Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Co. Wicklow has a population of 238. The population grew 15% between 2016 and 2022.
Homes sell for a median €422,500, about 7.2 times what a household here earns in a year. 15 of its buildings are on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Residents born outside Ireland: 8%. Of those who commute, 13% go on foot, by bike or by public transport.
Donard isn’t graded: grades for Irish towns begin at 1,000 residents.
The 3 things Donard does most differently from other towns.
6 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
18% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Donard.
2 schools lie within 3 km of Donard: 2 primary schools.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donard N.S.Largest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 188 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 0% | 9% | 8% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 20% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +16% | +12% | +4% |
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.
On high landslide susceptibility: 0.8% of homes, near Co. Wicklow’s towns (0.4%) and higher than Irish towns (0%). Under 1% of homes in Donard are estimated to have radon above the reference level. Hardly any of its homes sit low beside water.
| Share of homes | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| On high landslide susceptibility | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0% |
| In high-radon areas | 0% | 0% | 0% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
The mean temperature over a year in Donard is 9.3°C. 1,159 mm of rain falls in a year, above Co. Wicklow’s towns (988 mm) and Irish towns (937 mm) alike. Expect July highs of around 19.5°C here.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1.4°C | 3.3°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.3°C | 10.5°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 1,159 mm | 988 mm | 937 mm |
| July high | 19.5°C | 19.7°C | 19.9°C |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
At the census, 2.6% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. For its ages, Donard has 103 people with a disability for every 100 expected, below Co. Wicklow’s towns (111) and close to Irish towns (106). Family carers: 6.7% of the people in Donard look after someone without pay.
| Census 2022 | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpaid carers | 6.7% | 5.6% | 5.4% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.6% | 1.8% | 2% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 90% | 88% |
| With a disability | 22% | 24% | 22% |
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 18% of households, higher than both Co. Wicklow’s towns (14%) and Irish towns (13%). 19% of households rent privately.
| Housing | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households owning their home | 56% | 71% | 61% |
| Households in social housing | 18% | 14% | 13% |
| Median sale price | €423K | €440K | €350K |
| Households renting privately | 19% | 16% | 22% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure · The price is for the postcode area W91, not the town alone: too few sales inside the town carry a full address.
Green space comes to 10.1 ha for every 1,000 people in Donard. Protected sites cover 5% of the land within 5 km, above Co. Wicklow’s towns (3.9%) and Irish towns (1.8%) alike. Within 400 m of green space: 100% of homes.
| Outdoors | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland within 1 km | 18% | 5.7% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 100% | 75% | 92% |
| Sea within 5 km | 0% | 34% | 0% |
| Paths per km² of town | 0.2 km per km² | 1.2 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Long-term averages for Donard put November days at 10°C and November nights at 3°C. It should stay dry today, with a fresh breeze of up to 24 km/h and a low near 7°C. Over the days that follow, afternoons range between 8°C and 10°C, with Thursday the mildest.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 1°C | 313 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 4°C | 237 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 10°C | 259 mm |
| Autumn | 13°C | 6°C | 351 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
14% of workers worked mainly from home, above both Co. Wicklow’s towns (11%) and Irish towns (11%). At the census, 72% of people aged 15 to 64 had a job. Before tax, the average household brings in €58,640 a year.
| Census 2022 | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 35.2 min | 31.6 min | 27.6 min |
| Trips under 15 minutes | 25% | 36% | 31% |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 72% | 69% | 68% |
| Median household income | €58,640 | €64,387 | €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.
People 65 and over make up 18% of the town. 21% are under 15, about level with Irish towns (20%) and below Co. Wicklow’s towns (24%). Foreign-born residents make up 7.6% of the population.
51.3% of Donard’s residents are women
122 women and 116 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 28% | 26% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 26% | 24% |
| 65+ | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 7.4% | 10% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 21% | 15% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 36% | 36% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 8% | 6.5% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 28% | 32% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Wicklow and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
55% of voters turned out at the last local elections. Donard is run by Wicklow County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. At the general election 68% voted, near Co. Wicklow’s towns (68%) and higher than Irish towns (59%). Also worth knowing: with 10 of 32 seats, Independent are the largest group on Wicklow County Council, short of the 17 a majority needs.
| Turnout | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| General election, November 2024 | 68% | 68% | 59% |
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | 54% | 46% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Nearly a fifth of homes date from before 1919. 6 recorded monuments and archaeological sites lie in and around the town.
| Heritage | Donard | Co. Wicklow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 630 | 54 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 18.3% | 5.5% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 6 | 14 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
Nothing to visit is mapped within 5 km of Donard; these are the best known within 40 km.
Abbey or prioryGlendalough19 km east
National parkWicklow Mountains National Park15 km east
Historic houseRussborough House and Parklands14 km north
CastleBallyloughan Castle23 km southwest
CastleCarlow Castle30 km southwest
Abbey or prioryBaltinglass Abbey11 km southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
15 of Donard’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 6 archaeological sites in and around the town.
No notable person born in Donard is on our list; these were born in the towns around it.
Ninette de Valois: Rob Croes for Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Louise Quinn: Anders Henrikson, CC BY 2.0 · Jennie Wyse Power: Unknown author Unknown author, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donard | 238 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dunlavin | 1,074 | 7.1 | — | C | A− | B |
| Baltinglass | 2,611 | 11 | C+ | B | A− | C |
| Kilcullen Kildare | 3,815 | 15 | A+ | B+ | A | B− |
| Rathvilly Carlow | 1,074 | 17 | — | B− | A+ | B |
| Blessington | 5,611 | 17 | C+ | C | B− | B |
| Athgarvan Kildare | 1,193 | 18 | — | C+ | C | A |
People: CSO, Census 2022. Distances: centre to centre.
Donard had 238 people at the 2022 census, up from 207 in 2016: 15% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Donard is 41.1, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 21% of residents are under 15 and 18% are 65 or over.
Urban area in Co. Wicklow
238 people live in Donard, in the area of Wicklow 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).