NMCastle - Anglo-Norman masonry castleCahir Castle, CahirTownparks (Caher Par.)Photo: Chmouel Boudjnah Original uploader was Chmouel at fr · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons file
Saint Paul's Church (Caher) · Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.072buildings on the National Inventory
History of Cahir · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Cahir has 72 buildings on the National Inventory, 4 of them of national importance
Old homes stand out in Cahir: 13% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. It is a historic town on the Sites and Monuments Record, with 17 archaeological sites inside it. Its oldest building dates from 1730. For every 10,000 residents, Cahir has 196 buildings on the record; the typical town has 48.
On the National Inventory
72
196 per 10,000 residents
typical town: 48
typical town: 48
Of national importance
4
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
17
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1730
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
13%
typical town: 3.4%
In pictures
8 photos of Cahir’s landmarks, and 1 old views
Cahir Mills, dated 1780, is the oldest pictured in Cahir. Pictures exist for 7 of the places Cahir has on the record. The camera caught Cahir in 1900.
Cahir Castle, CahirNational monument to visit
Cahir PrioryArchaeological monument (SMR)
Cahir MillsRegional rating (NIAH)
Cahir Presbyterian ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Swiss CottageInternational rating (NIAH)+3See all photosPhotos 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
Cahir in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1900sFrom 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.
The map
Where Cahir’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
National and InternationalRegional and other sites400 m from Cahir Castle, Cahir
3 of 4within 400 m of Cahir Castle, Cahir, the heart of the town’s history
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 74, by rating
4 National and International70 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
4 places of national importance in Cahir
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. With one national monument the State cares for and opens to visitors. Each one opens its own page.
IntChurch / chapel · 1815–1820Saint Paul's Church (Caher)Church Street, CahirPhoto: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons file
School · 1815–1820Erasmus Smith HouseChurch Street, Cahir
Viaduct · 1850–1855Suir BridgeCahir
Regional and other sites
70 more historic places in Cahir
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 43, A to Z
Abbey HouseAbbey LodgeAllied Irish BankAltavillaApsley HouseBank of IrelandBarnora HouseBellevue CottageBridge HouseButler Charteris HallCahir Abbey (gates / railings / walls)Cahir Abbey (house)Cahir Convent of MercyCahir HouseCahir MillsCahir Park (gate lodge)Cahir Park (gates / railings / walls)Cahir Post OfficeCahir Presbyterian ChurchCahir PrioryCahir Railway StationCahir Railway Station (building misc)Cahir Railway Station (foot bridge)Cahir Railway Station (store / warehouse)Cahir Town HallCarrigeen CastleCastle Street StoresCeárd Scoil An ChaithairCharteris Memorial FountainCorner HouseGaltee HouseGlengall HouseGreat War MemorialHalpin HouseNew BridgeSaint Mary's Catholic ChurchSuir MillsThe GranaryThe LaurelsThe Mall HouseThe Mall LodgeThe Parochial HouseThe Rectory
27 recorded by their type and address
27 are recorded only by their type and address: 24 homes, 2 walls, gates and bridges and 1 public buildings; most date from the 19th century.
18th century4
19th century23
Historic streets
Church Street has the most
Streets with three or more buildings on the record, by the address it gives.
Church Street13 on the record · 2 of national importance
Castle Street12 on the record
Abbey Street9 on the record
The Square9 on the record
Bridge Street5 on the record
The Mall5 on the record
Cashel Road4 on the record
Pearse Street4 on the record
Of the 74 records, 67 give a street address.
What’s recorded
More homes than anything else in Cahir: 65%
The newest record in Cahir dates from 1925. Second on the record: public buildings, 6 of them. Among the highest-rated: Saint Paul's Church (Caher) and Erasmus Smith House.
Homes47
Public buildings6
Walls, gates and bridges6
Mills, stations and works4
Churches and chapels3
Memorials and tombs2
Other buildings4
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
How old
Most of Cahir’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
1500–1799 three centuries9
19th century 1800–189960
1900 and later to today3
9 of the 72 dated ones were built before 1800.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Cahir
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
17 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.
| Ritual site - holy well2 records |
| Graveyard2 records |
| Cross-slab (present location)1 record |
| Historic town1 record |
| Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle1 record |
| Religious house - Augustinian canons1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Mill - unclassified1 record |
| Bridge1 record |
| Architectural fragment1 record |
| Memorial stone1 record |
| Weir - fish1 record |
| Bullaun stone1 record |
| House - 18th/19th century1 record |
| Stone sculpture1 record |
Just outside Cahir: 18
| Swiss CottageInternational rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| Ballydrehid HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| Suirvale HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Keylong HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
| Loughlohery CastleRegional rating (NIAH) · 3 km outside the town |
| Mount CarmelRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| Garrycloher National SchoolRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.3 km outside the town |
| Waterloo CottageRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Carn BraeRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| Ballybrada HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.2 km outside the town |
| Duneske House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 200 m outside the town |
| Duneske House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Duneske House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Barracks, CahirRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Mill (water), CahirRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| House, LissakyleRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| House, CahirRegional rating (NIAH) · 800 m outside the town |
| Bridge, CahirRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
Homes by age
Cahir has added few homes since 2011: 2.8%, where most towns have 5.8%
Cahir reached half its present housing before 2001. The largest single period is from 1981 to 2000, with 28% of Cahir’s homes. Building between the wars left Cahir with 6% of its homes, above the usual 3.9%.
13%
Before 1919
6%
1919–45
25%
1946–80
28%
1981–2000
26%
2001–10
2.8%
Since 2011
CahirTypical 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
4 notable people born in Cahir before 1900
From Edmund Keating Hyland (1780) to Jimmy McNamara (1893): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Edmund Keating Hyland
Michael Murphy
David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie
Jimmy McNamara
175017751800182518501875190019251950
David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie1893–1968 · Scottish peer, soldier and courtier
EH
Edmund Keating Hyland1780–1845 · Musical artist
Michael Murphy1837–1893 · Irish soldier (c. 1837 – 1893); recipient of the Victoria Cross
JM
Jimmy McNamara1893–1929 · Irish football player
Everyone born in Cahir → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Towns its size
Cahir has the 4th most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 3,500 to 3,900 residents, by buildings on the record.
Cahir72
#4 of 16for buildings on the record per resident (196 per 10,000). Cork City Centre, Shandon and Mitchelstown lead.
Only Cork City Centre, Shandon and Mitchelstown have more. The typical town its size has 19. 2 of the 16 have none.
Neighbours
Cahir and its neighbours
In brief
Cahir in brief
Old houses are part of Cahir’s character: 13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 74 places on the record, 4 of them in the top tier. Per resident, it has more recorded buildings than 86% of Irish towns of 2,500 or more. Its places of national importance cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Cahir Castle, Cahir.
Only 3 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings. Church Street alone has 13 places on the record. Most entries on the list, 65%, are homes.
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 Cahir’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Cahir?
72 buildings on the National Inventory, 4 of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Cahir are of national importance?
Cahir Castle, Cahir, Saint Paul's Church (Caher), Erasmus Smith House and Suir Bridge.
What is the oldest building in Cahir?
Bridge, Bridge Street, Cahir: the first date on its record is 1730.
Are there archaeological sites in Cahir?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 17 archaeological sites inside Cahir.
How old are the homes in Cahir?
13% 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 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).