Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Co. Offaly, home to 167 people.
The median sale, €283,100, comes to 6.2 times what the median household here earns. The car is not the only way to work here: 8% of commuters walk, cycle or use public transport. People aged 65 and over make up 37% of residents. Residents born outside Ireland: 7%.
Shannonbridge isn’t graded: grades for Irish towns begin at 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Shannonbridge does most differently from other towns.
7 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Shannonbridge.
Radon: 100% of homes are in high-radon areas, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (0%). Some 13% of homes in Shannonbridge are estimated to exceed the radon reference level. The ground under Shannonbridge carries no high landslide susceptibility.
| Share of homes | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 70% | 0.8% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
January nights in Shannonbridge drop to 2.3°C on average. The year’s mean temperature is 10.0°C, near Co. Offaly’s towns (9.9°C) and lower than Irish towns (10.3°C). This Co. Offaly town is 0.2°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 2.3°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.0°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
28% of residents have a disability, higher than both Co. Offaly’s towns (25%) and Irish towns (22%). Ages taken into account, Shannonbridge counts 127 people in poor health for every 100 predicted. Asked at the census, nearly four in five residents of Shannonbridge said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2022 | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 86% | 88% |
| Unpaid carers | 11% | 5.9% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.9% | 2.8% | 2% |
| With a disability | 28% | 25% | 22% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
10% live in social housing, lower than both Co. Offaly’s towns (17%) and Irish towns (13%). Private tenants account for 1% of households.
| Housing | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households renting privately | 1% | 23% | 22% |
| Households owning their home | 85% | 61% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 10% | 17% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €283K | €233K | €350K |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area N37, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Within 1 km, 5.1% of the land is woodland, lower than Co. Offaly’s towns (8.7%) yet higher than Irish towns (2.7%). Per 1,000 residents, Shannonbridge has 0.4 ha of green space.
| Outdoors | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near a park | 0% | 78% | 92% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 17% | 4.5% | 1.8% |
| Woodland within 1 km | 5.1% | 8.7% | 2.7% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.0 km per km² | 0.6 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Between 7°C and 11°C: that is the range of daytime highs from here to the end of the week, with Thursday on top. For Shannonbridge, a normal November afternoon peaks at 11°C, and a normal night bottoms out at 4°C. Showers may brush past today without adding up to much, on a breeze of up to 22 km/h; the coldest it gets is 5°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 2°C | 258 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 187 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 223 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 7°C | 258 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Commutes averaged 31.4 min, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (23.7 min) and Irish towns (27.6 min). Of working-age residents (15 to 64), 63% were employed at the census. By car: that was how 84% of commuters travelled at the census.
| Census 2022 | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trips under 15 minutes | 18% | 50% | 31% |
| Average trip | 31.4 min | 23.7 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 8.6% | 12% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €45,300 | €50,278 | €57,760 |
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.
The 15-to-24 age group: 4.8%, below Co. Offaly’s towns (13%) and Irish towns (12%) alike. 13% of residents are children under 15. Among adults, 18% have a degree.
46.7% of Shannonbridge’s residents are women
78 women and 89 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 21% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 4.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 24% | 24% |
| 65+ | 37% | 15% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 17% | 15% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 38% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 7.9% | 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+
Shannonbridge is run by Offaly County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. There is no majority on Offaly County Council; Fianna Fáil have the most seats, 8 of 19, short of 10. In the Dáil, Shannonbridge is part of Offaly, which elects 3 TDs.
| Turnout | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 54% | 50% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 60% | 60% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 11.5% of the total, above both Co. Offaly’s towns (6.5%) and Irish towns (3.4%). The Sites and Monuments Record lists 7 sites here, higher than Co. Offaly’s towns (5) yet lower than Irish towns (11). Shannonbridge’s built heritage counts 8 inventory entries, each of regional standing.
| Heritage | Shannonbridge | Co. Offaly | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 479 | 119 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 11.5% | 6.5% | 3.4% |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Shannonbridge; with them, the best known within 40 km.
CathedralClonfert Cathedral4.2 km outside town, to the south
Historic house · Office of Public WorksClonmacnoise6.3 km northeast
CastleBirr Castle22 km south
CastleRedwood Castle16 km south
Castle · Office of Public WorksPortumna Castle and Gardens25 km southwest
CastleLeap Castle32 km southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Shannonbridge’s built heritage counts 8 inventory entries, each of regional standing. 7 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie here.
No notable person born in Shannonbridge is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Stefan Molyneux: Stefan Molyneux, CC BY 3.0 · John McCormack: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain · Thomas Power O'Connor: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain · Alan Sheehan: Bucomofo25, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mary Harney: Department of Health and Human Services, Public domain · Michael Joseph Curley: Regimus LaFort is listed as the Censor Librorum, and Cardinal John Farley is listed as the Imprimatur., 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shannonbridge | 167 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Banagher | 1,907 | 11 | — | A+ | B− | B+ |
| Ballinasloe Galway | 6,597 | 13 | C | A+ | D | C |
| Ferbane | 1,324 | 14 | — | A | A− | C+ |
| Athlone Westmeath | 22,869 | 18 | C | B+ | D | C |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
The median age in Shannonbridge is 57.3, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
Shannonbridge had 167 people at the 2022 census, up from 164 in 2016: 1.8% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
Urban area in Co. Offaly
167 people live in Shannonbridge, 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).