Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 95% of Irish towns: half of Laghy is over 43.6
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of holiday homes is 0.2%; Laghy has 14%. Its 75 households held 176 residents at the 2022 Census. Census figures put one-person households at 31% in the town. Residents who describe themselves as White Irish are more common here than in 99% of Irish towns.
+1% since 2016, a pace below 88% 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.
Medians for comparison: +8% across Ireland’s towns; +6% across Co. Donegal’s towns.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 6.8%, a lower share than 99% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns. 21% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of Irish towns.
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%.
Laghy ranks below 99% of Irish towns on students among residents 15 and over: 6.3%
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
Compared with 7.5% across Ireland’s towns, 3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier here. On average, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
Laghy households average 2.4 people, smaller than in 86% of Irish towns
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.
In Laghy, nearly two in five households are parents with children, beside 43% across Ireland’s towns. On the census count, 6.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Below 65% of Irish towns: 14% of households have no car or van
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
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns. For comparison, 17% of households have no car or van across Ireland’s towns. Internet at home: broadband for 87%, nothing for 12% (typical: 7.6%).
Median gross household income: €42,640 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Households here have a median gross income of €42,640, 29% lower than across Ireland (€60,120). That compares with €42,500 across Co. Donegal.
A smaller share of residents with another country’s citizenship than 97% of Irish towns: 6.1%
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.
With residents born outside Ireland at 15%, Laghy is behind 84% of Irish towns on that count. Most residents from abroad were born in the UK (12%) or in India (1.2%).
A smaller share of daily speakers of Irish outside education than 82% of Irish towns: 0.7%
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
The ability to speak Irish extends to 59 residents (39% of those aged 3 and over). As a yardstick, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
No religion: 9.6% of residents, a lower share than 95% 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: 95% of Laghy · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (3%), Asian or Asian Irish (1.2%) and Other, including mixed (1.2%). Residents with no religion: 17% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison. Few places have as many residents who said they are Catholic: 74% here, more than in 69% of Irish towns.
Unpaid carers: 10%, a higher share than 99% 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.
The share of married residents 15 and over tops 70% of Irish towns: 37%. Unpaid carers: 5.4% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Adults with a degree or higher: 30%, a lower share than 64% of Irish towns
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 13% of adults; primary level or less for 19% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Adults with a degree or higher: 36% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Nearby, 1 of 2 towns have older populations than Laghy
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laghy | 176 | — | 43.6 | 21% | 39% |
| Donegal | 2,749 | 4.1 km | 41.2 | 21% | 37% |
| Ballyshannon | 2,246 | 14.3 km | 45 | 25% | 35% |
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 Laghy’s residents
What is the population of Laghy?
Laghy had 176 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 1% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Laghy?
The median age is 43.6. 19% are under 18 and 21% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Laghy?
39% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (59 people), and 0.7% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Laghy?
95% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 15% were born abroad and 6.1% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Laghy?
74% are Catholic, 9.6% have no religion and 16% another religion; 5.1% didn’t say.
Is Laghy good for families?
39% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 19% of residents are under 18. Schools near Laghy are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Laghy?
Median gross household income in Laghy was €42,640 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).