Older than 92% of Irish towns: half of Ballygawley is over 42.5
2.9% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 12% across Ireland’s towns. At the 2022 Census, 285 people lived in Ballygawley, in 105 households. Locally, 88% of residents describe themselves as White Irish. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of Irish towns.
Faster growth than 83% of Irish towns: Ballygawley changed by +16% since 2016
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 the median change is +8%; across Co. Sligo’s towns, +10%.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in Ballygawley, less than in 71% of Irish towns
Share of residents in each five-year band; the tick is the typical town.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 61% of Irish towns: 15%. The biggest five-year age group is 10–14, with 9.5% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Ireland’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 81 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Co. Sligo 52.2%, Ireland 51.2%.
12% of residents 15 and over are students, more than in 80% of Irish towns
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
In Ballygawley, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 7.5% across Ireland’s towns.
46% of households are parents with children, more than in 65% of Irish towns
Private households by CSO’s family types, beside the county’s towns and Ireland’s.
Against Co. Sligo’s towns and Ireland’s towns
People per household
Ireland’s towns.
Households in Ballygawley hold 2.8 people on average (Ireland’s towns: 2.7). The wider picture: 43% of households are parents with children across Ireland’s towns. The census found that 22% of households are one person living alone in the town.
5.3% of homes are holiday homes, a share 95% of Irish towns don’t reach
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
Nine in ten households are on broadband; 5.9% have no internet connection (typical: 7.6%). Locally, 3% of households have no car or van. Across Ireland’s towns, the share of holiday homes is 0.2%.
€54,260 a year is the median household income here
Household income in 2022 from CSO’s linked administrative data (GPIIA): the middle household’s income before and after tax.
The median household earns €54,260 gross, 10% less than the Ireland median (€60,120). Countywide in Co. Sligo, the median is €50,440.
Below 83% of Irish towns: 15% of residents were born outside Ireland
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.
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the UK (6.7%) and outside the EU and UK (4.2%). As a reference point, 22% of residents were born outside Ireland across Ireland’s towns. At 9.6%, the share of residents with another country’s citizenship is lower than in nearly four fifths of Irish towns.
Daily speakers of Irish outside education make up 3.3% in Ballygawley, more than in 99% 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 ability to speak Irish extends to 131 residents (49% of those aged 3 and over). The share of daily speakers of Irish outside education across Ireland’s towns is 1.1%.
No religion: 9.2% of residents, a lower share than 96% 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: 88% of Ballygawley · Co. Sligo’s towns 81% · Ireland’s towns 78%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White Irish, the largest groups are Other White (7.8%), Black or Black Irish (2.1%) and Other, including mixed (2.1%). Measured more widely, 17% of residents said they have no religion across Ireland’s towns. Residents who said they are Catholic are more common here than in 97% of Irish towns.
More married residents 15 and over than 99% of Irish towns: 47%
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.
In Ballygawley, 5.3% of residents give unpaid care. 46% of the town’s residents 15 and over are single and 47% married, against 56% and 34% across Ireland’s towns.
A larger share of adults with a degree or higher than 58% of Irish towns: 39%
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 Ballygawley, 7.9%, and 12% hold a postgraduate qualification. Measured more widely, 36% of adults whose education has ended hold a degree or higher across Ireland’s towns.
No nearby town is as old as Ballygawley
The nearest places, coloured by median age; each is a census urban area.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Parents with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballygawley | 285 | — | 42.5 | 15% | 46% |
| Collooney | 1,797 | 4.0 km | 34.9 | 9.6% | 48% |
| Ballysadare | 1,747 | 5.4 km | 35.5 | 11% | 41% |
| Sligo | 20,608 | 8.8 km | 38.5 | 17% | 33% |
| Coolaney | 1,155 | 11.2 km | 34 | 5.9% | 58% |
| Ballymote | 1,711 | 13.0 km | 40.2 | 18% | 37% |
| Strandhill | 1,982 | 13.4 km | 41.1 | 14% | 44% |
Health, work, housing and schools
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Against Co. Sligo’s towns and Ireland’s towns. Co. Sligo 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 Ballygawley’s residents
What is the population of Ballygawley?
Ballygawley had 285 residents at the 2022 Census, counted within its urban area, 16% more than 2016.
What is the average age in Ballygawley?
The median age is 42.5. 26% are under 18 and 15% 65 or older.
How many people speak Irish in Ballygawley?
49% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Irish (131 people), and 3.3% speak it every day outside education, against a typical 1.1% across Ireland’s towns.
How diverse is Ballygawley?
88% describe themselves as White Irish (Ireland’s towns: 78%); 15% were born abroad and 9.6% are citizens of another country.
What religion are people in Ballygawley?
84% are Catholic, 9.2% have no religion and 6.4% another religion; 1.1% didn’t say.
Is Ballygawley good for families?
46% of households are parents with children (Ireland’s towns 43%), and 26% of residents are under 18. Schools near Ballygawley are on its Schools page.
What is the median income in Ballygawley?
Median gross household income in Ballygawley was €54,260 in 2022, against €50,440 across Co. Sligo 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).