Photo: Malcolm Neal · CC BY-SA 2.096% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, a share 99% of Irish towns don’t reach
In Muff, 5.1% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 12% across Ireland’s towns. Still, with a median age of 40.4, Muff is older than four fifths of Irish towns. 1,418 residents in 526 households: that is Muff at the 2022 Census. Here, 28% of households are one person living alone.
What stands out about the people of Muff
More born abroad than most towns
58% of residents were born abroad, against 26% across Co. Donegal’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born in the UK (55%) and outside the EU and UK (2.1%); 5.4% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Since 2016, Muff has changed by +3%, slower than 79% 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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +6% across Co. Donegal’s towns.
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 74% of Irish towns: 11%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
Muff sits close to the norm on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, about the same as across Ireland’s towns. Set beside that, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Donegal 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 86% of Irish towns, at 4.8%
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: 15%, against a typical 11%. Measured more widely, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
A smaller share of shared households of unrelated adults than 78% of Irish towns: 3.2%
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.
With households of parents with children at 44%, Muff is ahead of 58% of Irish towns on that count. As a reference point, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns. On average, 2.6 people share a household.
Fewer car-free households than 67% of Irish towns: 13%
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
The share of households with broadband is 87%; 5.8% have no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). Across Ireland’s towns, households without a car or van come to 17%. 1.3% of homes are holiday homes.
The middle household earns €30,330 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
€30,330 a year before tax puts the median household 50% below Ireland (€60,120). Co. Donegal comes in at €42,500 at the median.
In Muff, 58% of residents were born outside Ireland, more than in 99% of Irish towns
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 70%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 70%
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.
Most residents from abroad were born in the UK (55%) or outside the EU and UK (2.1%). To put it in context, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Lower than in 98% of Irish towns: 5.4% of residents are citizens of another country.
1.6% of Muff’s residents use Irish every day outside education
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
Some 286 people here, 23% of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish. The wider picture: 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns. In Co. Donegal, Letterkenny has the highest share (2.6%).
7.5% said they have no religion, fewer 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: 96% of Muff · Co. Donegal’s towns 83% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Where 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns, Muff has 90%. As a yardstick, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (2.6%), Other, including mixed (1.1%) and Asian or Asian Irish (0.6%).
Married residents 15 and over: 40%, a higher share than 91% 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.
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 5.7%, from the figure across Ireland’s towns. For comparison, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
36% of adults have a degree or higher
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 12% of adults; primary level or less for 14% (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). On adults with a degree or higher, Muff sits lower than 50% of Irish towns: 36%.
No nearby town is as old as Muff
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muff | 1,418 | — | 40.4 | 11% | 44% |
| Buncrana | 6,971 | 13.5 km | 39.8 | 16% | 47% |
| Newtowncunningham | 1,192 | 16.9 km | 36.1 | 12% | 55% |
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 Muff’s residents
What is the population of Muff?
Muff had 1,418 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Muff?
The median age is 40.4. 27% are under 18 and 11% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Muff?
23% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (286 people), and 1.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Muff?
96% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 58% were born abroad and 5.4% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Muff?
90% are Catholic, 7.5% have no religion and 2.3% another religion; 9.3% didn’t say.
Is Muff good for families?
44% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 27% of residents are under 18. Schools near Muff are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Muff?
Median gross household income in Muff was €30,330 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).