Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
352 residents make their home in this town in Co. Donegal.
A typical home sold for €191,400, or 4.8 years of the town’s median household income. Walking, cycling and public transport carry just over one in ten commuters. People aged 65 and over make up 27% of residents.
Dunkineely isn’t graded: grades for Irish towns begin at 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Dunkineely does most differently from other towns.
The register holds 5 buildings on the National Inventory in Dunkineely.
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dunkineely.
100% of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, above Co. Donegal’s towns (38%) and Irish towns (35%) alike. Within 3 km of Dunkineely there are 3 schools (3 primary schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Dun Ceannfhaolaidh DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 82 | Catholic |
| Bruckless N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 18 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −11% | +7% | +4% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 7% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
The nearest bathing water to Dunkineely is Fintra, 8.7 km away, rated excellent in 2025. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred here has radon above the reference level. Also worth knowing: 0.3% of homes stand on ground with high landslide susceptibility, in line with Co. Donegal’s towns (0.5%) and Irish towns (0%).
| Share of homes | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.3% | 0.5% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Dunkineely’s year-round mean comes to 9.7°C. A year brings 1,499 mm of rain, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (1,316 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm). The coldest nights come in January, when Dunkineely averages a low of 2.7°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.1°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,499 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.7°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.7°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Weighed against its ages, bad health in Dunkineely runs at 94 per 100 expected. At the census, nearly a third of people here had a disability, above Co. Donegal’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Asked at the census, 83% of residents of Dunkineely said they were in good or very good health. In the HSE West and North West health region, 34% of people hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 32% | 25% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 11% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| Good or very good health | 83% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Nearly a quarter of households rent from a council or housing body. Owners make up 64% of households, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (55%) and Irish towns (61%).
| Housing | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 8% | 24% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 24% | 15% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €191K | €181K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 64% | 55% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area F94, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Within 5 km, 42% is sea, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (8.7%) and Irish towns (0%). Protected sites cover 0.3% of the land within 5 km, below Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (1.8%) alike. Walkers have 2 waymarked trails and greenways starting within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 54% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 42% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.3% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Just over four in five commuters took the car to work at the census. Short trips: 41% under 15 minutes, between Co. Donegal’s towns (56%) and Irish towns (31%). Getting to work takes 22.6 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 8.1% | 13% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 41% | 56% | 31% |
| Average trip | 22.6 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €39,670 | €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.
Degrees are held by nearly a fifth of adults, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (29%) and Irish towns (36%). One measure of family life: 16% of residents are under 15. 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
51.4% of Dunkineely’s residents are women
181 women and 171 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 27% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 25% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 21% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.2% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 19% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Dunkineely is run by Donegal County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. No party holds a majority on Donegal County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 10 of 37 seats, short of the 19 needed. It sits in the Donegal local electoral area, which elects 6 councillors.
| Turnout | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
15.3% of its homes were built before 1919, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The ground here holds 2 recorded archaeological sites. 5 of Dunkineely’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Dunkineely | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 142 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 15.3% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 18 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Dunkineely; with it, the best known within 40 km.
Castle · Office of Public WorksDonegal Castle16 km east
CastleClassiebawn Castle21 km south
GardenLissadell House & Gardens35 km southwest
MuseumBallyshannon and District Museum18 km southeast
MuseumDonegal Railway Heritage Centre16 km eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 of Dunkineely’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 2 archaeological sites in and around the town.
No notable person born in Dunkineely is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Mark Farren: Johnfullerton at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Mary Coughlan: Irishdebunker at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkineely | 352 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Killybegs | 1,258 | 5.9 | — | A− | A− | B |
| Donegal | 2,749 | 16 | A− | B+ | B− | B |
| Ballyshannon | 2,246 | 17 | — | A− | C | C− |
| Bundoran | 2,599 | 18 | C | A− | C− | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Dunkineely is 46.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
6% mostly work from home, and 41% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Dunkineely had 352 people at the 2022 census, up from 350 in 2016: 0.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
352 people live in Dunkineely, 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).