CSO stats.... Dunshaughlin has population of over 6,600 while Kilcloon was the fastest growing village

Dunshaughlin was the fastest growing town in County Meath with its population growing by a staggering 65 per cent in the last six years.

According to the Census 2022 figures, Dunshaughlin now has a population of 6,644, up from 4,035 in the previous census in 2016.

It makes it the fastest growing town in Meath and now has a larger population than the town of Kells which grew by eight per cent to 6,608.

The fastest growing village was Kilcloon, which saw its population grow by 68 per cent from 280 to 460 over the six year period.

Meath's largest town of Navan saw its population grow by 12 per cent to 33,686, while Ashbourne remains Meath's second largest town with a population of 15,680, up 24 per cent since the last census.

Following closely behind is Laytown/Bettystown/Mornington/Donacarney which now has a population of 15,642, with the coastal area's population up by almost a third over the six years.

Ratoath's population grew by six per cent to surpass the 10,000 mark and now has 10,077 residents. Trim's population is now at 9,563, up four per cent.

Dunboyne's population fell slightly but the town boundaries may not be exactly the same as the previous Census for each of the towns.

Other areas of the county that saw a big rise in population included Clonee village (46 per cent), Kilmessan (39 per cent), Rathmolyon (38 per cent), Enfield (13 per cent) and Stamullen (11 per cent).

The smaller villages also saw notable increases including Drumconrath (23 per cent), Nobber (17 per cent), Killmainhamwood (15 per cent) and Robinstown (10 per cent).

The population of each of the six municipal district areas of Meath County Council as per Census 2022 are as follows: Laytown/Bettystown 40,660; Ratoath, 39,326; Navan 39,294; Kells 34,575; Ashbourne 33,516; Trim 33,455.

Overall the population of Meath now stands at 220,836, an increase of 13 per cent on Census 2016, making it one of the fastest growing counties in the country.

The population of Ireland increased to 5,149,139, an eight per cent increase between 2016 and 2022, breaking the five million mark.

Meanwhile, detailed information for each community in the county is now available following the Central Statistics Office's publication of the Small Area Population Statistics from Census 2022. An interactive map is available where you can zoom in to your local area and learn more about your community and is searchable by Eircode.

This is the most detailed set of data produced from the Census 2022 results covering topics such as sex, age and marital status, families, housing, education, commuting and occupation as well as new topics such as volunteering and childcare.

Cormac Halpin, Senior Statistician, explained: “This is the most detailed set of data that is produced from the census. These statistics provide great detail on areas ranging from local communities and electoral divisions, right up to county and province level by using the Boundary dropdown menu.

"The publication means data is available for the full set of 18,919 Small Areas, each of which generally covers between 60 and 120 households. The data is used for everything from providing people with information about their local neighbourhood to helping businesses make decisions on where to locate. This could be a bike shop hoping to expand into a new area, a local transport operator assessing the viability of a new bus service, or a local business wanting data on the household composition of their area. Census small area data can help inform these types of decisions. Communities can use the data to strengthen their case in the pursuit of additional services, whether that is for child-minding facilities, youth services, or elderly support. This data is an important national resource, is easily accessible, and freely available for all to use."