Photo: HENRY CLARK · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 13% of residents said they have no religion in Oldcastle
28% of households are one person living alone (Ireland’s towns: 24%). Households without a car or van account for 22%. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in just over four fifths of Irish towns. There were 550 households in Oldcastle at the 2022 Census, home to 1,409 residents.
Oldcastle changed by +2% from 2016 to 2022, slower than 85% of Irish towns
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.
Across Ireland’s towns the median change is +8%; across Co. Meath’s towns, +11%.
Oldcastle sits above 82% of Irish towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (14%)
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
13% of residents are 65 or over, against 14% across Ireland’s towns. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Ireland’s towns. More residents are 35–39 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. The median age in Oldcastle is 38, higher than in 54% of Irish towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Meath 50.7%, Ireland 51.2%.
In Oldcastle, 5.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 82% of Irish towns
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
The occupation that stands out is skilled trades: 21%, where 11% is typical. Measured more widely, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns. Across Oldcastle, one in ten residents 15 and over are students.
2.6 people per household, fewer than in 62% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Meath’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Across Ireland’s towns, 43% of households are parents with children; in Oldcastle, 45%.
Below 65% of Irish towns: 9.8% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
82% have broadband at home and 17% no internet at all (typical: 7.6%). The share of households in flats across Ireland’s towns is 12%. For Oldcastle, the census puts holiday homes at 0.6%.
The midpoint household income is €46,390 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
Gross household income has a median of €46,390 a year here, 23% below Ireland (€60,120). In Co. Meath overall, the median comes to €70,660.
A higher share of residents with another country’s citizenship than 71% of Irish towns, at 19%
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.
24% speak another language at home, most often Polish (1.2%); 5.4% speak English not well or not at all. Against that, 15% of residents are citizens of another country across Ireland’s towns. Few places have as many residents born outside Ireland: 25% here, more than in nearly two thirds of Irish towns.
0.4% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, fewer than in 99% 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
The highest share in Co. Meath belongs to Athboy (2.4%). Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 1.1% across Ireland’s towns. Some 415 people here, nearly a third of residents aged 3 and over, can speak Irish.
A larger share of residents who said they are Catholic than 79% of Irish towns: 77%
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: 73% of Oldcastle · Co. Meath’s towns 80% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White Irish, the biggest groups are Other White (21%), Other, including mixed (2.4%) and Black or Black Irish (1.8%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as White Irish than in two thirds of Irish towns: 73%. Measured more widely, 71% of residents said they are Catholic across Ireland’s towns.
Married residents 15 and over: 30%, a lower share than 78% of Irish towns
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.
About 60 residents (4.4%) give regular unpaid care (Ireland’s towns 5.4%). As a yardstick, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
16% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, below 95% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Postgraduate: 3.7% of adults. The benchmark for adults with a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns: 36%.
Among its 5 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Oldcastle
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oldcastle | 1,409 | — | 38 | 13% | 45% |
| Virginia | 3,211 | 8.9 km | 35.8 | 13% | 46% |
| Ballyjamesduff | 2,917 | 10.9 km | 35.5 | 8.7% | 45% |
| Castlepollard | 1,349 | 13.4 km | 39.3 | 17% | 40% |
| Mullagh | 1,651 | 14.8 km | 34.4 | 10% | 51% |
| Kells | 6,608 | 19.0 km | 38.4 | 14% | 45% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Meath’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Each comparison is its own median: over Co. Meath’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 Oldcastle’s residents
What is the population of Oldcastle?
Oldcastle had 1,409 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 2% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Oldcastle?
The median age is 38. 25% are under 18 and 13% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Oldcastle?
32% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (415 people), and 0.4% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Oldcastle?
73% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 25% were born abroad and 19% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Oldcastle?
77% are Catholic, 13% have no religion and 11% another religion; 2.8% didn’t say.
Is Oldcastle good for families?
45% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 25% of residents are under 18. Schools near Oldcastle are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Oldcastle?
Median gross household income in Oldcastle was €46,390 in 2022, against €70,660 across Co. Meath 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).