Photo: Pamela Norrington · CC BY-SA 2.0Swinford: 19 buildings on the National Inventory
Swinford’s oldest recorded building dates from 1815. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 6 archaeological sites.
A look at historic Swinford
Cloongullaun Bridge is the one recorded place in Swinford with a photo so far.
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 Swinford’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).
19 historic places in Swinford
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 12, A to Z
7 recorded by their type and address
7 are recorded only by their type and address: 4 homes, 2 walls, gates and bridges and 1 other buildings; most date from the 19th century.
The record in Swinford starts with homes, at 53%
All told, 6 kinds of building appear on Swinford’s record. 3 records make public buildings the second group. Among the highest-rated: Swinford Courthouse and Swinford Union Workhouse.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Swinford’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
Archaeology in Swinford
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.
| Enclosure3 records |
| Ringfort - rath2 records |
| Ritual site - holy well1 record |
Just outside Swinford: 8
| Cloongullaun BridgeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
| Lislackagh National SchoolRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Cashel National SchoolRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Mausoleum, SwinfordRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Bridge, Ballinvoher, LislackaghRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Bridge, Esker [Gall. By. Meel. Ph.], NewparkRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Bridge, RathscanlanRegional rating (NIAH) · 400 m outside the town |
| Handball alley, PollsharvogeRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.1 km outside the town |
38% of Swinford’s homes were built from 1981 to 2000
Building since 2011 in Swinford, 6.5% of its homes, keeps pace with the norm of 5.8%. Homes built between the wars make up 6.8% of Swinford’s, against 3.9% in the typical town. Like the typical town (3.4%), Swinford has 3.8% of its homes from before 1919.
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 Swinford before 1900
From James O'Brien (1823) to Joe Lydon (1878): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Everyone born in Swinford → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Swinford and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swinford | 1,459 | 19 | 0 | 6 |
| Charlestown-Bellahy | 1,172 | 5 | 0 | 9 |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 14 | 0 | 4 |
| Foxford | 1,452 | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| Knock | 1,029 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Tubbercurry | 2,307 | 16 | 0 | 12 |
Swinford in brief
More of Swinford’s homes are old than in most places: 3.8% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 19 places on the record. Of the whole list, 53% are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 16 of 19. The oldest, Swinford Courthouse, dates from 1835.
Joe Lydon (1878), Thomas Martin Aloysius Burke (1840) and James O'Brien (1823) were all born here before 1900. The archaeological record adds 6 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 Swinford’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Swinford?
19 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Swinford?
Rectory, Main Street, Swinford: the first date on its record is 1815.
Are there archaeological sites in Swinford?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 6 archaeological sites inside Swinford.
How old are the homes in Swinford?
3.8% 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 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).