Census of Population 2022 Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movements

The following audio files contain quotes from CSO Statistician Cathal Doherty about Census 2022 Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movements publication.

Media outlets have permission to use the clip as long as they credit the CSO.

Size of Towns

In 2022, the largest town in Ireland was Drogheda in Louth with a population of just over 44,000 people. Interestingly, the only towns in Ireland with populations above 30,000 were all in Leinster. The largest town in Munster was Ennis with a population just under 28,000, Letterkenny was the largest in Ulster (part of) with 22,500 people, and Sligo was the largest town in Connacht with just over 20,500 people.

Age of Towns

There were 49 large towns in Ireland with a population of over 10,000 people in 2022. Ten of these towns had an average age of just under 36 and were mostly located in Dublin or surrounding counties such as Meath, Kildare and Laois.

Looking at the oldest and youngest towns in the country, Balbriggan in Dublin was the youngest large town with an average age of 33.6 years. In contrast 14 large towns were among the oldest in the country with an average age of 39 years or over. Clonmel was the oldest large town with an average age of 40.8 years.

Movers

In the year prior to the Census, over 265,000 residents moved home within Ireland. Just under 30% of these moves were to a different county. The results also show that 61% of people moved to rented properties, 23% to properties owned with a mortgage or loan, and 11% to properties they owned outright with no mortgage or loan.

County changes since 1851

Interestingly, just five counties now have a larger population in 2022 when compared with the 1851 Census, taken around the time of the Famine. These counties are Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth.

Some of the largest counties by population around the time of the Famine were Cork, Galway, Tipperary, and Mayo. It is worth noting that the population of these counties still has not surpassed their corresponding 1851 total.