New CSO figures reveal the 19 most populated towns in the Republic of Ireland

Did your town make the list?

Drogheda is the most populated town in Ireland, according to figures from the 2016 Census released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Thursday. The list, as you’ve probably gathered, does not include the five cities in the Republic of Ireland – Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. In the 2016 Census, a new “census town” was defined as having a minimum of 50 occupied dwellings, with a maximum distance between any dwelling and the building closest to it of 100 metres, and where there was evidence of an urban centre (shop, school, etc.). 26 new census towns were created for the 2016 Census. Image via cso.ie According to the 2016 Census, 40,956 people live in Drogheda, an increase of 6.2% in the five years from April 2011, when it was also recorded as the largest town in the Republic of Ireland. Eight of the ten most populated towns in Ireland are located in Leinster, with the exceptions being Ennis in Clare (the largest town in Munster) and Killarney in Kerry. With a population of 19,199 people, Sligo was the largest town in Connacht, while Letterkenny in Donegal had the biggest population in the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland. You can see the list of the 19 most populated towns in the country below. The second in a series of 11 thematic reports from the 2016 Census, Profile 2: Population Distribution and Movements detailed the urban/rural population divide, the counties with the highest and lowest proportion of residents born outside the county and that there was a decline in internal migration compared to the 2011 Census. You can view the report in full here.

Most populated towns in Ireland

1. Drogheda, Louth (40,956, + 6.2%)
2. Swords, Fingal (39,248, + 6.3%)
3. Dundalk, Louth (39,004, + 3.1%)
4. Bray, Wicklow (32,600, + 2.3%)
5. Navan, Meath (30,153, + 5.7%)
6. Kilkenny, Kilkenny (26,512, + 8.6%)
7. Ennis, Clare (25,276, - 0.3%)
8. Carlow, Carlow (24,272, + 5.4%)
9. Tralee, Kerry (23,691, no change)
10. Newbridge, Kildare (22,742, + 5.5%)
11. Portlaoise, Laois (22,050, + 9.5%)
12. Balbriggan, Fingal (21,722, + 8.8%)
13. Naas, Kildare (21,393, + 3.3%)
14. Athlone, Westmeath (21,349, + 5.9%)
15. Mullingar, Westmeath (20,928, + 4.1%)
16. Celbridge, Kildare (20,288, + 3.8%)
17. Wexford, Wexford (20,188, + 0.6%)
18. Letterkenny, Donegal (19,274, - 1.6%)
19. Sligo, Sligo (19,199, -1.3%)