Irish Towns Guide

Greystones came fifth in our league table of the BEST towns in Ireland .
Our top 20 chart was based on census figures from 2006 and was compiled using statistics on Education, Housing, Lone Parents, IT, Unemployment to analyse all the towns. Only towns with populations over 1500 were included.At the 2006 census - the population of Greystones was 14569 .The unemployment rate in Greystones was 3.1% - almost half the national average in Ireland of 5.89%
In Greystones - only 2.22% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health - which is again under half the national average of 4.71% .

Most workers in Greystones are are employed in management or clerical jobs (27% of the workforce)
Lone parents- make up 15.81% of all households in Greystones - this is just below the national average which is 19.29%

Housing: Local Authority rented homes make up 4.64% of the dwelling units in Greystones about half of the average for Irish towns of 9.06% of Council houses.

Rented homes in Greystones make up 15.86% of all homes in the town - which is just over half of the national average of 28.1%.
More than a quarter of all homes (27.56%) in Greystones are owned outright - with no mortgage outstanding - This is similar to the average for Ireland as a whole which is 28%.Central Heating is not installed in just 4.85% of dwellings in Greystones - which is better than the national average of 10.2%.

Information Technology. : 72% of households own personal computers in Greystones - compared to 53.3% nationally. Broadband connections were at 36.3% in Greystones in 2006 about 75% above the national average which was a fairly poor 20.18% .
33% of homes had no internet access at all in Greystones - compared to the national average of 51%.
Education : Just 8.24% of the people living in Greystones were only educated to primary school level or had no formal education at all. This is half the national average of 16.72%. eople with a third level degree or a higher qualification - make up 33% of the Greystones workforce - which is more than double the national average of 16.57%.

Community involvement in Greystones is above the average for the country - 19% of the over 15s said they carried out some sort of voluntary work.The percentage of people with a disability in Greystones is below the national average of 9.8% at 8.6%.

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Annacotty came fourth in our league table of the BEST towns in Ireland .
Our chart is based on census figures from 2006 and was compiled using statistics on Education, Housing, Lone Parents, IT, Unemployment . Only towns with populations over 1500 were included.At the 2006 census - the population of Annacotty was 1839 .The unemployment rate in Annacotty was just 2%- well below the national average in Ireland of 5.89%
In Annacotty - 8.53% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health - which is almost double the national average of 4.71% .

Most workers in Annacotty are are employed in professional or technical jobs (33.14% of the workforce).
Lone parents- make up only 8.27% of all households in Annacotty - this is under half of the national average which is 19.29%

Housing: Local Authority rented homes make up only 1.1% of the dwelling units in Annacotty the third lowest in the country and way below the average of 9.06% of Council houses.Rented homes in Annacotty make up 22.92% of all homes in the town - which is 20% below the national average of 28.1%.
Just 15.2% of houses in Annacotty are owned outright - with no mortgage outstanding - well below the average for Ireland as a whole which is 28%.

Central Heating is installed in 98.6% of all dwellings in Annacotty - which is higher than the national average of 89.8%.

Information Technology. : 73% of households own personal computers in Annacotty - compared to 53.3% nationally. Broadband connections were at 35% in Annacotty in 2006 about 75% above the national avearge which was a poor 20.18% .
37.665% of homes had no internet access at all in Annacotty - compared to the national average of 51%

Education : Annacotty residents are quite well educated - 13.3% of the people living in Annacotty - were only educated to primary school level or had no formal education at all. This is better than the national average of 16.72%. People with a third level degree or a higher qualification - make up 37% of the Annacotty workforce - which is more than double the national average of 16.57%.

Community involvement in Annacotty is average for the country - 15.4% of the over 15s said they carried out some sort of voluntary work.The percentage of people with a disability in Annacotty is above the national average of 9.8% at 12.9%.

See the list of best and worst locations in Ireland Here 

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How are the figures obtained?

