Bantry among three regions with more deaths than births in 2021, says CSO

Cork City North-West had the third-highest incidence of covid deaths per 100,000 of population (129.5) in 2021

The latest release from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the Bantry-West Cork region had 255 deaths compared to 224 births. File picture: Larry Cummins

Bantry-West Cork was one of three local areas in Ireland that had more deaths than births in 2021.

The latest release from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that the region had 255 deaths compared to 224 births.

In 2021, the country spent most of the year under covid-19 restrictions. Some 20 of the 255 deaths recorded in Bantry-West Cork were from covid, with a further 78 from diseases of the respiratory system, while the average age of those who passed away was 77.4.

Only Belmullet in Mayo (56 more deaths than births) and Glenties in Donegal (37 more deaths than births) had a higher rate of what the CSO termed the 'negative natural increase'.

There were 34,844 deaths in 2021 across Ireland.  Of these, Clontarf (528), Ballymun-Finglas (502), and Artane-Whitehall (499) were the Local Electorate Areas (LEAs) with the highest number of deaths, all of which were in Dublin city. 

In contrast, Leixlip in Kildare (65), Ballinamore in Leitrim (76), and Granard in Longford (80) recorded the lowest number of deaths.

Cork City North-West was the LEA outside of Dublin with the largest number of deaths with 407, while it also had the third-highest incidence of covid deaths per 100,000 of population (129.5).

In terms of cause of death, Castleisland in Kerry had the highest crude death rate of diseases of the circulatory system at 368.0 per 100,000 people, though Bantry-West Cork's stood at 325.5

Neoplasms, which can be benign or cancerous, were responsible for the most deaths in 2021, with 9,871 cases, or a rate of 187 per 100,000 people nationally. 

Belmullet, Co Mayo, Glenties, Co Donegal, and Bantry-West Cork, Co Cork were the LEAs which had more deaths than births in 2021https://t.co/rj92gjAR0J#CSOIreland #Ireland #VitalStatistics #VitalStats #Births #Deaths #Marriages #IrishBabiesNames #BoysNames #GirlsNames #BabyNames pic.twitter.com/BqCfNSwv8W

— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) July 24, 2024

Just over 4.5% of deaths in 2021 were due to external causes such as accidents, suicides, assaults, and other external factors — accounting for one in 10 deaths in six local electoral areas

Similarly, many of the 60,575 births in 2021 occurred in and around Dublin. The north inner city, (755), Howth-Malahide, Fingal (732), and Swords, Fingal (727) were the local electoral areas with the highest number of births. 

Ballinamore (104), Belmullet (112), and Manorhamilton in Leitrim (117) had the lowest number of births. Across Cork, the number of babies born ranged from 627 in the Cork City South-West to 224 in Bantry-West.

Fertility rates for women aged 15 to 49 peaked in Bandon-Kinsale at 54%, with Macroom (53.2%), Carrigaline, and Mallow (both 52.4%) also having high rates. Nationally the fertility rate stood at 47.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15-49. 

Carrick-On-Shannon in Leitrim (61.2), Enniscorthy in Wexford (60.8), and Ballybay-Clones in Monaghan (60.6) were the three LEAs with the highest rates.