Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Its heritage includes 31 buildings on the national inventory. Home to 2,206 people, this town lies in Co. Limerick.
Housing is within reach: half the homes sold for more than €173,500, a price of 4.3 times what the median household earns. The weak point is jobs & income: jobs reach 60% of 15 to 64s, and unemployment is 16%. It also trails on walkability (D) — 11% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Hazards are a real consideration (C): an estimated 1% of homes are above the radon reference level.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work and commuting, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA. Abbeyfeale is graded subject by subject, but Irish towns need 2,500 residents for an overall grade.
The 3 things Abbeyfeale does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Abbeyfeale 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 2 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 4%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Abbeyfeale.
Owners make up 55% of households. 21% live in social housing, higher than both Co. Limerick’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (13%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €173,000 | 103 |
| Housing | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €174K | €312K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €952 | €1,688 | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 21% | 13% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 55% | 59% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
Workers spend 27.3 min getting to work, on average. 16% of the labour force were unemployed, above both Co. Limerick’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (9.2%). A household here earns €40,073 a year before tax, on average.
| Census 2022 | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 16% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 48% | 37% | 31% |
| Median household income | €40,073 | €50,710 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 60% | 61% | 68% |
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.
Thefts came to 5.7 per 1,000 a year (not part of the grade), below Co. Limerick’s towns (28.8) and Irish towns (15.3) alike. Violent crime runs at 2.8 per 1,000 residents a year. Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Abbeyfeale has less crime per resident than 88% of them. The overall crime rate is 21.6 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 2.2 | 11.2 | 6.4 |
| All recorded crime | 21.6 | 97.5 | 54.3 |
| Violent crime | 2.8 | 9.7 | 5.7 |
| Theft | 5.7 | 28.8 | 15.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
1.8% of residents report bad or very bad health. Allowing for its ages, Abbeyfeale has 88 residents in bad health per 100 expected, lower than both Co. Limerick’s towns (171) and Irish towns (113). Disability touches just over a fifth of the town’s population.
| Census 2022 | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 1.8% | 2.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 21% | 25% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 88% | 86% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.2% | 5.5% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
By estimate, 1.4% of homes in Abbeyfeale carry radon above the reference level. Low-lying near a river: 2.7% of homes, between Co. Limerick’s towns (9.3%) and Irish towns (0.5%).
| Share of homes | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 6.6% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 2.7% | 9.3% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
In July, daytime highs in Abbeyfeale average 19.5°C. The nearest weather station is Shannon Airport, 43 km away. Across the year, Abbeyfeale now averages 0.3°C more than it did in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rain a year | 1,332 mm | 1,034 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.5°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 3.0°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 0.2 km per km² of paths and tracks, below both Co. Limerick’s towns (2.5 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Abbeyfeale has 2.4 ha of green space for every 1,000 residents. 9 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 55% | 91% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 13% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.2 km per km² | 2.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 2.6% | 1.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 4 mm of rain is forecast. In Abbeyfeale, the November norm is a high of 11°C and a low of 5°C. No rain is due today, though a breeze picks up to 21 km/h; the low is 6°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 421 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 5°C | 256 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 271 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 384 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People 65 and over make up 18% of the town. 17% were born abroad, below Co. Limerick’s towns (19%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. Under-15s account for 19% of the population.
Women make up 51.6% of Abbeyfeale
1,138 women and 1,068 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 18% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.5% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 21% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Limerick and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
The voters of Limerick City and County Council also elect its mayor directly: John Moran (Independent), since 7 June 2024. General election turnout: 61%, above Co. Limerick’s towns (55%) and Irish towns (59%) alike. Fine Gael lead Limerick City and County Council with 13 of 40 seats, but no party has a majority: 21 are needed.
| Turnout | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 57% | 48% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 55% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Archaeologists have recorded 2 sites here. 3.8% of its homes were built before 1919, about level with Co. Limerick’s towns (3.8%) and above Irish towns (3.4%). Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 31 buildings in Abbeyfeale, 1 of national or international importance.
| Heritage | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 141 | 15 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 2 | 10 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
5 schools lie within 3 km of Abbeyfeale: 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school. The nearest secondary, Coláiste Íde agus Iosaef, is 0.7 km away. Two fifths of the schools are in the DEIS scheme, lower than Co. Limerick’s towns (46%) yet higher than Irish towns (35%).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dromtrasna N.S. Special classesLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 122 | Catholic |
| Coláiste Íde agus IosaefLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 669 | Multi-denominational |
| Convent of Mercy N.S. DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 110 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Abbeyfeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 54% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 12% | 8% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −6% | +3% | +4% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 40% | 46% | 35% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Ireland publishes no results school by school, so these cards carry no letters or results.
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Abbeyfeale; with it, the best known within 40 km.
Castle · Office of Public WorksListowel Castle14 km northwest
CathedralSt Mary's Cathedral Killarney39 km southwest
Cathedral · Office of Public WorksArdfert Cathedral33 km west
CastleGlenquin Castle13 km east
Castle · Office of Public WorksCarrigafoyle Castle25 km northwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Surveyors for the national inventory recorded 31 buildings in Abbeyfeale, 1 of national or international importance. Archaeologists have recorded 2 sites here.
7 notable people were born in Abbeyfeale.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeyfeale | 2,206 | — | — | A+ | A+ | A− |
| Listowel Kerry | 4,794 | 14 | C+ | B+ | C | B− |
| Newcastle West | 7,209 | 18 | A− | A | B+ | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
81% of working residents drive to work and 11% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%).
Abbeyfeale had 2,206 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,133 in 2016: 3.4% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Abbeyfeale is 40.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 19% of residents are under 15 and 18% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Limerick
2,206 people live in Abbeyfeale, in the area of Limerick City and 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) · 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).