Data study
Ireland's 10 highest and 10 lowest-rated NDLS centres ranked by Google reviews
The National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) centre in Kilkenny is the best-rated in Ireland, averaging 4.79 stars from 63 Google reviews, while the centre in Ennis, Co. Clare, is the lowest-rated at 3.42 from 52 reviews.
Data collected
Source: SEO Backlinks, https://seobacklinks.com/
Key findings
Skibbereen in Co. Cork is second-best at 4.71 and Donegal Town third at 4.69, followed by Mullingar at 4.65 and Wicklow at 4.64. Four of the 10 best-rated centres are in Leinster, in Kilkenny, Mullingar, Wicklow and Carlow, and three are in Munster, in Skibbereen, Mallow and Waterford.
At the other end, the NDLS centre in Cork city is second-lowest at 3.65 from 367 reviews, and its 96 one-star reviews are the most of any centre. Munster has five of the 10 lowest-rated centres, in Ennis, Cork city, Tralee, Nenagh and Limerick, while in Dublin the Leopardstown centre is sixth-lowest at 3.87. In Ennis, 16 of the 18 one-star reviews were left in 2022 or earlier.
Across all 34 centres the average is 4.23 stars, and 68% of the 4,131 reviews give the full five stars while 16% give one. Leinster's 16 centres have the highest average of the four provinces at 4.32, ahead of Ulster's four at 4.30, Connacht's five at 4.17 and Munster's nine at 4.09. Of Dublin's four centres, Clarehall is the best-rated at 4.37, and Santry, which has the most reviews of any centre in the country at 540, averages 4.23.
Chart
Worst and best 10 at a glance
Use this chart. It is free to use with a link to this page. Download the chart as a PNG.
Method
How we did it
We took the live Google Maps listing of each of the 34 National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) centres in the Republic of Ireland on 8 October 2026. The 34 are the service's full network of centres, with at least one in each of the 26 counties, four in Dublin and three in Co. Cork.
Because the list of centres is fixed, every centre was ranked and none was left out for having few reviews. That is 4,131 Google reviews in all, and the scores rest on different numbers of reviews, from nine at Carrick-on-Shannon and 16 at Donegal Town to 540 at Santry in Dublin.
Each centre was ranked by its exact average rating, worked out from its count of one, two, three, four and five-star reviews rather than the rounded score Google displays, so centres that show the same rating on Google are still put in order. Where two centres have exactly the same average, the one with the larger share of one-star reviews ranks lower.
Province averages give every centre equal weight (the mean of the centre averages). Leinster has 16 centres, Munster nine, Connacht five and the three Ulster counties in the Republic four.
National rankings
The lowest and highest rated 10 in Ireland
Ireland's 10 lowest-rated NDLS centres
| Rank | Centre | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NDLS EnnisCo. Clare52 reviews | 3.42 | 52 |
| 2 | NDLS Cork city367 reviews | 3.65 | 367 |
| 3 | NDLS Cavan38 reviews | 3.82 | 38 |
| 4 | NDLS TraleeCo. Kerry60 reviews | 3.82 | 60 |
| 5 | NDLS DroghedaCo. Louth185 reviews | 3.85 | 185 |
| 6 | NDLS LeopardstownDublin365 reviews | 3.87 | 365 |
| 7 | NDLS NenaghCo. Tipperary64 reviews | 3.92 | 64 |
| 8 | NDLS Carrick-on-ShannonCo. Leitrim9 reviews | 4.00 | 9 |
| 9 | NDLS Limerick170 reviews | 4.01 | 170 |
| 10 | NDLS Galway222 reviews | 4.02 | 222 |
Ireland's 10 best-rated NDLS centres
| Rank | Centre | Average | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NDLS Kilkenny63 reviews | 4.79 | 63 |
| 2 | NDLS SkibbereenCo. Cork38 reviews | 4.71 | 38 |
| 3 | NDLS Donegal Town16 reviews | 4.69 | 16 |
| 4 | NDLS MullingarCo. Westmeath34 reviews | 4.65 | 34 |
| 5 | NDLS Wicklow111 reviews | 4.64 | 111 |
| 6 | NDLS MallowCo. Cork94 reviews | 4.57 | 94 |
| 7 | NDLS Roscommon48 reviews | 4.56 | 48 |
| 8 | NDLS Carlow86 reviews | 4.55 | 86 |
| 9 | NDLS Waterford96 reviews | 4.53 | 96 |
| 10 | NDLS Monaghan34 reviews | 4.47 | 34 |
Averages are rounded to two decimal places. Where two centres show the same figure, the order comes from the unrounded average.
