Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a neighbourhood of 13,892 residents in Cork.
Where it falls short is cost of living — the median home sold for €385,600, 6.2 times the town’s median household income. Households here earn well (B+): jobs reach 67% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 9%. All told, that adds up to a C overall and a rank of #37 of 54 in Co. Cork. That leaves it better than 34% of Irish towns. Elsewhere it is close to typical: B− for safety and B for walkability.
Figures: work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
This town's house price is the median for its whole Eircode routing key, town and countryside together: fewer than 30 sales in the town itself were recorded on the Property Price Register in 2023 to 2025, so its Cost Grade is less sure. 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.
Each subject compares Mahon 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 →
14 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
5% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Mahon. Best known first.
CastleMTU Blackrock Castle Observatoryin town
CathedralSt. Fin Barre's Cathedral3.2 km outside town, to the west
CathedralCathedral of St. Mary & St. Anne3.1 km outside town, to the west
Abbey or prioryRed Abbey2.6 km outside town, to the west
MuseumCork Butter Museum3 km outside town, to the west
Art galleryCrawford Art Gallery2.7 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Mahon.
Single-sex secondaries: 50%, above both Co. Cork’s towns (44%) and Irish towns (39%). Ursuline College Blackrock is the nearest secondary school, 0.4 km away. 63 schools lie within 3 km of Mahon: 34 primary schools, 18 secondary schools and 11 special schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Nioclais Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 714 | Catholic |
| Christian Brothers College BoysLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 919 | Catholic |
| Colaiste An Phiarsaigh GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 578 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Éamann Rís DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 811 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 13% | 9% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 50% | 44% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 30% | 40% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +3% | +1% | +4% |
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.
Nearly a fifth of households are private tenants. Home ownership stands at nearly three in five households.
| Housing | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 22% | 14% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €386K | €340K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 21% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area T12, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
97% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, above Co. Cork’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%) alike. For a swim, the nearest bathing water is Fountainstown, 15 km from Mahon, rated good in 2025. Low ground by water holds almost none of its homes.
| Share of homes | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 97% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The average trip to work took 23.8 min, close to Co. Cork’s towns (24.8 min) and below Irish towns (27.6 min). A household here earns €61,880 a year before tax, on average. The census found 18% of commuters going to work on foot, by bike or by public transport.
| Census 2022 | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 23.8 min | 24.8 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €61,880 | €51,591 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 67% | 69% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 30% | 33% | 31% |
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.
26% of residents in Mahon live with a disability. Unpaid carers make up 6.3% of residents, higher than both Co. Cork’s towns (5.9%) and Irish towns (5.4%). At the census, 2.2% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 26% | 24% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.3% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.2% | 2% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
A January night in Mahon drops to 3.5°C on average, close to Co. Cork’s towns (3.5°C) and above Irish towns (2.9°C). Day and night, summer and winter, Mahon averages 11.0°C. A year brings 1,114 mm of rain to Mahon.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 20.5°C | 20.0°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 11.0°C | 10.8°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.5°C | 3.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,114 mm | 1,114 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Protected nature near Mahon includes Cork Harbour SPA. Within 5 km, 5.3% of the land is protected nature, above Co. Cork’s towns (1.4%) and Irish towns (1.8%) alike. For 96% of homes, green space is under 400 m away. Its 15 parks give Mahon 78 ha of green space between them.
| Outdoors | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 6.1% | 4% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 3.6 km per km² | 1.7 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 5.3% | 1.4% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 96% | 88% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Some 1 mm of rain falls today, driven by wind of up to 30 km/h; the low reaches 7°C. The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 17 mm. What counts as normal for Mahon in November: highs come to 12°C and lows to 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 10°C | 4°C | 330 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 6°C | 234 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 12°C | 232 mm |
| Autumn | 15°C | 8°C | 317 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The share of residents under 15 is 18%. Degrees are held by just over two in five adults, above Co. Cork’s towns (38%) and Irish towns (36%) alike.
52.3% of Mahon’s residents are women
7,271 women and 6,621 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 19% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 8.3% | 7.9% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5% | 6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 41% | 38% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Cork and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Turnout at the general election came to 60%. Local government for Mahon is Cork City Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. There is no majority on Cork City Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 9 of 31, short of 16.
| Turnout | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 58% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 46% | 45% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 5.1% of the total, between Co. Cork’s towns (7.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The Sites and Monuments Record holds 14 entries for the town. 109 of Mahon’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 4 rank of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 78 | 106 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 5.1% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
In 2023–2025, damage to property led the graded crimes in Mahon. Violent crime ran at 4.7 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Cork’s towns (6) and Irish towns (5.7). Also worth knowing: for its size, Mahon records less crime per resident than 64% of the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
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 | Mahon | Co. Cork | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | 19 | 10.2 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 4.7 | 6 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 5.7 | 4.8 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
109 of Mahon’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage; 4 rank of national or international importance. The national record lists 14 archaeological sites in and around the town.
58 notable people were born in Mahon.
James Cavanah Murphy: Engraver W. Newton, after Martin Archer Shee, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahon | 13,892 | — | C | C− | B− | C+ |
| Tivoli | 4,449 | 2.1 | B | B− | C | B |
| Ballinlough | 5,435 | 2.4 | B+ | D | C | A+ |
| Douglas | 22,029 | 2.7 | A+ | C− | A+ | A |
| Knockrea | 5,228 | 2.8 | B− | C− | D− | B+ |
| Montenotte | 4,113 | 2.9 | C | D | C | B− |
| Tramore | 4,803 | 3 | B− | C− | C | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Mahon had 13,892 people at the 2022 census, up from 13,275 in 2016: 4.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Mahon is 39.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Cork
Mahon has 13,892 people, in the area of Cork City Council. TownRatings splits Cork into neighbourhoods made from the CSO’s Electoral Divisions, named from Tailte Éireann’s gazetteer, so each has figures of its own.
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).