Photo: Suzanne Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of The Liberties is under 32.5, younger than 94% of Irish towns
Compared with 17% across Ireland’s towns, 56% of households have no car or van here. 20% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a higher share than in 93% of Irish towns. The Liberties counted 18,460 residents and 7,050 households at the 2022 Census. One-person households: 31% of the total.
What stands out about the people of The Liberties
A student neighbourhood
19% of residents aged 15 and over are students, more than in 97% of Irish towns; Ireland’s towns 10%. 19% of residents are 15 to 24. Social class & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than most towns
43% of residents were born abroad, against 23% across Co. Dublin’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (22%) and elsewhere in the EU (13%); 39% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of The Liberties’s residents are under 32.5 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 19% are 15 to 24 and 7.5% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
38% answered “no religion”, against 17% across Ireland’s towns; 42% are Catholic (71%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
A growing town: +9% since 2016, faster than 60% of Irish towns
Residents at the 2016 and 2022 censuses, on 2022 boundaries, and the change beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Change, 2016 to 2022
CSO publishes yearly population estimates for counties and regions, not towns, so the trend is two censuses rather than a line; 2016 ages aren’t on 2022 boundaries, so there is no change by age.
Elsewhere, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +6% across Co. Dublin’s towns.
19% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 97% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
20–24 is the most common age band: 14% of residents, 2.5 times the share across Ireland’s towns. The census found that 7.5% of residents are 65 or over in The Liberties.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ The Liberties, 32.5. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Dublin 51.4%, Ireland 51.2%.
The Liberties ranks above 97% of Irish towns on students among residents 15 and over: 19%
CSO’s social classes (everyone, by their own or their family’s occupation), the occupations of those at work, and where residents lived a year before the Census.
Residents by social class · all residents
Where residents lived a year earlier
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Workers by occupation · residents at work
Work here tilts toward professional occupations, at 29% against a typical 21%. As a reference point, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
The Liberties sits below 94% of Irish towns for households of parents with children (20%)
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Dublin’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns. Across Ireland’s towns, 43% of households are parents with children.
A larger share of households in flats than 95% of Irish towns: 62%
Home types, cars and the internet, by household. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Internet at home · share of households
Internet at home: broadband for 90%, nothing for 8.7% (typical: 7.6%). 61% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 95% of Irish towns, against a typical 12% across Ireland’s towns. Here, 0.3% of homes are holiday homes.
The midpoint household income is €57,110 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Gross household income has a median of €57,110 a year here, 5% below Ireland (€60,120). Co. Dublin’s median household income is €71,120.
More residents born abroad than 94% of Irish towns: 43% in The Liberties
Place of birth and citizenship as CSO asks them: born abroad includes Irish citizens born abroad.
Born abroad, by birthplace · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 50%
Citizens of another country, by citizenship; CSO counts dual Irish citizens as Irish.
Other languages · share of all residents
CSO’s small-area tables don’t give the year people arrived.
Residents with another country’s citizenship: 39%, above 95% of Irish towns. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of residents born outside Ireland is 22%. At home, 30% use another language, chiefly Spanish (4%), and 2.6% speak English not well or not at all.
Of The Liberties’s residents, 25% can speak Irish
Residents aged 3 and over who can speak Irish, and how often they speak it outside education (CSO).
Irish speakers · residents aged 3 and over
No town in Co. Dublin beats Monkstown (2.5%). 0.8% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, fewer than in 74% of Irish towns.
Residents with no religion make up 38% in The Liberties, more than in 98% of Irish towns
Ethnic or cultural background and religion, in CSO’s categories, as people described themselves.
Ethnic groups other than White Irish · all residents
White Irish, not charted: 56% of The Liberties · Co. Dublin’s towns 78% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Here 42% of residents said they are Catholic, where the figure across Ireland’s towns is 71%. Typically, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White Irish: 56% of the total.
21% of residents 15 and over are married, below 99% of Irish towns
Marital status of residents 15 and over, and unpaid carers.
Partnership status · residents 15 and over
The small-area tables count carers, not their hours of care.
Where 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns, The Liberties has 3.2%. On average, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
More adults with a degree or higher than 85% of Irish towns: 55%
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
27% of residents 15 and over are still in education. To put it in context, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns. Across Ireland’s towns, 9.7% of adults finished at primary level or earlier; in The Liberties, 10%, and 25% hold a postgraduate qualification.
41 towns of 15,207 to 22,510 people: this is the 2nd youngest
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
The youngest is East Wall (31.2) and the oldest Ballinteer (44.1). Nearest to The Liberties in age: East Wall (31.2), Maynooth (33.2) and Stoneybatter (33.4).
Of the 6 towns nearest The Liberties, 5 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Liberties | 18,460 | — | 32.5 | 7.5% | 20% |
| Christchurch | 6,778 | 0.7 km | 37.7 | 13% | 18% |
| Temple Bar | 7,276 | 1.0 km | 31.4 | 6.2% | 12% |
| Dolphins Barn | 18,799 | 1.0 km | 34.6 | 10% | 22% |
| Portobello | 5,732 | 1.3 km | 33.4 | 7.6% | 11% |
| Stoneybatter | 18,644 | 1.5 km | 33.4 | 7.2% | 16% |
| O'Connell Street | 6,749 | 1.5 km | 33.3 | 4.7% | 13% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Dublin’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Dublin’s towns of 2,500 or more and over the Irish towns of 2,500 or more (city totals left out). Percentiles are within Ireland only.
- The earlier population is an estimate. Towns had no official 2016 count on today’s boundaries, so the 2016 figure is CSO’s electoral-division count shared out by where people lived in 2022: read a small town in a large rural division loosely.
- What these tables don’t give. The small-area tables give no year of arrival and no hours of care, and a town’s electoral divisions run past its edge, so the page doesn’t split a town into named areas (a city lists its neighbourhoods).
- The census’s own words. Born abroad, citizenship, ethnic or cultural background and religion are CSO’s questions and categories; the page compares them with other towns and never labels a town by them.
- Neighbourhoods are sums of small areas. Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas
Questions about The Liberties’s residents
What is the population of The Liberties?
The Liberties had 18,460 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 9% more than 2016.
What is the average age in The Liberties?
The median age is 32.5, younger than 94% of Irish towns. 14% are under 18 and 7.5% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in The Liberties?
25% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (3,548 people), and 0.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is The Liberties?
56% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 43% were born abroad and 39% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in The Liberties?
42% are Catholic, 38% have no religion and 20% another religion; 20% didn’t say.
Is The Liberties good for families?
20% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 14% of residents are under 18. Schools near The Liberties are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in The Liberties?
Median gross household income in The Liberties was €57,110 in 2022, against €71,120 across Co. Dublin and €60,120 for Ireland.
Sources: CSO, Census of Population 2022, Small Area Population Statistics · CSO PxStat FP009 (2016 by electoral division) · CSO GPIIA, household income 2022 · Neighbourhood figures are TownRatings sums of CSO Small Areas. 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).