Photo: JohnArmagh · Public domainShared households of unrelated adults: 1.1%, a lower share than 99% of Irish towns
87% of residents said they are Catholic (Ireland’s towns: 71%). Locally, 36% of households are one person living alone. The median age in Abbeyfeale is 40.8, higher than in 83% of Irish towns. At the 2022 Census, 2,206 people lived in the town, in 924 households.
From 2016 to 2022, 77% of Irish towns grew faster than Abbeyfeale: +3%
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.
For comparison, the median is +8% across Ireland’s towns and +9% across Co. Limerick’s towns.
18% of residents are 65 or over, a share 83% of Irish towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.4% of residents. On residents aged 15 to 24, Abbeyfeale sits lower than three fifths of Irish towns: 12%. Across the comparison, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. In Farranshone, the oldest of Co. Limerick’s towns by this measure, it is 23%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Limerick 51.2%, Ireland 51.2%. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Abbeyfeale sits below 85% of Irish towns for residents who moved in within the year (5.1%)
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
Across Ireland’s towns, just over a third of residents are in the professional, managerial and technical classes and 15% in the semi-skilled and unskilled classes; in Abbeyfeale, 27% and 21%. As a yardstick, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
Households here average 2.4 people, below 86% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Limerick’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Where 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns, Abbeyfeale has 39%.
Fewer households in flats than 77% of Irish towns: 7.4%
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
With households without a car or van at 19%, Abbeyfeale is ahead of 55% of Irish towns on that count. The census found that 1.1% of homes are holiday homes in the town. 7.3% of households live in a flat or apartment, less than in 78% of Irish towns, against a typical 12% across Ireland’s towns.
€40,070 a year: where the middle household sits
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
€40,070 a year before tax puts the median household 33% below Ireland (€60,120). County median: €55,950 (Co. Limerick).
Below 78% of Irish towns: 17% of residents were born outside Ireland
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 30%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
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.
Another language is spoken at home by 10%, most often Polish (3%); 1.7% speak English not well or not at all. Residents with another country’s citizenship are rarer here than in just over four fifths of Irish towns. Against that, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, fewer than in 56% of Irish towns
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
Irish speakers number 745, or 36% of residents aged 3 and over. Across the comparison, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
Only 7.4% of residents said they have no religion in Abbeyfeale
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: 77% of Abbeyfeale · Co. Limerick’s towns 82% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White Irish are Irish Traveller (10%), Other White (6.5%) and Other, including mixed (2.4%). 77% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, fewer than in 52% of Irish towns. To put it in context, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns.
Below 66% of Irish towns: 33% of residents 15 and over are married
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.
Across Abbeyfeale, 5.2% of residents give unpaid care. For comparison, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
21% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, below 87% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Across Ireland’s towns, 9.7% of adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Abbeyfeale, 18%, and 5.6% hold a postgraduate qualification. Elsewhere, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
Of the 2 towns nearest Abbeyfeale, 1 are older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeyfeale | 2,206 | — | 40.8 | 18% | 39% |
| Listowel | 4,794 | 14.5 km | 42.6 | 21% | 38% |
| Newcastle West | 7,209 | 18.3 km | 37.4 | 15% | 43% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Limerick’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Limerick’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.
Questions about Abbeyfeale’s residents
What is the population of Abbeyfeale?
Abbeyfeale had 2,206 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 3% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Abbeyfeale?
The median age is 40.8. 22% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Abbeyfeale?
36% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (745 people), and 1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Abbeyfeale?
77% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 17% were born abroad and 9.2% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Abbeyfeale?
87% are Catholic, 7.4% have no religion and 5.9% another religion; 2.7% didn’t say.
Is Abbeyfeale good for families?
39% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 22% of residents are under 18. Schools near Abbeyfeale are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Abbeyfeale?
Median gross household income in Abbeyfeale was €40,070 in 2022, against €55,950 across Co. Limerick 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. 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).