Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Co. Meath, home to 1,409 people.
Homes are affordable: the median home here went for €290,000, 6.3 times the median household income. It is a safe place by the numbers: 4.5 burglaries and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, and 3.2 violent crimes. Where it falls short is jobs & income — among 15 to 64s, 64% are in work; unemployment stands at 11%. Health is weaker too — 121 residents in bad health and 114 with a disability for every 100 its ages predict.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · crime, CSO recorded crime, 2023 to 2025 · work and health, CSO Census 2022. An overall grade comes at 2,500 residents for Irish towns; Oldcastle has its subject grades alone.
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. This town's Hazard risk Grade uses radon and landslides only: open LiDAR heights don't cover enough of its homes to measure flooding, so flood isn't counted for or against it.
The 3 things Oldcastle does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Oldcastle 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 →
6 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Oldcastle.
Owners make up 49% of households, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (74%) and Irish towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €265,000 | 71 |
| The last 12 months | €300,000 | 42 |
| Housing | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 25% | 9% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 49% | 74% | 61% |
| Households renting privately | 25% | 15% | 22% |
| Median sale price | €290K | €375K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
The average trip to work took 25.6 min, below Co. Meath’s towns (32.9 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min) alike. Employment among 15- to 64-year-olds stood at 64% at the census. At the census, 4.7% of workers worked mainly from home.
| Census 2022 | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 51% | 29% | 31% |
| Median household income | €46,390 | €73,360 | €57,760 |
| Average trip | 25.6 min | 32.9 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 64% | 70% | 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.
Of the graded crimes in Oldcastle, damage to property came up most often (2023–2025). In all, 17.1 crimes per 1,000 residents were recorded a year, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (36.7) and Irish towns (54.3). Among the 156 Irish towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Oldcastle has more crime per resident than 56% of them.
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 | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| All recorded crime | 17.1 | 36.7 | 54.3 |
| Theft | 2.9 | 9.5 | 15.3 |
| Violent crime | 3.2 | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Burglary & damage | 4.5 | 4.2 | 6.4 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
24% of residents in Oldcastle live with a disability. At the census, 86% of people in Oldcastle called their health good or very good, below both Co. Meath’s towns (91%) and Irish towns (88%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 2.1% of the town.
| Census 2022 | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 86% | 91% | 88% |
| With a disability | 24% | 19% | 22% |
| Unpaid carers | 4.4% | 4.8% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 1.6% | 2% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
About 4.9% of homes in Oldcastle are estimated to pass the radon reference level. The Cut, Lough Lene, 13 km from Oldcastle, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. Radon: just over one in ten homes are in high-radon areas, above both Co. Meath’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%).
| Share of homes | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 12% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
1,022 mm of rain falls in a year, above Co. Meath’s towns (855 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm) alike. Taken over the whole year, the average temperature in Oldcastle is 9.5°C. Summer highs in Oldcastle reach 19.5°C in July.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature over the year | 9.5°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| January low | 1.7°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| July high | 19.5°C | 19.9°C | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,022 mm | 855 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Within 400 m of green space: 100% of homes. Walkers have 0.1 km per km² of paths and tracks, below both Co. Meath’s towns (1.3 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²).
| Outdoors | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 0.1 km per km² | 1.3 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Near a park | 100% | 95% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 0% | 0.8% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.4% | 1% | 2.7% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Around 1 mm of rain is due today, on a breeze of up to 23 km/h, with a low of 6°C. For warmth, Thursday is the pick of the days ahead at 10°C; the chilliest afternoon gets to just 7°C. Oldcastle’s November pattern is steady: afternoons average 10°C, nights 4°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 281 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 207 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 252 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 6°C | 282 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
0.4% speak Irish daily outside school, lower than both Co. Meath’s towns (1.3%) and Irish towns (1.1%). The under-15s are a fifth of the population here. The 65-and-over age group makes up 13% of residents.
49.9% of Oldcastle’s residents are women
703 women and 706 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 9.2% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 7.7% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 44% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 16% | 36% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Meath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Meath County Council has no ruling majority: Independent hold 11 of its 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. General election turnout: 58%, below Co. Meath’s towns (60%) and close to Irish towns (59%). Oldcastle sits in the Kells local electoral area, which elects 7 councillors.
| Turnout | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | 47% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 60% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
6 archaeological sites are on the record. Homes from before 1919 make up 4.2% of the total. 55 of Oldcastle’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 390 | 29 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 6 | 24 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 4.2% | 1.4% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
St Oliver Post Primary is the nearest secondary school, 0.4 km away. Within 3 km of Oldcastle there are 2 schools (1 primary school and 1 secondary school).
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilson National School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 222 | Catholic |
| St Oliver Post PrimaryLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · ETB | Post-primary · ETB | 630 | Multi-denominational |
| Schools within 3 km | Oldcastle | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 50% | 0% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 8% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | −1% | +4% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Oldcastle. Best known first.
55 of Oldcastle’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 6 archaeological sites in and around the town.
4 notable people were born in Oldcastle.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldcastle | 1,409 | — | — | A− | B+ | C+ |
| Virginia Cavan | 3,211 | 8.9 | B | B− | B− | B+ |
| Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 2,917 | 11 | B+ | A | B− | C |
| Castlepollard Westmeath | 1,349 | 13 | — | A | A | D |
| Mullagh Cavan | 1,651 | 15 | — | B+ | A | C− |
| Kells | 6,608 | 19 | B | A | B− | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Oldcastle had 1,409 people at the 2022 census, up from 1,387 in 2016: 1.6% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Oldcastle is 38, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Meath
1,409 people live in Oldcastle, in the area of Meath 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).