Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A neighbourhood in Dublin, home to 12,254 people.
A well-rated place to live, with prices to match. Health is a strength (A−): for every 100 its ages would predict, 88 residents are in bad health and 97 have a disability. Jobs & income is a strength too (A−) — jobs reach 71% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 7%. The catch is cost of living — half the homes sold for more than €475,000, a price of 5.9 times what the median household earns. Overall, that makes an A−, better than just over four fifths of Irish towns. Its place in the ranking is #63 of 320 Irish towns.
Figures: health and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
The 3 things Firhouse does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Firhouse 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 →
5 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
1% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Firhouse.
Private renters make up 17% of households, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%). 4% of households live in social housing. Also worth knowing: a buyer in Firhouse paid 72% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €503K against €293K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €475,000 | 166 |
| The last 12 months | €492,500 | 56 |
| Housing | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 79% | 66% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 4% | 10% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €475K | €450K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €2,149 | €2,063 | €1,606 |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Disability touches 19% of Firhouse’s population. 92% of the town’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above Co. Dublin’s towns (89%) and Irish towns (88%) alike. Weighed against its ages, disability locally runs at 97 per 100 expected.
| Census 2022 | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 92% | 89% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 1.3% | 1.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 19% | 22% | 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
13% of workers worked mainly from home, lower than Co. Dublin’s towns (14%) yet higher than Irish towns (11%). A household here earns €80,900 a year before tax, on average. Of those in the labour force, 6.8% are unemployed.
| Census 2022 | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | €80,900 | €72,400 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 6.8% | 7.4% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 22% | 23% | 31% |
| Average trip | 31 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 Firhouse was damage to property (2023–2025). Homes saw 4.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (7.5) and Irish towns (6.4). In addition, each year, 2.6 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 | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 4.2 | 7.5 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 28 | 59.2 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 2.6 | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 9.8 | 18.5 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The nearest secondary, Firhouse Community College, is 0.7 km away. 70 schools lie within 3 km of the town: 45 primary schools, 17 secondary schools and 8 special schools. Since 2019/20, pupils changed −0%, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Colmcille Senior N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 744 | Catholic |
| Old Bawn Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 1,024 | Inter-denominational |
| Scoil Chaitlin Maude GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 284 | Multi-denominational |
| St Marks Community School DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 931 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −0% | +4% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 34% | 40% | 35% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
Firhouse gets 923 mm of rain a year. The year’s mean temperature is 9.9°C, below Co. Dublin’s towns (10.3°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C) alike. A July afternoon in Firhouse typically reaches 19.7°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.3°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
| July high | 19.7°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 923 mm | 770 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Woodland covers 4.4% of the land within 1 km, above both Co. Dublin’s towns (2.2%) and Irish towns (2.7%). Green space comes to 20.0 ha for every 1,000 people in Firhouse. The town counts 8 parks, adding up to 245 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 6.8 km per km² | 5.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 20.0 ha | 7.6 ha | 4.1 ha |
| Woodland within 1 km | 4.4% | 2.2% | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 4.2% | 0.2% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Over the coming week, Tuesday looks wettest, with about 5 mm of rain. Firhouse’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 11°C, nights fall to 4°C. Today brings about 2 mm of rain and a breeze of up to 24 km/h; the low is 9°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 248 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 196 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 206 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 273 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
1.3% speak Irish daily outside school, above Co. Dublin’s towns (1.2%) and Irish towns (1.1%) alike. The 65-and-over age group makes up one in ten residents. Young adults of 15 to 24 account for 14% of the town.
51.2% of Firhouse’s residents are women
6,279 women and 5,975 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 23% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 30% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 10% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 5.4% | 8.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 11% | 11% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 35% | 30% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7% | 5.2% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 42% | 44% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Dublin and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Independent lead South Dublin County Council with 10 of 40 seats, but no party has a majority: 21 are needed. South Dublin County Council is the one council for Firhouse; Ireland has no town or county councils between it and the government. 41% voted at the last local elections.
| Turnout | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 41% | 42% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 59% | 57% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 0.6% of the total, lower than both Co. Dublin’s towns (1.2%) and Irish towns (3.4%). 5 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie in and around the town.
| Heritage | Firhouse | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 7 | 10 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.6% | 1.2% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Sandymount Strand, 10 km from Firhouse, is the closest bathing water; it was rated sufficient in 2025. Landslides: none of Firhouse lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Only a handful of its homes, if any, sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Firhouse | 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.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Firhouse. Best known first.
Museum · Office of Public WorksPearse Museum - St. Enda's Park3.1 km outside town, to the east
CastleDrimnagh Castle4 km outside town, to the northCastleCastle · Office of Public WorksRathfarnham Castle3.2 km outside town, to the northeastAttractionAttraction · Office of Public WorksNature Room3.1 km outside town, to the eastArt galleryArt galleryRUA RED South Dublin Arts Centre1.8 km outside town, to the northwestArt galleryArt galleryLa Galerie Impromptu4.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Firhouse’s built heritage counts 8 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 5 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
2 notable people were born in Firhouse; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Dave Allen: CBS Television, Public domain · Robbie Keane: Michael Kranewitter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Damien Duff: Mikhail Slain, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Richard Dunne: Tomasz Przechlewski, CC BY 2.0 · Mark Yeates: Jon Candy, CC BY-SA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firhouse | 12,254 | — | A− | D | A− | A− |
| Knocklyon | 13,854 | 1.3 | A | D | A− | A+ |
| Bohernabreena | 4,613 | 1.5 | C | B− | D | B− |
| Old Bawn | 18,758 | 1.8 | C− | C | D | C− |
| Ballyboden | 5,246 | 2.2 | A | D− | A− | A+ |
| Kilnamanagh | 11,703 | 2.6 | D | C− | D | C− |
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 2.9 | B− | B | D | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Firhouse is 36.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Firhouse had 12,254 people at the 2022 census, up from 12,214 in 2016: 0.3% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Dublin
Firhouse has 12,254 people, in the area of South Dublin County 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).