Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A neighbourhood in Galway, home to 2,909 people. 15- to 24-year-olds are 16% of the population.
The weak point is safety: gardaí record 11.1 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, and 7.2 burglaries and acts of criminal damage. Work and incomes are strong: 71% of people aged 15 to 64 are in work, and unemployment is 8%. It is strong on health as well (B+): bad health runs at 87 and disability at 106 per 100 expected for its ages. Buying the median home, at €260,000, takes 4.3 times the town’s median household income. All told, that adds up to a C+ overall and a rank of #182 of 320 Irish towns. That leaves it better than 43% of Irish towns.
Figures: work and health, CSO Census 2022 · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO.
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. Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 3 things Murrough does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Murrough 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 →
17 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
0% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Murrough. Best known first.
MuseumGalway City Museum2.5 km outside town, to the west · 162K visitors a year (2011)
CathedralGalway Cathedral2.9 km outside town, to the west
GardenEyre Square2.3 km outside town, to the west
CastleOranmore Castle1.4 km outside town, to the east
CastleMerlinpark Castle500 m outside town, to the northeast
CastleLynch's Castle2.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Murrough.
The closest place to swim from Murrough is Ballyloughane Beach, 1.2 km away, rated good in 2025. 100% of its homes sit in high-radon areas, close to Co. Galway’s towns (100%) and above Irish towns (0%). No part of Murrough is mapped as high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 5% | 3.7% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
In 2023–2025, assaults and harassment led the graded crimes in Murrough. Theft, shown but not graded, ran at 28.3 per 1,000 a year, above Co. Galway’s towns (11.7) and Irish towns (15.3) alike. Among the 201 Irish towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Murrough has more crime per resident than 78% of them.
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 | Murrough | 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
The average trip to work took 23.4 min, about level with Co. Galway’s towns (24 min) and below Irish towns (27.6 min). The jobless rate is 8.2%. Working from home was the norm for 13% of workers at the census.
| Census 2022 | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 23.4 min | 24 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 71% | 68% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 8.2% | 9.7% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €60,440 | €53,360 | €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.
Murrough’s share in bad or very bad health, 1.4%, is the second lowest of the 20 towns in Co. Galway. Asked at the census, nine in ten residents of Murrough said they were in good or very good health. 34% of people in the HSE West and North West health region hold a medical card.
| Census 2022 | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.4% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 90% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 22% | 23% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.2% | 4.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
DEIS, the support scheme, covers just over two fifths of them, higher than both Co. Galway’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (35%). 22 schools lie within 3 km of Murrough: 14 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 3 special schools. For secondary school, the closest is Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College, 1.6 km from the town.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Íosa Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 770 | Catholic |
| Calasanctius CollegeLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 906 | Catholic |
| Gaelscoil Dara GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 419 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College DEISIn the DEIS schemePost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 710 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 20% | 33% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 41% | 25% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 9% | 15% | 8% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Across the year it averages 10.4°C, about level with both Co. Galway’s towns (10.3°C) and Irish towns (10.3°C). The warmest afternoons come in July, at around 19.1°C in Murrough. A year brings 1,239 mm of rain to Murrough.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.1°C | 19.3°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,239 mm | 1,265 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.2°C | 3.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.4°C | 10.3°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Protected sites cover a tenth of the land within 5 km, below Co. Galway’s towns (15%) but above Irish towns (1.8%). Within 400 m of green space: 100% of homes. Per 1,000 residents, Murrough has 13.2 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sea within 5 km | 26% | 20% | 0% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 10% | 15% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 5.1% | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 79% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Long-term averages for Murrough put November days at 11°C and November nights at 5°C. Expect a dry, breezy day today, the wind reaching 22 km/h and the temperature dipping to 5°C. Tuesday looks like the wettest of the days that follow, with about 3 mm of rain.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 363 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 240 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 12°C | 283 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 354 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
One measure of its mix: 31% of residents were born abroad. 1.8% speak Irish daily outside school, lower than Co. Galway’s towns (2.3%) yet higher than Irish towns (1.1%). Degrees are held by 52% of adults.
49.9% of Murrough’s residents are women
1,452 women and 1,457 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 14% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 39% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 17% | 22% | 24% |
| 65+ | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 4% | 7.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 7.1% | 10% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.1% | 5.4% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 52% | 46% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Galway and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 4 of 18 seats, Independent are the largest group on Galway City Council, short of the 10 a majority needs. Murrough answers to one council, Galway City Council; Ireland has no town tier. In the Dáil, Murrough is part of Galway West, which elects 5 TDs.
| Turnout | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 45% | 45% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The pre-1919 share of homes is 0.3%. Murrough has 14 inventory buildings for every 10,000 residents, below Co. Galway’s towns (51) and Irish towns (48) alike. Also worth knowing: the archaeological record lists 17 sites here.
| Heritage | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 14 | 51 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 0.3% | 2.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Owners make up 43% of households, below both Co. Galway’s towns (52%) and Irish towns (61%). Council and housing-body homes hold 5% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €260,000 | 47 |
| Housing | Murrough | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 48% | 35% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 43% | 52% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 5% | 10% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €260K | €373K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Murrough’s built heritage counts 4 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 17 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
No notable person born in Murrough is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Thomas Grady: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murrough | 2,909 | — | C+ | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Mervue | 4,126 | 1.5 | C | C+ | C− | C− |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 1.5 | C+ | B | C+ | C+ |
| Eyre Square | 6,801 | 2.2 | C | D | C− | B+ |
| Castlegar | 4,315 | 3.1 | D− | C− | C− | D |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 3.3 | C− | D | C− | B− |
| Claddagh | 2,755 | 3.7 | C | D | C− | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Murrough is 32.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 16% of residents are under 15 and 12% are 65 or over.
Murrough had 2,909 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,846 in 2016: 2.2% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Neighbourhood in Galway
2,909 people live in Murrough, 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).