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Main Street, BallyhoolyPhoto: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0
–Not graded
Flood & hazards in Ballyhooly · EPA, GSI and OPW data

In Ballyhooly, radon is the measure to watch: about 13% of homes are estimated over the reference level

Ballyhooly has no Hazard risk Grade: Irish places under 1,000 residents aren’t graded. The figures below are still its own.

13%of homes over the radon level
In brief

What stands out about Ballyhooly’s hazards

From the EPA’s radon map, Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide map, the OPW’s flood relief schemes and our estimate of low-lying homes, below.

Flooding not measuredNo detailed ground heights cover Ballyhooly, so how many of its homes stand low by big water isn’t measured.High radonAn estimated 13% of homes are above the radon reference level: a higher share than in 84% of Irish towns.Landslide-prone ground2.7% of homes stand on ground rated high or moderately high for landslides: a higher share than in 96% of Irish towns.
By hazard

What Ballyhooly faces

Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.

Low-lying homes

Not measured
No detailed heights here
Check the official flood maps

Radon

13%of homes estimated over the reference level
more radon than in 84% of Irish towns
100% of homes in a High Radon Area

Landslides

2.7%of homes on high or moderately high ground
more homes on it than in 96% of Irish towns
Rated from the ground and its slope

Ground heights

0%of homes on detailed ground heights
Too few to count flood (80% needed)
Of 225 homes counted
Not on this page: the OPW’s official flood maps and past floods (their licence doesn’t allow reuse here: see floodinfo.ie), groundwater and surface-water flooding, coastal erosion and industrial sites.
Hazard risk Grade

Ballyhooly has no Hazard risk Grade

Radon (13%)Better than 16% of Irish towns
Landslide ground (2.7%)Better than 4% of Irish towns
Low-lying homesNot counted: not measured here

Each figure is placed among Irish towns as the grade would place it, without a letter.

Less sure: The low-lying figure is our estimate from ground heights and the river map, not an official flood map. It can show a town is low-lying; it can’t show a town is safe. No LiDAR here: the heights come from a 30 m satellite model, which reads roofs and trees as ground, so this town’s figure isn’t counted.

Low-lying homes

How many of Ballyhooly’s homes stand low isn’t measured

Low-lying homes, a TownRatings estimate from OPW and Geological Survey Ireland LiDAR ground heights and the EPA’s river map: not an official flood map.

Flooding isn’t measured in Ballyhooly: no LiDAR survey covers its homes, and the measure needs 80% of them, so flood isn’t counted for or against it. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t flood.

A rougher estimate, mostly from a 30 m satellite model, finds few homes standing low by big water, but that model reads roofs and trees as ground, so it can’t show the town is dry.

Official flood maps and past floods: floodinfo.ie

River levels

The River Blackwater at Killavullen peaked at 6.15 m in November 1980

Each winter’s highest level (October to September) at the OPW’s Killavullen gauge, 7.8 km from Ballyhooly on the same river, since 1972, in metres above the gauge’s zero. Nine days in ten it runs between 0.92 m and 2.65 m.

Each winter’s highest level, metres
Winter 1973–74: highest 4.98 m · 54 days above the normal rangeWinter 1974–75: highest 4.06 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 1975–76: highest 4.27 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 1976–77: highest 3.75 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 1977–78: highest 4.17 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 1978–79: highest 5.00 m · 25 days above the normal rangeWinter 1979–80: highest 4.23 m · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 1980–81: highest 6.15 m on 2 November 1980 · 45 days above the normal rangeWinter 1981–82: highest 4.61 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 1982–83: highest 4.16 m · 41 days above the normal rangeWinter 1983–84: highest 4.54 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1984–85: highest 3.71 m · 20 days above the normal rangeWinter 1985–86: highest 5.09 m on 6 August 1986 · 17 days above the normal rangeWinter 1986–87: highest 4.13 m · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 1987–88: highest 4.78 m · 37 days above the normal rangeWinter 1988–89: highest 5.41 m on 22 October 1988 · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 1990–91: highest 4.16 m · 34 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 4.11 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 3.76 m · 26 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 4.35 m · 58 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 4.99 m · 55 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 4.47 m · 42 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 3.83 m · 40 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 4.83 m · 39 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 5.20 m on 30 December 1998 · 46 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 4.44 m · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 4.95 m · 47 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 4.57 m · 41 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 4.15 m · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 4.23 m · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 5.03 m on 28 October 2004 · 31 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 4.68 m · 52 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 5.03 m · 46 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 4.28 m · 39 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 5.27 m on 20 November 2009 · 55 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 3.97 m · 21 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 4.46 m · 50 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 4.04 m · 43 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 4.79 m · 69 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 4.28 m · 23 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 4.70 m · 34 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 4.31 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 4.66 m · 48 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 4.59 m · 44 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 4.06 m · 55 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 5.15 m on 23 February 2021 · 51 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 4.98 m · 70 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 4.27 m · 64 days above the normal rangeWinter 2024–25: highest 5.12 m on 24 November 2024 · 42 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 4.65 m · 44 days above the normal range’80–81’88–89’09–10Record 6.15 m, 1980Top of normal range
1973–742025–26
The highest days on record
  • 2 November 19806.15 m
  • 22 October 19885.41 m
  • 20 November 20095.27 m
  • 30 December 19985.20 m
  • 23 February 20215.15 m
  • 24 November 20245.12 m

