Kernanstown has 2 schools teaching entirely through Irish, out of 5 nearby
Teaching through Irish: 40% of the schools around Kernanstown, above both Co. Carlow’s towns (0%) and Irish towns (8%). Primary schools here average 471 pupils, against 175 across Ireland. Ireland publishes no school results, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them, so these schools are described here, never graded or ranked.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Kernanstown’s schools
More all-Irish schools than most places
Families here have more choice of a school that teaches every subject through Irish than in most of Ireland, where 8% of schools do. They are Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc (444) and Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach (342). Language ↓
A wide choice at twelve
7 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Presentation College (2.6 km), Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach (2.7 km) and St Mary's Academy CBS (3.7 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Teaching through Irish in and around Kernanstown
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
2 of Kernanstown’s 5 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc and Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach.
The 5 schools in and around Kernanstown
Each school in or within 3 km of Kernanstown links to a page of its own. Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Where the 5 schools in and around Kernanstown are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Kernanstown’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Who Kernanstown’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Carlow’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Kernanstown | Co. Carlow | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 23% | 37% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 31% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 0% | 26% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
23% of the pupils around Kernanstown are at a DEIS school, fewer than the 27% across Ireland (37% in Co. Carlow). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 0% here against 29%. The biggest school in DEIS is Holy Family National School (592 pupils).
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bennekerry National SchoolPrimary | 377 | 50% | ||
| Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí ThuairiscPrimary | 444 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Presentation CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 801 | 48% | ||
| Gaelcholáiste CheatharlachPost-primary · ETB | 342 | 56% | ✓ | |
| Holy Family National SchoolPrimary | 592 | 51% | ✓ |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
Who runs Kernanstown’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
4 of Kernanstown’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin (2), CEIST (1) and Kilkenny & Carlow ETB (1). 1 of the 5 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
The 4 patrons of Kernanstown’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin is patron of 2 of the 5 schools around Kernanstown, which teach 32% of their pupils; 4 patrons run them in all. An Education and Training Board runs one of them.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Kildare & LeighlinGaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc, Bennekerry | Catholic | 2 | 821 |
| CEISTPresentation College | Catholic | 1 | 801 |
| patron not listedHoly Family | Catholic | 1 | 592 |
| Kilkenny & Carlow ETBGaelcholáiste Cheatharlach | Multi-denominational | 1 | 342 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Kernanstown
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 4 schools, 0 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 3 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Kernanstown’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 5 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Bennekerry National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí ThuairiscPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Presentation CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelcholáiste CheatharlachPost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Holy Family National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Kernanstown
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Families in Kernanstown have 7 post-primary schools within 10 km: 4 voluntary secondary schools and 3 ETB schools. 3 teach girls and boys apart: 1 girls’ and 2 boys’ schools. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 801 | 2.6 km |
| Gaelcholáiste CheatharlachETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 342 | 2.7 km |
| St Mary's Academy CBSVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 367 | 3.7 km |
| St. Leo's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 842 | 3.8 km |
| Tyndall CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 1,048 | 4.7 km |
| St Mary's Knockbeg CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 515 | 6.2 km |
| Colaiste LorcainETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 334 | 9.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Kernanstown
No special school is in or near Kernanstown. 1 of the 3 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Kernanstown beside the 224 other Irish towns of 200 to 400 people
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km, listed by population: Ireland publishes no results, so none is ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crossbarry | 399 | 2 | 184 | 0 | 0% | 8.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ballyclogh | 272 | 1 | 111 | 0 | 0% | 6.9 km |
| Butlersbridge | 271 | 1 | 261 | 0 | 0% | 3.6 km |
| Kinnitty | 270 | 1 | 132 | 0 | 0% | 9 km |
| Killinierin | 270 | 1 | 218 | 0 | 0% | 5.4 km |
| Kernanstown | 269 | 5 | 2,556 | 2 | 20% | 2.6 km |
| Newtown | 269 | 4 | 181 | 0 | 75% | 9.5 km |
| Galbally | 269 | 1 | 135 | 0 | 0% | 12 km |
| Drumsna | 268 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5.7 km |
| Gob an Choire | 265 | 3 | 317 | 1 | 100% | 2.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Lahardane | 200 | 1 | 76 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
Of these 224 other towns, 5 count more pupils at their schools than Kernanstown. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 17 of the 225.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Kernanstown
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Kernanstown had 2,752 pupils in 2015/16 and 2,556 in 2025/26, fewer than before.
Pupils at schools in and around Kernanstown
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Kernanstown
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kernanstown | 5 | 2,556 | 2 | 20% | 2.6 km |
| Carlow 3.2 km | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Castledermot 9.4 km | 2 | 678 | 0 | 0% | 0.3 km |
| Tullow 9.7 km | 4 | 1,339 | 0 | 75% | 0.5 km |
| Rathvilly 13 km | 2 | 248 | 0 | 50% | 6.3 km |
| Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) 15 km | 6 | 1,570 | 0 | 50% | 0.5 km |
| Baltinglass 17 km | 3 | 912 | 0 | 0% | 0.2 km |
Since 2019/20 the pupils around Kernanstown changed by −7%; among its neighbours, Tullow’s grew most (+6%) and Castledermot’s least (−12%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Kernanstown or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- DEIS. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) gives schools serving disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and support; the Department decides which schools are in it.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Kernanstown
How many schools are there in Kernanstown?
In Kernanstown or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, with 2,556 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Kernanstown that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelscoil Eoghain Uí Thuairisc and Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Kernanstown?
No: all 2 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Kernanstown?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Kernanstown?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).