Shutting Up Shop: Where Irish Businesses Are Closing in 2025
It’s been a tough start to the year for Irish businesses. Since January 2025, more than 3,250 companies have closed their doors. But which counties have been hit hardest?
To find out, we analysed official company closure data from the CRO across Ireland and ranked each county by the number of business closures per 100,000 people. The results reveal where business activity is declining fastest — and where companies are proving more resilient.
Counties With the Most Business Closures (Per 100,000 People)
The top five counties where businesses are closing the quickest:
1. Dublin – 121.04 closures per 100,000
2. Louth – 60.8 closures per 100,000
3. Clare – 60.2 closures per 100,000
4. Meath – 55.7 closures per 100,000
5. Wicklow – 52.0 closures per 100,000
Unsurprisingly, Dublin tops the list with 1,765 businesses closed so far in 2025. But it’s not just a case of scale – even when adjusted for population, the capital has the highest rate of closures. High commercial rents, increased operating costs, and competitive market saturation may be putting pressure on smaller firms in particular.
Louth and Clare’s high closure rates could be tied to shifting economic patterns. Clare, for instance, has a strong tourism and hospitality sector, which is particularly sensitive to seasonal demand and wider economic uncertainty. Louth’s proximity to the border may also introduce additional economic pressures or volatility tied to cross-border commerce and pricing.
Meath and Wicklow – commuter counties with fast-growing populations – have seen rapid development in recent years. That growth can fuel opportunity, but also increased competition and rising costs for smaller, locally owned businesses.
Counties With the Lowest Rate of Closures
At the other end of the scale, some counties have seen far fewer business closures this year:
– Mayo – 18.1 closures per 100,000
– Kilkenny – 21.1 closures per 100,000
– Offaly – 22.9 closures per 100,000
– Cavan – 23.3 closures per 100,000
– Laois – 23.9 closures per 100,000
These counties show a much lower churn rate, which could indicate a more stable or less saturated business environment. In some cases, this may be due to fewer new businesses being launched in the first place, meaning fewer at risk of closure. Lower commercial property costs and tighter-knit local economies may also help firms stay afloat longer.
Counties like Mayo and Offaly, for example, may benefit from stronger local support for SMEs or a business mix that’s less vulnerable to short-term shifts in consumer spending. Kilkenny and Laois, while not typically among the largest economic hubs, may be seeing more sustainable growth, with fewer high-risk or speculative ventures.
What Do These Figures Tell Us?
Business closures are rarely the result of a single issue. They often stem from a combination of rising overheads, reduced consumer spending, staffing challenges, and access to finance. For counties with high closure rates, these factors may be compounding faster than support or demand can keep up.
Conversely, counties with low closure rates might be benefiting from slower, steadier growth, more affordable overheads, or a more stable economic makeup. It’s also possible that more businesses in these regions are operating in essential or less discretionary sectors, making them more resilient to dips in spending.
How We Did It
We analysed over 3,250 business closures across Ireland since the start of 2025 according to data from the CRO. Using the most up-to-date population data, we calculated the number of business closures per 100,000 people in each county to give a fair comparison across regions of all sizes.
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