In the 1851 census there were 17 houses and 122 people living on the island. By 1911, that was down to 6 houses and 22 people. In the 19th century there were 2 pubs on the Islands and sea merchants dropped cargo in the island because there was no deep-sea harbour in Westport.
The table below reports data on Inishlyre's population taken from Discover the Islands of Ireland (Alex Ritsema, Collins Press, 1999) and the census of Ireland.
Historical population| Year | | |
|---|
| 1841 | 113 | — |
|---|
| 1851 | 122 | +8.0% |
|---|
| 1861 | 61 | −50.0% |
|---|
| 1871 | 73 | +19.7% |
|---|
| 1881 | 67 | −8.2% |
|---|
| 1891 | 109 | +62.7% |
|---|
| 1901 | 47 | −56.9% |
|---|
| 1911 | 22 | −53.2% |
|---|
| 1926 | 21 | −4.5% |
|---|
| | Year | | |
|---|
| 1936 | 16 | −23.8% |
|---|
| 1946 | 11 | −31.2% |
|---|
| 1951 | 14 | +27.3% |
|---|
| 1956 | 19 | +35.7% |
|---|
| 1961 | 19 | +0.0% |
|---|
| 1966 | 17 | −10.5% |
|---|
| 1971 | 18 | +5.9% |
|---|
| 1979 | 12 | −33.3% |
|---|
| 1981 | 10 | −16.7% |
|---|
| | Year | | |
|---|
| 1986 | 7 | −30.0% |
|---|
| 1991 | 6 | −14.3% |
|---|
| 1996 | 7 | +16.7% |
|---|
| 2002 | 7 | +0.0% |
|---|
| 2006 | 7 | +0.0% |
|---|
| 2011 | 4 | −42.9% |
|---|
| 2016 | 4 | +0.0% |
|---|
| 2022 | 3 | −25.0% |
|---|
|
| Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". irishislands.info. Retrieved 12 October 2016. |
