Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)Co. Laois vs SwordsCo. FingalTown level

The same comparison as the area page, but measured for the town itself, not the whole Eircode routing key.

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iPortlaoise (formerly Maryborough) sits in R32, Swords in K67. Each figure below is tagged with the geographic level it's actually measured at.
Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)
Swords

Outlines are each town's CSO Small Areas — the exact footprint every figure is measured over.

TOWNS
Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)
Co. LAOIS · in R32 · pop · 79 small areas
Swords
Co. FINGAL · in K67 · pop · 124 small areas
Prices & market● TOWN · exact
Median sale price
€272k
€415k
Typical range (P25–P75)
€205k – €330k
€335k – €495k
Sales (24m)
1,217
944
Price momentum (YoY)
+35.9%
+1.2%
New-build share
17.4%
0.1%
Schools, health & amenities● TOWN · counts
Count of each facility whose location falls inside the town boundary. Bigger towns naturally score higher — read alongside population.
Schools
3 prim · 2 sec
9 prim · 4 sec
Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough) · 5 schools (largest first)
Portlaoise College Secondary
952 pupils · 50% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Dunamase College (coláiste Dhún Másc) Secondary
577 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONAL
Scoil Bhride Ns Primary
737 pupils · CatholicDEIS
Holy Family Senior School Primary
643 pupils · Catholic
Holy Family Junior School Primary
601 pupils · Catholic
Swords · 13 schools (largest first)
Fingal Community College Secondary
866 pupils · 75% to 3rd-level · INTER DENOMINATIONAL
St Finians Community College Secondary
661 pupils · 45% to 3rd-level · MULTI DENOMINATIONALDEIS
Loreto College Secondary
632 pupils · 70% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Coláiste Choilm Secondary
425 pupils · 65% to 3rd-level · CATHOLIC
Holy Family Senior N S Primary
627 pupils · Catholic
Holy Family Junior N S Primary
581 pupils · Catholic
Brackenstown Senior N S Primary
569 pupils · Catholic
St Cronans Junior National School Primary
499 pupils · Catholic
S N Cholmcille C Primary
371 pupils · Catholic
S N Cholmille B Primary
335 pupils · Catholic
Thornleigh Educate Together National School Primary
299 pupils · Multi DenominationalDEIS
River Valley Cns Primary
140 pupils · Multi Denominational
Swords Borough N S Primary
90 pupils · Church Of Ireland
Creches
21
33
GP practices
0
5
Pharmacies
12
12
Hospitals
3
0
Bus stops
76
94
Rail / Luas stops
1
0
Gyms & leisure
10
14
Parks & playgrounds
9
19
Sports pitches
23
38
Commute by car● TOWN · from centre
Drive time from the town centre to each city centre — typical off-peak, with an estimated weekday rush hour. OSRM road routing.
Dublin
69m · ~105 rush
21m · ~40 rush
Limerick
81m · ~100 rush
148m · ~165 rush
Waterford
85m · ~100 rush
127m · ~140 rush
Cork
120m · ~140 rush
187m · ~210 rush
Galway
121m · ~145 rush
153m · ~175 rush
Affluence & profile● ELECTORAL DIVISION
Affluence (Pobal HP)
-5
1.9
Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough) · 4 EDs, poorest → richest
-10Portlaoighise UrbanDisadvantaged
-8BorrisBelow average
-4Portlaoighise RuralBelow average
+1ClondarrigAbove average
Swords · 5 EDs, poorest → richest
-2Swords-glasmoreBelow average
-1Swords VillageBelow average
+2Swords-lissenhallAbove average
+4Swords-forrestAbove average
+5Swords-seatownAffluent
Third-level educated
36.3%
43.1%
Professional class
32.5%
42.5%
Unemployment
12.1%
6.8%
Owner-occupier
62.3%
72.2%
Private rental
21.4%
19.8%
Social housing (LA)
12.1%
5.9%
Liveability & safety● AREA · R32 / K67
Wider-area figures, not the town. Quality of life & rank are for the whole Eircode area each town sits in (Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)R32, SwordsK67); safety & crime are the Laois/Offaly Garda division.
Quality of Life
59/100
64/100
National rank
#85
#57
County rank
#1
#14
Safety
40/100
48/100
Crime / 1,000
90.8
79.6

Affluence range

Pobal HP deprivation index — published per Electoral Division, so the spread shows the town's poorest to richest ED. A town that is a single ED shows one mark, no range.

Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough) Below average-5.0
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Portlaoighise Urban -10 (least affluent) → Clondarrig +1 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.
Swords Above average+1.9
← more deprivednational avg · 0more affluent →
Spread across the town: Swords-glasmore -2 (least affluent) → Swords-seatown +6 (most affluent). It straddles the national average.

How accurate is this, and at what level?

● TOWN
Prices, amenities & commute — exact, town-specific.

Prices come from individual PPR sales inside the town's Small-Area boundary; schools, GPs, transport, gyms and parks are counted the same way; commute is routed from the town centre. The figures the routing-key area page can't give you.

● ED
Affluence, profile & tenure — Electoral-Division level.

Pobal HP, third-level, class, unemployment, tenure are published per Electoral Division and averaged across the town's EDs — a range where the town spans several EDs (see the bar above).

● AREA
Liveability & safety — wider-area, not the town.

Quality of life and rank are per Eircode routing key; safety & crime are the Garda division (Laois/Offaly) — coarser than a town, so two towns in the same county read the same.

Population & growth are loaded for ~7 counties so far (not Leinster yet); rent & yield are too sparse per town. Tap Schools or Affluence to drill in. Built from 203 CSO Small Areas.
AffluenceEducationAmenitiesTransportSafetyAffordabilityCity access
Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)Swords
The verdict

Swords is the stronger town on the data — it leads on 5 of the 7 dimensions to Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough)’s 1, with 1 level: affluence, education levels, schools & amenities, safety and access to its nearest city. Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough) leads on affordability.

Higher is better on every spoke — affluence, education, amenity density, transport, safety, affordability and nearest-city access, scored head-to-head.

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