Photo: Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of one-person households than 98% of Irish towns: 36%
Set against 17% across Ireland’s towns, 9.7% of residents said they have no religion in Ballaghaderreen. Census day 2022: 2,387 residents and 878 households locally. 3.1% of homes are holiday homes. With a median age of 35.6, Ballaghaderreen is younger than three quarters of Irish towns.
What stands out about the people of Ballaghaderreen
A mix of backgrounds
47% of residents describe a background other than White Irish, more than in 95% of Irish towns. The largest groups after White Irish are Other White (16%), Asian or Asian Irish (16%) and Other, including mixed (8.9%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
More born abroad than most towns
39% of residents were born abroad, against 28% across Co. Roscommon’s towns and 22% across Ireland’s towns. The largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (16%) and elsewhere in the EU (13%); 28% are citizens of another country. Where people were born ↓
Growing faster than most
Ballaghaderreen went from about 2,000 people in 2016 to 2,387 in 2022, +19%: faster growth than in 90% of Irish towns. Population change ↓
Written from the data on this page: CSO Census 2022.
+19% since 2016, a pace 90% of Irish towns didn’t match
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, half of towns changed by more than +8%; across Co. Roscommon’s towns, by more than +12%.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 64% of Irish towns, at 16%
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
0–4 is the most common age band: 9.7% of residents, 1.7 times the share across Ireland’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Ballaghaderreen sits lower than 56% of Irish towns: 12%. To put it in context, 14% of residents are 65 or over across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Median share of women: Co. Roscommon 50.1%, Ireland 51.2%.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 82% of Irish towns, at 12%
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
Work here tilts toward skilled trades, at 21% against a typical 11%. Locally, 10% of residents 15 and over are students. To put it in context, 7.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Ireland’s towns.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 92% of Irish towns, at 2.3%
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Roscommon’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across Ireland’s towns, 2.7. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.7%. 39% of households are parents with children.
More households without a car or van than 66% of Irish towns: 21%
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
Where just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment across Ireland’s towns, Ballaghaderreen has 9.7%. The benchmark for households without a car or van across Ireland’s towns: 17%.
Households here have a median income of €35,460 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 €35,460 a year here, 41% below Ireland (€60,120). Across Co. Roscommon, the middle household has €51,010.
Ballaghaderreen ranks above 91% of Irish towns on residents born outside Ireland: 39%
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 45%
Citizenship · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
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.
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born outside the EU and UK (16%) and elsewhere in the EU (13%). On residents with another country’s citizenship, Ballaghaderreen sits higher than 89% of Irish towns: 28%. The wider picture: just over a fifth of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns.
Irish speakers: 31% of Ballaghaderreen’s residents
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
Irish speakers number 655, or 31% of residents aged 3 and over. Ballaghaderreen has fewer daily speakers of Irish outside education than 56% of Irish towns, at 1%.
54% of residents describe themselves as White Irish, below 95% 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: 54% of Ballaghaderreen · Co. Roscommon’s towns 72% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White Irish, most residents describe themselves as Other White (16%), Asian or Asian Irish (16%) and Other, including mixed (8.9%). The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White Irish across Ireland’s towns: 78%. 62% of residents said they are Catholic; across Ireland’s towns the figure is 71%.
In Ballaghaderreen, 4.2% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 87% 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.
Married residents 15 and over make up 32%, against 34% across Ireland’s towns. The wider picture: 5.4% of residents give unpaid care across Ireland’s towns.
20% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher, below 89% of Irish towns
Highest level of education completed, residents 15 and over whose education has ended.
Highest qualification · residents 15+ whose education has ended
Of Ballaghaderreen’s adults, 6.1% went on to postgraduate study and 17% left at primary level or earlier (9.7% across Ireland’s towns). The comparison figure for adults with a degree or higher is 36% across Ireland’s towns.
The towns around Ballaghaderreen are all older
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballaghaderreen | 2,387 | — | 35.6 | 16% | 39% |
| Charlestown-Bellahy | 1,172 | 15.9 km | 38.7 | 16% | 39% |
| Castlerea | 2,348 | 16.3 km | 43.1 | 22% | 31% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Roscommon’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Roscommon 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 Ballaghaderreen’s residents
What is the population of Ballaghaderreen?
Ballaghaderreen had 2,387 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 19% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballaghaderreen?
The median age is 35.6. 30% are under 18 and 16% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballaghaderreen?
31% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (655 people), and 1% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballaghaderreen?
54% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 39% were born abroad and 28% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballaghaderreen?
62% are Catholic, 9.7% have no religion and 28% another religion; 5.5% didn’t say.
Is Ballaghaderreen good for families?
39% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 30% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballaghaderreen are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballaghaderreen?
Median gross household income in Ballaghaderreen was €35,460 in 2022, against €51,010 across Co. Roscommon 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).