Photo: Sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.0Athboy has 35 buildings on the National Inventory
Athboy is a historic town on the Sites and Monuments Record, which lists 13 archaeological sites inside it. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1765. Athboy has 135 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town.
typical town: 48
Old buildings of Athboy
The camera caught Athboy in 1889. So far only Rathmore Church is photographed among Athboy’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.
Athboy in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1865–1914From 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 Athboy’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).
35 historic places in Athboy
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 21, A to Z
14 recorded by their type and address
14 are recorded only by their type and address: 5 homes, 4 other buildings and 3 street furniture; 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 35 records, 21 give a street address.
In Athboy, public buildings stand out: 14% of its record, 6% nationally
Athboy shows 8 kinds of building on its record. 16 records, 46%, are homes. Leading the record by rating: Saint James's Church and “Sexton's house, Saint James's Church”.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Athboy’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
3 of the 35 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Saint James's Church (Athboy), from 1765.
Archaeology in Athboy
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.
| Stone sculpture2 records |
| Historic town1 record |
| Town defences1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Tomb - effigial1 record |
| Stone head1 record |
| Font1 record |
| Building1 record |
| Excavation - miscellaneous1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Tomb - chest tomb1 record |
| Burial1 record |
Just outside Athboy: 2
| Rathmore ChurchArchaeological monument (SMR) · 2.8 km outside the town |
| Danes CourtRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
Athboy’s building boom came in the 2000s: 40% of its homes
The homes built in Athboy since 2001 are fewer than those built before it. Before 1919: 4.3% of the homes in Athboy, where most towns have about 3.4%. Homes dated from 1946 to 1980 are scarcer in Athboy than in most towns: 19%, against 24%.
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.
Athboy has the 3rd most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 2,500 to 2,800 residents, by buildings on the record.
Only Callan and Baltinglass have more. Athboy is level with Donegal. The typical town its size has 20. 3 of the 16 have none.
Athboy and its neighbours
Athboy in brief
Old houses are part of Athboy’s character: 4.3% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 35 places on the record. Per resident, it has more recorded buildings than 80% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Only 2 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings.
On Main Street alone there are 8 places on the record. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 23 of 35. The oldest, Saint James's Church (Athboy), dates from 1765. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey (1888) and Edward Nangle (1799) were 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 Athboy’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Athboy?
35 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Athboy?
Saint James's Church (Athboy): the first date on its record is 1765.
Are there archaeological sites in Athboy?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 archaeological sites inside Athboy.
How old are the homes in Athboy?
4.3% 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).