Catholic Church of Our Lady and Saint Lua · Photo: Jonjobaker · CC BY-SA 4.0Ballina has 5 buildings on the National Inventory
The Sites and Monuments Record marks Ballina as a historic town and lists 8 archaeological sites inside it. The earliest building recorded goes back to 1630. For every 10,000 residents, Ballina has 17 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48. Of its homes, 1.6% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town.
typical town: 48
Look around Ballina: 3 photos
3 of Ballina’s recorded places are photographed. Catholic Church of Our Lady and Saint Lua and Killaloe Bridge lead the set. Of the buildings pictured in Ballina, Killaloe Bridge is the oldest, from 1630.
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 Ballina’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).
5 historic places in Ballina
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Reg
RegBallina and its edges: walls, gates and bridges first, 40%
In second place come homes, with 3. The highest-rated include Killaloe Bridge and Birdhill Garda Síochána Station. Nothing on Ballina’s record is rated of national importance.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped, for the records inside the town and those just outside it that belong to it; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Ballina’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
2 of the 5 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Killaloe Bridge, from 1630.
Archaeology in Ballina
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
8 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.
| Ringfort - rath1 record |
| Castle - hall-house1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Graveyard1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Castle - tower house1 record |
| Enclosure1 record |
Just outside Ballina: 6
| Brian Boru's FortArchaeological monument (SMR) · 200 m outside the town |
| Birdhill Garda Síochána StationRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| Derry CastleRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.4 km outside the town |
| Bridge, BirdhillRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Water pump, BirdhillRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| House, BirdhillRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
Ballina grew fastest in the 2000s, when 48% of its homes were built
Homes built since 2011 are 5.4% of Ballina’s, about the 5.8% of the typical town. Few of Ballina’s homes date from 1946 to 1980: 8%, the norm 24%. In most towns 3.9% of homes were built between the wars; in Ballina only 1.7%.
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.
Ballina and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballina | 2,959 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Killaloe | 1,666 | 7 | 2 | 22 |
| Newport | 2,183 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| Castleconnell | 2,488 | 43 | 0 | 12 |
| Ardnacrusha | 1,229 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Nenagh | 9,895 | 66 | 1 | 43 |
| Annacotty | 3,398 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Ballina in brief
The official list counts 5 places on the record in Ballina. Of the 5 with a date, 3 come from the 19th century. The oldest is Killaloe Bridge, from 1630.
Its homes are mostly newer: 1.6% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. It also has 8 archaeological sites on the record. The rest is about typical: it has 5 recorded buildings, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 18); and per resident it sits near the middle of Irish towns of 2,500 or more.
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 Ballina’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Ballina?
5 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Ballina?
Killaloe Bridge: the first date on its record is 1630.
Are there archaeological sites in Ballina?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 8 archaeological sites inside Ballina.
How old are the homes in Ballina?
1.6% 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.
This page describes its history; it gives no grade.
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).