Balroe

Area

336,030 m² (33.6 ha, 83.03 acres)

Buildings

1 building touches it, 135 m² on the ground

Zoning

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

Townland

Balroe

Planning applications on this parcel

• 6 Jan 2026Conditional

  works to a Protected Structure ref no 011-046. Restoration of existing abandoned herd house and adjoining barn and storage sheds for use as habitable accommodation for a single commercial letting. Works will consist of rebuilding of 2 no. brick chimney stacks, roof repair, reinsertion of fenestration, electrics servicing and flooring. Provision of two new openings to internal walls, removal of loft floor reinsertion of replica external porch, external landscaping and ancillary site work including new septic tank and percolation area. The reroofing of external open sided shed presently unroofed. The moving of the cattle yard and crush presently in this compound to a rear field and repair of boundary walls and gates

  Permission · Westmeath County Council, 2660003

• 13 Jun 2022Refused

  consisting of 1No. two storey, four bedroom dwelling, retention of historic barn and house (Protected Structure Ref: RPS 011-033 NIAH 1540113)for ancillary storage, retention, repair and partial demolition of protected stone walls, associated site works, landscaping, boundary treatments and all associated ancillary site development works necessary to facilitate the development.

  Permission · Westmeath County Council, 22317

• 20 May 2022N/a

  1 No. two storey, four bedroom dwelling, retention of historic barn & house (Protected Structure Ref: RPS 011-033 NIAH 15401113), for use as storage, retention of stone walls and associated site works, landscaping, boundary treatments and all associated ancillary site development works necessary to facilitate the development

  Permission · Westmeath County Council, 22265

• 6 May 2022N/a

  consisting of 1 No. two storey, four-bedroom dwelling, retention and restoration of historic barn and house, for use as a home office and storage, retention of stone walls and associated site works, landscaping, boundary treatments, and all ancillary site development works necessary to facilitate the development

  Permission · Westmeath County Council, 22231

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 this parcel.

Recorded monuments around it

This parcel is in the zone of notification of 4 recorded monuments.

• WM011-120 Castle - tower house
  Description

  Situated on low-lying grassland overlooked by gently rising ground to the SW. Nunnery (WM011-121---) 200m to NE. A rectangular shaped area (approx. dims. 20m NW-SE; 25m NE-SW) enclosed by an earthen bank and shallow external fosse marks the site of Laragh Castle which is depicted as a tower house type structure on the 1654-9 Down Survey map of Kilmacnevan parish where it is shown standing on the lands of Robert Fitzgerald, an 'Irish Papist' (NLI, MS 723-4). The terrier of this parish map recorded that there 'are three Castles in this Parrish lately ruinous vizt. in Emper (WM010-002----) one, in Ballintue (WM010-040001-) one and at Laragh one' (ibid.). The NW side of the enclosure has been largely levelled. Traces of cultivation ridges are visible running NE-SW across the interior. This enclosure is at the centre of a complex of earthworks which covers an area measuring approximately 4 hectares. There is a possible hollow way running NW-SE, 40m to N and an earthen mound 80mto NNE Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 28 August 2017

• WM011-121 Religious house - unclassified
  Description

  Situated on low-lying undulating grassland, 30m E of Balroe Bridge. Ringfort (WM011-119---) 135m to NW. Laragh Castle (WM011-120----) 200m to SW. Ringfort (WM011-122---) 75m to NE. The Royal canal is 50m to E with stream immediately to W. Depicted as a rectnaguar shaped building aligned E-W on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map and annotated as a ‘Nunnery’. On the revised 1911 ed. OS 25-inch map only the E gable of the 'Nunnery' is depicted as upstanding suggesting that most of the building was levelled between these two dates. In 1978 the site was described as consisting of a rectangular shaped area defined by grass-covered wall footings (approx. diam 6m N-S; 16m E-W). An ASI site report from 1980 recorded that this site has been levelled, with pieces of masonry lying against a nearby field fence. A farm road now crosses the site which is visible on Digital Globe aerial photograph taken November 2011. Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 28 August 2017