Each year the Irish Times puts together some figures of each secondary school’s Leaving Cert students and combines them with figures from Third Level institutions in Ireland . . The Universities and Colleges record which school the first year students were enrolled at in the previous year. The two sets of figures combined give us some idea of the percentages of Leaving Cert students from each school that are entering Third Level education in Ireland. A league table is produced of all the secondary schools in Ireland . Of course - these figures are not a full indication of a schools’ performance - but it is all we have. The figures don’t include students who go on to Universities outside the Republic of Ireland. But in the absence of any Irish Government school performance figures - it is all we have to help pick out schools that might be better or worse than others at preparing students for qualifying for entry to University or other 3rd level education.

The 2007 figures showed a few schools with 100% of Leaving Cert pupils going on to third level in Ireland.

Coláiste Iosagain, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
Yeats College, Galway
Jesus & Mary Secondary School, Salthill, Galway
St Joseph’s, Nun’s Island, Galway
Tralee Community College, Co Kerry
St Francis Capuchin College, Rochestown, Cork
Scoil Na Mbraithre, Charleville, Co Cork
Coláiste Eoin, Stillorgan, Co Dublin
Colaiste Na Coiribe, Tuam Rd, Galway
Institute of Education, Dublin 2
CBS, Mitchelstown, Co Cork
Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, Co Galway
Scoil Mhuire, Sydney Place, Cork
Colaiste Mhuire, Ballygar, Co Galway
St Ita’s, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick
Coláiste Iascaigh, Easkey, Co Sligo

Galway and Cork schools seemed to do well in this schools league table .

Other top schools with over 90% entry to Irish 3rd level institutions

Blackrock College, Co Dublin
Scoil Mhuire, Carrick On Suir, Co Tipperary
Mount Mercy College, Cork
Loreto High School, Beaufort, Dublin 14
St Joseph of Cluny, Killiney, Co Dublin
Loreto, Foxrock, Dublin 18
Gaelcholaiste Cheatharlach, Easca, Carlow
Hamilton High School, Bandon, Co Cork
Gonzaga College, Dublin 6
CBC, Monkstown, Co Dublin
Scoil Damhnait, Achill, Co Mayo
Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ, Limerick
Mount Anville School, Dublin 14
Colaiste An Phiarsaigh, Glanmire, Cork
St Vincent’s, Dundalk, Co Louth
Loreto College, St. Stephens Green, Dublin 2
Tarbert Comprehensive, Co Kerry
Presentation College, Mardyke, Cork
Terenure College, Dublin 6w
Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick
The Teresian School, Dublin 4
Summerhill College, Sligo
L. S. U., Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone, Co Westmeath
Mean Scoil Na Toirbhirte, An Daingean, Co Kerry
St Mary’s College, Rathmines, Dublin 6
Mount St Michael, Claremorris, Co Mayo
Clochar Loreto, Letterkeny, Co Donegal
CBS, Roscommon
Muckross Park College, Dublin 4
Community School, Dunmore, Tuam, Co Galway
Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig, Co Cork
St Andrew’s College, Blackrock, Co Dublin
Colaiste Iognaid, Galway
Presentation Secondary, Listowel, Co Kerry
St Gerard’s, Bray, Co Wicklow
Ursuline College, Finisklin, Sligo
Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore, Co Offaly
Gaelcholaiste Chiarrai, Tralee, Co Kerry
Ardscoil Mhuire, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway
Cistercian College, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary
Sandford Park School, Dublin 6
St. Louis Community School, Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo
Ard Scoil Phobal Bheanntrai, Bantry, Co Cork
Coláiste Daibhéid, An T-Ardán Theas, Corcaigh

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Carrick-on-Suir was the fourth worst town in our chart of the worst place to live in Ireland . Based on census 2006 information we have compiled a top 20 list of the best and worst places to live in  Ireland. Of course people will disagree with these positions - but they are based on facts and figures like unemployment, housing, lone parents and education.At the 2006 census 2006 - the population of Carrick-on-Suir was 5906 .The unemployment rate was 9.59% -  this compares badly with a National Average of 5.92% and was the 6th highest rate of unemployment in Ireland
In Carrick-on-Suir - 6.66% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health - which is  over the national average of 4.71% .
Of those people in work - the largest proportion are employed in manufacturing (20% of the workforce) .Lone parent households in Carrick-on-Suir- make up 26.86% of all households. This is the 5th highest in Ireland and about 25% above the National average of 19.29%

