Carrowkeel’s story
Carrowkeel has 5 buildings on the National Inventory
The record adds 3 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 6%, against 3% across Irish towns.
- 1840House, Carrowkeel
- 1900The Curlew
- 1900Water pump, Carrowkeel
CarrowkeelCo. Donegal
In Co. Donegal, this town has 389 residents.
4 places within 19 kmMap →
Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
389
CSO, Census 2022 · Donegal County Council
Median age
41.2
21% are 65+ · Co. Donegal 16%
Degree level
28%
of residents 15+ · Irish towns 36%
Walk, cycle, transit
9%
of working residents · Irish towns 23%
Is Carrowkeel a good place to live?
The median home sold for €203,300, 4.9 times the town’s median household income. On the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take the bus or train. Homes here sold for a median €203,300 over 2023 to 2025. People aged 65 and over make up 21% of residents.
Irish towns are graded from 1,000 residents, which leaves Carrowkeel out for now.
What makes Carrowkeel stand out
The 3 things Carrowkeel does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
9% walk, cycle or ride
The median of Irish towns: 23%
CSO, Census 2022
Median sale price
Housing
45% below the median of Irish towns, €372,600
Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
21% are 65 or over
The median of Irish towns: 14%
CSO, Census 2022
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carrowkeel.
Schools
Pupil numbers around Carrowkeel moved −32% since 2019, below Co. Donegal’s towns and Irish towns
Within 3 km of Carrowkeel there are 2 schools (2 primary schools). DEIS, the support scheme, covers 100% of them, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (38%) and Irish towns (35%).
2schools within 3 km
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Ceathru Caol DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 53 | Catholic |
| Cranford N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 48 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −32% | +7% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 7% | 8% |
101
pupils at schools within 3 km, 2025/26
−32%
pupils since 2019/20 · Irish towns +4%
0.2 km
to the nearest primary school
5.6 km
to the nearest secondary school
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Natural hazards
More homes in Carrowkeel stand on ground prone to landslides than in Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 2.5%
Some 2.8% of homes in Carrowkeel are estimated to exceed the radon reference level. Low-lying near the coast: 5.4% of homes, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). The closest place to swim from Carrowkeel is Portsalon, 7 km away, rated good in 2025.
0%of homes in high-radon areas
Homes exposed · share of the town’s homes
Low-lying beside water5.4%
In high-radon areas0%
On high landslide susceptibility2.5%
Low-lying near a river0%
Low-lying near the coast5.4%
| Share of homes | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 2.5% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 5.4% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
7 km
to Portsalon bathing water (good)
279
homes mapped for these shares
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Climate
Hardly any Irish towns see fresher July days than Carrowkeel
January nights in Carrowkeel drop to 2.6°C on average. July afternoons reach 18.4°C here, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (18.6°C) and below Irish towns (19.9°C). Across the year, Carrowkeel averages 9.7°C.
18.4°CJuly afternoon high
Average afternoon highs by season · 1991–2020 averages
Winter8.3°C
Spring12.4°C
Summer17.9°C
Autumn13.4°C
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.4°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,360 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.7°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.6°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
18.4°C
July high
2.6°C
January low
1,360 mm
Rain a year
155 mm
Wettest month
6
Air frosts
1,348 hrs
Sunshine
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Health
For its ages, Carrowkeel reports less bad health than Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 94 per 100 expected
At the census, 86% of people in Carrowkeel called their health good or very good, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (86%) and below Irish towns (88%). Disability, age-adjusted: 101 for every 100 expected locally. Just over a third of people in the HSE West and North West health region hold a medical card. Unpaid caring falls to a tenth of the town’s residents.
86%good or very good health
Per 100 expected at the town’s ages · age-standardised
Bad health94
Disability101
Co. Donegal128
Expected100
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 86%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 2%
| Census 2022 | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 10% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% |
| With a disability | 23% | 25% | 22% |
94
bad health per 100 expected · Co. Donegal 128
101
disability per 100 expected · Co. Donegal 113
83.5 · 79.5
life expectancy, women · men, the Border region, 2016
34%
hold a medical card, HSE West and North West
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Housing
Social housing is more common in Carrowkeel than in Co. Donegal’s towns or across Irish towns, at 31% of households
8% of households rent privately. Home ownership stands at three in five households.
€203Kmedian sale price
Median sale price · Eircode area, 2023–2025
Carrowkeel€203K
Co. Donegal€181K
Irish towns€350K
| Housing | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 31% | 15% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 8% | 24% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €203K | €181K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 60% | 55% | 61% |
60%
own their home · Irish towns 61%
8%
rent privately · Irish towns 22%
€977
a month on new tenancies, County Donegal
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area F92, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Outdoors
More homes in Carrowkeel are a short walk from green space than in Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 100%
Protected sites cover 0.1% of the land within 5 km, below Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (1.8%) alike. The sea makes up 14% of the area within 5 km, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (8.7%) and Irish towns (0%). Within 5 km, 3 waymarked trails and greenways set out.
100%of homes near green space
Green space per 1,000 residents · per 1,000 residents
Carrowkeel2.7 ha
Co. Donegal2.2 ha
Irish towns4.1 ha
| Outdoors | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 100% | 54% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 14% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.1% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
100%
Near a park
2.7 ha
Green space
0 km
Footpaths
0.1%
Protected for nature
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Work & commute
More people in Carrowkeel worked from home than in Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 16%
Of working-age residents (15 to 64), 62% were employed at the census. Nearly one in ten commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (23%). Driving is how 75% of commuters got to work at the census.
