Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
174 people call this town in Co. Kilkenny home.
A typical home sold for €322,900, or 5.1 years of the town’s median household income. Its architectural heritage runs to 11 buildings on the national inventory. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 10% of commuters.
Knocktopher is too small to grade: Irish towns get subject grades from 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Knocktopher does most differently from other towns.
18 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
9% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Knocktopher.
Landslides: none of Knocktopher lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Next to none of its homes lie low beside a river or the sea.
| Share of homes | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 84% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
A July afternoon in Knocktopher typically reaches 20.3°C. January nights bottom out at 2.4°C in the town, about level with Co. Kilkenny’s towns (2.3°C) and below Irish towns (2.9°C). November is the wettest month locally, with 106 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 20.3°C | 20.2°C | 19.9°C |
| January low | 2.4°C | 2.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Rain a year | 963 mm | 906 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
91% of Knocktopher’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, above both Co. Kilkenny’s towns (88%) and Irish towns (88%). Weighed against its ages, disability in the town runs at 99 per 100 expected. A disability affects 21% of people locally.
| Census 2022 | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 91% | 88% | 88% |
| With a disability | 21% | 23% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.3% | 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
2% of households live in social housing. Private renters make up 11% of households, lower than both Co. Kilkenny’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (22%).
| Housing | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 2% | 19% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 82% | 60% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 11% | 19% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €323K | €289K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area R95, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Green space lies within 400 m of 100% of homes. Among the protected sites near Knocktopher is River Barrow. Woodland covers 1.4% of the land within 1 km, lower than both Co. Kilkenny’s towns (3.8%) and Irish towns (2.7%).
| Outdoors | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.4% | 3.8% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 0.8 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | 96% | 92% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Knocktopher’s forecast, set beside its normal weather: in November a typical day reaches 11°C, and nights drop to 4°C. Expect roughly 2 mm of rain tomorrow, little wind (up to 10 km/h) and a low of 5°C. Between 8°C and 11°C: that is the range of daytime highs from here to the end of the week, with Wednesday on top.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 270 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 5°C | 199 mm |
| Summer | 20°C | 11°C | 209 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 286 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
8.3% of the labour force were unemployed, below both Co. Kilkenny’s towns (10%) and Irish towns (9.2%). A trip to work takes 25.7 min on average.
| Census 2022 | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 78% | 68% | 68% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 29% | 39% | 31% |
| Median household income | €63,020 | €53,954 | €57,760 |
| Unemployment rate | 8.3% | 10% | 9.2% |
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.
Under-15s account for just over a quarter of the population. 9.8% were born abroad, lower than both Co. Kilkenny’s towns (22%) and Irish towns (22%). The share aged 15 to 24 is 7.5%.
48.9% of Knocktopher’s residents are women
85 women and 89 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 26% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 7.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 20% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 13% | 9.4% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | 14% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 30% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 9% | 6.1% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 32% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Kilkenny and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 11 of 24 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Kilkenny County Council, short of the 13 a majority needs. Knocktopher answers to one council, Kilkenny County Council; Ireland has no town tier. It sits in the Callan-Thomastown local electoral area, which elects 6 councillors.
| Turnout | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 58% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Its archaeology runs to 18 recorded sites. Homes from before 1919 make up nearly a tenth of the total, above Co. Kilkenny’s towns (4.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike.
| Heritage | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 632 | 216 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 18 | 84 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 9% | 4.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
The nearest secondary, Scoil Aireagail, is 0.7 km away. Families in Knocktopher have 2 schools within 3 km to choose from: 1 primary school and 1 secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Naomh Padraig MxdLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 173 | Catholic |
| Scoil AireagailLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 204 | Inter-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Knocktopher | Co. Kilkenny | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 56% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 6% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 11% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +1% | +4% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Knocktopher. Best known first.
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksJerpoint Abbey4.7 km outside town, to the northeastGardenGardenGáirdín an Ghorta3 km outside town, to the westHistoric houseHistoric houseKilree High Cross4.8 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric siteHistoric siteAghaviller Round Tower3.9 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric siteHistoric siteKilree Round Tower4.8 km outside town, to the northwestHistoric siteHistoric siteThe Lost Town Heritage Site4.6 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Knocktopher’s built heritage counts 11 inventory entries; 1 carry national or international standing. 18 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
5 notable people were born in Knocktopher.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knocktopher | 174 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Thomastown | 2,305 | 6.9 | — | B | B+ | C− |
| Callan | 2,678 | 13 | A+ | A− | A | B |
| Piltown | 1,275 | 17 | — | A− | B+ | B |
| Graiguenamanagh-Tinnahinch | 1,506 | 18 | — | A | A+ | C |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 19 | B+ | B+ | C | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
15% mostly work from home, and 29% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
3.1% of residents speak Irish every day outside school, against 1.1% in the median of Irish towns; 47% can speak it.
Knocktopher had 174 people at the 2022 census, down from 177 in 2016: 1.7% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
The median age in Knocktopher is 39.7, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 26% of residents are under 15 and 17% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Kilkenny
174 people live in Knocktopher, in the area of Kilkenny County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
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). 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).