Carney’s story
Carney: 2 buildings on the National Inventory
2% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
- 1880House, Carney
- 1880Water pump, Carney
CarneyCo. Sligo
The town has 373 residents and lies in Co. Sligo.
5 places within 19 kmMap →
Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
373
CSO, Census 2022 · Sligo County Council
Median age
37.4
6% are 65+ · Co. Sligo 14%
Degree level
49%
of residents 15+ · Irish towns 36%
Walk, cycle, transit
3%
of working residents · Irish towns 23%
Is Carney a good place to live?
A typical home sold for €233,300, or 3.4 years of the town’s median household income. Of those who commute, 3% go on foot, by bike or by public transport. Only 6% of residents are 65 or over. The 2022 census put unemployment at 5%.
There are no grades for Carney: Irish towns need 1,000 residents for them.
What makes Carney stand out
The 3 things Carney does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
3% walk, cycle or ride
Against 23% in the median of Irish towns
CSO, Census 2022
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
Only 6% are 65 or over
Against 14% in the median of Irish towns
CSO, Census 2022
Unemployment rate, Census 2022
Work
5% unemployment
Of the labour force, Census 2022 (the median of Irish towns: 9%)
68% of residents 15 and over are at work.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carney.
Natural hazards
Low radon and steady ground in Carney; flooding isn’t measured here
Rosses Point Beach, 4.5 km from Carney, is the closest bathing water; it was rated excellent in 2025. By estimate, fewer than one home in a hundred here has radon above the reference level. Also worth knowing: the ground under Carney carries no high landslide susceptibility.
0%of homes in high-radon areas
Homes exposed · share of the town’s homes
In high-radon areas0%
On high landslide susceptibility0%
| Share of homes | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 0% | – | 0% |
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0% | – | 0% |
4.5 km
to Rosses Point Beach bathing water (excellent)
174
homes mapped for these shares
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
Climate
Carney has cooler summers than Irish towns: July highs of 18.4°C
A year brings 1,307 mm of rain, above Irish towns (937 mm). Averaged across the seasons, Carney sits at 10.1°C. This Co. Sligo town sees January nights of 3.2°C on average.
18.4°CJuly afternoon high
Average afternoon highs by season · 1991–2020 averages
Winter8.7°C
Spring12.7°C
Summer18.0°C
Autumn13.7°C
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 18.4°C | – | 19.9°C |
| Rain a year | 1,307 mm | – | 937 mm |
| January low | 3.2°C | – | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 10.1°C | – | 10.3°C |
18.4°C
July high
3.2°C
January low
1,307 mm
Rain a year
141 mm
Wettest month
52
Air frosts
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Health
Fewer people in Carney are in bad health than its ages would predict: 39 per 100 expected, under Irish towns
In the HSE West and North West health region, just over a third of people hold a medical card. At the census, 94% of people in Carney called their health good or very good, above Irish towns (88%). On top of that, 7% of residents in Carney care, unpaid, for a relative or friend.
94%good or very good health
Per 100 expected at the town’s ages · age-standardised
Bad health39
Disability104
Expected100
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 94%Fair 5%Bad or very bad 1%
| Census 2022 | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 94% | – | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 0.5% | – | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 7% | – | 5.4% |
| With a disability | 19% | – | 22% |
39
bad health per 100 expected · Co. Sligo –
83.5 · 79.5
life expectancy, women · men, the Border region, 2016
34%
hold a medical card, HSE West and North West
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
Housing
Carney is a town of owners: 70% of households own their home, above Irish towns
Social housing holds 5% of households, lower than Irish towns (13%). Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households.
€233Kmedian sale price
Median sale price · Eircode area, 2023–2025
Carney€233K
Irish towns€350K
| Housing | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households in social housing | 5% | – | 13% |
| Median sale price | €233K | – | €350K |
| Households owning their home | 70% | – | 61% |
70%
own their home · Irish towns 61%
€1,156
a month on new tenancies, County Sligo
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area F91, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Outdoors
Woodland runs close to Carney: 11% of the land within 1 km, more than Irish towns
Among the protected sites near Carney is Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) SAC. Within 5 km, 14% of the land is protected nature, above Irish towns (1.8%). 100% of homes are within 400 m of green space.
100%of homes near green space
Green space per 1,000 residents · per 1,000 residents
Carney5.2 ha
Irish towns4.1 ha
| Outdoors | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 11% | – | 2.7% |
| Protected nature within 5 km | 14% | – | 1.8% |
| Sea within 5 km | 23% | – | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.4 km per km² | – | 2.1 km per km² |
100%
Near a park
5.2 ha
Green space
2 km
Footpaths
14%
Protected for nature
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Weather
Carney, today: mostly sunny, and the thermometer reaches 11 degrees
Judged by the averages, Carney sees November days reach 11°C and nights fall to 5°C. Today stays dry but breezy, with wind up to 21 km/h and a low of 6°C. The coming days top out somewhere between 7°C and 10°C; Thursday looks warmest.
11°C / 6°CToday
This month and the next three, normal highs · 1991–2020 averages
November11°C
December9°C
January8°C
February9°C
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 9°C | 3°C | 367 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 6°C | 256 mm |
| Summer | 18°C | 11°C | 314 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 8°C | 371 mm |
11°C / 6°C
Today
None
Rain, next 24 hours
18 km/h
Wind
98%
Humidity
9 h 11 min
Daylight
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
Work & commute
Fewer commuters in Carney walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in Irish towns: 2.7%
In work: nearly three quarters of residents aged 15 to 64, above Irish towns (68%). At the census, 85% of commuters went by car. The unemployment rate comes to 5.1%.
