Catholic baptisms down 30% in Diocese of Cloyne

The number of Catholic baptisms in the Diocese of Cloyne fell by 30% between 2015 and 2025, according to new figures published by the Iona Institute.

The report, based on data obtained from Catholic dioceses, also found a 23.1% decline in baptisms in the Diocese of Cork and Ross over the same period.

Nationally, the number of Catholic baptisms on the island of Ireland fell by 30% during the decade.

The report found the decline was driven by a combination of falling birth rates (60%) and increasing secularisation.

Dublin saw a 39.9% reduction in baptisms over the 10-year period, with the number of baptisms in Meath over the same period dropping by 40.8%.

The Diocese of Kerry saw a 22.3% reduction in baptisms, while the Diocese of Down & Connor, which contains the city of Belfast,  saw a reduction of 37.9%.

The Diocese of Elphin, which covers parts of the counties of Roscommon, Sligo, Galway and Westmeath, was the only Catholic diocese on the island where there was an increase in baptisms between 2015 and 2025, at 0.9%.

The Iona Institute pointed to CSO figures which showed that in 2016, 78.3% of children aged 0-4 were recorded in the census as Catholic, with 9.2% recorded as having no religion.

By 2022, these figures had changed to 65.4% and 15.6% respectively.

Figures not a surprise

Institute chairman Tom Finegan said the figures are not a surprise “given the rapidly falling number of births and growing secularisation.

“Given that births have fallen by almost a fifth in the last 10 years and more people are ticking the ‘No Religion’ box in the census, we could expect nothing but a big drop in baptism figures.

However, the figures also show that ‘cultural Catholicism’ remains strong on the island.

“We see that as at Census 2022, 67.9% of mothers with children aged 0-4 still identified as catholic, even though a big majority of these would not be regular mass goers.” 

Mr Finegan also noted that, according to the Vatican yearbook, more than 42,000 Catholic children were baptised in Britain in 2023, “even though levels of mass attendance in Britain are low".

“The fall in baptisms must be seen not simply as the result of secularisation, but even more as a result of falling births.

"Ireland’s fertility rate is now just 1.5, well below the replacement level of 2.1.

“This should be of concern to everyone regardless of religious belief.”