Local Authority rented homes make up 15.57% of the dwelling units in Carrick-on-Suir - the ninth highest percentage in Ireland.
Rented homes make up 34.45% of all homes in Carrick-on-Suir - slightly above the average for Ireland of 28.1%.
28% of occupied houses in Carrick-on-Suir are owned outright - with no mortgage outstanding - the same as the average for Ireland as a whole.

Heating: 10.93% of all dwellings in Carrick-on-Suir have no central heating - which is aroud the same as the rest of the country (10.22%).
I.T. : 40.98% of households own personal computers in Carrick-on-Suir - compared to 53.3% nationally. Only 13.6% had broadband at the last census - much lower than the Irish average at the time of 20.18% . Also - 67.4% of homes had no internet access at all in Carrick-on-Suir - compared to the average of 51%

Education : 22.43% of the people living in Carrick-on-Suir - only went as far as primary school or had no formal education at all. This is very close to 40% above the national average of 16.72%.
People with a third level degree or a higher qualification - make up just 6.76% of the Carrick-on-Suir workforce - which is less than half the national average of 16.57%

Community involvement in Carrick-on-Suir is just below the average for the country. In Carrick-on-Suir 15.3% of the over 15s said they carry out some sort of voluntary work compared to the national average of 15.42%

The percentage of people with a disability in Carrick-on-Suir is above the national average of 9.8% at 12.2%.

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Most of the date used on this site is from the Census - but a recent interesting  litter survey was published on all towns in Ireland with more than 6000 population.
The littering survey ranked the 50 towns in order of cleanest first, The full table is shown below (From the Irish Business Against Litter). Sligo came out worst (dirtiest) and Dundalk came out the best (cleanest)

1. Dundalk “Litter Free”
2. Cavan “Litter Free”
3. Fermoy “Litter Free”
4. Trim “Litter Free”
5. Killarney “Litter Free”
6. Monaghan “Litter Free”
7. Carlow “Litter Free”
8. Galway City “Litter Free”
9. Youghal “Litter Free”
10. Bray “Litter Free”
11. Letterkenny “Litter Free”
12. Ballina “Litter Free”
13. Naas “Litter Free”
14. Roscommon “Litter Free”
15. Thurles “Litter Free”
16. Drogheda “Litter Free”
17. Athy “Litter Free”
18. Waterford City “Litter Free”
19. Midleton “Litter Free”
20. Wexford “Litter Free”
21. Arklow “Litter Free”
22. Castlebar “Litter Free”

23. Swords “Moderately Littered”
24. Ballinasloe “Moderately Littered”
25. Maynooth “Moderately Littered”
26. Kilkenny “Moderately Littered”
27. Greystones “Moderately Littered”
28. Tralee “Moderately Littered”
29. Portlaoise “Moderately Littered”
30. Gorey “Moderately Littered”
31. Ennis “Moderately Littered”
32. Leixlip “Moderately Littered”
33. Longford “Moderately Littered”
34. Limerick City “Moderately Littered”
35. Cobh “Moderately Littered”
36. Clonmel “Moderately Littered”

37. Dungarvan “Littered”
38. Wicklow “Littered”
39. Tullamore “Littered”
40. Mullingar “Littered”
41. Newbridge “Littered”
42. Navan “Littered”

43. Athlone “Seriously Littered”
44. Dun Laoghaire “Seriously Littered”
45. Cork City “Seriously Littered”
46. Enniscorthy “Seriously Littered”

47. Mallow “Litter Blackspot”
48. Tallaght “Litter Blackspot”
49. Nenagh “Litter Blackspot”
50. Sligo “Litter Blackspot”

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Tipperary town came third in our chart of worst place to live in Ireland . Based on census 2006  information we have compiled a top 20 best and worst places to live in Ireland. Of course people will disagree with these positions - but thay are based on facts and figures like unemployment, housing, lone parents and education.