Since 1972 the River Blackwater has run above its usual top on 1,888 days, most of them in the winters of 2022–23 and 2013–14.

Measured by its highest day, last winter (2025–26) was the 21st-highest of the 50 on record here.

The OPW gives the bank-full level here as 4.50 m: above it the river spills out of its channel.

Source: OPW Hydro-Data (waterlevel.ie/hydro-data), Killavullen gauge (station 18003): daily maximum and mean levels, inspected and provisional data. The usual range is the 5th to 95th percentile of daily means, worked out by TownRatings. Live levels are on waterlevel.ie.

Warnings

Weather and flood warnings for Ballyhooly

Where to see the warnings in force, and what this page can’t count.

Met Éireann issues yellow, orange and red warnings for rain, wind and coastal flooding county by county; Ballyhooly is covered by County Cork’s.

WarningWhat Met Éireann means by it
YellowWeather that isn’t unusual but can be dangerous in places: be aware.
OrangeInfrequent, dangerous weather that can put people and property at risk: be prepared.
RedRare, extremely dangerous weather: take action to protect yourself and your property.

Met Éireann doesn’t publish an open archive of past warnings, so how often warnings have covered Ballyhooly can’t be counted here.

Met Éireann warnings · OPW river levels (waterlevel.ie)

Flood scheme

No OPW flood relief scheme protects Ballyhooly

The Office of Public Works’ completed flood relief schemes and the areas each one benefits (OPW open data, CC BY 4.0).

Schemes
0
protect homes in Ballyhooly
Protected places in the county
3
Mallow, Fermoy, Dunmanway
Nearest protected place
8.1 km
Fermoy, as the crow flies
Low-lying homes
Not measured
the share a scheme would be built for

None of the OPW’s completed flood relief schemes has a benefiting area that takes in Ballyhooly’s homes. The OPW builds schemes where the risk to homes is greatest, so most towns have none.

In County Cork, OPW schemes protect parts of 3 other places, including Mallow, Fermoy, Dunmanway.

The protected places nearest here
TownSchemeDesigned forHomes behind itAway
Fermoy CorkFermoy South Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1006.3%8.1 km
Mallow CorkMallow South & West Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1002.6%17 km
Clonmel TipperaryClonmel (North & East) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 1007.4%53 km
Annacotty LimerickMulkear River (Ballymackeogh) Flood Relief Scheme1 in 101.1%58 km
Dunmanway CorkDunmanway Flood Relief Scheme1 in 10014%68 km
Carrick-on-Suir TipperaryCarrick-on-Suir Flood Relief Scheme1 in 504.3%71 km

Official flood maps and past floods: floodinfo.ie

Landslides

2.7% of Ballyhooly’s homes stand on landslide-prone ground

Geological Survey Ireland’s landslide susceptibility map (1:50,000), read at every home.

Homes on ground rated high or moderately high

BallyhoolyCounty Cork’s medianmedian of Irish towns
High or moderately high2.7%
0%5%

That is a higher share than in 96% of Irish towns; the median is 0.4% for County Cork’s towns and 0% for Irish towns.

GSI rates ground from low to high by its slope, soil and rock. Most Irish landslides are on steep upland slopes and peat after heavy rain; a town on flat ground has almost none.

