Religion in Ireland by county — Census 2022
Census 2022 recorded the most detailed picture of Irish religious identity since the foundation of the state. Nationally, 69% identified as Catholic — down from 78% in 2016 and 84% in 2011. But the national figure conceals sharp county-level variation: from 83% Catholic in Roscommon to 61% in Dublin, and from 8% "No Religion" in rural Connacht to 20% in the capital.
National overview — religion in Ireland 2022
Religion by county — all 26 counties
Sorted from most Catholic to least Catholic. The gap between rural Connacht/Ulster and Dublin reflects both demographic composition and generational shift. Counties in the Dublin commuter belt (Wicklow, Kildare, Meath) reflect Dublin's secular trend with a one-county lag.
| County | Catholic | No Religion | Ch. of Ireland | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Roscommon | 83.2% | 7.6% | 2% | 7.2% |
| 2. Mayo | 82.5% | 7.9% | 1.5% | 8.1% |
| 3. Leitrim | 82.1% | 8.4% | 2.2% | 7.3% |
| 4. Clare | 78.9% | 10.1% | 1.8% | 9.2% |
| 5. Kerry | 79.5% | 9.7% | 1.8% | 9% |
| 6. Tipperary | 77.4% | 10.8% | 2% | 9.8% |
| 7. Sligo | 77.2% | 11% | 2.4% | 9.4% |
| 8. Cavan | 77% | 10.3% | 4.2% | 8.5% |
| 9. Laois | 76.8% | 11.9% | 2% | 9.3% |
| 10. Offaly | 76.5% | 11.8% | 2.1% | 9.6% |
| 11. Kilkenny | 76.4% | 12.2% | 2.3% | 9.1% |
| 12. Wexford | 75.8% | 12.5% | 2.4% | 9.3% |
| 13. Longford | 75.2% | 11.6% | 2.1% | 11.1% |
| 14. Westmeath | 74.5% | 12.4% | 2.2% | 10.9% |
| 15. Louth | 74.3% | 13.2% | 2% | 10.5% |
| 16. Donegal | 73.8% | 10.5% | 2.9% | 12.8% |
| 17. Galway | 73.4% | 13.1% | 1.9% | 11.6% |
| 18. Limerick | 73.2% | 13.5% | 1.8% | 11.5% |
| 19. Carlow | 73% | 13.8% | 2.2% | 11% |
| 20. Meath | 72.6% | 14.8% | 2.5% | 10.1% |
| 21. Monaghan | 71.5% | 11.4% | 4.8% | 12.3% |
| 22. Waterford | 71.3% | 14.9% | 2.1% | 11.7% |
| 23. Cork | 70.8% | 14.6% | 2.4% | 12.2% |
| 24. Wicklow | 66.4% | 17.5% | 3.7% | 12.4% |
| 25. Kildare | 65.9% | 17.8% | 2.9% | 13.4% |
| 26. Dublin | 61.1% | 20.4% | 3.6% | 14.9% |
Source: CSO Census 2022. "Other" includes Muslim, Orthodox Christian, Hindu, other Christian denominations, not stated, and all other religions.
The decline of Catholic Ireland — trend 2006–2022
| Census Year | Catholic % | No Religion % |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 86.8% | 4.4% |
| 2011 | 84.2% | 5.9% |
| 2016 | 78.3% | 9.8% |
| 2022 | 69.0% | 14.4% |
Catholic identification fell by 9.3 percentage points between 2016 and 2022 — the sharpest six-year decline on record. The 2018 abortion referendum and 2015 same-sex marriage referendum are widely cited as inflection points. At the current rate of change, Catholics will be below 60% nationally within two census cycles.
The Dublin–rural divide
The most striking pattern in the 2022 data is the gap between Dublin and the rest of the country. Dublin has a Catholic share (61%) more typical of urban Western European cities; Roscommon and Mayo, at 82–83%, are closer to Catholic majorities seen in Poland or Portugal. Within Dublin, inner-city EDs record "No Religion" rates above 30% — while some EDs in rural Connacht remain above 90% Catholic.
- Dublin city centre: Several electoral divisions record "No Religion" above 30% — the highest rates in the country. Young, educated, urban populations are driving secular identification faster than the national average.
- Commuter belt: Wicklow (17.5% no religion), Kildare (17.8%) and Meath (14.8%) track closely behind Dublin — reflecting Dublin-origin residents relocating outward.
- Connacht and Ulster: Roscommon, Mayo, and Leitrim remain the most consistently Catholic counties. Rural settlement patterns, older age profiles, and lower inward migration combine to slow secularisation.
- Border counties: Donegal and Monaghan have notable Church of Ireland and Presbyterian minorities (the Ulster Protestant tradition). Cavan also has a higher-than-average non-Catholic Christian share at 4.2%.
Non-Catholic religions — immigration and diversity
The "Other religions" category grew from around 6% in 2016 to 9.1% in 2022 — driven primarily by immigration. The largest non-Catholic, non-secular groups are:
- Orthodox Christians (~1.8%): Primarily Romanian, Polish, and Ukrainian-born residents. Concentrated in Dublin, Louth, and Monaghan.
- Muslims (~1.1%): The fastest-growing religious group in percentage terms. Dublin has the highest absolute numbers; Longford, Portlaoise, and Sligo have notable Muslim populations relative to their size.
- Church of Ireland (2.6%): Historically Protestant Church of Ireland is concentrated in Dublin, Wicklow, and the border counties (Donegal, Monaghan, Cavan). Relatively stable over recent censuses.
- Presbyterians (~0.5%): Predominantly in Donegal, Monaghan, and Cavan — reflecting the Ulster Protestant tradition that runs across the border.
Religion at electoral division level
IrelandInsights maps Census 2022 religion data for all 3,420 electoral divisions in Ireland — the same level of detail used for housing, employment, and demographic data. This allows you to see not just county averages, but the internal variation within counties: how a single county can contain both highly secular urban EDs and near-uniformly Catholic rural ones.
Explore diversity data on the map →Explore religion data on the map
Census 2022 religion, nationality, and ethnicity data mapped at electoral division level — the finest geographic granularity available in Ireland.
Related county profiles
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