Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 749 people live in this town, in Co. Donegal.
At a median €156,200, a home costs 3.8 times the town’s median household income. 57% of residents speak Irish every day outside school. Walking, cycling and public transport carry just over one in ten commuters. The median home sold for €203,300 from 2023 to 2025.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, An Bun Beag falls below the line for grades among Irish towns.
The 3 things An Bun Beag does most differently from other towns.
Homes built before 1919: 6%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in An Bun Beag.
Families in An Bun Beag have 6 schools within 3 km to choose from: 5 primary schools and 1 secondary school. 100% of the schools teach through Irish, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). The nearest secondary, Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair, is 3.3 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Adhamhnain Gaeltacht schoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 131 | Catholic |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair Gaeltacht schoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 414 | Inter-denominational |
| S.N. Chonaill Gaeltacht schoolTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 107 | Catholic |
| Scoil Phadraig Gaeltacht schoolIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 103 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 100% | 7% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −5% | +7% | +4% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Portarthur, Derrybeg, 4 km from An Bun Beag, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Low-lying near a river: 2.6% of homes, below Co. Donegal’s towns (4.2%) but above Irish towns (0.5%). By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred in the town has radon above the reference level.
| Share of homes | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 5.8% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 2.6% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The annual mean in An Bun Beag is 9.8°C. 1,474 mm of rain falls in a year, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (1,316 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm). Midwinter nights in An Bun Beag bottom out at 3.1°C on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 17.6°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,474 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.1°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Allowing for its ages, An Bun Beag has 80 residents in bad health per 100 expected, below Co. Donegal’s towns (128) and Irish towns (113) alike. Family carers: 7.6% of the people in An Bun Beag look after someone without pay. Also worth knowing: 34% of people in the HSE West and North West health region hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7.6% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 22% | 25% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
2% of households live in social housing. Renting privately is how 20% of households live.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €157,000 | 49 |
| Housing | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 2% | 15% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 73% | 55% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €156K | €181K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 20% | 24% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Its paths and tracks come to 0.2 km per km², about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (0.4 km per km²) and below Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). For 47% of homes, green space is under 400 m away. 8 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 27% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 47% | 54% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 24% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.5% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Over the coming week, 5 of 6 days look dry. An Bun Beag’s averages for November set the scene: the usual high is 10°C, the usual low 5°C. Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 26 km/h and a low of 8°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 3°C | 430 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 6°C | 269 mm |
| Summer | 17°C | 11°C | 340 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 8°C | 435 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 70% at the census. The average trip to work took 19 min, lower than both Co. Donegal’s towns (20.9 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min).
| Census 2022 | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 62% | 56% | 31% |
| Average trip | 19 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 70% | 63% | 68% |
| Median household income | €41,480 | €39,838 | €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.
23% of residents are 65 or over, above Co. Donegal’s towns (16%) and Irish towns (14%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.5% of the population. Children under 15 make up 17% of residents.
Women make up 48.9% of An Bun Beag
366 women and 383 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 14% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 33% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.5% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 31% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
54% of voters turned out at the last local elections, close to Co. Donegal’s towns (53%) and above Irish towns (46%). There is just one council for An Bun Beag, Donegal County Council: Ireland has only one tier of local government. In the Dáil, An Bun Beag is part of Donegal, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
5.9% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 5 buildings in An Bun Beag, each of regional importance.
| Heritage | An Bun Beag | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 67 | 105 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 0 | 18 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 5.9% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of An Bun Beag; these are the best known within 40 km.
National parkGlenveagh National Park16 km east
Castle · Office of Public WorksDoe Castle28 km east
CastleGlenveagh Castle21 km east
Historic houseGlebe House and Gallery26 km east
MuseumDonegal County Museum38 km eastCathedralCathedralCathedral of St. Eunan and St. Columba38 km eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 5 buildings in An Bun Beag, each of regional importance.
No notable person born in An Bun Beag is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An Bun Beag | 749 | — | — | — | — | — |
| An Clochán Liath | 1,247 | 14 | — | B+ | C | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
79% of working residents drive to work and 11% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%).
An Bun Beag had 749 people at the 2022 census, up from 725 in 2016: 3.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in An Bun Beag is 45.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
An Bun Beag has 749 people, in the area of Donegal 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).