A median age of 46.3: Dunkineely is older than 99% of Irish towns
Set against 78% across Ireland’s towns, 94% of residents describe themselves as White Irish in Dunkineely. Holiday homes account for 7.6%. The town has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 95% of Irish towns, at 2%. The 2022 Census counted 352 residents in 150 households.
+1% since 2016, a pace below 90% of Irish towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Across Ireland’s towns, the typical town changed +8%; across Co. Donegal’s towns, +6%.
In Dunkineely, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 10–14, with 8.8% of residents. Lower than in 73% of Irish towns: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 3.5% in Dunkineely, less than in 97% of Irish towns
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
In Dunkineely, the professional, managerial and technical classes take in 22% of residents and the semi-skilled and unskilled classes 32%, against 34% and 15% across Ireland’s towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 7.5%.
A larger share of one-person households than 98% of Irish towns: 38%
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Set against 43% across Ireland’s towns, 36% of households are parents with children in Dunkineely. One-person households make up 24% across Ireland’s towns.
Households in flats make up 5.3% in Dunkineely, less than in 86% of Irish towns
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns, against 13% in Dunkineely. Typically, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns.
Household income, middle of the range: €39,670 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Gross household income has a median of €39,670 a year here, 34% below Ireland (€60,120). For Co. Donegal as a whole, the figure is €42,500.
A smaller share of residents born outside Ireland than 97% of Irish towns: 10%
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
3.8% are citizens of another country (Ireland’s towns 15%). The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the UK (8.7%) and elsewhere in the EU (0.9%). Residents born outside Ireland: 22% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.5%, a higher share than 77% of Irish towns
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
Top of Co. Donegal: Letterkenny, at 2.6%. On average, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 99% of Irish towns: 4.9%
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 94% of Dunkineely · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who said they are Catholic (84%), Dunkineely is above 97% of Irish towns. Set beside that, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Other than White Irish, most residents describe themselves as Other White (3.2%), Irish Traveller (1.2%) and Asian or Asian Irish (0.6%).
More unpaid carers than 99% of Irish towns: 11%
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
36% of residents 15 and over are married; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 34%. Elsewhere, 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
Only 19% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher in Dunkineely
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
A postgraduate qualification is the highest level for 4.4% of adults; primary level or less for 25% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). For comparison, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Every neighbour of Dunkineely has a younger population
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkineely | 352 | — | 46.3 | 27% | 36% |
| Killybegs | 1,258 | 5.9 km | 46.2 | 26% | 39% |
| Donegal | 2,749 | 16.0 km | 41.2 | 21% | 37% |
| Ballyshannon | 2,246 | 17.4 km | 45 | 25% | 35% |
| Bundoran | 2,599 | 17.8 km | 38.4 | 16% | 36% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Donegal’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Donegal’s towns of 2,500 or more and over the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
Questions about Dunkineely’s residents
What is the population of Dunkineely?
Dunkineely had 352 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, about the same as 2016.
What is the average age in Dunkineely?
The median age is 46.3. 21% are under 18 and 27% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Dunkineely?
32% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (108 people), and 1.5% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Dunkineely?
94% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 10% were born abroad and 3.8% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Dunkineely?
84% are Catholic, 4.9% have no religion and 11% another religion; 2% didn’t say.
Is Dunkineely good for families?
36% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 21% of residents are under 18. Schools near Dunkineely are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Dunkineely?
Median gross household income in Dunkineely was €39,670 in 2022, against €42,500 across Co. Donegal and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022. 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).