Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Co. Clare, this town has 2,649 residents. It grew by 9% between the 2016 and 2022 censuses.
Easy on the wallet, harder on other counts. The weak point is health (D): bad health runs at 189 and disability at 121 per 100 expected for its ages. Its strongest is cost of living — it takes 4.8 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €165,000. Overall, that makes a C+, good for #5 of 5 in Co. Clare. On that grade it does better than nearly two fifths of Irish towns. It lags on jobs & income as well: jobs reach 56% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 20%.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health and work, CSO Census 2022.
Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Kilrush does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Kilrush with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
1 archaeological site are on the record here too.
14% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Kilrush.
Households that own their home make up 57%. Kilrush is the cheapest of the 5 towns in Co. Clare: its median sale is €165,000. 21% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €163,800 | 218 |
| The last 12 months | €230,000 | 64 |
| Housing | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €165K | €286K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €897 | €1,229 | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 21% | 13% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 57% | 66% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
30% of residents have a disability, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (22%). Kilrush’s share in bad or very bad health, 4.5%, is the highest of the 5 towns in Co. Clare. Self-reported good health: 78% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 87% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 2.4% | 2% |
| With a disability | 30% | 23% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.7% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
At the census, 6.4% of workers worked mainly from home. Commutes averaged 20.6 min, below Co. Clare’s towns (23.4 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min) alike. Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 56% at the census.
| Census 2022 | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 56% | 68% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 20% | 8.8% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 65% | 38% | 31% |
| Median household income | €34,244 | €58,530 | €57,760 |
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.
Low-lying near the coast: 1.7% of homes, above both Co. Clare’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). For a swim, the nearest bathing water is Cappagh Pier, Kilrush, 1.5 km from Kilrush, rated excellent in 2025. Landslides: none of Kilrush lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 52% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 86% | 0% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 1.7% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Within 3 km of Kilrush there are 3 schools (2 primary schools and 1 secondary school). Irish-medium schools make up 33%, above Co. Clare’s towns (8%) and Irish towns (8%) alike. For secondary school, the closest is Kilrush Community School, 0.4 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convent of Mercy National School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 329 | Catholic |
| Kilrush Community School DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 343 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelscoil Ui Choimin GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 61 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 33% | 8% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 27% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −11% | +4% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 25% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Each year, 8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded per 1,000 residents. Damage to property topped the graded crimes in Kilrush (2023–2025). Violence came to 6.3 per 1,000 residents a year, higher than both Co. Clare’s towns (4) and Irish towns (5.7).
Not in the gradeTheft, public order and offences found by Garda checks (drugs, road traffic, dangerous acts) are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence, burglary and damage.
| Per 1,000 a year | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 8 | 5.9 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 6.3 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 9.1 | 6.6 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Over twelve months, Kilrush averages 10.9°C. A January night in Kilrush drops to 3.9°C on average, above Co. Clare’s towns (3.0°C) and Irish towns (2.9°C) alike. Also worth knowing: a year brings 1,199 mm of rain to Kilrush.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.1°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 3.9°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.9°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,199 mm | 1,144 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 0.2 km per km² of paths and tracks, below Co. Clare’s towns (1.2 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²) alike. Protected nature near Kilrush includes Lower River Shannon SAC. Green space lies within 400 m of 69% of homes.
| Outdoors | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 37% | 8.7% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 9.8% | 3.6% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 69% | 68% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.2 km per km² | 1.2 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Set beside Kilrush’s forecast, a normal November runs from 6°C at night to 12°C by day. Expect a dry, breezy day today, the wind reaching 22 km/h and the temperature dipping to 5°C. In December, the normal shifts to highs of 10°C and lows of 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 368 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 219 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 260 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 352 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
10% of the population is aged 15 to 24, lower than both Co. Clare’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (12%). One measure of family life: 19% of residents are under 15. Degrees are held by just over a fifth of adults.
51.7% of Kilrush’s residents are women
1,370 women and 1,279 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 20% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 24% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 19% | 9.1% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 40% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.3% | 6.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 30% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Clare and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
General election turnout was 64%. Clare County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 14 of its 28 seats, short of the 15 needed. One council serves Kilrush: Clare County Council.
| Turnout | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 58% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 64% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
1 archaeological sites are on the record, below both Co. Clare’s towns (19) and Irish towns (11). Homes from before 1919 make up 13.9% of the total. The national record lists one archaeological site in and around the town.
| Heritage | Kilrush | Co. Clare | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 72 | 12 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 13.9% | 1% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 19 | 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 Kilrush. Best known first.
Kilrush’s built heritage counts 19 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. The national record lists one archaeological site in and around the town.
9 notable people were born in Kilrush.
Sir John Ormsby Vandeleur: William Salter, Public domain · Thomas Cusack: W. L. Bodine & Co. (Chicago, IL), publisher., Public domain · Thomas A. Cullinan: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kilrush | 2,649 | — | C+ | A+ | C | D |
| Kilkee | 1,214 | 11 | — | A− | B− | B− |
| Ballybunion Kerry | 1,618 | 19 | — | C+ | B | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Kilrush had 2,649 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,441 in 2016: 8.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Kilrush is 44.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Clare
2,649 people live in Kilrush, 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) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). 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).