Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
298 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Some 4,726 people live in this town, in Co. Offaly.
Health is its weak spot — for every 100 its ages would predict, 161 residents are in bad health and 120 have a disability. Birr’s overall C puts it #214 of 320 Irish towns. Set against the rest, it does better than 33% of Irish towns. Incomes are on the low side: 61% of people aged 15 to 64 are in work, and unemployment is 15%. Its best grade is for cost of living — a median €200,000 buys a home here, 4.7 years of what the median household earns.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · health and work, CSO Census 2022.
The 3 things Birr does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Birr 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 24 archaeological sites.
Homes built before 1919: 15%, against 3% across Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Birr.
53% of households are owner-occupiers. Private renters make up a quarter of households, above Co. Offaly’s towns (20%) and Irish towns (22%) alike. A buyer in Birr paid 49% more for a typical home in 2025 than in 2010: €228K against €153K.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Second-hand homes | €200,000 | 260 |
| The last 12 months | €265,000 | 82 |
| Housing | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median sale price | €200K | €265K | €350K |
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,034 | €1,270 | €1,606 |
| Households in social housing | 21% | 15% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 53% | 64% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
At the census, 27% of people here had a disability, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (24%) and Irish towns (22%). Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.1% of the town. Asked at the census, 86% of residents of Birr said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2022 | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bad or very bad health | 3.1% | 2.7% | 2% |
| With a disability | 27% | 24% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.9% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Workers spend 22.7 min getting to work, on average. 55% of trips took under 15 minutes, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (49%) and Irish towns (31%). Before tax, the average household brings in €42,662 a year.
| Census 2022 | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 55% | 49% | 31% |
| Unemployment rate | 15% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €42,662 | €53,484 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 61% | 63% | 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 Birr, assaults and harassment came up most often (2023–2025). Homes saw 8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (6.7) and Irish towns (6.4). In addition, violent crime runs at 7.4 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 | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burglary & damage | 8 | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| Violent crime | 7.4 | 6.3 | 5.7 |
CSO recorded crime by Garda station, 2023–2025, shared to towns by where residents live · Census 2022 populations
The EPA estimates that 2.5% of homes in Birr are above the radon reference level. No part of Birr is mapped as high landslide susceptibility. Low-lying near a river: 1.8% of homes, above Co. Offaly’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0.5%) alike.
| Share of homes | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low-lying near a river | 1.8% | 0% | 0.5% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Within 3 km of Birr there are 7 schools (6 primary schools and 1 secondary school). Irish-medium schools make up 14%, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). The nearest secondary, St.Brendan's Community School, is 1.4 km away.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croinchoill N.S. DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 243 | Catholic |
| St.Brendan's Community School DEISLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 875 | Inter-denominational |
| Gaelscoil na Laochra GaelscoilTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 45 | Multi-denominational |
| St Brendans Monastery DEISIn the DEIS schemePrimary | Primary | 178 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 86% | 57% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 14% | 7% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +4% | −3% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
The year’s mean temperature is 10.0°C, about level with Co. Offaly’s towns (9.8°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). Birr gets 885 mm of rain a year. The nearest weather station is Gurteen, 9.5 km away.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.3°C | 2.0°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 9.8°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 885 mm | 902 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Walkers have 0.8 km per km² of paths and tracks, near Co. Offaly’s towns (0.4 km per km²) and lower than Irish towns (2.1 km per km²). Protected nature near Birr includes Dovegrove Callows SPA. Within 400 m of green space: 71% of homes. The town has a single park, with 11 ha of green space in all.
| Outdoors | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 14% | 7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 71% | 78% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 5.2% | 3.8% | 1.8% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.8 km per km² | 0.4 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Expect highs from 7°C to 11°C over the rest of the week, with Thursday the warmest. A typical November day reaches 11°C and drops to 4°C at night: the forecast for Birr is set against that. No rain is due today, though a breeze picks up to 22 km/h; the low is 7°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 240 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 181 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 217 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 248 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Children under 15 make up 19%, below Co. Offaly’s towns (21%) and close to Irish towns (20%). Among adults, 25% have a degree. Also worth knowing: people aged 15 to 24 are just over a tenth of the population.
Women make up 50.6% of Birr
2,389 women and 2,337 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 29% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 16% | 15% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 15% | 19% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 39% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.5% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 25% | 19% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Offaly and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Offaly County Council has no ruling majority: Fianna Fáil hold 8 of its 19 seats, short of the 10 needed. Local government for Birr is Offaly County Council alone; Ireland has a single tier. In the Dáil, Birr is part of Offaly, which elects 3 TDs.
| Turnout | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
24 archaeological sites are on the record, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (4) and Irish towns (11). Homes from before 1919 make up 14.9% of the total.
| Heritage | Birr | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 631 | 85 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 14.9% | 5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 24 | 4 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Birr. Best known first.
CastleBirr Castlein town
MuseumJohn's Hallin townVisitor farmVisitor farmTearaways Pet Farm & Activity Centre3.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Birr has 298 buildings on the national inventory of architectural heritage, 3 of them rated of national or international importance. 24 archaeological sites are on the record here.
56 notable people were born in Birr.
Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Olivia Mitchell: William Murphy at https://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Frederic Charles Dreyer: Unidentified photographer, Public domain · Mundy: Lisa, CC BY 2.0 · Thomas Waters: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Winston Dugan, 1st Baron Dugan of Victoria: not identified, Public domain
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birr | 4,726 | — | C | A+ | C− | D |
| Banagher | 1,907 | 12 | — | A+ | B− | B+ |
| Kilcormac | 1,051 | 15 | — | A | B− | D |
| Roscrea Tipperary | 5,542 | 17 | B | A+ | B− | D |
| Borrisokane Tipperary | 1,117 | 18 | — | A | A+ | C− |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Birr had 4,726 people at the 2022 census, up from 4,415 in 2016: 7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Birr is 39.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
7% mostly work from home, and 55% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Offaly
Birr has 4,726 people, in the area of Offaly 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).