• WM011-122 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on top of a prominent hillock surrounded by gently undulating grassland with extensive views. Ringfort (WM011-119----) 210m to W and Nunnery (WM011-121---) 75m to SW. The Royal Canal and Balroe Bridge is 40m to W. Depicted on the 1837 ed. OS 6-inch map as a large circular-shaped enclosure (approx. diam. 40m) but not depicted on the revised 1911 ed. OS 25-inch map. This site has been substantially levelled. Monument no only visible as a raised scarp curving from SSW- W and from NE-E, enclosed by a wide shallow fosse and outer bank. The interior has depressions caused by quarrying. Compiled by: Frank Coyne and Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 29 August 2017

• WM018-001 Penitential station
  Description

  Monument located beside the crossroads of Laragh, overlooking Kilmacnevan Church (WM011-115----) and graveyard (WM011-115001-) 550m to the W. Situated on the Hill of Laragh with commanding views in all directions. Penitential station located beside road with access for public via steps built into the roadside wall at SSE. Roughly rectangular-shaped flat-topped grass-covered mound of earth and stones with stone revetment or facing clearly visible on SE side. Stone chair (dims. 0.45m x 0.5m x 0.4m) built into SE face of mound known locally as 'St Patrick's Chair' (ASI Field Report). Statue of St. Patrick standing inside concrete shelter located 8m to SE. Earthworks in field to E appear to be the result of post-1700 quarrying. According to the Estate Records of William Meade Smythe there was a local tradition that, 'St. Patrick when on his journey to Usnagh crossed this hill, and when he reached the top or highest summit he rested. There is a resemblance of a rude chair, where he seated himself. I have heard it stated that people used to visit this chair and seat themselves in it to obtain a cure for pain or hurted back. I was told by a man now long dead that there was a cross erected here just beside the chair he told me he saw portion of the cross' (http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/westmeath/land/legends.txt). Surveyed in 2013 and described by McGuinness (2014, 66) as following: 'Roughly pointed-oval or eye-shaped mound (10m x 5.5m), its long axis running ENE-WSW, revetted by slabs of stone and dry-walling up to 1m in height, possibly ancient, with a roughly constructed stone chair at edge on SE side. Central part of mound rises slightly above revetment. A small modern statue of St. Patrick in a concrete shelter stands a short distance to SSE. Stone chair is named after St. Patrick and resembles a rough stone chair constructed beside a mass-rock in Rathduff townland about 1km to S. Mound lies at cross-roads and road clearly curves around it on N side, indicating its presence here when the infrastructure was developed. Although this mound cannot be classified as a prehistoric barrow on the basis of its current appearance, and has clearly functioned in and been shaped by recent pilgrimage tradition, it is nonetheless located near the summit of the prominent Hill of Laragh 1km to NW of a genuine mound-barrow or cairn (WM018-004---) and conceivably represents an altered or reused burial mound'. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by David McGuinness. Date of upload: 23 February 2015

Architectural heritage

• Outbuilding, 1800–1840 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached multi-bay two-storey agricultural building with integrated two-bay two-storey dwelling to northeast side, built c.1820. Now out of use and derelict. Pitched natural slate roof with single rendered (brick) chimneystack to northeast end associated with former dwelling house. Constructed of rubble stone with brick dressings to openings and roughcast render over. West-facing elevation (road facing) is blank apart from square-headed window openings to dwelling house with remains of multi-pane metal-framed windows and square-headed doorcase with replacement timber sheeted door at north end to building. Numerous square-headed openings to east-facing façade with full-height segmental-headed carriage arch to centre. Located adjacent to small country road to the southeast of Ballynacarrigy and a south distance south of Balroe Bridge (15401108) and the Royal Canal. Low rubble limestone walls with gate piers on square plan and wrought-iron gates to rear (east).

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).

Download this parcel: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program; GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map.

Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.