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Food and Beverage Service Enterprises by County in Ireland: CSO Figures 2019 to 2024
The CSO's table BRA34 gives 1,921 "Active Enterprise" in "Co. Cork" in 2024 for "Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56)". That is the second largest county count, after 4,240 in "Co. Dublin", and 11.4% of the 16,783 in "Ireland" by our arithmetic. "Co. Galway" is third with 1,012. The table has no separate figure for cafés, so it does not say how many cafés there are in Cork.
How many Active Enterprise are there in Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56) in each county?
The CSO counts 16,783 "Active Enterprise" for "Ireland" in 2024, and the 26 counties plus "Unknown county" add up to that figure. The largest counts are "Co. Dublin" 4,240 (25.3% by our arithmetic), "Co. Cork" 1,921 (11.4%) and "Co. Galway" 1,012 (6.0%).
Next come "Co. Limerick" 758, "Co. Donegal" 727, "Co. Kerry" 698, "Co. Tipperary" 646 and "Co. Kildare" 612. The smallest counts are "Co. Longford" 159, "Co. Leitrim" 174, "Co. Monaghan" 177 and "Co. Carlow" 195. The shares are ours. The full table is below.
How are Persons Engaged spread across counties?
The CSO gives 168,741 "Persons Engaged" for "Ireland" in 2024. "Co. Dublin" has 69,201, which is 41.0% by our arithmetic, against 25.3% of "Active Enterprise". "Co. Cork" has 17,392 and "Co. Galway" 10,156.
We give these as figures only.
How do 2024 counts compare with 2019?
"Active Enterprise" for "Ireland" went from 15,576 in 2019 to 16,783 in 2024, which is 7.7% more by our arithmetic. "Co. Dublin" went from 3,600 to 4,240 (+17.8%), "Co. Sligo" from 214 to 264 (+23.4%) and "Co. Cork" from 1,804 to 1,921 (+6.5%). Three counties had lower counts: "Co. Kilkenny" 342 to 332 (-2.9%), "Co. Carlow" 203 to 195 (-3.9%) and "Co. Leitrim" 183 to 174 (-4.9%). The changes are ours.
The CSO's table BRA34 carries this note: "From 2022 non-market producers are excluded from Business Demography. This methodology was applied to 2021 in a revision." We quote it as published and draw nothing from it. For a count of enterprises by size, see our page on enterprises by size. For our own audit of websites, which is a different source, see our check of Cork café websites.
What about "Unknown county"?
The CSO publishes "Unknown county" as a row, with 52 "Active Enterprise" in 2024 and 225 "Persons Engaged". Its 2019 figure is not given in the table, so we compute no change for it.
Where do these numbers come from?
They come from the CSO's Business Demography table BRA34, updated 6 October 2026. We took the rows for "Food and Beverage Service Activities (I56)", by county, for 2019 to 2024, and we read the table on 23 October 2026. The statistics are "Active Enterprise", "Persons Engaged" and "Employees".
You can download the figures as a CSV. If you cite it: Cupán Studio, from CSO table BRA34, read 23 October 2026.
| County | Active Enterprise 2024 | Active Enterprise 2019 | Change 2019 to 2024 | Persons Engaged 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 16,783 | 15,576 | +7.7% | 168,741 |
| Co. Dublin | 4,240 | 3,600 | +17.8% | 69,201 |
| Co. Cork | 1,921 | 1,804 | +6.5% | 17,392 |
| Co. Galway | 1,012 | 932 | +8.6% | 10,156 |
| Co. Limerick | 758 | 685 | +10.7% | 6,213 |
| Co. Donegal | 727 | 703 | +3.4% | 5,462 |
| Co. Kerry | 698 | 697 | +0.1% | 5,022 |
| Co. Tipperary | 646 | 594 | +8.8% | 3,922 |
| Co. Kildare | 612 | 526 | +16.3% | 7,146 |
| Co. Mayo | 570 | 548 | +4.0% | 3,505 |
| Co. Meath | 568 | 491 | +15.7% | 4,284 |
| Co. Wexford | 528 | 505 | +4.6% | 4,204 |
| Co. Louth | 497 | 462 | +7.6% | 4,340 |
| Co. Clare | 478 | 432 | +10.6% | 3,166 |
| Co. Waterford | 436 | 434 | +0.5% | 3,025 |
| Co. Wicklow | 428 | 390 | +9.7% | 3,538 |
| Co. Kilkenny | 332 | 342 | -2.9% | 2,889 |
| Co. Westmeath | 322 | 308 | +4.5% | 2,310 |
| Co. Cavan | 292 | 265 | +10.2% | 1,389 |
| Co. Sligo | 264 | 214 | +23.4% | 2,134 |
| Co. Roscommon | 241 | 233 | +3.4% | 1,104 |
| Co. Offaly | 237 | 227 | +4.4% | 1,528 |
| Co. Laois | 219 | 203 | +7.9% | 1,167 |
| Co. Carlow | 195 | 203 | -3.9% | 1,980 |
| Co. Monaghan | 177 | 175 | +1.1% | 861 |
| Co. Leitrim | 174 | 183 | -4.9% | 1,008 |
| Co. Longford | 159 | 136 | +16.9% | 1,570 |
| Unknown county | 52 | not given | not given | 225 |
Sources
- Central Statistics Office, table BRA34, Business Demography, updated 6 October 2026, read 23 October 2026.
Figures from CSO table BRA34, read 23 October 2026; shares and changes are ours; counts as published. A summary of published statistics, not financial advice. Cupán Studio builds websites for cafés in Ireland.
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