Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.011% of residents said they have no religion, below 91% of Irish towns
The median age in Birr is 39.4, higher than in 71% of Irish towns. At the 2022 Census, 4,726 people lived in the town, in 1,823 households. Census figures put one-person households at 31% locally. The average household has 2.5 people, against 2.7 across Ireland’s towns.
Slower than most: +7% since 2016, behind 53% 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.
Medians for comparison: +8% across Ireland’s towns; +7% across Co. Offaly’s towns.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 77% of Irish towns, at 18%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The biggest five-year age group is 40–44, with 7.5% of residents. On residents aged 15 to 24, Birr sits higher than 54% of Irish towns: 12%. Against that, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns. In Ferbane, the oldest of Co. Offaly’s towns by this measure, it is 22%.
Median age of Irish towns of 2,500+
■ Birr, 39.4. The typical town is 37.6.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Offaly 50.9%, Ireland 51.2%.
A lower share of students among residents 15 and over than 77% of Irish towns, at 9.1%
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 Birr, 28% and 17%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 7.3%.
In Birr, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 84% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Offaly’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Households of parents with children make up 40%, against 43% across Ireland’s towns. On average, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Ireland’s towns.
More holiday homes than 86% of Irish towns: 1.1%
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
Across Ireland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 17%; Birr has 20%. What’s more, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment, a higher share than in 59% of Irish towns. Holiday homes make up 0.2% across Ireland’s towns.
Median gross household income: €42,660 a year
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
€42,660 a year before tax puts the median household 29% below Ireland (€60,120). County median: €56,050 (Co. Offaly).
20% born outside Ireland, fewer than in 59% of Irish towns
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.
Most residents from abroad were born in the UK (5.4%) or in Poland (5.2%). 13% of residents are citizens of another country, fewer than in 59% of Irish towns. For comparison, just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
0.6% of residents speak Irish daily outside education, below 90% 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. Offaly belongs to Ferbane (1%). Speakers of Irish: 1,546 residents, 36% of those aged 3 and over. Against that, 1.1% of residents speak Irish daily outside education across Ireland’s towns.
Residents who said they are Catholic: 81%, a higher share than 92% of Irish towns
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: 76% of Birr · Co. Offaly’s towns 87% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Here 76% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, where the figure across Ireland’s towns is 78%. After White Irish, the most common groups are Other White (14%), Irish Traveller (5.9%) and Other, including mixed (2.4%). For residents who said they are Catholic, the comparison across Ireland’s towns is 71%.
Only 33% of residents 15 and over are married in Birr
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.
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 5.9%, from the figure across Ireland’s towns. As a yardstick, 34% of residents 15 and over are married across Ireland’s towns.
In Birr, 25% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, fewer than in 77% 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, one in ten adults finished at primary level or earlier; in Birr, 16%, and 8% hold a postgraduate qualification. On average, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
14th highest median age among 41 towns of 4,111 to 5,428
Median age of the Irish towns nearest in population; hover a dot.
Ages run from 27.5 in Dangan to 46.5 in Montenotte. Nearest to Birr in age: Chapelizod (38.9), Ballybofey-Stranorlar (39.3), Courtown (39.9) and Glounthaune (40.1).
Older than Birr: 1 of the 4 towns nearby
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birr | 4,726 | — | 39.4 | 18% | 40% |
| Banagher | 1,907 | 11.7 km | 41.1 | 17% | 42% |
| Kilcormac | 1,051 | 15.1 km | 36.9 | 15% | 47% |
| Roscrea | 5,542 | 17.2 km | 37.8 | 15% | 43% |
| Borrisokane | 1,117 | 18.4 km | 38.5 | 18% | 42% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Offaly’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Offaly has fewer than five towns of 2,500 or more, so its figure is the median of its towns of 1,000 or more; the national figure is the median of 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 Birr’s residents
What is the population of Birr?
Birr had 4,726 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 7% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Birr?
The median age is 39.4, older than 71% of Irish towns. 23% are under 18 and 18% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Birr?
36% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (1,546 people), and 0.6% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Birr?
76% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 20% were born abroad and 13% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Birr?
81% are Catholic, 11% have no religion and 8.6% another religion; 4.8% didn’t say.
Is Birr good for families?
40% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 23% of residents are under 18. Schools near Birr are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Birr?
Median gross household income in Birr was €42,660 in 2022, against €56,050 across Co. Offaly 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).