Talk:List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland

2011 census

With the new census figures released, I think this page could do with an update. I would also suggest that this time around, to avoid any ambiguity, that only the population of the towns are included, rather than an arbitrarily adding 'environs'. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.210.216.27 (talk) 13:34, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Is is just me or is Rathkeale, Co.Limerick missing from this list? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adro947 (talk • contribs) 19:10, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Im not sure of this but I think in the 2011 Census, Rathkeales population dropped to below 2,000. ShaneMc2010 12:14, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

This does not match the Census/CSO web page - Feargal Timon - limerick is closer to 57000 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.46.38.227 (talk) 16:55, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

2006 census

Perhaps it would be a good idea to create a new column on the right of this table and insert the 2006 census figures as they become available. This might avoid the reverts and inaccurate edits to the 2002 figures that have crept into this page. ww2censor 16:27, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

The 2006 preliminary results are out now, but not the final results. Only in the final results do we get the true populations for town and cities. (The preliminary results only give populations for areas within boundaries, whereas on this page we use full town/city population figures.) Once the 2006 final report comes out then the 2002 figures will be obsolete and we will of course be able to move wholesale to the 2006 figures.

I have two main bugbears about what is happening at present: 1) People do not actually read the page and see that the figures refer to the 2002 census. Even in the absence of a census, people still come up with all sorts of crazy figures, and add them in. 2) People have this annoying habit of only updating certain figures and not others! For example, the bloke I just reverted a while ago, promoted Celbridge to some spurious, non-2002 figure, while leaving almost every other town on the list with the 2002 figure. So not only did he use the wrong figure, but he also only updated? a few towns, thus creating a crazy, meaningless list of populations, allowing only for apples and oranges comparisons!

People's propensity either for stupidity or for saboutage beggars belief. (Had to get that out there. ;) ) Merlante 17:10, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

Yeah Merlante you are correct on all points. It is truly a pity some people who look at this encyclopaedia are actually unable to understand the meaning what they are reading. But that holds true for the rest of life too I see. Cheers ww2censor 18:37, 1 September 2006 (UTC)

I have added the columns for 2006 - does anyone have the figures? also does anyone know how to align the figures to the right-hand side of each cell?Peter Clarke 14:53, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

Just to say you've titled this page as 'List of Towns in the Republic of Ireland' when you've clearly just lumped all towns surronding any of the cities into one. Nearly all of the suburbs in the dublin jurisdiction are towns in their own right. Just saying this is quite misleading. Marc (from the town of Dundrum)

Tallaght

Where does Tallaght fit into all this? It's surprising that the Central Statistics Office includes it with Dublin and environs, considering its size, when Swords, on the other hand, is considered seperately. Ga2re2t (talk) 15:59, 21 December 2007 (UTC)

I think that is simply because Tallaght has been part of the contiguous built-up area of Dublin since the 1970s; Swords arguably still isn't due to the airport "exclusion zone" that maintained a tract of agricultural land between it and the city. The old Dun Laoghaire Borough was larger than modern Tallaght and had its own local Authority but the area was always included as part of the city environs because it was "joined-up" 100 years ago. Looking ahead, I'd say the way the whole area east of the airport; Clongriffin/"Northern fringe", Baldoyle, Portmarnock and Malahide are rapidly expanding and joining to each other and to Swords that in a 10 years Swords might find itself like Tallaght!(Sarah777 (talk) 00:48, 22 December 2007 (UTC))

I can't see why this will make those cities a part of Dublin. Take a look at the San Francisco bay area. Allmost all the cities in that region actually make up one large megapole city but still keep their separate identities as cities, such as (anti-clockwise direction) San Francisco, San Mateo, Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Jose, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland and Berkeley. Ga2re2t (talk) 15:42, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

Normally if the are contiguous they are regarded as a single city. Makes more geographical sense. Tallaght grew from 500 to 100,000 purely because it was a suburb of Dublin; ditto Swords. If Tallaght was in Mayo it would not be much bigger than it was in 1960. That's why Navan and Naas and Wicklow and Newbridge etc are regarded as part of the Greater Dublin Area. Sarah777 (talk) 19:02, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

County Fingal?

I think towns in Fingal should be listed as being in County Dublin for the following reasons.

Arguments for the change:-

• "Traditionally", there are 26 counties in the Rep. of Ireland, and these counties are what most people would recognise.
• County Tipperary is listed as one county, even though it was split into North and South under the Local Government Act, 2001. In my opinion, towns in Fingal should follow the same format and be listed as County Dublin.
• According to Counties of Ireland, Ireland was subdivided into 29 counties for "administrative purposes". The majority of the population of Ireland would still consider there to be 26 counties in the Republic.

FreeT (talk) 03:07, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Agree totally. Sarah777 (talk) 19:10, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

Obsolete info re: 2002

I think that the 2002 figures are now — 8 years later — irrelevant. I therefore suggest two things:

1. Removing the 2002 rankings and figures columns; and
2. Inserting a new column in their stead: a percentage increase from 2002 to 2006.

This would achieve both removing irrelevant information, and allowing one to rank towns according to population increases, which is now currently impossible. ConorBrady^.ie (caint) 19:05, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

I have effected this change, and have also included a column showing the ranking change from 2002 to 2006. (cf Urban areas in Denmark.) ConorBrady^.ie (caint) 08:53, 3 July 2010 (UTC)

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Urban or Rural?

