Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town, home to 999 people, lies in Co. Cork. Between 2016 and 2022, its population grew by 9%.
Castletownbere takes 4.5 years of the median household income to buy the median home, at €190,000. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records 23 buildings here. Over-65s are nearly a quarter of the population. A degree is held by nearly a quarter of adults.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Castletownbere falls below the line for grades among Irish towns.
The 3 things Castletownbere does most differently from other towns.
The record adds 13 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 18%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Castletownbere.
Beara Community School is the nearest secondary school, 0.4 km away. Families in Castletownbere have 3 schools within 3 km to choose from: 2 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil an Croi Ro Naofa DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 195 | Catholic |
| Beara Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 308 | Inter-denominational |
| Mhichil Naofa DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 21 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 44% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 67% | 37% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −1% | +1% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
0.7% of homes stand on ground with high landslide susceptibility, about level with Co. Cork’s towns (0.4%) and above Irish towns (0%). By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred in Castletownbere has radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near the coast | 20% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Across the year it averages 11.4°C, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (10.8°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). Summer highs in Castletownbere reach 18.7°C in July. Expect January lows of around 5.3°C here.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.7°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 5.3°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,761 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 11.4°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.9% of the town. Allowing for its ages, Castletownbere has 100 residents with a disability per 100 expected, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (110) and Irish towns (106). Unpaid caring falls to 6.8% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.8% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.9% | 2% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 24% | 24% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Owners make up 51% of households, below both Co. Cork’s towns (60%) and Irish towns (61%). The social rented sector houses 15% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €190,000 | 55 |
| Housing | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €190K | €350K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 32% | 21% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 51% | 60% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 15% | 14% | 13% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Within 400 m of green space: 100% of homes. Woodland covers 0.9% of the land within 1 km, below Co. Cork’s towns (4.1%) and Irish towns (2.7%) alike. Castletownbere offers 2.4 ha of green space per 1,000 residents.
| Outdoors | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 22% | 0% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 7% | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 1.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.9% | 4.1% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Working mainly from home: 7% of workers, below Co. Cork’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (11%) alike. The average trip to work takes 17.5 min. 29% of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport.
| Census 2022 | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 71% | 33% | 31% |
| Average trip | 17.5 min | 24.8 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €41,800 | €53,156 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 73% | 69% | 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.
0.4% speak Irish daily outside school, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (1.1%). The 15-to-24 age group makes up one in ten residents. Born abroad: 33% of residents.
Women make up 51.3% of Castletownbere
512 women and 487 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.8% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 23% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 14% | 8.1% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.4% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 24% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the general election 64% voted, above both Co. Cork’s towns (58%) and Irish towns (59%). There is no majority on Cork County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 19 of 55, short of 28. Castletownbere sits in the Bantry-West Cork local electoral area, which elects 4 councillors.
| Turnout | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 58% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 64% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
17.9% of its homes were built before 1919, above Co. Cork’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. The Sites and Monuments Record lists 13 sites here, above Co. Cork’s towns (11) and Irish towns (11) alike. Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 23 buildings in Castletownbere, each of regional importance.
| Heritage | Castletownbere | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 230 | 103 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 17.9% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
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 Castletownbere. Best known first.
CastleDunboy Castle1.3 km outside town, to the southwestArt galleryArt gallerySarah Walker Galleryin townMuseumMuseumBere Island Heritage Centre1.8 km outside town, to the southeastIslandIslandPontoon Pier1.9 km outside town, to the eastNatural landscapeNatural landscapeGour4.6 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 23 buildings in Castletownbere, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 13 sites here.
4 notable people were born in Castletownbere.
The median age in Castletownbere is 45.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Castletownbere had 999 people at the 2022 census, up from 918 in 2016: 8.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Cork
Castletownbere has 999 people, in the area of Cork 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).