At the 2006 census 2006 - the population of Tipperary Town was 5065 .The unemployment rate was 7.6% - this compares badly with a  National Average of 5.92%
In Tipperary - 7.72% of the workforce are unable to work because of disability or ill health - which is over 40% above the national average of 4.71% .
Of those people in work - the largest proportion are employed in sales (15.49% of the workforce) .Lone parent households in Tipperary- make up 28.73% of all households. This is the highest in Ireland and about 30% above the National average.

Local Authority rented homes make up 15.94% of the dwelling units in Tipperary - the sixth highest percentage in Ireland.
Rented homes make up 36.46% of all homes in Tipperary - slightly above the average for Ireland of 28.1%.
35.64% of occupied houses in Tipperary are owned outright - with no mortgage outstanding. This compares with an average of 28% across Ireland as a whole.

Heating: 21.56% of all dwellings in Tipperary have no central heating - which is more than double the average for the country as a whole (10.22%).
I.T. : 36.36% of households own personal computers in Tipperary - compared to 53.3% nationally. Only 11.4% had broadband at the last census - much lower than the Irish average at the time of 20.18% . Also - 71% of homes had no internet access at all in Tipperary - compared to the average of 51%

Education : 24.98% of the people living in Tipperary — only went as far as primary school or had no formal education at all. This is very close to 50% above the national average of 16.72%
People with a third level degree or a higher qualification - make up just 8.7% of the Tipperary workforce - which is almost half the national average of 16.57%

Community involvement in Tipperary is just below the average for the country. In Tipperary 14.9 % of the over 15s said they carry out some sort of voluntary work compared to the national average of 15.42%

The percentage of people with a disability in Tipperary is above the national average of 9.8% at 14.9%.

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Ballina - North Tipperary came 3rd in our top twenty best towns in Ireland. This was the highest placed town outside the Dublin commuter belt. (Not to be confused with Ballina in Mayo - which came out as the 19th worst town.)Ballina in Tipperary is in 3rd place in the towns-ireland.com top twenty towns in Ireland. Analysis of the 2006 census data found that Ballina in Tipperary had a  population of  just 1861.
Only 2.74% of the workforce were unemployed - the average unemployment rate for Ireland was 5.89% Ballina (North Tipp) had the sixth lowest unemployment rate in Ireland at the time of the 2006 census.

Just 2.22% of the workforce in Ballina (Tipp) could not work because of poor health or disability - this is 50% lower than the national average.
Computers: 71% of households own personal computers in Portmarnock ) and 26.68% have broadband - slightly higher than the Irish average of 20.18%

Lone Parents: 11.96% of Ballina household units are lone parent households - which is almost half the average for Ireland of 19.3%.
Local Authority rental accommodation make up just 3.96% of the total homes in Ballina (N.Tipp) - this compares to a 9.06% average for the country.
Homes with no central heating make up just 4.12% of the dwellings in Ballina The average for Ireland is more than double the figure for Ballina at 10.22%.

About one in five homes in Ballina (Tipp) (19.8%) are owned and paid for with no mortgage outstanding. This is lower than the national average of 28% - reflecting the younger age profile of the town. (38% of Ballina resients are aged between 24 and 44 - the average for the country is 34%)

Of the Ballina (Tipperary) residents that have completed their education - 8.3% went no further than primary school. The national average is more than double that at 16.72%
Graduates (third level degree or a higher) make up 34.59% of the Ballina workforce - the 4th highest in the country.

Ballina (Tipp) people are above average when it comes to being involved in voluntary work: 20.97 % of the over 15s said they did some sort of voluntary or charitable work compared to the national average of 15.42% - This is the 4th highest percentage of voluntary workers in Ireland.

