Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 288 people live in this town, in Co. Clare.
Set against the median household income, the median home, at €286,800, costs 4.7 times as much. It skews young: 36% of residents are 15 to 24. Of those who commute, 8% go on foot, by bike or by public transport. Renting from a private landlord is the lot of 43% of households.
Grades start at 1,000 residents for Irish towns, so Bunratty has none.
The 3 things Bunratty does most differently from other towns.
4 buildings on the National Inventory inside Bunratty, one of them of national importance.
The record adds 12 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 3%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Bunratty. Best known first.
CastleBunratty Castlein townMuseumMuseumBunratty Castle & Folk Parkin townMuseumMuseumShannon Aviation Museum3.6 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumAtlantic Air Adventures3.6 km outside town, to the northwestMuseumMuseumAtlantic Air Venture3.6 km outside town, to the northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bunratty.
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, above both Co. Clare’s towns (73%) and Irish towns (0%). Radon: an estimated 10% of homes in Bunratty are over the reference level. The ground under Bunratty carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 69% | 44% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 73% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The nearest weather station is Shannon Airport, 7 km away. Across the year, Bunratty now averages 0.2°C more than it did in 1981–2010. The year’s mean temperature is 10.5°C, near both Co. Clare’s towns (10.5°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C).
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,097 mm | 1,199 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.7°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
89% of Bunratty’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (87%) and Irish towns (88%). Ages taken into account, Bunratty counts 115 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. At the census, 1.1% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 3.5% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.1% | 2.5% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 89% | 87% | 88% |
| With a disability | 24% | 23% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
1% live in social housing, below both Co. Clare’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (13%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| The last 12 months | €432,700 | 40 |
| Housing | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 43% | 21% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 1% | 13% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 54% | 64% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €287K | €280K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area V95, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
100% of homes are within 400 m of green space, above both Co. Clare’s towns (69%) and Irish towns (92%). Protected nature near Bunratty includes Lower River Shannon SAC. One park, 1 ha of green space: that is the measure of the town’s parkland.
| Outdoors | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 28% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 100% | 69% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.5 km per km² | 0.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 3.5% | 3.9% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 6 mm. Bunratty’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 11°C, nights fall to 5°C. Nothing falls from the sky today, by the look of it; the wind keeps to 19 km/h or less, and the low is 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 325 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 216 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 253 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 7°C | 304 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
13% of workers worked mainly from home, above Co. Clare’s towns (8.9%) and Irish towns (11%) alike. Workers spend 22.6 min getting to work, on average. The jobless rate is 6.9%.
| Census 2022 | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 46% | 68% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 6.9% | 9.1% | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 22.6 min | 23.1 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 35% | 44% | 31% |
CSO, Census 2022 travel to work, work and education · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · Live Register · Census day was 3 April 2022, with working from home still common; shares are of those who travelled.
51% of adults hold a degree, above both Co. Clare’s towns (28%) and Irish towns (36%). Children under 15 make up 16% of residents. Add to that, people 65 and over make up just over a tenth of the town.
Women make up 53.8% of Bunratty
155 women and 133 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 36% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 17% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 12% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 6% | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 8.6% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 29% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.1% | 6.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 51% | 28% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Clare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is no majority on Clare County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 14 of 28, short of 15. One council serves Bunratty: Clare County Council. General election turnout: 64%, near Co. Clare’s towns (64%) and higher than Irish towns (59%).
| Turnout | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 50% | 50% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 2.5% of the total, higher than Co. Clare’s towns (1.8%) yet lower than Irish towns (3.4%). 12 archaeological sites are on the record, above both Co. Clare’s towns (10) and Irish towns (11). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 4 buildings in Bunratty, 1 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 139 | 25 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 2.5% | 1.8% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Bunratty have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school. The nearest secondary, St Caimin's Community School, is 3.2 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Cluain MuingeLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 205 | Catholic |
| St Caimin's Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 794 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Bunratty | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 33% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 10% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 13% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +1% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Results by school aren’t published in Ireland, so the cards carry none.
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 4 buildings in Bunratty, 1 of national or international importance. Archaeologists have recorded 12 sites here.
No notable person born in Bunratty is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Sarah Winstedt: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Davy Fitzgerald: Dungourneydaily, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Maurice Quinlivan: Sinn Féin, CC BY 2.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunratty | 288 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Shannon | 10,256 | 4 | B | B+ | B− | C |
| Sixmilebridge | 2,832 | 5.4 | B+ | B | B− | B+ |
| Newmarket-On-Fergus | 1,887 | 8.6 | — | B | A+ | C |
| Caherdavin Limerick | 7,364 | 11 | D | C | C− | C |
| Ballynanty Limerick | 3,030 | 12 | D− | C | C− | D− |
| Farranshone Limerick | 7,874 | 12 | B | C | C− | A− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Bunratty is 24.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Bunratty had 288 people at the 2022 census, down from 303 in 2016: 5% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
Urban area in Co. Clare
288 people live in Bunratty, in the area of Clare County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from Tailte Éireann’s boundaries and the CSO’s Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0)
Sources: CSO, Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics (CC BY 4.0) · Tailte Éireann, Urban Areas and Electoral Divisions 2022 (CC BY 4.0). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).