Roscrea Friary · Photo: Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0Roscrea: 63 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance
Old homes stand out in Roscrea: 8.9% were built before 1919, where the typical town has 3.4%. The Sites and Monuments Record marks it as a historic town and lists 21 archaeological sites inside it. Its oldest building dates from 1725. Roscrea has 114 buildings on the record for every 10,000 residents, against 48 in the typical town.
typical town: 48
Then and today: Roscrea in 5 photos and 1 old views
Pictures exist for 4 of the places Roscrea has on the record. The camera caught Roscrea in 1893. You can start with Damer House and Roscrea Friary.
Damer HouseNational rating (NIAH)
Saint Cronan's Church (Roscrea)Regional rating (NIAH)
Saint Cronan's Catholic ChurchRegional rating (NIAH)
Monaincha ChurchArchaeological monument (SMR)+1See 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.
Roscrea in old photos
1 old photograph, made before 1950.
1886–1901From 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 Roscrea’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).
One place of national importance in Roscrea
Buildings the National Inventory rates National or International: of significance across Ireland or beyond. Each one opens its own page.
Nat63 more historic places in Roscrea
Buildings rated Regional, of significance in their region, and archaeological monuments with an encyclopedia article.
All 32, A to Z
31 recorded by their type and address
31 are recorded only by their type and address: 23 homes, 3 street furniture and 2 public buildings; 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 64 records, 56 give a street address.
More public buildings than the national record: 17% in Roscrea, 6% across Ireland
Roscrea’s most recent recorded building is from 1940. The largest group is homes: 38, or 60%. At the top of the record: Damer House and Mount Saint Joseph Convent of Mercy.
Types as the National Inventory records them, grouped; a building keeps the type it was built as.
Most of Roscrea’s dated buildings come from the 19th century
Each building by the first date on its record.
5 of the 63 dated ones were built before 1800. The oldest is Damer House, from 1725.
Archaeology in Roscrea
The Sites and Monuments Record lists every known archaeological site; most are field monuments with little to see. By kind:
21 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.
| Graveyard2 records |
| Cross-slab2 records |
| Cross - High cross (present location)2 records |
| Inscribed slab (present location)2 records |
| Historic town1 record |
| Church1 record |
| Architectural fragment1 record |
| Round tower1 record |
| Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle1 record |
| Castle - ringwork1 record |
| House - 18th/19th century1 record |
| Religious house - Franciscan friars1 record |
| Mill - unclassified1 record |
| Inscribed slab1 record |
| Cross - High cross1 record |
| 2 more kinds2 records |
Just outside Roscrea: 31
| Monaincha ChurchArchaeological monument (SMR) · 2 km outside the town |
| Inane House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Birchgrove HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 700 m outside the town |
| BeechmountRegional rating (NIAH) · 300 m outside the town |
| Sean Ross AbbeyRegional rating (NIAH) · 600 m outside the town |
| Benamore HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 900 m outside the town |
| Derryvale HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.7 km outside the town |
| Fancroft Mills (mill (water))Regional rating (NIAH) · 2 km outside the town |
| High ParkRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Lowland HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.5 km outside the town |
| Killavilla HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.2 km outside the town |
| Monaincha House (gate lodge)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.3 km outside the town |
| Mount ButlerRegional rating (NIAH) · 2.7 km outside the town |
| Inane House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Monaincha HouseRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.6 km outside the town |
| Mount DudleyRegional rating (NIAH) · 100 m outside the town |
| Inane House (stables)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1.9 km outside the town |
| Dungar House (country house)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| Dungar House (stables)Regional rating (NIAH) · 1 km outside the town |
| Hillsborough Corn MillsRegional rating (NIAH) · 1.4 km outside the town |
New homes are rare in Roscrea: 3.5% since 2011, against a usual 5.8%
Split Roscrea’s homes at 2001 and the older side is the larger. Roscrea’s largest group of homes, 30%, went up from 1946 to 1980. In most towns 3.9% of homes were built between the wars; in Roscrea, 6%.
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.
4 notable people born in Roscrea before 1900
From George Thomas (1756) to Harry Read (1888): their lives on one timeline, earliest first.
Everyone born in Roscrea → Birthplaces from Wikidata, each checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article; portraits from Wikimedia Commons.
Roscrea has the 4th most of 16 towns its size
Towns of 5,400 to 5,800 residents, by buildings on the record.
Only Portobello, Tipperary and Carrickmacross have more. The typical town its size has 41. One of the 16 has none.
Roscrea and its neighbours
| Town | People | National Inventory | National | Archaeological sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roscrea | 5,542 | 63 | 1 | 21 |
| Birr | 4,726 | 298 | 3 | 24 |
| Rathdowney | 1,368 | 20 | 0 | 4 |
| Templemore | 2,005 | 46 | 0 | 8 |
Roscrea in brief
More of Roscrea’s homes are old than in most places: 8.9% were built before 1919, against 3.4% in the typical town. All told, the list holds 64 places on the record, 1 of them in the top tier, including Damer House. Only 3 of the 16 towns nearest its size have more recorded buildings. On Main Street alone there are 11 places on the record.
Most entries on the list, 60%, are homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the 19th century: 52 of 63. The oldest, Damer House, dates from 1725. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 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 Roscrea’s history
How many historic buildings are recorded in Roscrea?
63 buildings on the National Inventory, one of them of national importance, from the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
Which places in Roscrea are of national importance?
Damer House.
What is the oldest building in Roscrea?
Damer House: the first date on its record is 1725.
Are there archaeological sites in Roscrea?
Yes: the Sites and Monuments Record lists 21 archaeological sites inside Roscrea.
How old are the homes in Roscrea?
8.9% 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).