Discover Alone, back to main map

handball alley

handball alley
handball alley
Report the wrong picture

What is recorded here

Freestanding mass-concrete handball alley, dated 1935, on a corner site. Mass-concrete walls (tall to east; sloping to north and to south; short to west). Unpainted. Cut-stone date stone. Square-headed door opening. Metal door. Metal viewing gallery, c.1980, to west. Road fronted.
This is a fine example of a mass-concrete handball alley that is still in use. Once a common sight across the country, having been initiated as part of the cultural nation-building of the early Irish Republic, many of these structures have subsequently been demolished, which means that the example at Nurney is an important and increasingly rare survival. Of considerable social and cultural importance the handball alley is also of vernacular interest, being a building type that is indigenous to the country. The construction of the building using mass-concrete is also of some technical/engineering merit. The handball alley is attractively located on a corner site and is a prominent landmark in the locality.

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.

Places near here

Add to this placeAdd a picture Comment or add a tip

Explore 1,118,481 places

Other information

Photo: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Website use allowed for educational or private purposes with source credit