The heart is inclined to sink at the sight of yet another book devoted to Irish buildings. Not more charming - and entirely unrepresentative - images of country houses and thatched cottages, is the immediate, and understandable, response. But potential readers ought not to be deterred by the cover of Kevin Mulligan's Buildings of Meath, even though it does depict the grandiose facade of Ardmulchan Castle. Because this work, produced in association with the local branch of An Taisce, offers far more between its covers than has been customary until now.

To begin with, while a large number of country houses are included, many of these are not widely known. Ardmulchan is a good example, one of the very last such properties built in Ireland during the first decade of the 20th century after an older structure had been demolished. The castle was constructed for a Scottish tycoon called Fitzroy Fletcher who seemingly imported all materials and workmen from his native country. The Irish Builder at the time reported that only one local man worked on the site, Larry Farrell from nearby Hayestown, who made the dog grates. Fitzroy Fletcher died before the place was ready to be occupied but his widow completed Ardmulchan and then remarried. Not yet a century old, the house remains intact and largely unaltered from its original condition.

Would that this were also the case with a number of other houses covered by Kevin Mulligan. Among the most melancholy is Dangan Castle, childhood home of the Duke of Wellington as his family, the Wellesleys, had been settled in Meath since the 15th century. Rebuilt in the middle of the 18th century following a fire, Dangan Castle stood amidst splendid gardens, described in Arcadian terms by Mrs Delaney who visited the place on a number of occasions. However, in 1793 the estate was sold by the Wellesleys and gradually fell into decay; today almost all that remain of the landscaped grounds are two fragments of the 25 obelisks seen by Isaac Butler in 1744, everything else having been lost.

Still more dispiriting, because it is more recent, is the ruination of Gibbstown House, an immense late 19th century Italianate block set in terraced gardens. Although badly damaged by fire in 1912, the house was thoroughly restored, but what the flames could not destroy was dismantled in 1957 by the monks of New Mellifont Abbey with the intention of using the cut stone for the construction of a new church. Their plans were never realised and the numbered blocks were eventually sold piecemeal and can be found on a number of sites elsewhere in Co Meath.

Mulligan quite correctly expresses a wish that the still-intact yards - incorporating a medieval tower house and an 18th century house - and walled garden of Gibbstown should be treated with respect. He is also right to be scathing about the mistreatment of old buildings in Navan, commenting that today "the town fathers seem to have ensured that little good will ever be said about the town" with the destruction of many structures to create "an environment more appropriate to Legoland".

Even when an historic property survives, it can be subjected to abuse; the author cites several instances of this in Navan such as the exterior of Bermingham's pub where above the original frontage all the window frames have been replaced with inappropriate brown aluminium; a similar visual affront can be seen on the facade of the building occupied by the long-established Walsh & Sons jewellers.

Another equally sad history recounted by Kevin Mulligan is that of Slane Mill and its adjacent house, both completed in 1766 and therefore among the earliest extant instances of industrial architecture in Ireland.

At the time of its construction, the mill was considered "equal if not superior to any structure of its sort in Europe" and when Arthur Mill toured Ireland in the 1770s, he thought the building "a large and handsome edifice, such as no mill I have seen in England can be compared with".

Industrial practices change, and at the start of the 21st century, both the mill and the very handsome house stand abandoned and neglected, their continued survival a testament only to the quality of the original workmanship. Less able to resist decades of neglect are such charming small buildings as the former Tara post office, a mid-18th century structure, and the two-storey thatched house at Kilmoon; unless rescued in the near future, both of these properties will disappear for ever.

But what is to be expected when even the Government fails to provide strong leadership in this area? Buildings of Meath includes a number of pages devoted to Oldbridge Hall, home of the Coddington family for more than 250 years. Overlooking the site of the Battle of the Boyne, Oldbridge was purchased by the State but remains in an ever-advancing state of dereliction so that when restoration work is eventually undertaken, it will cost far more than a programme of regular maintenance. This is, of course, an abiding problem in Ireland; that buildings are allowed to fall into near or total ruin and then large sums of money are spent on their restitution.

The book therefore closes with a helpful Introduction to Protecting Architectural Heritage written by Rachel MacRory, followed by a full list of Meath's protected structures featured in the 2001 county plan as well as that of Kells, together with the 1994 list of historical buildings included in Navan's development plan of that year.

Despite the proliferation of books on Irish houses, no such work exists for any other county in Ireland and while Kevin Mulligan's book is by no means comprehensive - being described as offering "A selection of protected structures" - it offers a model of what ought to be published elsewhere.

Buildings of Meath: A Selection of Protected Structures by Kevin V. Mulligan is published by The Fieldgate Press, price £15 €19.05) from bookshops or telephone 046-54211.