Photo: P L Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0Holiday homes: 25%, a higher share than 99% of Irish towns
Where 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns, Greencastle has 2.1%. One in ten residents said they have no religion, fewer than in 92% of Irish towns. Census day 2022: 1,268 residents and 480 households here. Residents aged 15 to 24: 9.9% of the total.
What stands out about the people of Greencastle
One home in 4 is a holiday home
About 190 of 750 homes were empty holiday homes on Census night (25%), more than in 99% of Irish towns; 6.9% were vacant. Homes & cars ↓
Many carers
About 100 residents (8%) give regular unpaid care, more than in 99% of Irish towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Greencastle’s residents are under 41.5 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 16% are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
From 2016 to 2022, 78% of Irish towns grew faster than Greencastle: +3%
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, half of towns changed by more than +8%; across Co. Donegal’s towns, by more than +6%.
Greencastle is older than 87% of Irish towns: a median age of 41.5
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 10–14 than any other five-year age: 8.5% of residents. 16% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 69% of Irish towns. In Donegal, the oldest of Co. Donegal’s towns by this measure, it is 21%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
Greencastle ranks below 95% of Irish towns on students among residents 15 and over: 7.8%
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
Workers here lean to skilled trades: 20%, against a typical 11%. By way of comparison, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns. The census found that 5.8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Greencastle.
A larger share of households of parents with children than 61% of Irish towns: 45%
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.
Just over a quarter of households are one person living alone (Ireland’s towns: 24%). Against that, 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns. On average, 2.6 people share a household.
Households in flats make up 5.2% in Greencastle, less than in 87% 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
Across Ireland’s towns, 17% of households have no car or van; in Greencastle, 7.6%. For households in flats, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 12%.
The middle household earns €33,340 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 €33,340 a year here, 45% below Ireland (€60,120). Countywide in Co. Donegal, the median is €42,500.
Only 4.9% of residents are citizens of another country in Greencastle
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 35%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 35%
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.
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the UK (23%) and outside the EU and UK (2.3%). At 27%, the share of residents born outside Ireland is higher than in 69% of Irish towns. Measured more widely, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns.
Greencastle sits above 91% of Irish towns for daily speakers of Irish outside education (2%)
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
In all, 388 residents aged 3 and over (33%) can speak Irish. To put it in context, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White Irish make up 94% in Greencastle, more than in 99% of Irish towns
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 Greencastle · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 71% across Ireland’s towns, 83% of residents said they are Catholic in Greencastle. Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (5.1%), Asian or Asian Irish (0.9%) and Irish Traveller (0.1%). For comparison, 78% of residents describe themselves as White Irish across Ireland’s towns.
In Greencastle, 44% of residents 15 and over are married, more than in 97% of Irish towns
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.
8% of residents give unpaid care (Ireland’s towns: 5.4%). As a reference point, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
A higher share of adults with a degree or higher than 53% of Irish towns, at 37%
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 14% of adults; primary level or less for 11% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Across the comparison, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Of the 2 towns nearest Greencastle, 1 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greencastle | 1,268 | — | 41.5 | 16% | 45% |
| Moville | 1,390 | 3.1 km | 44.8 | 24% | 37% |
| Carndonagh | 2,768 | 18.0 km | 37.4 | 16% | 45% |
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 Greencastle’s residents
What is the population of Greencastle?
Greencastle had 1,268 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Greencastle?
The median age is 41.5. 26% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Greencastle?
33% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (388 people), and 2% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Greencastle?
94% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 27% were born abroad and 4.9% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Greencastle?
83% are Catholic, 10% have no religion and 6.3% another religion; 4.3% didn’t say.
Is Greencastle good for families?
45% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 26% of residents are under 18. Schools near Greencastle are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Greencastle?
Median gross household income in Greencastle was €33,340 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).