Photo: Elfy4eva · CC BY-SA 4.0Younger than 94% of Irish towns: half of Murrough is under 32.8
38% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 12% across Ireland’s towns. At the 2022 Census Murrough was home to 2,909 people in 1,142 households. The share of residents who describe themselves as White Irish stands at 65%. Households of parents with children are rarer here than in 82% of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Murrough
Younger than most towns
Half of Murrough’s residents are under 32.8 and half over; the typical median across Irish towns is 37.6. 16% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
Since 2016, Murrough has changed by +2%, slower than 82% 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.
Across Ireland’s towns the median change is +8%; across Co. Galway’s towns, +7%.
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 91% of Irish towns, at 16%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (12%), Murrough is below 64% of Irish towns. In Newcastle, the oldest of Co. Galway’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Murrough, 32.8. 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. Galway 51.6%, Ireland 51.2%.
A higher share of students among residents 15 and over than 83% of Irish towns, at 13%
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
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (11%), Murrough is above 79% of Irish towns. Set beside that, 10% of residents 15 and over are students across Ireland’s towns.
16% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a share 88% of Irish towns don’t reach
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.6 people. Across Ireland’s towns, shared households of unrelated adults come to 4.7%. In Murrough, nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone.
Fewer car-free households than 55% of Irish towns: 16%
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
4.5% of households have no internet access (typical: 7.6%); 94% have broadband. Holiday homes account for 0.2%. Households without a car or van make up 17% across Ireland’s towns.
Median gross household income: €60,440 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €60,440 gross, about the Ireland median (€60,120). Co. Galway as a whole has a median of €59,640.
Murrough: 31% of residents were born outside Ireland, above 83% of Irish towns
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 40%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 40%
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.
The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (11%) and elsewhere in the EU (6.6%). On average, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. Few places have as many residents with another country’s citizenship: 23% here, more than in 83% of Irish towns.
Murrough ranks above 88% of Irish towns on daily speakers of Irish outside education: 1.8%
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
Within Co. Galway, Knocknacarra has the largest share, 4.5%. Set beside that, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
A smaller share of residents who said they are Catholic than 76% of Irish towns: 63%
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: 65% of Murrough · Co. Galway’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 17% across Ireland’s towns, just over a fifth of residents said they have no religion here. As a reference point, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns. After White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (18%), Asian or Asian Irish (7.3%) and Black or Black Irish (4.4%).
Married residents 15 and over: 30%, a lower share than 77% 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.
Here, 5.2% of residents give unpaid care. 64% of Murrough’s residents 15 and over are single and 30% married, against 56% and 34% across Ireland’s towns.
Adults with a degree or higher make up 52% in Murrough, more than in 81% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
20% of Murrough’s adults hold a postgraduate qualification, and 4% finished their education at primary level or earlier (Ireland’s towns: 9.7%). Adults with a degree or higher: 36% across Ireland’s towns, for comparison.
Youngest by rank: 3rd of 41 towns of 2,566 to 3,300 people
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
At the ends of the range sit Kilbarry (30.4), the youngest, and Ballybrack (45.5), the oldest. Nearest to Murrough in age: Kilbarry (30.4), Taylor's Hill (31.8), Sunday's Well (33) and Kinnegad (33.8).
5 of the 6 nearest towns are older than Murrough
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census neighbourhood.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murrough | 2,909 | — | 32.8 | 12% | 33% |
| Mervue | 4,126 | 1.5 km | 37.4 | 16% | 29% |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 1.5 km | 34.1 | 7.1% | 41% |
| Eyre Square | 6,801 | 2.2 km | 35.1 | 15% | 17% |
| Castlegar | 4,315 | 3.1 km | 33.1 | 10% | 31% |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island | 4,948 | 3.3 km | 32.1 | 11% | 11% |
| Claddagh | 2,755 | 3.7 km | 38.9 | 20% | 23% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Galway’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Galway’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 Murrough’s residents
What is the population of Murrough?
Murrough had 2,909 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its neighbourhood, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Murrough?
The median age is 32.8, younger than 94% of Irish towns. 19% are under 18 and 12% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Murrough?
43% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (1,111 people), and 1.8% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Murrough?
65% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 31% were born abroad and 23% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Murrough?
63% are Catholic, 22% have no religion and 15% another religion; 8.6% didn’t say.
Is Murrough good for families?
33% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 19% of residents are under 18. Schools near Murrough are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Murrough?
Median gross household income in Murrough was €60,440 in 2022, against €59,640 across Co. Galway 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).