High means the ground could slide under the right conditions, such as days of heavy rain on a steep, wet slope; it isn’t a forecast that it will.

GSI landslide susceptibility, high and moderately high classes, share of the town’s homes on mapped ground (CC BY 4.0).

Radon

An estimated 13% of Ballyhooly’s homes are above the radon reference level

The EPA’s radon map: for each 10 km square, the estimated share of homes above the national reference level of 200 Bq/m³.

10% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)15% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)4.1% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes4.9% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes25% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)33% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)1.2% of homes estimated above the reference level · 1–5% of homes13% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)20% of homes estimated above the reference level · Over 20% (High Radon Area)7.9% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes8.1% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes9.4% of homes estimated above the reference level · 5–10% of homes0.3% of homes estimated above the reference level · Under 1% of homes10% of homes estimated above the reference level · 10–20% (High Radon Area)© OpenStreetMap contributors · EPA
Under 1% of homes1–5% of homes5–10% of homes10–20% (High Radon Area)Over 20% (High Radon Area)
Share of Irish towns in each band
Under 1% of homes17%
1–5% of homes38%
5–10% of homes26%
10–20% (High Radon Area) · Ballyhooly11%
Over 20% (High Radon Area)9%

A square where 10% or more of homes are estimated above the reference level is a High Radon Area; 100% of Ballyhooly’s homes are in one. The map is an estimate by area: two neighbouring houses can differ a lot.

100%
of homes in a High Radon Area
5.7%
County Cork’s median
4%
median of Irish towns

A test is the only way to know a home’s level: two detectors, left for three months in a living room and a bedroom.

EPA radon map of Ireland (10 km grid), averaged over the town’s homes (CC BY 4.0).

Industrial sites

One EPA-licensed site within 5 km of Ballyhooly’s centre, none inside it

Factories, farms, power plants and waste sites that hold an EPA licence for their emissions, in Ballyhooly and around its centre.

0
licensed sites inside Ballyhooly
1
licensed site within 5 km of the centre
1.8 km
to the nearest: Mr Liam O'Connell
The 8 nearest licensed sites
SiteLicence and activityAway
Mr Liam O'ConnellIndustrial Emissions licence · intensive farming1.8 km
Mr Kevin AhernIndustrial Emissions licence · intensive farming6.2 km
Waste Recovery Services (Fermoy) LimitedWaste licence7.2 km
Microbio (Ireland) LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence · chemicals7.8 km
Messrs Jack and David RonanIndustrial Emissions licence · intensive farming8.4 km
Superwarm Homes (Limerick) LimitedIndustrial Emissions licence8.8 km
LEAMCAR LIMITEDIndustrial Emissions licence · intensive farming9.3 km
Veolia Environmental Services Technical Solutions Ltd, Corrin, Fermoy, CorkIndustrial Emissions licence · waste9.6 km
What the 8 licensed sites within 10 km do
ActivitySites
Intensive farming4
Waste2
Chemicals1
Not classed in the register1

Within 5 km: one under an Industrial Emissions licence.

An EPA licence sets what a site may release to air, water and land; it doesn’t mark the site as an accident hazard.

Sites holding dangerous substances in bulk come under the COMAH (Seveso) rules, but the HSA’s list of them has no open licence, so upper- and lower-tier sites aren’t counted here.

Source: EPA registers of Industrial Emissions, IPC and waste licences, sites licensed on 31 October 2026; distances in a straight line from the town’s centre.

Neighbours

Hazards in the places around Ballyhooly

Low-lying homes, radon and landslide ground, town by town.

FermoyRathcormacKilworthWatergrasshillMitchelstownMallowFermoyRathcormacKilworthWatergrasshillMitchelstownMallowBallyhooly
TownLow-lyingRadonLandslides
Ballyhooly–13%2.7%
Fermoy
6,720 · 8.1 km		5.9%9.7%0.1%
Rathcormac
1,957 · 11 km		0%9.4%0%
Kilworth
1,179 · 11 km		0%0.3%0%
Watergrasshill
1,840 · 15 km		–1.2%0%
Mitchelstown
3,744 · 16 km		–10%0%
Mallow
13,456 · 17 km		1.8%11%1.1%

Of the places around Ballyhooly, Fermoy has the most homes standing low by big water (5.9%), 8.1 km away.

A dash under Low-lying: not measured there (too few homes with detailed ground heights), not none.