Centre ranking
All 34 NDLS centres, highest to lowest rated
Every NDLS centre in Ireland with its exact Google average, rounded to two decimal places, and the number of reviews on its listing. Rank 1 is the highest rated and rank 34 the lowest rated.
| Rank | Centre | Reviews | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NDLS Kilkenny63 reviews | 63 | 4.79 |
| 2 | NDLS Skibbereen, Co. Cork38 reviews | 38 | 4.71 |
| 3 | NDLS Donegal Town16 reviews | 16 | 4.69 |
| 4 | NDLS Mullingar, Co. Westmeath34 reviews | 34 | 4.65 |
| 5 | NDLS Wicklow111 reviews | 111 | 4.64 |
| 6 | NDLS Mallow, Co. Cork94 reviews | 94 | 4.57 |
| 7 | NDLS Roscommon48 reviews | 48 | 4.56 |
| 8 | NDLS Carlow86 reviews | 86 | 4.55 |
| 9 | NDLS Waterford96 reviews | 96 | 4.53 |
| 10 | NDLS Monaghan34 reviews | 34 | 4.47 |
| 11 | NDLS Clane, Co. Kildare200 reviews | 200 | 4.47 |
| 12 | NDLS Clarehall, Dublin170 reviews | 170 | 4.37 |
| 13 | NDLS Tullamore, Co. Offaly41 reviews | 41 | 4.37 |
| 14 | NDLS Trim, Co. Meath138 reviews | 138 | 4.30 |
| 15 | NDLS Athlone, Co. Westmeath55 reviews | 55 | 4.29 |
| 16 | NDLS Longford37 reviews | 37 | 4.27 |
| 17 | NDLS Wexford62 reviews | 62 | 4.24 |
| 18 | NDLS Santry, Dublin540 reviews | 540 | 4.23 |
| 19 | NDLS Letterkenny, Co. Donegal49 reviews | 49 | 4.22 |
| 20 | NDLS Sligo59 reviews | 59 | 4.22 |
| 21 | NDLS Portlaoise, Co. Laois58 reviews | 58 | 4.16 |
| 22 | NDLS Clonmel, Co. Tipperary78 reviews | 78 | 4.14 |
| 23 | NDLS Citywest, Dublin433 reviews | 433 | 4.04 |
| 24 | NDLS Castlebar, Co. Mayo59 reviews | 59 | 4.03 |
| 25 | NDLS Galway222 reviews | 222 | 4.02 |
| 26 | NDLS Limerick170 reviews | 170 | 4.01 |
| 27 | NDLS Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim9 reviews | 9 | 4.00 |
| 28 | NDLS Nenagh, Co. Tipperary64 reviews | 64 | 3.92 |
| 29 | NDLS Leopardstown, Dublin365 reviews | 365 | 3.87 |
| 30 | NDLS Drogheda, Co. Louth185 reviews | 185 | 3.85 |
| 31 | NDLS Tralee, Co. Kerry60 reviews | 60 | 3.82 |
| 32 | NDLS Cavan38 reviews | 38 | 3.82 |
| 33 | NDLS Cork city367 reviews | 367 | 3.65 |
| 34 | NDLS Ennis, Co. Clare52 reviews | 52 | 3.42 |
Using this research
Citing these figures
You're welcome to quote or republish any figure on this page. Please credit SEO Backlinks and link to this page so readers can see the full method and rankings.
How to cite
SEO Backlinks, "Ireland's best and worst NDLS centres", data collected October 8, 2026: https://seobacklinks.com/
This study comes from SEO Backlinks, which runs data-led digital PR campaigns built on public data like Google reviews.