Ballysteen

49 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Ballysteen, from 69 m² to 199,825 m² (19.98 ha, 49.38 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 30 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, or as GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Ballysteen in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 23 Apr 2025Conditional

  for development which consists of the construction of an agricultural farm store replacing old storm damaged loose house and associated site works

  Permission · Clare County Council, 25125

• 11 Mar 2022Conditional

  the development which will consist of a dwelling house and garage with proprietary wastewater treatment system and polishing filter, new entrance and access road together with ancillary site works

  Permission, 1 home · Clare County Council, 22224

• 7 May 2021N/a

  the development will consist of a dwelling house and garage with proprietary wastewater treatment system and polishing filter, new entrance and access road together with ancillary site works

  Permission, 1 home · Clare County Council, 21446

• 18 Jun 2018Conditional

  to construct a dwelling house, garage, wastewater treatment system and associated site works

  Permission, 1 home · Clare County Council, 18496

• 12 Mar 2018Conditional

  to a) RETAIN demolition of existing dwelling house structure and to b) RETAIN construction of works as carried out in modified form and for PERMISSION to c) Complete construction of works as proposed in modified form and all in accordance with and consistent with the original design granted planning permission under Planning Reference P16-647

  Retention, 1 home · Clare County Council, 18193

• 9 Mar 2018Conditional

  to revise the site boundaries previously granted by P06-285

  Permission · Clare County Council, 18176

• 14 Dec 2017Conditional

  to build a single storey dwelling, shed, install a waste treatment unit and improve the existing entrance for the public road

  Permission, 1 home · Clare County Council, 17968

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Ballysteen.

Recorded monuments

• CL014-021001 Burial ground
  Description

  At a T-junction on a steep SE-facing slope in pasture. Labelled ‘Grave Yard’ on the OS 25-inch plan (1897) and Cassini edition (1920) of the OS 6-inch map. Listed as ‘Graveyard’ in the RMP (1996). Because there is no associated church, the site is classified as a burial ground. This partly overgrown sub-triangular area (L c. 125m ENE-WSW; Wth 65m NNW-SSE) is defined by a modern mortared stone wall with a gateway at SSW. Most of the graves are modern, but there are also some collapsed and unmarked grave-markers. There is a holy well (CL014-021002-; NIAH reg. no. 20401406) at the S end of the burial ground, against the wall inside the entrance. To the SW of the holy well is a small building (locked), and to the NE are steps up to the burial ground’s centre. Immediately to the E of the holy well is a small bush-lined circular enclosure containing two statues: of Mary and St Bridget. Two streams flow through the burial ground: one running SE through the W half and feeding the holy well, and the other meandering SSE through the centre. Approximately 35m to the SSW of the burial ground is O’Brien’s Monument (NIAH reg. no. 20401402), a large neo-classical pillar with an urn at the top. Archaeological testing in 2003 (excavation license no. 03E1040) immediately to the E of the burial ground uncovered nothing of archaeological significance (Connolly 2006).   Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Conn Herriott   Date of upload: 7-10-2025

• CL014-021002 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  Just inside the entrance at the SSW end of a burial ground (CL014-021001-). Drawn as a rectangular building and named ‘St Bridget’s Well’ on both the first (1842) and Cassini (1920) editions of the OS 6-inch map. This much-visited holy well is housed within a small rectangular stone structure (NIAH reg. no. 20401406), accessed on the E via a round-arched entrance (Wth 1m; H 1.8m) to a passageway (L 4.9m) at the end of which is a rectangular opening (L 1.25m; Wth 0.9m) in the floor which is filled with fresh water. A stream running SE through the W half of the burial ground feeds the holy well and flows past the wellhouse in a channel lined by Liscannor flags. The OS Letters of 1839 recorded the following inscription in modern characters on a stone over the well: ‘Saint Bridget V. Abbess and Patroness of Ireland, lived in a cell which she built under an oak, thence called Kill-Dara or Cell of the Oak. Her Festival is celebrated on the 1st day of February every year’ (Comber 1997, 94). The holy well was then much frequented by worshippers and the sick, and was commonly known as Dabhach-Bhrighde (‘Bridget’s keeve/vat’) (ibid.). The holy well is still much venerated, as attested to by the many relics, coins, statues, rosary beads, notes and mass cards lining the passageway walls and lying about the well opening. As noted in the OS Letters (ibid.), the popular feast days at the well continue to be 1st February and 15th August (for further details, see Houlihan 2021). To the SW of the well is a small lean-to type building (locked) with a mono-pitch Liscannor-flagged roof. To the NE a series of steps leads up to the centre of the burial ground. Immediately to the E of the holy well is a small hedged circular enclosure containing two statues: of Mary and St Bridget.    Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Conn Herriott   Date of upload: 7-10-2025

• CL014-027 Ringfort - cashel
  Description

  On a low N-S ridge in gently undulating pasture c. 25m to the W of the S-flowing Ballysteen River. Hachured on both the first (1842) and Cassini (1920) edition of the OS 6-inch map. Listed as ‘Enclosure’ in the RMP (1996). This well-preserved circular cashel (25.85m N-S; 25.2m E-W) is defined by a stone wall (Wth 2-3m; int. H 0-0.2m; ext. H 0.5-1.3m) with up to four courses of outer stones facing a rubble core. The wall has collapsed outwards in places, especially along the W, and is overgrown at E. There is a gap (Wth 0.9m at base, 1.9m at top) at WSW, and two smaller gaps at NE and E which may be livestock gaps. The interior is slightly dished towards the centre.   Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy and Conn Herriott   Date of upload: 6-10-2025

• CL014-036 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  A possible bivallate ringfort defined by a bank or scarp (diam. c. 28m), a fosse (Wth c. 4m) and an external bank (Wth c. 7m) best preserved at SW (max. diam. c. 65m). Visible on OSi MapGenie orthophotography (2013-2018). A burial ground (CL014-021001-) and holy well (CL014-021002-) lie c. 270m to the NW.  Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 18 November 2025

Architectural heritage

• Saint Bridget's Well, holy well, 1820–1840 · Regional interest
  Description

  Holy well, built c. 1830. Detached single-bay single-storey lean-to building. Liscannor flagged single-pitched roof with concrete coping, rendered chimneystacks, and having timber beams to flat roof over corridor to well. Rendered and rubble stone wall. Timber matchboard door to building. Segmental-arched opening to well. Numerous votive offerings to interior. Stream falls over Liscannor flags to well.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

At the centre of the townland of Ballysteen, about 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as high, moderately high, moderately low, low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Ballysteen.

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Ballysteen with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Clare.

Name

Ballysteen · Baile Stiabhna

Area

1,130,693 m² (113.07 ha, 279.4 acres)

Civil parish

Kilmacrehy, and its townlands

Barony

Corcomroe

Electoral division

Ballysteen, the unit of the census

Census 2022

398 people lived in 163 households in the Ballysteen electoral division. 89% of households owned their home. 32% of homes were built since 2001. 7% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 41% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Ardnacraa, Beaghy, Derreen, Lislorkan North, Lislorkan South, Slievenageeragh

Placenames

Ballysteen on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address. Old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.