The oldest remaining structure in Askeaton is the belfry of the original church founded by the Knights Templar in 1298. The church was dedicated to, 'St. Mary', as is the parish church today. The belfry, unusual in shape in that it has a square base and an octagonal summit, is now incorporated into the church of St. Mary’s Anglican Church. The local poet, Aubrey de Vere, is buried in the grounds.

In more recent centuries the Catholic Church stood in the grounds of the old abbey until it was destroyed in 1847 by a fire that started in the nearby mill. One man perished in the fire at the mill and the destruction of two such important buildings caused severe hardship to the population of the time. The new Catholic Church of St. Mary’s was opened in 1851 at the western end of the town and it was interiorly re-designed for the modern liturgy in 1977.

Ballysteen was once known as Iverus, from the original celtic tribe of Uibh Rossa who lived there. The most prominent landmark in Ballysteen is Beagh Castle, which stands on the banks of the river Shannon. It is reputed to have been built by the Fitzgealds as an outpost fortification in the thirteenth century. Beagh Church, so called though actually in the townland of Ballyaglish, was the parish church until the sixteenth century when it fell into disuse because of the Penal Laws. The present parish church of St. Patrick’s was built in 1861.