Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Population 2,755: a neighbourhood in Galway.
A town of contrasts. Its lowest grade is for cost of living — a median €372,600 buys a home here, 7 years of what the median household earns. Natural hazards weigh more here (D): an estimated 17% of homes are above the radon reference level. It is easy to get around without a car: 46% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Jobs and pay hold up well: the unemployment rate is 10%, with 70% of 15 to 64s in work. All told, that adds up to a C overall and a rank of #218 of 320 Irish towns. That leaves it better than 32% of Irish towns.
Figures: commuting and work, CSO Census 2022 · 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. Crime here is counted against the people who live here, but much of it involves people who come in to work, shop or go out, so the rate per resident runs higher than residents' own risk.
The 3 things Claddagh does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Claddagh 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 11 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 4%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Claddagh. Best known first.
MuseumGalway City Museum100 m outside town, to the northeast · 162K visitors a year (2011)
CathedralGalway Cathedral400 m outside town, to the north
GardenEyre Square600 m outside town, to the northeast
ZooGalway Atlantaquaria700 m outside town, to the southwest
CastleLynch's Castle300 m outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Claddagh.
Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, about level with Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). The nearest bathing water to Claddagh is Grattan Road Beach, 1 km away, rated sufficient in 2025. No part of Claddagh is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 91% | 3.7% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
2% of households live in social housing. Home ownership stands at 56% of households.
| Housing | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 2% | 10% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 38% | 35% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 56% | 52% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area H91, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Each year, 11.1 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. Homes saw 7.2 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Co. Galway’s towns (5.8) and Irish towns (6.4). The commonest graded crime in Claddagh was assaults and harassment (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 | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crime | 11.1 | 7.9 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 97.3 | 67.8 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 28.3 | 11.7 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 7.2 | 5.8 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
Just over two in five trips took under 15 minutes, above Co. Galway’s towns (37%) and Irish towns (31%) alike. A trip to work takes 21.4 min on average. Average household income comes to €53,360 a year before tax.
| Census 2022 | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 21.4 min | 24 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 41% | 37% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 70% | 68% | 68% |
| Median household income | €53,360 | €55,250 | €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.
A quarter of residents in Claddagh live with a disability. Allowing for its ages, Claddagh has 103 residents in bad health per 100 expected, below Co. Galway’s towns (116) and Irish towns (113) alike. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.1% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.2% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 25% | 22% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 88% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 1.8% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
13% of the schools teach through Irish, below Co. Galway’s towns (15%) but above Irish towns (8%). For secondary school, the closest is Coláiste Iognáid S.J., 0.5 km from the town. The 31 schools within 3 km of Claddagh have 11,252 pupils between them.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh Gaeltacht schoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 643 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Einde DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 808 | Catholic |
| S.N. Iognaid GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 480 | Catholic |
| Galway Community College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 395 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 13% | 15% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 32% | 25% | 35% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 38% | 29% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +2% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Here July highs average 19.4°C, close to Co. Galway’s towns (19.2°C) and below Irish towns (19.9°C). Claddagh’s year-round mean comes to 10.5°C. Also worth knowing: the coldest nights come in January, when Claddagh averages a low of 3.1°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,285 mm | 1,257 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.4°C | 19.2°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.1°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
A short walk to green space: 100% of homes, above Co. Galway’s towns (79%) and Irish towns (92%) alike. 4 parks and 20 ha of green space in all: that is Claddagh’s share. Green space comes to 7.2 ha for every 1,000 people locally.
| Outdoors | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 46% | 20% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 17% | 14% | 1.8% |
| Near a park | 100% | 79% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.2% | 2% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
What counts as normal for Claddagh in November: highs come to 11°C and lows to 5°C. No rain is due today, though a breeze picks up to 24 km/h; the low is 5°C. Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 4 mm of rain is forecast.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 379 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 247 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 292 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 367 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Young adults of 15 to 24 are 14% of the population. A fifth of residents are 65 or over, above both Co. Galway’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (14%). Graduates make up 54% of adults.
Women make up 51.4% of Claddagh
1,416 women and 1,339 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 11% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 15% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 35% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 21% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 20% | 12% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 7% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 8.8% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 25% | 31% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 4.8% | 5.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 54% | 46% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Galway City Council has no ruling majority: Independent hold 4 of its 18 seats, short of the 10 needed. Local government for Claddagh is Galway City Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. 42% of voters turned out at the last local elections, below Co. Galway’s towns (45%) and Irish towns (46%) alike.
| Turnout | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 42% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
3.9% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Co. Galway’s towns (0.9%) and Irish towns (3.4%). Beneath and around the town lie 11 recorded archaeological sites. The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 19 buildings in Claddagh, each rated of regional importance.
| Heritage | Claddagh | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 69 | 15 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 3.9% | 0.9% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 19 buildings in Claddagh, each rated of regional importance. 11 archaeological sites are on the record here.
2 notable people were born in Claddagh; with them, the best known born in the towns around it.
Thomas Grady: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Séamus Brennan: Flickr user "Justsplit.com", 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claddagh | 2,755 | — | C | D | C− | B |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 1.2 | C− | D | C− | B− |
| Salthill | 5,445 | 1.4 | A | D | A | A |
| Taylor's Hill | 3,141 | 1.5 | C− | D | B | C |
| Eyre Square | 6,801 | 1.6 | C | D | C− | B+ |
| Newcastle | 4,032 | 1.6 | D | D | C− | C+ |
| Dangan | 4,621 | 2.3 | D− | D | C− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
3.1% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 48% can speak it.
Claddagh had 2,755 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,593 in 2016: 6.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Claddagh is 38.9, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Galway
Claddagh has 2,755 people, in the area of Galway City Council. TownRatings splits Galway 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).