Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Some 654 people live in this town, in Co. Offaly.
Homes sell for a median €208,000, about 3.9 times what a household here earns in a year. Of those who commute, 7% go on foot, by bike or by public transport. 18% of residents 15 and over hold a degree.
Cloghan isn’t graded: grades for Irish towns begin at 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Cloghan does most differently from other towns.
1 archaeological site 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 Cloghan.
Under 1% of homes in Cloghan are estimated to have radon above the reference level. The ground under Cloghan carries no high landslide susceptibility. Its homes mostly stand clear of low ground by water.
| Share of homes | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The year’s mean temperature is 9.9°C, about level with Co. Offaly’s towns (9.9°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). In January, overnight lows in Cloghan settle at 2.1°C. The nearest weather station is Gurteen, 23 km away.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.1°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.9°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Family carers: nearly a tenth of the people in Cloghan look after someone without pay. At the census, 27% of people here had a disability, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%). Ages taken into account, Cloghan counts 129 people in poor health for every 100 predicted.
| Census 2022 | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 9.3% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 27% | 25% | 22% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.2% | 2.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 86% | 86% | 88% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Social housing holds just over a fifth of households, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (13%). Nearly two thirds of households own their home.
| Housing | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 12% | 23% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 22% | 17% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €208K | €233K | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 65% | 61% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area R42, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Woodland covers 1.7% of the land within 1 km, below both Co. Offaly’s towns (8.7%) and Irish towns (2.7%). There are 2.4 ha of green space for every 1,000 people in Cloghan. 4 waymarked trails and greenways begin within 5 km.
| Outdoors | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.7% | 8.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 78% | 92% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 3.5% | 4.5% | 1.8% |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
15% of the labour force were unemployed, above Co. Offaly’s towns (12%) and Irish towns (9.2%) alike. At the census, 85% of commuters went by car. Among people aged 15 to 64, 63% were working at the census.
| Census 2022 | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 15% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 39% | 50% | 31% |
| Average trip | 27.8 min | 23.7 min | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 63% | 62% | 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.
People aged 15 to 24 make up 10% of the town, below Co. Offaly’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. 22% of residents are children under 15. Retirement age and beyond: 13% of residents are 65 or older.
50.9% of Cloghan’s residents are women
333 women and 321 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 22% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 29% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 13% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 14% | 15% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 42% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 5.3% | 6.3% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 18% | 22% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Offaly and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
With 8 of 19 seats, Fianna Fáil are the largest group on Offaly County Council, short of the 10 a majority needs. Cloghan is run by Offaly County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. It sits in the Birr local electoral area, which elects 6 councillors.
| Turnout | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
1 archaeological sites are on the record, lower than both Co. Offaly’s towns (5) and Irish towns (11). Before 1919: that is when 4.2% of homes were built. 7 of Cloghan’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists one archaeological site in and around the town.
| Heritage | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 107 | 119 | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 1 | 5 | 11 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 4.2% | 6.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Families in Cloghan have one school within 3 km. The one school within 3 km of Cloghan has 93 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Marys National School DEISLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 93 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Cloghan | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the DEIS scheme | 100% | 71% | 35% |
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 11% | 8% |
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.
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Cloghan; these are the best known within 40 km.
Historic house · Office of Public WorksClonmacnoise13 km northwest
CastleBirr Castle15 km south
CathedralClonfert Cathedral12 km west
CastleLeap Castle22 km south
CastleRedwood Castle18 km southwest
Castle · Office of Public WorksPortumna Castle and Gardens27 km southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
7 of Cloghan’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists one archaeological site in and around the town.
No notable person born in Cloghan is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
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
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
6% mostly work from home, and 39% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Cloghan had 654 people at the 2022 census, up from 614 in 2016: 6.5% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Cloghan is 38.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Offaly
654 people live in Cloghan, 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). 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).