7 Irish Street, Downpatrick, Co. Down

7 Irish Street, Downpatrick

A three-storey terrace house with attic, situated in the centre of the south-west facing slope of Irish Street in Downpatrick town centre. The building forms part of a uniform mid to late 18th-century gabled terrace block (numbered 25–29). The property is currently vacant and in relatively poor condition.

The north-east front facade features a ground floor shop front with a modern glazed door to the right (incorporating a fanlight) and a large adjoining modern timber window to the left. To the right of the entrance is a timber-sheeted door with fanlight, providing access to a narrow passage that connects to a side door and rear exit. Above the shop front runs a lintel-like sign board. To the first floor are two sash windows with Georgian panes; a further two slightly shorter sash windows with Georgian panes sit on the second floor. The front facade is finished in lined render and painted. The roof is gabled, covered with asbestos slates to the front and corrugated asbestos to the rear, with a small cast iron skylight. A mixture of PVC and metal rainwater goods is present.

The rear elevation contains five windows (one per floor plus two stairwell windows to the left), now fitted with modern frames. The rear is finished in rough cast render but unpainted.

The interior layout remains largely intact, with panelling to the front window reveals on the upper floors, though some upper-level fireplace surrounds are now missing. The original Georgian paned windows to the upper floors have been retained.

The shop front has been substantially modernised, though it may have been inserted some time ago. It appears unlikely the building originally began life with a shop front; however, a more traditional version may have been added in the later 1800s. In recent times the building served as a dwelling with little sign of commercial activity.

Historical Context

Irish Street and Scotch Street have been identified as Downpatrick's first suburbs, with names of medieval origin likely stemming from the exclusion of Gaelic speakers from the English-speaking walled town. By 1708, the western side of Irish Street had been almost fully developed, mostly with stone-built houses of one or two storeys with thatched roofs. The street was fully developed by 1720. This particular section of the terrace dates probably from the mid to late 18th century, a period of considerable rebuilding in Downpatrick. The site appears in a 1752 rent roll of the town listed as "Finiston's tenement."

The Reverend Patrick Dorrian, who became Roman Catholic Bishop of Down and Connor, is said to have been born in this house in 1814.

The other two properties within this section of the terrace (notably No. 29 to the south-west) also have shop fronts. No. 29 has had its front facade windows replaced and is also currently vacant.