Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
2,779 residents make their home in this town in Co. Cork. Its heritage includes 18 buildings on the national inventory.
Blarney’s best grade is for safety (A+): violent crime runs at 1.9 per 1,000 residents a year, burglary and criminal damage at 1.9. Work and incomes are strong (A): unemployment is 5%, and 73% of 15 to 64s have a job. What holds it back is walkability. 9% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the typical Irish town: 23%). It also trails on cost of living — home prices sit at a median €365,000, which is 5.4 years of the town’s median household income. Hazards are a real consideration (C−): an estimated 4% of homes are above the radon reference level. The overall grade lands at A+, better than 96% of Irish towns. That places it #13 of 320 Irish towns.
Figures: crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA.
This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Blarney does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Blarney 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 →
The record adds 4 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 10%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Blarney. Best known first.
CastleBlarney Castle and Gardens100 m outside town, to the southwest
CastleCarrigrohane Castle3.5 km outside town, to the south
MuseumCork Public Museum4.9 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenBlarney House and Gardens300 m outside town, to the southwestHistoric houseHistoric houseWaterloo Round Tower1.2 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Blarney.
The nearest secondary, Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, is 0.6 km away. DEIS, the support scheme, covers a fifth of them, below both Co. Cork’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%). Within 3 km of Blarney there are 5 schools (4 primary schools and 1 secondary school).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strawberry Hill National School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 315 | Catholic |
| Scoil Mhuire gan SmalLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,124 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Mhuscraí GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 195 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +45% | +1% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 44% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 20% | 9% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 20% | 40% | 35% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Without school-level results from Ireland, the cards show no letters.
The graded crime recorded most in Blarney was assaults and harassment (2023–2025). All told, 24.7 crimes per 1,000 residents are recorded each year. Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 4.1 per 1,000 a year, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (10.3) and Irish towns (15.3).
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 | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 1.9 | 4.9 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 1.9 | 6 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 24.7 | 44.2 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 4.1 | 10.3 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
78% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Working mainly from home: 13% of workers, above Co. Cork’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (11%) alike. Unemployment stands at 5.4%.
| Census 2022 | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 5.4% | 8% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 73% | 69% | 68% |
| Median household income | €67,306 | €51,591 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 26.2 min | 24.7 min | 27.6 min |
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 ground by water holds almost none of its homes.
| Share of homes | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Unpaid caring falls to 7.7% of Blarney’s residents. The town ranks 2nd of the 40 Irish towns nearest its size on the Health Grade. Allowing for its ages, Blarney has 101 residents with a disability per 100 expected, below both Co. Cork’s towns (110) and Irish towns (106). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 1.5% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7.7% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.5% | 2% | 2% |
| With a disability | 22% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Renting privately is how 17% of households live. 7% live in social housing, below Co. Cork’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (13%) alike.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €365,000 | 131 |
| The last 12 months | €395,000 | 43 |
| Housing | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 75% | 59% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 7% | 14% | 13% |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,614 | €1,255 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 17% | 21% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Across the year it averages 10.5°C, lower than Co. Cork’s towns (10.8°C) and near Irish towns (10.3°C). Winter lows in Blarney average 3.1°C in January. December is the wettest month in the town, with 128 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,147 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.1°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Its 2 parks give Blarney 8 ha of green space between them. 88% of homes are within 400 m of green space, in line with Co. Cork’s towns (91%) and Irish towns (92%). Also worth knowing: this Co. Cork town offers 3.0 ha of green space per 1,000 residents.
| Outdoors | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 14% | 4% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 1.6% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 1.4 km per km² | 1.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 88% | 91% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
A passing shower is possible today, but barely measurable; the breeze reaches 24 km/h, and the low is 8°C. Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 14 mm of rain is forecast. Blarney’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 11°C, nights fall to 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 342 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 236 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 242 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 327 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The 15-to-24 age group makes up just over one in ten residents. People 65 and over make up 18% of the town, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (14%). Children under 15 count for 20% of the people here.
Women make up 49.9% of Blarney
1,386 women and 1,393 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 9.3% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 32% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.7% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 37% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Local government for Blarney is Cork City Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. Fianna Fáil lead Cork City Council with 9 of 31 seats, but no party has a majority: 16 are needed. In the Dáil, Blarney is part of Cork North-Central, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 42% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
9.8% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The archaeological record lists 4 sites here. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 18 buildings in Blarney, each of regional importance.
| Heritage | Blarney | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 65 | 106 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9.8% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 4 | 12 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 18 buildings in Blarney, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 4 sites here.
6 notable people were born in Blarney.
Matt Griffin: Robk23oxf, CC BY-SA 4.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blarney | 2,779 | — | A+ | C | A+ | A− |
| Tower | 3,300 | 3.1 | A | C | A+ | A− |
| Hollyhill and Ballincolly | 8,606 | 4.9 | C | C+ | C− | B |
| Knocknaheeny | 5,592 | 5.5 | D | C+ | C | D− |
| Shanakiel | 3,804 | 5.6 | C− | C+ | C | C− |
| Fair Hill | 4,910 | 5.8 | D− | C+ | C− | D− |
| Ballincollig | 21,940 | 6.2 | A | C | A | A− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Blarney is 39.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Cork
Blarney has 2,779 people, in the area of Cork City 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).