Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Dublin, this neighbourhood has 18,799 residents. Its population rose 13% from 2016 to 2022.
Real strengths, and real weak spots. Police record more crime here than in most towns: gardaí record 13.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.7 burglaries and acts of criminal damage. With a C− overall, Dolphins Barn is better than a quarter of Irish towns and ranks #85 of 116 in Co. Dublin. Walking, cycling and public transport work well here (A+): just over three in five commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Homes sell for a median €392,000, about 6.1 times what a household here earns in a year. Its other grades sit near the middle: B for jobs & income and B for hazard risk.
Figures: commuting and work, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · radon, EPA.
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 Dolphins Barn does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Dolphins Barn 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 register holds 188 buildings on the National Inventory in Dolphins Barn, 7 of them of national importance.
65 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Dolphins Barn. Best known first.
MuseumIrish Museum of Modern Artin town
MuseumGuinness Storehousein town
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral700 m outside town, to the east
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland1.8 km outside town, to the east · 783K visitors a year
Museum · Office of Public WorksKilmainham Gaol100 m outside town, to the west
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral700 m outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Dolphins Barn.
Every kind together came to 102.7 per 1,000 residents a year, above Co. Dublin’s towns (59.2) and Irish towns (54.3) alike. More of the graded crimes in Dolphins Barn were damage to property than anything else (2023–2025).
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 | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 14.7 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 13.8 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 102.7 | 59.2 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 28.7 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
For secondary school, the closest is C.B.S. James Street, 0.4 km from the town. Within 3 km of Dolphins Barn there are 135 schools (88 primary schools, 32 secondary schools and 15 special schools). Irish-medium schools make up 7%, below Co. Dublin’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%) alike.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Christopher's NS DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 598 | Catholic |
| Belvedere College S.J BoysLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,011 | Catholic |
| S.N. Brighde GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 358 | Catholic |
| Meanscoil Iognáid Rís DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 521 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 56% | 40% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 7% | 7% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no school-by-school results, which is why these cards have no letters.
Family carers: 3.6% of the people in Dolphins Barn look after someone without pay. Allowing for its ages, Dolphins Barn has 110 residents with a disability per 100 expected, above Co. Dublin’s towns (99) and Irish towns (106) alike. Self-reported good health: 86% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 3.6% | 5.3% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 89% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Working mainly from home: 15% of workers, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (11%). The commute to work averages 32.8 min. In addition, at the census, 73% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job.
| Census 2022 | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 15% | 23% | 31% |
| Average trip | 32.8 min | 31.1 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 73% | 71% | 68% |
| Median household income | €64,100 | €72,780 | €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.
Dolphins Barn’s year-round mean comes to 10.5°C. A year brings 754 mm of rain, about level with Co. Dublin’s towns (770 mm) and below Irish towns (937 mm). Also worth knowing: the coldest nights come in January, when Dolphins Barn averages a low of 3.1°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 20.1°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 754 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.1°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Green space comes to 40.8 ha for every 1,000 people in Dolphins Barn. Across its 12 parks, Dolphins Barn has 768 ha of green space. 100% of homes are within 400 m of green space, close to Co. Dublin’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (92%).
| Outdoors | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 8.4 km per km² | 5.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 40.8 ha | 7.6 ha | 4.1 ha |
| Near a park | 100% | 100% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
The heaviest rain of the week is due on Tuesday, around 5 mm. Usually, November days warm to 11°C and nights cool to 5°C; Dolphins Barn’s forecast is read against that. Expect roughly 1 mm of rain today, wind picking up to 24 km/h, and a low of 10°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 186 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 158 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 12°C | 189 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 221 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Over-65s are 10% of the population. 37% were born abroad, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (23%) and Irish towns (22%). Among adults, 55% have a degree.
49.3% of Dolphins Barn’s residents are women
9,261 women and 9,538 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 47% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 20% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 9.5% | 8.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9.2% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 22% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.2% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 55% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
35% of voters turned out at the last local elections, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (42%) and Irish towns (46%). Dublin City Council runs Dolphins Barn: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it. There is no majority on Dublin City Council; Fine Gael have the most seats, 11 of 63, short of 32.
| Turnout | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 49% | 57% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 35% | 42% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
16.3% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (1.2%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The archaeological record lists 65 sites here. Dolphins Barn’s built heritage counts 188 inventory entries; 7 carry national or international standing.
| Heritage | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 100 | 9 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 16.3% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 65 | 6 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Radon: an estimated 3.8% of homes in Dolphins Barn are over the reference level. Sandymount Strand, 6.1 km from Dolphins Barn, is the closest bathing water; it was rated sufficient in 2025. 2.4% of homes stand low near a river, higher than both Co. Dublin’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0.5%).
| Share of homes | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 2.4% | 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.
23% live in social housing, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (13%). Private renters make up half of households.
| Housing | Dolphins Barn | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 26% | 66% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 50% | 19% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 23% | 10% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €392K | €454K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area D08, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Dolphins Barn’s built heritage counts 188 inventory entries; 7 carry national or international standing. The national record lists 65 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Dolphins Barn.
Rebecca Moynihan: https://www.flickr.com/people/oireachtas/, CC BY 2.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins Barn | 18,799 | — | C− | C+ | D− | C− |
| The Liberties | 18,460 | 1 | C− | C+ | D− | C |
| Kilmainham | 10,240 | 1.6 | C− | C+ | D− | C− |
| Stoneybatter | 18,644 | 1.6 | C− | C | D− | C+ |
| Crumlin | 19,287 | 1.6 | C− | C | C− | D |
| Christchurch | 6,778 | 1.7 | C+ | B | D− | C+ |
| Temple Bar | 7,276 | 1.9 | D | C− | D− | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Dolphins Barn had 18,799 people at the 2022 census, up from 16,687 in 2016: 12.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Dolphins Barn is 34.6, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
18,799 people live in Dolphins Barn, 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).