
Greenhills Road8 on the record
Cord Road8 on the record
Shop Street6 on the record
Of the 325 records, 302 give a street address.
What’s recorded
Drogheda’s largest group: homes, 72% of the record
All told, 10 kinds of building appear on Drogheda’s record. In Drogheda, walls, gates and bridges weigh less than nationally: 3%, against 8%. Second on the record: public buildings, 26 of them.
Homes232
Public buildings26
Churches and chapels20
Walls, gates and bridges10
Mills, stations and works9
Street furniture3
Inns, shops and warehouses3
Farm and estate buildings2
Memorials and tombs1
Other buildings18
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Drogheda
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
105 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.
Old houses stand out in Drogheda: 4.5% predate 1919, where most towns have 3.4%
Since 2011 Drogheda has added 8.6% of its homes, more than the typical town’s 5.8%. Look at when Drogheda’s homes went up and one period leads: from 1981 to 2000, with 28%. Homes dated between the wars are commoner in Drogheda than in most towns: 6.5%, against 3.9%.
4.5%
Before 1919
6.5%
1919–45
27%
1946–80
28%
1981–2000
25%
2001–10
8.6%
Since 2011
DroghedaTypical 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
19 notable people born in Drogheda before 1900
From John Bathe (1610) to Christopher Burke (1898): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
John Bathe
Katherine Wilmot
Elizabeth O'Neill
George Drumgoole Coleman
Thomas Charles Wright
Joseph Grimmond
John Atkinson, Baron Atkinson
Edward Hardman
Nathaniel Hill
William Hughes
Joseph Horsford Kemp
William Kenny
Larry McCormack
Jim Smith
Kathleen Balfe
Thomas Burke
Thomas McLoughlin
Larry Grogan
Christopher Burke
16001650170017501800185019001950
William Hughes1872–1918 · American politician from New Jersey
Elizabeth O'Neill1791–1872 · Irish actress
NH
Nathaniel Hill1860–1930 · Irish artist
John Atkinson, Baron Atkinson1844–1932 · Irish politician
Katherine Wilmot1773–1824 · Irish writer
George Drumgoole Coleman1795–1844 · Irish civil architect who lived and worked in Singapore, Straits Sett…
Thomas Charles Wright1799–1868 · Irish-born admiral, founding-father of Ecuadorian Navy
Joseph Grimmond1843–1924 · New Zealand politician
Everyone born in Drogheda → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Drogheda has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 23,000 to 43,100 residents, by buildings on the record.
More of Drogheda’s homes are old than in most places: 4.5% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 325 places on the record, 6 of them in the top tier, including Barlow House. Saint Peter's Catholic Church sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s places of national importance within 400 m. Only 2 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings.
On Fair Street alone there are 40 places on the record. Of the whole list, 72% are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 200 of 324. Beyond that, per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more.
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 Drogheda’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Drogheda?
324 buildings on the National Inventory, 6 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Drogheda are of national importance?
Barlow House, Saint Peter's Church (Saint Peter's), Saint Peter's Catholic Church, Corn Market, Boyne Viaduct and School, King Street, Drogheda.
What is the oldest building in Drogheda?
Magdalene Tower: the first date on its record is 1350.
Are there archaeological sites in Drogheda?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 105 archaeological sites inside Drogheda.
How old are the homes in Drogheda?
4.5% 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).
School, King Street, Drogheda · Photo: Bpmurray · CC BY-SA 4.0
Boyne ViaductNational rating (NIAH)
Barlow HouseNational rating (NIAH)
Saint Peter's Catholic ChurchNational rating (NIAH)
Saint Peter's Church (Saint Peter's)National rating (NIAH)
Beaulieu House (country house)National rating (NIAH)+12See all photos
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