RIC barracks · 1810–1850Dower HousePortroe
Photo: David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.02buildings on the National Inventory
History of Portroe · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Portroe: 2 buildings on the National Inventory
Portroe has kept more old homes than most towns: 7.2% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. Its oldest building dates from 1810. Inside the town, the Sites and Monuments Record lists 2 archaeological sites.
On the National Inventory
2
Of national importance
0
NIAH National or International, and national monuments
Archaeological sites
2
Sites and Monuments Record
Oldest building
1810
the first date on its record
Homes built before 1919
7.2%
typical town: 3.4%
The map
Where Portroe’s history is
Every building and site on the record inside the town, by its rating.
Regional and other sites
Hover a dot for its name; tap one to open its page.
The 2, by rating
2 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).
Regional and other sites
2 historic places in Portroe
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
Church / chapel · 1870–1875Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin MaryPortroe
What’s recorded
In and around Portroe, 42% of the records are homes
Beyond Portroe’s edge the record is older still: 1700. In second place come churches and chapels, with 3. The highest-rated include Castlelough and Landsdown House.
Homes5
Churches and chapels3
Public buildings2
Walls, gates and bridges2
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.
Archaeology and around
Archaeology in Portroe
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
2 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 |
| Bullaun stone1 record |
Just outside Portroe: 10
| CastleloughRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.5 km outside the town |
| Landsdown House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Landsdown House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Mausoleum, Castletown Church (Castletownarra)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Landsdown House (demesne walls / gates / railings)Regional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Castletown Church (Castletownarra)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Shesharoe HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Quay, GarrykennedyRegional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| School, CastletownRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
| Rectory, CastletownRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.2 km outside the town |
Homes by age
Only 1.1% of Portroe’s homes were built since 2011 (5.8% is typical)
9.4% of Portroe’s homes date between the wars, well above the typical 3.9%. The busiest building years in Portroe were from 1946 to 1980, which account for 36% of today’s homes. Most of the houses in Portroe today, over half, were up by 1981.
7.2%
Before 1919
9.4%
1919–45
36%
1946–80
22%
1981–2000
24%
2001–10
1.1%
Since 2011
PortroeTypical 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.
Neighbours
Portroe and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portroe | 459 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Nenagh | 9,895 | 66 | 1 | 43 |
| Ballina | 2,959 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| Killaloe | 1,666 | 7 | 2 | 22 |
| Borrisokane | 1,117 | 18 | 0 | 4 |
In brief
Portroe in brief
More of Portroe’s homes are old than in most places: 7.2% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. In all there are 2 places on the record. The oldest, Dower House, dates from 1810. Beyond that, it also has 2 archaeological sites.
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 Portroe’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Portroe?
2 buildings on the National Inventory, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
What is the oldest building in Portroe?
Dower House: the first date on its record is 1810.
Are there archaeological sites in Portroe?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 2 archaeological sites inside Portroe.
How old are the homes in Portroe?
7.2% 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) · 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).