Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
14,675 people call this neighbourhood in Dublin home.
The weak point is health: for every 100 its ages would predict, 203 residents are in bad health and 124 have a disability. Incomes are on the low side: 63% of people aged 15 to 64 are in work, and unemployment is 14%. Half the homes sold for more than €312,500, a price of 5.7 times what the median household earns. Its standout strength is walkability — 38% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Overall, that makes a C−, better than 24% of Irish towns. In the ranking it comes #86 of 116 in Co. Dublin.
Figures: commuting, health and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
This town's house price is the median for its whole Eircode routing key, town and countryside together: fewer than 30 sales in the town itself were recorded on the Property Price Register in 2023 to 2025, so its Cost Grade is less sure.
The 3 things Darndale does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Darndale 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 →
The record adds 5 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 0%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Darndale. Best known first.
CastleMalahide Castle4.3 km outside town, to the northeast
Garden · Office of Public WorksNational Botanic Gardens4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
GardenSaint Anne's Park2.3 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumGaelic Athletic Association museum4.7 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumGlasnevin Cemetery Museum4.7 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric houseHistoric house · Office of Public WorksCasino Marino3 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Darndale.
At the census, 3.4% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above Co. Dublin’s towns (1.9%) and Irish towns (2%) alike. Darndale ranks 39th of the 40 Irish towns nearest its size on the Health Grade, near the bottom. 84% of people in Darndale rate their own health good or very good.
| Census 2022 | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 3.4% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 84% | 89% | 88% |
| With a disability | 26% | 21% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.8% | 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
The nearest bathing water to Darndale is Dollymount Strand, 5.2 km away, rated good in 2025. Under 1% of homes locally are estimated to have radon above the reference level. No part of Darndale is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Darndale | 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.
On average, the journey to work lasts 30.2 min. Short trips: 27% under 15 minutes, between Co. Dublin’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (31%). Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 63% at the census.
| Census 2022 | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 14% | 7.3% | 9.2% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 71% | 68% |
| Median household income | €54,890 | €72,780 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 30.2 min | 31.1 min | 27.6 min |
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.
The graded crime recorded most in Darndale was damage to property (2023–2025). Homes saw 7.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, near Co. Dublin’s towns (7.5) and higher than Irish towns (6.4). Each year, 6.3 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents.
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 | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 7.8 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 6.3 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Coolock Community College is the nearest secondary school, 1 km away. DEIS, the support scheme, covers 49% of them, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (35%). Of the 85 schools nearby, 13 take a multi-denominational ethos.
| 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 |
| Gaelcholáiste Reachrann GaelcholáisteTeaches through IrishPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 453 | Inter-denominational |
| Trinity Comprehensive School DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Comprehensive | Post-primary · Comprehensive | 564 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 49% | 40% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 8% | 7% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
The private rented sector houses 12% of households. 52% of households own their home, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (66%) and Irish towns (61%).
| Housing | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 35% | 10% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 52% | 66% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 12% | 20% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €313K | €454K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area D17, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Here July highs average 19.7°C, near both Co. Dublin’s towns (19.9°C) and Irish towns (19.9°C). November is the wettest month in Darndale, with 83 mm of rain on average. Across the year, Darndale now averages 0.2°C more than it did in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.7°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 760 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.0°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 2.7 km per km² of paths and tracks, lower than Co. Dublin’s towns (5.5 km per km²) yet higher than Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Across its 3 parks, Darndale has 92 ha of green space. 99% of homes are a short walk (400 m) from green space.
| Outdoors | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 11% | 3.7% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 2.7 km per km² | 5.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 3.7% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 99% | 100% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
For Darndale, a normal November afternoon peaks at 11°C, and a normal night bottoms out at 5°C. Around 1 mm of rain is due today, on a breeze of up to 31 km/h, with a low of 11°C. Tuesday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 6 mm of rain.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 181 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 159 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 197 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 222 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
The share aged 15 to 24 is 15%. 0.5% speak Irish daily outside school, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (1.2%) and Irish towns (1.1%). Children under 15 count for 20% of the people here.
Women make up 52.3% of Darndale
7,671 women and 7,004 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 15% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 21% | 8.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 25% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 37% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.5% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 13% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Darndale answers to one council, Dublin City Council; Ireland has no town tier. 60% voted at the general election. With 11 of 63 seats, Fine Gael are the largest group on Dublin City Council, short of the 32 a majority needs. Turnout at the last local elections was 43%, near Co. Dublin’s towns (42%) and lower than Irish towns (46%).
| Turnout | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 43% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Relative to its size, Darndale keeps 5 buildings on the inventory per 10,000 residents. 0.4% of its homes were built before 1919, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (1.2%) and Irish towns (3.4%).
| Heritage | Darndale | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 5 | 10 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.4% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Darndale’s built heritage counts 7 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. 5 archaeological sites are on the record here.
No notable person born in Darndale is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Barney McKenna: Original uploader was Aloys Soullie at nl.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Denise Mitchell: Houses of the Oireachtas, CC BY 2.0 · Aoife Dooley: LoopDaLoop, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
57% of working residents drive to work and 38% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%). 5% mostly work from home, and 27% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Darndale had 14,675 people at the 2022 census, down from 14,795 in 2016: 0.8% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
The median age in Darndale is 36.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
14,675 people live in Darndale, 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).