First pick
Santry Demesne
Park or garden · 170 m outside town
35 ha7.7 km of path
1 h 45 minto walk all 7.7 km of path
1.7 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Darren J. Prior · CC BY-SA 4.097%near a park
Outdoors in Ballymun · parks, paths & countryside
Ballymun has more footpath per square kilometre than nearly 9 in 10 Irish towns
Footpaths add up to 97 km in the neighbourhood and the kilometre around it, 6.5 for every square kilometre. 4 waymarked trails start within 5 km of Ballymun, among them the National Famine Way and Royal Canal Way. Wicklow Mountains National Park begins 16 km away.
Near a park
97%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
4.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
97 km
6.5 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Woodland
2.6%
of the town and 1 km around it
Typical Irish town: 2.7%
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Ballymun?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
A neighbourhood of footpaths6.5 km of path per km², more than 87% of Irish towns. The typical town has 2.1.A park on every doorstep97% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Countryside close byWicklow Mountains National Park starts 16 km south.
Ballymun’s strongest suit is dense footpaths, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Ballymun compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
A park within a walk97%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
59out of 100
Public green space4.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
53out of 100
Footpaths6.5 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
87out of 100
Protected for nature0%of the land within 5 km
11out of 100
Woodland2.6%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
48out of 100
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Towns its size
Ballymun has the 10th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (18,239 to 27,351 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Esker (10.5 km per km²) to Portlaoise (0.6 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Ballymun6.5
Towns its size2.7
Co. Dublin towns5.4
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Ballymun4.2
Towns its size3.9
Co. Dublin towns7.6
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Ballymun97%
Towns its size95%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Ballymun stands out most for path per km²: only 9 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esker Dublin | 10.5 | 2.1% | 0.1% | – |
| 2 | Old Bawn Dublin | 8.5 | 3% | 1.8% | – |
| 3 | Dolphins Barn Dublin | 8.4 | 2.9% | 0% | – |
| 4 | Stoneybatter Dublin | 7.5 | 1.6% | 0% | – |
| 5 | The Liberties Dublin | 7.4 | 0.5% | 0% | – |
| 6 | Carpenterstown Dublin | 7.3 | 11% | 0% | – |
| 7 | Blanchardstown Dublin | 7 | 3.8% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Lucan Dublin | 6.8 | 7.3% | 0.2% | – |
| 9 | Mulhuddart Dublin | 6.6 | 4% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Ballymun Dublin | 6.5 | 2.6% | 0% | – |
| 11 | Clonsilla Dublin | 6.4 | 3% | 0.1% | – |
| 12 | Jobstown Dublin | 6.3 | 1.9% | 2.2% | – |
| 13 | Rathmines West Dublin | 6 | 1.7% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| 14 | Crumlin Dublin | 5.4 | 0.8% | 0% | – |
| 15 | Clondalkin Dublin | 4.6 | 3.3% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Stepaside Dublin | 4.3 | 15% | 6.4% | 5.9% |
| 17 | Sandymount Dublin | 3.6 | 1.2% | 3.6% | 35% |
| 18 | Clontarf East Dublin | 3.1 | 3% | 6.1% | 38% |
| 19 | Kilkenny Kilkenny | 3.1 | 3.8% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Beaumont Dublin | 2.9 | 2% | 3.4% | 9.7% |
| 21 | Celbridge Kildare | 2.4 | 6.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 22 | Malahide Dublin | 2.4 | 3.4% | 2.1% | 32% |
| 23 | Greystones-Delgany Wicklow | 2.2 | 11% | 5% | 35% |
| 24 | Balbriggan Dublin | 2.1 | 1.6% | 0% | 37% |
| 25 | Naas Kildare | 1.9 | 1.4% | 0% | – |
| 26 | Douglas Cork | 1.7 | 4.6% | 5% | – |
| 27 | Knocknacarra Galway | 1.6 | 3.4% | 32% | 34% |
| 28 | Ballincollig Cork | 1.3 | 8.4% | 0% | – |
| 29 | Athlone Westmeath | 1.3 | 6.1% | 14% | – |
| 30 | Sligo Sligo | 1.2 | 6.1% | 9.5% | 18% |
| 31 | Tralee Kerry | 1.1 | 2.4% | 21% | 6.4% |
| 32 | Clonmel Tipperary | 1.1 | 14% | 3.9% | – |
| 33 | Wexford Wexford | 1.1 | 3.8% | 13% | 22% |
| 34 | Dooradoyle Limerick | 1 | 2.6% | 7.7% | – |
| 35 | Carlow Carlow | 0.9 | 1.3% | 2% | – |
| 36 | Carrigaline Cork | 0.9 | 6.5% | 0.2% | 6.7% |
| 37 | Mullingar Westmeath | 0.8 | 8.9% | 3.3% | – |
| 38 | Letterkenny Donegal | 0.7 | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.3% |
| 39 | Newbridge Kildare | 0.6 | 1.6% | 4.9% | – |
| 40 | Portlaoise Laois | 0.6 | 2.6% | 1.1% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Ballymun’s neighbourhood.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Ballymun
The biggest is Santry Demesne, 35 ha (86 acres).