3%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2022
Car or van85%
Walk2%
Bus1%
| Census 2022 | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 5.1% | – | 9.2% |
| Average trip | 22.6 min | – | 27.6 min |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 74% | – | 68% |
| Median household income | €68,820 | – | €57,760 |
€68,820
household income, 2022 estimate · Co. Sligo €50,438
3%
trips of an hour or more
2,120
on the Live Register, County Sligo, September 2026
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.
Who lives here
Children make up 27% of Carney, above Irish towns
Degrees are held by 49% of adults. 5.9% of residents are 65 or over, lower than Irish towns (14%). Overseas births account for 15% of the people living here.
37.4median age
CarneyCo. SligoIreland
Ages · share of residents
12%
Highest education · residents 15 and older who have finished education
Primary or none2%
Lower secondary9%
Leaving Cert30%
Diploma or cert10%
Degree or higher49%
Women and men · all residents
50.7% of Carney’s residents are women
189 women and 184 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 27% | – | 20% |
| 15–24 | 12% | – | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | – | 29% |
| 45–64 | 29% | – | 24% |
| 65+ | 5.9% | – | 14% |
| Primary or none | 1.9% | – | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 9% | – | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 30% | – | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 10% | – | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 49% | – | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Sligo and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Town hall
More people in Carney vote than in Irish towns: 55% turnout at the local elections
No party holds a majority on Sligo County Council: Fianna Fáil lead with 6 of 18 seats, short of the 10 needed. At the general election 61% voted, higher than Irish towns (59%). Sligo County Council runs Carney: Ireland has one tier of local government, with no town council below it.
6/18seats held by Fianna Fáil
Seats on Sligo County · June 2024
Fianna Fáil6
Fine Gael4
Independent4
Sinn Féin2
People Before Profit–Solidarity1
Labour Party1
| Turnout | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | – | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 61% | – | 59% |
5
Councillors
6/18
Fianna Fáil seats on Sligo County, the largest party
55%
turnout, June 2024
4
TDs elected for Sligo-Leitrim
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
History
Carney counts 2 buildings on the architectural inventory
Scaled to its population, Carney has 54 inventory buildings per 10,000 people, above Irish towns (48). 2.2% of homes were built before 1919.
2inventory buildings
Buildings by NIAH rating · NIAH
International0
National0
Regional2
Among them
- House, Carney 1880
- Water pump, Carney 1880
0
sites on the Sites and Monuments Record
1880
earliest dated inventory building
| Heritage | Carney | Co. Sligo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 54 | – | 48 |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 0 | – | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Lissadell House & Gardens and 5 more in and around Carney
Castles, abbeys, gardens, museums and days out in and near Carney. Best known first.
GardenLissadell House & Gardens3.4 km outside town, to the westHistoric houseHistoric houseDrumcliffe Round Tower And High Cross2.2 km outside town, to the southeastNatural landscapeNatural landscapeBenbulben4.4 km outside town, to the northeastChurchChurchDrumcliffe Church and Grave of W.B Yeats2.3 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteDrumcliff Round Tower2.2 km outside town, to the southeastHistoric siteHistoric siteGrave of WB Yeats2.3 km outside town, to the southeastPlaces: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0) · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (1)
- Lissadell House & Gardens: Aspdin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Carney
15pages on Carney
Landmarks
Carney’s built heritage counts 2 inventory entries, each of regional standing.
Famous people from around Carney
No notable person born in Carney is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
N
Neil JordanIrish filmmaker and fiction writer · born in Sligo · born 1950
D
Dave KennedyIrish racing driver · born in Sligo · born 1953
Photo credits
Shane Filan: Harrywad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Mark Feehily: Can't stop shooting film from Nha Trang, Vietnam, CC BY 2.0 · Kian Egan: Harrywad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Michael J. Ryan: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, CC BY 2.0
Carney’s neighbours
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
SligoStrandhillBallysadareCollooneyCoolaneyCarney
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | km | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carney | 373 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sligo | 20,608 | 8.4 | C | B+ | C− | C− |
| Strandhill | 1,982 | 8.9 | — | C− | C− | A+ |
| Ballysadare | 1,747 | 14 | — | B+ | A− | B+ |
| Collooney | 1,797 | 18 | — | B+ | A− | C+ |
| Coolaney | 1,155 | 19 | — | A− | A+ | B |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Questions about Carney
How old are the people of Carney?
The median age in Carney is 37.4, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns.
How do people in Carney get to work?
11% mostly work from home, and 29% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Is Carney growing?
Carney had 373 people at the 2022 census, down from 374 in 2016: 0.3% fewer, while the median of Irish towns grew 7.6%.
About Carney
Urban area in Co. Sligo
373 people live in Carney, in the area of Sligo 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)
- Population
- 373 (CSO, Census 2022)
- County
- Sligo
- Council
- Sligo County Council
- Local electoral area
- Sligo-Drumcliff
- Dáil constituency
- Sligo-Leitrim
- Name in Irish
- Fearann Uí Chearnaigh
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km²)
- CSO code
- UA:31150
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).