When a town is givin two (or 3) figures for population, namely rural, urban and environs, do you add them up or do you just take the Town figure? Some of the towns on this list contain both figures, and some just the town figure, so essentially the town will cause confusion until one is deceided. ShaneMc2010 12:31, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Dubious

This edit seems to have added Castlebar at the expense of Tralee, with several digits of the population number being identical. That doesn't seem right, or is it? 31.18.249.107 (talk) 22:45, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

You are right, correction done. — M-le-mot-dit (T) 10:42, 1 November 2012 (UTC)

At least one guy is busy with a campaign to make Castlebar more important and bigger than it really is. Quite annoying, but reverting can fix that, here and everywhere. The Banner talk 21:07, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

Balbriggan

Why is balbriggan even here!? All suburbs of the cities should be excluded from the list to give a more clear and accurate representation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brancott (talk • contribs) 00:34, 12 March 2014 (UTC)

Dungarvan is the county town of Waterford?

There seems to be no source for this, and it seems wrong both historically and administratively. Perhaps this refers to D. being the administrative centre of the "Waterford County" council area -- but that's now been merged back with the City, and it's the city that's the new admin centre. 79.97.71.180 (talk) 18:43, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

I have a quick root around, on the Co Waterford page for links and the Dungarvan page for links, and it appears other than WCoCo webite is poor for navigating, you would be correct and its refernces are outdated. Murry1975 (talk) 18:53, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

Here they call it The administrative capital of the county (...) The Banner talk 20:33, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

Yes they do and so do other sources, but Waterford County Council is now administered with the City [1] And they have an amalgamation link to help. However an office for customer care will be open in Dungarvan, Tramore area office, Lismore area office, Kilmacthomas/Comeragh area office will all close. This office still deals with some aspects of administration, but not solely for the county. Murry1975 (talk) 20:53, 31 October 2014 (UTC)

But do you have any prove that Dungarvan is NOT the county town anymore? I can't find that. The Banner talk 04:33, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

See my comment below. But importantly, WP doesn't claim things until they can be disproved, it states -- or should state, and claims that it will only state! -- things that can be verified.

From the merged council website, it appears that not only are "customer care centres" in both locations remaining open, but also the council meetings are (roughly) alternating between the two: Plenary Council meetings. Does that mean that it has two "administrative centres", or indeed two "county towns"? Unclear. Needs a reliable, current source. Really, the term "county town" might be better avoided entirely, unless sources directly use that concept, lest we WP:SYNTH the two together. 79.97.71.180 (talk) 13:08, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

@The Banner, if I could find a proper source I would have removed it, hence why I left it. :)Murry1975 (talk) 16:08, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

I have found this source: Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report 2013. They state: The new local electoral area in the west of the county acknowledges the position and status of Dungarvan, which is currently the 'county' town of Waterford County Council and has a town council. page 124 ([2]) The Banner talk 23:31, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

Cheers the Banner, but anything from after the merger? Murry1975 (talk) 23:36, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

Why would they change the county towns? The same source refers to Ennis as county town with own town council. By now, it still is the county town (but without town council). We have proof that Dungarvan was the county town up to the 2014 local elections. There is no proof that that change in local government also changed the county towns. That would have left some traces. The Banner talk 00:08, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Clearly that source is both on the one hand, using 'scare quotes' in regards to the term "county town", and on the other has been superseded by the merger. It can't be the "'county' town of Waterford County Council" when "Waterford County Council" no longer exists. The entity of which it was the admin centre was never the whole county in the first place, hence the need for the use-mention distinction -- the same report elsewhere uses "county town" for other such without any such qualification. The argument from silence is unconvincing because "county town" is not a formally defined term. What traces would informally changing an informal term leave? 79.97.71.180 (talk) 12:35, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Sorry, but in my opinion you two are just doing difficult. There was proof that Dungarvan was de county toen. There is no proof that it is not the county town any more. Ergo: Dungarvan is still the county town. Case closed in my opinion. The Banner talk 16:41, 2 November 2014 (UTC)

Please WP:AGF. We're not being recreationally "difficult"; we'd like an article that's properly sourced, if (if it's as suspect as it seems), more accurate. Concisely: that's not what your evidence "proves". Your evidence is definitively out of date. Please refer back to my earlier points in this regard. 79.97.71.180 (talk) 20:31, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

It's in any case somewhat problematic to use the two concepts of "county town" and "administrative centre" synonymously. For example, one will immediately then conclude that the "county town" of "County Cork" isn't in said "County" at all, which is a... counter-intuitive result. 79.97.71.180 (talk) 03:16, 1 November 2014 (UTC)

Found this PDF, it outlines that Dungarvan is still a county town, but Tramore(?) is not. Too many inconsitencies here. Murry1975 (talk) 17:38, 3 November 2014 (UTC)

I think this is a reference back to the NSS, wherein "county and other large towns" are an identified category, so where Tramore is referred to thus, it's perhaps a shorthand for that wider category. And of course, Dungarvan was the County Council's administrative centre at the time of the NSS... 79.97.71.180 (talk) 20:31, 3 November 2014 (UTC)