All 7 named parks and woods by size: 70 ha (174 acres) and 16 km of path
Parks & gardens 70 ha
The two biggest, Santry Demesne and Poppintree Park, are 76% of the named green space and carry 13 km of path between them. 3 of the 7 are under 2 ha.
Poppintree Park
Park or garden
19 ha5 km of path
1 h 5 minto walk all 5 km of path
0.7 km westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Johnstown Park
Park or garden · 400 m outside town
12 ha1.6 km of path
20 minto walk all 1.6 km of path
1.5 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Balcurris Park
Park or garden
3.4 ha1 km of path
15 minto walk all 1 km of path
Centralin the middle of Ballymun
Directionsto a point inside
Santry Community Garden
Park or garden · 340 m outside town
1.2 ha0.9 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.9 km of path
1.5 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Muck & Magic Community Garden
Park or garden
0.2 ha
0.6 km eastfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Almost everyone in Ballymun lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
Within 400 m (97%)Further (3.3%)
Ballymun97%
Co. Dublin towns100%
Typical Irish town92%
About 1,000 people live further than that. Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA is the nearest protected area, 3.8 km away
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
Inside Ballymun0%
Within 5 km0%
Co. Dublin towns0.2%
Typical Irish town1.8%
One protected site lies within 5 km of Ballymun. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 22 km² · 3.8 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Wicklow Mountains National Park is 16 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park
16 km south223 km²
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
Footpaths and woods
Footpaths and woods in and around Ballymun
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Footpaths
97 km
over 15 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
2.6%
about 0.4 km² of mapped woods
Registered trails
4
walking trails within 5 km
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
BallymunCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths6.5
048 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
BallymunCo. Dublin townsTypical Irish town
Woodland2.6%
0%50%100%
Ballymun has more footpath per km² than 87% of Irish towns and less woodland than 52% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
4 waymarked trails start near Ballymun
97 km of footpaths are mapped in Ballymun and the kilometre around it, 6.5 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
Long-distance wayGreenway
National Famine Way168.6 km
Royal Canal Way146.3 km
Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock8.9 km
Royal Canal Greenway Walking Trail121.4 km
One cycling or paddling trail also starts within 5 km.
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ballymun: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.9 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 64 | 54 | 54 | 55 | 58 | 67 | 64 | 74 | 66 | 80 | 86 | 75 |
February is the driest month (54 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 20 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 86 mm of rain falls in November, the wettest month. The climate in Ballymun →
Things to do
1 viewpoint and 29 playgrounds
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 1
The Mound1.9 km from town
DirectionsPlaygrounds 29
Plus 29 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks 1
Plus 1 dog park without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
2 gardens and nature sites to visit near Ballymun
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
National Botanic GardensGarden · 2.0 km from town
Its pageSaint Stephen's GreenGarden · 5.8 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Ballymun
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
DubberBallygallSantryWhitehallFinglas NorthFinglas SouthBallymun
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballymun | 97% | 4.2 | 6.5 | 0% |
| Dubber 1.6 km | 100% | 8.8 | 5.7 | 0% |
| Ballygall 1.7 km | 100% | 9.9 | 6.3 | 0% |
| Santry 1.9 km | 100% | 11.0 | 4.4 | 0% |
| Whitehall 2.0 km | 98% | 7.2 | 5.6 | 0.3% |
| Finglas North 2.1 km | 98% | 4.4 | 4.2 | 0% |
| Finglas South 2.8 km | 100% | 7.3 | 5.6 | 0% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Ballymun. Dubber, Ballygall and Santry have at least twice Ballymun’s green space per resident.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Ballymun
What is the biggest park in Ballymun?
Santry Demesne, 35 ha (86 acres), just outside the built-up area. Poppintree Park (19 ha) is second. 7 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Ballymun?
One protected site lies within 5 km, though it covers under 1% of the land. The nearest is South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary SPA, 3.8 km from the edge of town.
What are the best walks near Ballymun?
4 waymarked trails start within 5 km, including the National Famine Way, Royal Canal Way and Royal Canal Greenway - Drumcondra - Ashtown - Castleknock.
How many people in Ballymun live near a park?
97% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Ballymun?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Ballymun near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Wicklow Mountains National Park, 16 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 223 km².
What is there to do outdoors around Ballymun?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 1 viewpoint; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Ballymun’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
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).