Be ready

Get ready for what Ballyhooly faces

What to do, and what to ask before you move.

When the river rises
  • Never walk or drive through floodwater: 30 cm of moving water can float a car.
  • Move valuables, papers and medicines upstairs.
  • Turn off gas, electricity and water if you’re told to.
Met Éireann warnings · floodinfo.ie
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • The EPA sells radon test kits at radon.ie and lists registered contractors who fix high readings.
radon.ie
When a storm is forecast
  • Bring in or tie down bins, trampolines and anything the wind can lift.
  • Keep away from coastal paths and piers while an orange or red warning is in force.
  • Charge phones and keep a torch: fallen lines are the commonest storm damage.
  • After the storm, report a fallen line to ESB Networks and keep well clear of it.
ESB Networks PowerCheck
Before you buy or rent in Ballyhooly
  • Ask whether the home has ever flooded, and get a buildings insurance quote before you commit: flood cover isn’t always offered.
  • Ask the seller or landlord for a radon test result, or test in your first months there.
  • Check the address on floodinfo.ie: the OPW’s flood maps and its record of past floods.
  • On a slope, ask the seller about cracks, drainage and any past ground movement.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • An estimate, not a flood map. Low-lying homes is a TownRatings modelling step: each home’s ground height from LiDAR, against the level of the nearest big river (Strahler order 5 or more), lake or estuary within 1 km, or the sea within 2 km. A home within 5 m of the water’s level, or below 4 m near the sea, counts.
  • Flood counts only one way. A high share of low-lying homes lowers the Hazard risk Grade; a low share never raises it, because defences, small streams, culverts, groundwater and flash floods don’t show in ground heights. Below the national median a town scores as the median.
  • Defences aren’t counted. Flood defences aren’t taken off: the OPW scheme that protects the most homes is shown instead, with its design standard.
  • Measured where the heights are detailed. A town is measured, and counted, only where 80% of its homes stand on LiDAR heights. Elsewhere the page says flooding isn’t measured, never that the town is dry.
  • Radon is an estimate by area. The EPA’s radon map gives the estimated share of homes above 200 Bq/m³ for each 10 km square, averaged here over the town’s homes. It says where to test, not what one house holds.
  • The sea is measured by height. Homes count as low by the sea when their ground is under 4 m and within 2 km of coastal or estuary water; waves, surges and erosion aren’t modelled.
  • Landslide ground is a map of where slides could start. GSI’s susceptibility map rates the ground itself; it doesn’t record past slides or say when one will happen.
  • Bathing water is rated season by season. The EPA classes each identified bathing water from four seasons of samples; a rating says how clean the water has been, not how safe it is to swim.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on floodinfo.ie before you buy or rent.

Check any address against the OPW’s official flood maps on floodinfo.ie

Questions about flooding and hazards in Ballyhooly

Does Ballyhooly flood?

For a single address, the OPW’s official flood maps and past floods are on floodinfo.ie.

Is radon a problem in Ballyhooly?

The EPA’s map estimates that about 13% of homes around Ballyhooly are above the radon reference level of 200 Bq/m³: a higher share than in 84% of Irish towns. 100% of its homes are in a High Radon Area. The only way to know a house is a three-month test.

Is Ballyhooly at risk of landslides?

2.7% of Ballyhooly’s homes stand on ground rated high or moderately high for landslides. Most slides happen on steep slopes and peat after heavy rain.

How does Ballyhooly compare with the places around it?

Radon estimates around Ballyhooly run from 0.3% in Kilworth to 11% in Mallow; Ballyhooly’s own is 13%. Among the places measured in detail, Fermoy has the largest share of homes standing low (5.9%).

Flood: TownRatings’ estimate from ground heights, not an official flood map. Contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland, the Office of Public Works and the EPA) licensed under CC BY 4.0; Copernicus DEM © DLR e.V. and © Airbus, provided under COPERNICUS by the EU and ESA; © OpenStreetMap contributors. Radon and bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Landslide susceptibility: Geological Survey Ireland (CC BY 4.0).

Sources: low-lying homes: TownRatings’ estimate from GSI and OPW LiDAR, Copernicus GLO-30 and the EPA river network · radon: EPA radon map · landslides: GSI landslide susceptibility · river levels: OPW Hydro-Data (waterlevel.ie/hydro-data) · industrial sites: EPA licence registers. 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).