Athclare Castle · Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0Dunleer has 16 buildings on the National Inventory
History in Dunleer goes back at least to 1760, the date of its oldest recorded building. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites.
Dunleer in 2 photos
Two to begin with: Athclare Castle and Barmeath Castle (country house).
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.
Where Dunleer’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).
16 historic places in Dunleer
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 10, A to Z
6 recorded by their type and address
6 are recorded only by their type and address: 4 homes and 2 walls, gates and bridges; most date from the 19th century.
In Dunleer, homes lead the record (50%)
Dunleer shows 5 kinds of building on its record. The runner-up group is walls, gates and bridges: 4 records. At the top of the record: The Rectory and Saint Brigid's Catholic Church.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Dunleer’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1 of the 16 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology in Dunleer
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
13 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.
| Cross-inscribed stone3 records |
| Souterrain2 records |
| Settlement cluster1 record |
| Ecclesiastical enclosure1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Architectural fragment1 record |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
| Castle - motte1 record |
| Graveslab1 record |
Just outside Dunleer: 30
| Athclare CastleNational rating (NIAH) · 1.1 km outside the town |
| Barmeath Castle (country house)National rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Rokeby Hall (country house)National rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Drumcar BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Saint Borchill's Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Barmeath Castle (farmyard complex)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Janeville HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.2 km outside the town |
| Rokeby Hall (stables)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| MarlayRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| The Old RectoryRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.8 km outside the town |
| Rokeby Hall (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.5 km outside the town |
| Morganstown HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.5 km outside the town |
| Barmeath Castle (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| Burren HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| Saint Finian's Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.2 km outside the town |
| Dysart National SchoolRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Moneyveg TowerRegional rating (NIAH) · 3 km outside the town |
| Dromin HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.9 km outside the town |
| Saint Fintan's Church (Drumcar)Regional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| WoodparkRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
Dunleer has more new homes than most: 14% since 2011, against 5.8%
Building from 1981 to 2000 left Dunleer with 13% of its homes, below the usual 24%. More of the homes standing in Dunleer today were built in the 2000s than in any other period: 40%. Homes from before 1919 are 2.8% of Dunleer’s housing, about the typical town’s 3.4%.
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.
Dunleer and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunleer | 2,143 | 16 | 0 | 13 |
| Castlebellingham-Kilsaran | 1,232 | 28 | 0 | 9 |
| Ardee | 5,478 | 62 | 0 | 39 |
| Tullyallen | 1,697 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Clogherhead | 2,275 | 8 | 0 | 5 |
| Dromiskin | 1,292 | 5 | 0 | 16 |
| Termonfeckin | 1,983 | 9 | 0 | 19 |
Dunleer in brief
Dunleer has 16 places on the record. Of the whole list, 50% are homes. Of the 16 with a date, 13 come from the 19th century. The oldest is The Rectory, from 1810.
Its homes are mostly newer: 2.8% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. The archaeological record adds 13 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 Dunleer’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Dunleer?
16 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Dunleer?
House, Ardee Road, Dunleer: the first date on its record is 1760.
Are there archaeological sites in Dunleer?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites inside Dunleer.
How old are the homes in Dunleer?
2.8% 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 (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).