Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The neighbourhood, home to 22,321 people, lies in Dublin.
A town of contrasts. Safety lags: 10.2 violent crimes and 12.7 burglaries and acts of criminal damage recorded per 1,000 residents a year. Work and incomes lag (D): unemployment is 16%, and 63% of 15 to 64s have a job. Walkability is its strong suit — on the way to work, 40% walk, cycle or take the bus or train, where the typical Irish town has 23%. Buying a home costs less than in most towns (B+): home prices sit at a median €270,000, which is 5.1 years of the town’s median household income. The overall grade lands at C−, #87 of 116 in Co. Dublin. It comes out better than 24% of Irish towns.
Figures: commuting and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025.
The 3 things Ballymun does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Ballymun with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
6 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
0% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Ballymun. Best known first.
Big drawZooDublin Zoo4 km outside town, to the southwest · 1.3M visitors a year (2022)
Castle · Office of Public WorksPhoenix Park Visitor Centre - Ashtown Castle4 km outside town, to the southwest
CathedralSt. Mary's Cathedral4.3 km outside town, to the south
Garden · Office of Public WorksNational Botanic Gardens2 km outside town, to the south
MuseumNational Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks4.6 km outside town, to the south · 314K visitors a year
Art galleryHugh Lane Gallery3.9 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ballymun.
21% of trips took under 15 minutes, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (31%). Home was the main workplace for 7.7% of workers at the census. The average household earns €53,160 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 16% | 7.3% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 71% | 68% |
| Median household income | €53,160 | €72,780 | €57,760 |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 21% | 23% | 31% |
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.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more incidents per resident: they are counted where they happen, not where victims live.
Every kind together came to 83.3 per 1,000 residents a year, above Co. Dublin’s towns (59.2) and Irish towns (54.3) alike. Among the 118 Irish towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Ballymun has more crime per resident than 91% of them.
Not in the gradeTheft, public order and offences found by Garda checks (drugs, road traffic, dangerous acts) are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence, burglary and damage.
| Per 1,000 a year | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 12.7 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 10.2 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 83.3 | 59.2 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 20.1 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Trinity Comprehensive School is the nearest secondary school, 0.9 km away. 10% of the schools teach through Irish, above Co. Dublin’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%) alike. Within 3 km of Ballymun there are 93 schools (62 primary schools, 23 secondary schools and 8 special schools).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Fiachras Sen N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 609 | Catholic |
| Clonturk CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 968 | Multi-denominational |
| Scoil Chaitriona GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 523 | Catholic |
| St Mary's Secondary School DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 830 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 58% | 40% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 52% | 40% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 10% | 7% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
In Ballymun, an estimated 2.1% of homes exceed the radon reference level. The nearest bathing water to Ballymun is Dollymount Strand, 9 km away, rated good in 2025. The ground under Ballymun carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 0% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
3.2% of residents report bad or very bad health. At the census, 85% of people in Ballymun called their health good or very good, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (89%) and Irish towns (88%). Ages taken into account, Ballymun counts 103 people with a disability for every 100 predicted.
| Census 2022 | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 3.2% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 85% | 89% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.8% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
43% of households own their home. Private renters make up 16% of households, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%). Ballymun is the second cheapest of the 116 towns in Co. Dublin, at €270,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €267,000 | 195 |
| The last 12 months | €290,000 | 71 |
| Housing | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 41% | 10% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 43% | 66% | 61% |
| Median sale price | €270K | €454K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 16% | 20% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Across the year it averages 10.2°C, near both Co. Dublin’s towns (10.3°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). The coldest nights come in January, when Ballymun averages a low of 2.7°C. November is the wettest month here, with 86 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.7°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 797 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.8°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.2°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Green space in Ballymun adds up to 94 ha, across 7 parks. Within 400 m of green space: 97% of homes. The sea makes up 0.6% of the area within 5 km, below Co. Dublin’s towns (4%) but above Irish towns (0%).
| Outdoors | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 6.5 km per km² | 5.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 97% | 100% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Today brings about 1 mm of rain and a breeze of up to 25 km/h; the low is 10°C. Tuesday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 8 mm of rain. Usually, November days warm to 11°C and nights cool to 5°C; Ballymun’s forecast is read against that.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 193 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 167 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 205 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 232 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Born abroad: 19% of residents, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (22%). Those aged 15 to 24 account for 15% of residents. The under-15s are 17% of the population here.
51.7% of Ballymun’s residents are women
11,544 women and 10,777 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 30% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 18% | 8.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 19% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.8% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
At the last local elections, 42% of voters went to the polls. Local government for Ballymun is Dublin City Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. 57% of voters cast a ballot at the general election. Fine Gael lead Dublin City Council with 11 of 63 seats, but no party has a majority: 32 are needed.
| Turnout | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 42% | 42% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 57% | 57% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Relative to its size, Ballymun keeps 2 buildings on the inventory per 10,000 residents, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (10) and Irish towns (48). 0.2% of homes were built before 1919. There are 6 entries on the national archaeological record here.
| Heritage | Ballymun | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 2 | 10 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.2% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Ballymun’s built heritage counts 4 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 6 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
3 notable people were born in Ballymun.
John Lyons: Flickr user " William Murphy ", CC BY-SA 2.0 · Noel Rock: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 4.0 · Dessie Ellis: Domer48 ( Uploads ), Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymun | 22,321 | — | C− | B+ | D | C |
| Dubber | 7,941 | 1.6 | B− | B | D | B+ |
| Ballygall | 11,704 | 1.7 | B− | B− | D | C+ |
| Santry | 6,710 | 1.9 | C+ | C | C− | B |
| Whitehall | 13,675 | 2 | B− | C− | C− | B+ |
| Finglas North | 9,805 | 2.1 | C− | B | C− | D |
| Finglas South | 12,475 | 2.8 | C− | B | C− | D |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
52% of working residents drive to work and 40% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%). 8% mostly work from home, and 21% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Ballymun had 22,321 people at the 2022 census, up from 21,626 in 2016: 3.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Ballymun is 36.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 17% of residents are under 15 and 13% are 65 or over.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
Ballymun has 22,321 people, in the area of Dublin City Council. TownRatings splits Dublin into neighbourhoods made from the CSO’s Electoral Divisions, named from Tailte Éireann’s gazetteer, so each has figures of its own.
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) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). 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).