Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Co. Limerick has a population of 1,231.
Fewer journeys need a car: 27% of commuters walk, cycle or take the bus or train, against 23% in the typical Irish town. Its weakest subject is health — bad health runs at 392 and disability at 141 per 100 expected for its ages. It also trails on jobs & income (D−): among 15 to 64s, 47% are in work; unemployment stands at 20%. Buying the median home, at €240,000, takes 7.1 times the town’s median household income.
Figures: commuting, health and work, CSO Census 2022 · prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO. Rathkeale has subject grades but no overall grade: Irish towns get one from 2,500 residents.
Rents for this town aren't published on their own, so its Cost Grade uses the county's average rent. 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 Rathkeale does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Rathkeale 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 10 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 7%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rathkeale.
4.4% of residents give unpaid care to a relative or friend, below both Co. Limerick’s towns (5.5%) and Irish towns (5.4%). Asked at the census, 74% of residents of Rathkeale said they were in good or very good health. At the census, 7.9% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
| Census 2022 | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 86% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.9% | 2.9% | 2% |
| With a disability | 32% | 25% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.4% | 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
Households had €33,810 a year before tax, lower than both Co. Limerick’s towns (€50,710) and Irish towns (€57,760). Workers spend 22.7 min getting to work, on average. 3.9% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
| Census 2022 | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In work, 15 to 64 | 47% | 61% | 68% |
| Unemployment rate | 20% | 11% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 53% | 37% | 31% |
| Median household income | €33,810 | €50,710 | €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.
Radon above the reference level: an estimated 5.8% of homes in Rathkeale. Landslides: none of Rathkeale lies in a high-susceptibility zone.
| Share of homes | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 21% | 9.3% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Pupil numbers changed +7% since 2019/20, above both Co. Limerick’s towns (+3%) and Irish towns (+4%). 5 schools lie within 3 km of Rathkeale: 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school. Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College) is the nearest secondary school, 0.2 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Aine Naofa DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 224 | Catholic |
| Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College)Largest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 537 | Inter-denominational |
| Scoil Naomh Iosef DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 86 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 54% | 39% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 12% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 60% | 46% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +3% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
July afternoons in Rathkeale average 19.7°C. Across the year, Rathkeale now averages 0.2°C more than it did in 1981–2010. Day and night, summer and winter, Rathkeale averages 10.5°C.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 19.7°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.5°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,007 mm | 1,034 mm | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.0°C | 2.9°C | 2.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
83% of homes have green space within 400 m. Its paths and tracks come to 0.4 km per km², lower than both Co. Limerick’s towns (2.5 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Also worth knowing: every 1,000 residents of Rathkeale share 7.3 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0.8% | 9.6% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.4 km per km² | 2.5 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 83% | 91% | 92% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 0.4% | 1.5% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Rathkeale’s November average makes a useful yardstick: afternoons reach 11°C, nights fall to 5°C. There may be a drop or two today, little to measure, with wind freshening to 21 km/h and a low of 4°C. In December, the normal shifts to highs of 9°C and lows of 4°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 306 mm |
| Spring | 14°C | 5°C | 197 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 224 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 280 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
18% are under 15, between Co. Limerick’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (20%). Over-65s are 18% of the population. Young adults of 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
Women make up 54.5% of Rathkeale
671 women and 560 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 17% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 31% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 23% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 39% | 11% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 20% | 16% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 28% | 35% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 3.7% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 8.3% | 31% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Limerick and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
52% of voters turned out at the last local elections. The voters of Limerick City and County Council also elect its mayor directly: John Moran (Independent), since 7 June 2024. No party holds a majority on Limerick City and County Council: Fine Gael lead with 13 of 40 seats, short of the 21 needed.
| Turnout | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | 55% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 52% | 48% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
The Sites and Monuments Record lists 10 sites here, near Co. Limerick’s towns (10) and lower than Irish towns (11). 7.1% of homes date from before 1919. The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 33 buildings in Rathkeale, each rated of regional importance.
| Heritage | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 268 | 15 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 7.1% | 3.8% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
In all, 55.7 crimes per 1,000 residents are recorded a year. Homes saw 6.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, lower than Co. Limerick’s towns (11.2) and near Irish towns (6.4). Violence comes to 4.5 per 1,000 residents a year. For its size, Rathkeale records more crime per resident than 85% of the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people.
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 | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theft | 6.4 | 28.8 | 15.3 |
| Burglary & damage | 6.3 | 11.2 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 4.5 | 9.7 | 5.7 |
| All recorded crime | 55.7 | 97.5 | 54.3 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
52% of households own their home, below both Co. Limerick’s towns (59%) and Irish towns (61%). Private tenants account for 15% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €240,000 | 46 |
| Housing | Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 31% | 13% | 13% |
| Households renting privately | 15% | 27% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €240K | €312K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 52% | 59% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
One place to visit is mapped within 5 km of Rathkeale; with it, the best known within 40 km.
CastleBunratty Castle21 km northeast
CathedralSt John's Cathedral27 km northeast
CathedralSaint Mary's Cathedral27 km northeast
Castle · Office of Public WorksDesmond Castle Newcastle West11 km southwest
MuseumThe Hunt Museum27 km northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The national inventory of architectural heritage lists 33 buildings in Rathkeale, each rated of regional importance. 10 archaeological sites are on the record here.
4 notable people were born in Rathkeale.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathkeale | 1,231 | — | — | B− | B− | D− |
| Askeaton | 1,236 | 9.5 | — | B | B− | D |
| Adare | 1,224 | 11 | — | D | A | A |
| Newcastle West | 7,209 | 11 | A− | A | B+ | C |
| Croom | 1,240 | 15 | — | C− | A | B− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Rathkeale had 1,231 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,199 in 2016: 2.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Rathkeale is 41.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 18% of residents are under 15 and 18% are 65 or over.
68% of working residents drive to work and 27% walk, cycle or take the bus or train (the median of Irish towns: 23%). 4% mostly work from home, and 53% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Limerick
Rathkeale has 1,231 people, 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).