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Portmarnock is in 2nd place in the Towns-Ireland.com chart of top twenty towns in Ireland. Using the most recent census data we found that Portmarnock had the following interesting statistics. (Top of the list was Malahaide)
More about the stats used

Total population of Portmarnock is 8979.
Only 2.58% of the workforce are classed as unemployed - the average unemployment rate for Ireland as a whole is over 100% higher than that at 5.89%. Portmarnock had the third lowest unemployment rate in Ireland at the 2006 census.
Just 2.23% of the workforce in Portmarnock stated that they cannot work because of health or disability - this is also 50% lower than the national average.
Eighty percent of homes have computers in Portmarnock (highest computer ownership in Ireland) and 45% have broadband.

Lone parent households make up 11.47% of family units in Portmarnock - which is almost 45% below the average for Ireland of 19.3%.
Council rented houses are only 1.35% of the total dwelling units in Portmarnock - compared to 9.06% average for the country.
Central Heating is commonplace in Portmarnock - with just 1% of all homes without it - this is 90% lower than the country as a whole (10.22%).
Over a third of homes in Portmarnock (35.41%) are owned outright - with no mortgage. This compares with 28% across Ireland as a whole

Of the people living in Portmarnock who have completed their education - 7.73% only went as far as primary school or had no formal education at all. The national average is more than double that at 16.72%
People with a third level degree or a higher qualification make up 30.51% of the Portmarnock workforce - the 7th highest in the country.

Community involvement: - more people are involved in voluntary work in Portmarnock than the national average. 19.57 % of the over 15s carry out some sort of voluntary work compared to the national average of 15.42% - which is about 20% more. This is the 8th highest in Ireland.

The population of Portmarnock has a slightly older age profile than the national average. 38.4% of Malahide residents are over 45 compared to 30.9% for the whole of Ireland. The percentage of retired people though - is below the average of 11.05% at 8.84%.

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Is Malahide the best location to live in Ireland?
According to our analysis of 2006 census data - Malahide came out top of all the towns with a population of 1500 or more. Malahide beat over 180 other towns into 1st place in the Ireland-Towns.com chart.
Based on statistics  for thing slike  unemployment, sickness, lone parents, voluntary work, education levels and housing - Malahide seems to be the best place to live. Of course there are other factors that have not been considered here such as house prices and crime - but on the statistics available from the census - Malahide comes out best.

Unemployment in Malahide is low - just 2.61% - less than half the average for the country (5.89%).
Just 1.77% of the workforce in Malahide are not able to work because of ill health problems - this is well below the national average of 4.71%
Of those living in Malahide and working - the majority work in management/ government or clerical work (30.1% of the workforce). Malahide has the highest percentage of workers in Ireland in this category of work(clerical - management - government)Lone parent households make up 11.04% of family units in Malahide - which is almost 45% below the average for Ireland of 19.3%.
The percentage of single people in Malahide is 55.4% - the lowest in Ireland and about 15% below the average for Ireland which is 64.28% single people. (This has not been classed as a “good” thing)
Local Authority rented homes make up only 2.04% of the total dwelling units in Malahide - compared to 9.06% average for the country.
Central Heating - 2.13% of all homes in Malahide have no central heating - which is 80% lower than the country as a whole (10.22%). Nearly one third of homes in Malahide (32.34) are owned outright - with no mortgage. This compares with 28% across Ireland as a whole

Of the people living in Malahide who have completed their education - just 6.38% went no further than primary school or had no formal education at all. The national average of 16.72% going no further than primary education- is almost treble that of Malahide.
Graduates make up 34.85% of the Malahide workforce - over 100% higher than the average for the Irish population of 16.56%.
More people are involved in voluntary work in Malahide than the national average. 19% of the over 15s in Malahide said they do some sort of voluntary work compared to the national average of 15.42% - about 20% more.
The population of Malahide has a slightly older age profile than the national average. 34.5.5% of Malahide residents are over 45 compared to 30.9% for the whole of Ireland. The percentage of retired people is just below the average at 10.91%.

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