Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
It is a town of 601 residents in Co. Donegal.
Home prices sit at a median €203,300, which is 4.6 years of the town’s median household income. The car is not the only way to work here: just over one in ten commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. 13% of residents speak Irish every day outside school.
Irish towns are graded from 1,000 residents, which leaves Na Dúnaibh out for now.
The 3 things Na Dúnaibh does most differently from other towns.
2 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Na Dúnaibh.
Irish-medium schools make up 50%, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). 2 schools lie within 3 km of Na Dúnaibh: 2 primary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Eoin Baiste DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 136 | Catholic |
| S.N. Naomh Brid Gaeltacht schoolTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 66 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 50% | 7% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 38% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −5% | +7% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Low-lying near the coast: 2% of homes, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). The closest place to swim from Na Dúnaibh is Downings, 1.4 km away, rated excellent in 2025. Radon is rarely a worry in the town: under 1% of homes are estimated above the reference level.
| Share of homes | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 9.3% | 0.5% | 0% |
| Low-lying near the coast | 2% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 4.2% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Na Dúnaibh sees January nights of 3.0°C on average. Across the year it averages 9.7°C, about level with Co. Donegal’s towns (9.7°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). A year brings 1,236 mm of rain to Na Dúnaibh.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 17.7°C | 18.6°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,236 mm | 1,316 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.7°C | 9.7°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.0°C | 2.5°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
1.2% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, below Co. Donegal’s towns (2.4%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Weighed against its ages, bad health in Na Dúnaibh runs at 50 per 100 expected. In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card. A disability affects just over a fifth of people in the town.
| Census 2022 | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.2% | 2.4% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 6.8% | 5.8% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 21% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 86% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Private tenants account for 8% of households. 9% live in social housing, below Co. Donegal’s towns (15%) and Irish towns (13%) alike.
| Housing | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 76% | 55% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 8% | 24% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 9% | 15% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €203K | €181K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area F92, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Within 5 km, 52% is sea, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (8.7%) and Irish towns (0%). Among the protected sites near Na Dúnaibh is Horn Head to Fanad Head SPA. Green space in Na Dúnaibh works out at 4.8 ha per 1,000 people.
| Outdoors | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 54% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 25% | 4.7% | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 52% | 8.7% | 0% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.1% | 4.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 28 km/h and a low of 8°C. Over the coming week, highs run from 7°C to 11°C, with Friday the warmest. In November a normal day reaches 10°C and a normal night 5°C; the forecast for Na Dúnaibh below sets each day against them.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 3°C | 364 mm |
| Spring | 12°C | 5°C | 227 mm |
| Summer | 17°C | 11°C | 284 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 8°C | 361 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Getting to work takes 26.1 min on average. Short trips: 47% under 15 minutes, between Co. Donegal’s towns (56%) and Irish towns (31%). The unemployment rate comes to 9.6%.
| Census 2022 | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 71% | 63% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 47% | 56% | 31% |
| Average trip | 26.1 min | 20.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Median household income | €43,930 | €39,838 | €57,760 |
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.
Children under 15 make up 17%, below Co. Donegal’s towns (21%) and Irish towns (20%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for nearly a tenth of the town. Graduates make up 35% of adults.
51.9% of Na Dúnaibh’s residents are women
312 women and 289 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 33% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 22% | 16% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 12% | 14% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 34% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.4% | 6.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 35% | 29% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Donegal and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
No party holds a majority on Donegal County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 10 of 37 seats, short of the 19 needed. Local government for Na Dúnaibh is Donegal County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. This Co. Donegal town sits in the Milford local electoral area, which elects 3 councillors.
| Turnout | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 63% | 53% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 59% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
2 archaeological sites are on the record, below both Co. Donegal’s towns (18) and Irish towns (11). Scaled to its population, that is 17 inventory buildings for every 10,000 people in Na Dúnaibh. Homes built before 1919 account for nearly a tenth of the housing.
| Heritage | Na Dúnaibh | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 17 | 105 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 8.5% | 4.7% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 18 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Na Dúnaibh; with them, the best known within 40 km.
Castle · Office of Public WorksDoe Castle7.5 km south
National parkGlenveagh National Park25 km southwest
CastleGlenveagh Castle20 km southwest
MuseumFort Dunree Military Museum17 km east
CastleCarrickabraghy Castle31 km northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Na Dúnaibh | 601 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Milford | 1,076 | 14 | — | A | C | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
13.4% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 64% can speak it.
77% of working residents drive to work and 11% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%). 11% mostly work from home, and 47% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Na Dúnaibh had 601 people at the 2022 census, down from 609 in 2016: 1.3% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
The median age in Na Dúnaibh is 48.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Donegal
Na Dúnaibh has 601 people, 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).