Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 589: a town in Co. Donegal.
Half the homes sold for more than €165,200, a price of 4.2 times what the median household earns. 4% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Its architectural heritage runs to 18 buildings on the national inventory.
Fahan is too small to grade: Irish towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Fahan does most differently from other towns.
12 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
6% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Fahan.
Fahan’s nearest bathing water is Lisfannon, 1.4 km away, rated good in 2025. Radon is rarely a worry locally: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level. Next to none of its homes lie low beside a river or the sea.
| Share of homes | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 19% | 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.
Across the year it averages 9.5°C, close to Co. Donegal’s towns (9.7°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). The warmest afternoons come in July, at around 18.4°C in Fahan. A year brings 1,235 mm of rain to Fahan.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.4°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.5°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 2.2°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,235 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
For its ages, Fahan has 75 people in bad health for every 100 expected, lower than both Co. Donegal’s towns (128) and Irish towns (113). 7.5% of residents in Fahan care, unpaid, for a relative or friend. Asked at the census, 87% of residents of Fahan said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2022 | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 7.5% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 88% |
| With a disability | 24% | 25% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
| Housing | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 1% | 15% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 78% | 55% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €165K | €181K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 24% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area F93, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Woodland covers 1.3% of the land within 1 km, lower than both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Protected nature near Fahan includes Lough Swilly SAC.
| Outdoors | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 54% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 31% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 30% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.3% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Little rain is due later in the week: 5 of the next 6 days stay dry. Long-term averages for Fahan put November days at 10°C and November nights at 4°C. A quiet day is due today: no rain, a light wind peaking at 13 km/h, and 3°C overnight.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 367 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 5°C | 239 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 288 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 7°C | 342 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The car carried 78% of commuters at the census. Working mainly from home: 18% of workers, higher than both Co. Donegal’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (11%). 8% of people in the labour force have no job.
| Census 2022 | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 8% | 13% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 42% | 56% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 69% | 63% | 68% |
| Average trip | 22 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
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.
38% of residents have a birthplace overseas. Children under 15 make up 17%, below Co. Donegal’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (20%) alike. Among adults, 44% have a degree.
53.5% of Fahan’s residents are women
315 women and 274 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 27% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 11% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 13% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 26% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.3% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 44% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Donegal County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 10 of its 37 seats, short of the 19 needed. Fahan answers to one council, Donegal County Council; Ireland has no town tier. At the last local elections, 52% of voters went to the polls.
| Turnout | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
6.4% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (4.7%) and Irish towns (3.4%). 12 archaeological sites are on the record, below Co. Donegal’s towns (18) but above Irish towns (11).
| Heritage | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 306 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 6.4% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Fahan have one school within 3 km. 189 pupils attend the one school within 3 km of the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Muras N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 189 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Fahan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −12% | +7% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 38% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 7% | 8% |
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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Fahan. Best known first.
Fahan’s built heritage counts 18 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 12 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
2 notable people were born in Fahan; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Fahan had 589 people at the 2022 census, down from 612 in 2016: 3.8% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
The median age in Fahan is 47, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
589 people live in Fahan, 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).