9%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2022
Car or van75%
Walk8%
Bus1%
| Census 2022 | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 42% | 56% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 8.2% | 13% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 62% | 63% | 68% |
| Average trip | 24.1 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
€41,610
household income, 2022 estimate · Co. Donegal €42,497
16%
worked mainly from home, 2022
6%
trips of an hour or more
6,785
on the Live Register, County Donegal, September 2026
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.
Who lives here
2% of Carrowkeel speaks Irish every day outside school, more than Co. Donegal’s towns
Degrees are held by 28% of adults. 16% were born abroad, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (26%) and Irish towns (22%). Children under 15 count for nearly a fifth of the people here.
41.2median age
CarrowkeelCo. DonegalIreland
Ages · share of residents
21%
Highest education · residents 15 and older who have finished education
Primary or none18%
Lower secondary15%
Leaving Cert30%
Diploma or cert9%
Degree or higher28%
Women and men · all residents
Women make up 53.5% of Carrowkeel
208 women and 181 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 18% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 8.9% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 28% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Town hall
More people in Carrowkeel vote than in Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 63% turnout at the local elections
No party holds a majority on Donegal County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 10 of 37 seats, short of the 19 needed. Local government for Carrowkeel is Donegal County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. The town sits in the Milford local electoral area, which elects 3 councillors.
10/37seats held by Fianna Fáil
Seats on Donegal County · June 2024
Fianna Fáil10
Sinn Féin10
Independent9
100% Redress4
Fine Gael3
Labour Party1
| Turnout | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 63% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
3
Councillors
10/37
Fianna Fáil seats on Donegal County, the largest party
63%
turnout, June 2024
5
TDs elected for Donegal
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
History
Carrowkeel is dense with heritage: 129 inventory buildings per 10,000 residents, more than in both Co. Donegal’s towns and Irish towns
Its archaeology runs to 3 recorded sites. Homes from before 1919 make up 6% of the total, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 5 buildings in Carrowkeel, each of regional importance.
5inventory buildings
Buildings by NIAH rating · NIAH
International0
National0
Regional5
Among them
- House, Carrowkeel 1840
- House, Carrowkeel 1900
- The Curlew 1900
- Water pump, Carrowkeel 1900
3
sites on the Sites and Monuments Record
1840
earliest dated inventory building
6%
homes built before 1919 · Irish towns 3%
| Heritage | Carrowkeel | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 129 | 105 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 3 | 18 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Greenfort and 12 more within 40 km
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Carrowkeel; with them, the best known within 40 km.
GardenGardenGreenfort100 m outside town, to the southeast
National parkGlenveagh National Park28 km southwest
Castle · Office of Public WorksDoe Castle13 km west
MuseumFort Dunree Military Museum9.8 km northeast
CastleGlenveagh Castle22 km southwest
CastleBurt Castle17 km southeast
National parkGlenveagh National Park28 km southwestCastle · Office of Public WorksDoe Castle13 km westMuseumFort Dunree Military Museum9.8 km northeastCastleGlenveagh Castle22 km southwestCastleBurt Castle17 km southeastPlaces: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0) · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- Glenveagh National Park: Patrice78500, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Doe Castle: Original uploaded by Brendandh (Transfered by Lvova ), CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Fort Dunree Military Museum: Irishhistoricalgamer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Glenveagh Castle: Chris Gunns, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Burt Castle: Kenneth Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Carrowkeel
15pages on Carrowkeel
Landmarks
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 5 buildings in Carrowkeel, each of regional importance. Archaeologists have recorded 3 sites here.
Famous people from around Carrowkeel
No notable person born in Carrowkeel is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
W
William C. CampbellIrish biochemist · born in Ramelton · born 1930A
Amber BarrettIrish association football player (1996… · born in MilfordD
Dave GallaherNew Zealand rugby union footballer (187… · born in RameltonF
Frank McGuinnessIrish writer (born 1953) · born in BuncranaE
Edward GwynnGaelic scholar · born in Ramelton · 1868–1941W
William HayNorthern Ireland politician (born 1950) · born in MilfordCarrowkeel’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
MilfordRameltonBuncranaNewtowncunninghamCarrowkeel
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrowkeel | 389 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Milford | 1,076 | 5.3 | — | A | C | B− |
| Ramelton | 1,288 | 11 | — | B− | A− | B |
| Buncrana | 6,971 | 14 | C+ | A | C− | B− |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 19 | — | A− | A | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Carrowkeel
Is Carrowkeel a young town or an old one?
The median age in Carrowkeel is 41.2, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Has Carrowkeel grown?
Carrowkeel had 389 people at the 2022 census, up from 367 in 2016: 6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
About Carrowkeel
Urban area in Co. Donegal
Carrowkeel has 389 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)
- Population
- 389 (CSO, Census 2022)
- County
- Donegal
- Council
- Donegal County Council
- Local electoral area
- Milford
- Dáil constituency
- Donegal
- Name in Irish
- An Cheathrú Chaol
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)
- CSO code
- UA:33088
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).