Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 152 in Co. Clare.
A typical home sold for €286,800, or 7.3 years of the town’s median household income. 8% of people here were born outside Ireland. People aged 65 and over make up 24% of residents. 13% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Kilfenora falls below the line for grades among Irish towns.
The 3 things Kilfenora does most differently from other towns.
2 buildings on the National Inventory inside Kilfenora, one of them of national importance.
The record adds 19 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 14%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kilfenora.
100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, above Co. Clare’s towns (73%) and Irish towns (0%) alike. Lahinch, 11 km from Kilfenora, is the closest bathing water; it was rated good in 2025. No part of Kilfenora is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 73% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Here July highs average 18.7°C, below both Co. Clare’s towns (19.7°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). Midwinter nights in Kilfenora bottom out at 3.3°C on average. December is the wettest month in the town, with 178 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.7°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,535 mm | 1,199 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.3°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.3°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Ages taken into account, Kilfenora counts 90 people with a disability for every 100 predicted. 9.9% of residents give unpaid care to a relative or friend, above both Co. Clare’s towns (5.4%) and Irish towns (5.4%). Asked at the census, 83% of residents of Kilfenora said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2022 | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 9.9% | 5.4% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 83% | 87% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.4% | 2.5% | 2% |
| With a disability | 22% | 23% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
10% rent privately, lower than both Co. Clare’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (22%). Home ownership stands at 55% of households.
| Housing | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 32% | 13% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 10% | 21% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 55% | 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.
Protected sites cover 7% of the land within 5 km, between Co. Clare’s towns (9.6%) and Irish towns (1.8%). Woodland covers 2% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Clare’s towns (3.9%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike.
| Outdoors | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 69% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 7% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 2% | 3.9% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Long-term averages for Kilfenora put November days at 11°C and November nights at 5°C. A dry day with a stiff breeze lies ahead today: wind building to 25 km/h, then a low of 4°C. Tuesday stands out as the wet day ahead, with roughly 3 mm.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 467 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 291 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 332 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 445 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
76% of commuters drove, near Co. Clare’s towns (77%) and higher than Irish towns (66%). A trip to work takes 22.3 min on average. At the census, 69% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job.
| Census 2022 | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €39,310 | €53,417 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 48% | 44% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.3 min | 23.1 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 69% | 68% | 68% |
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.
27% of adults hold a degree, close to Co. Clare’s towns (28%) and below Irish towns (36%). Foreign-born residents make up 8.1% of the population. People aged 15 to 24 make up just over a tenth of the town.
Women make up 49.3% of Kilfenora
75 women and 77 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 24% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 9.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 28% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 15% | 6.8% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 27% | 28% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Clare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
There is just one council for Kilfenora, Clare County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. General election turnout: 64%, about level with Co. Clare’s towns (64%) and above Irish towns (59%). Clare County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 14 of its 28 seats, short of the 15 needed.
| Turnout | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 61% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 14.3% of the total, above both Co. Clare’s towns (1.8%) and Irish towns (3.4%). 19 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie in and around the town. Kilfenora’s built heritage counts 2 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Kilfenora | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 132 | 25 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 14.3% | 1.8% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 19 | 10 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Kilfenora. Best known first.
CastleLeamaneh Castle4.9 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric siteDoorty's Crossin townCathedralCathedralKilfenora Cathedral and Crosses100 m outside town, to the westVisitor farmVisitor farmBurren Free Range Pork Farm1.4 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Kilfenora’s built heritage counts 2 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. Archaeologists have recorded 19 sites here.
No notable person born in Kilfenora is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilfenora | 152 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ennistimon | 1,137 | 8 | — | B+ | B | B |
| Lehinch | 1,018 | 11 | — | B+ | B | A |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Kilfenora is 44.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
11% mostly work from home, and 48% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Kilfenora had 152 people at the 2022 census, down from 153 in 2016: 0.7% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
Urban area in Co. Clare
Kilfenora has 152 people, 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).