Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0The schools around Clonlara have fewer pupils than in 2019/20: −12%, below Co. Clare’s towns and Irish towns
That leaves Clonlara below both Co. Clare’s towns (+1%) and Irish towns (+4%). Scoil Seanain Naofa is a primary with 276 pupils. Ireland publishes no school results, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them, so these schools are described here, never graded or ranked.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Clonlara’s schools
Fewer pupils than before
Pupil numbers at the schools here have fallen since 2019/20, against +5% across Ireland. Pupils over time ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 15 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: St Munchin's College (6.4 km), Castletroy College (6.9 km) and Ardscoil Mhuire (7.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Where the school in or near Clonlara is
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 Clonlara’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.
Pupil numbers around Clonlara
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 Clonlara had 341 pupils in 2015/16 and 276 in 2025/26, fewer than before.
Pupils at schools in and around Clonlara
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.
Teaching through Irish in and around Clonlara
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
None of the 1 schools in and around Clonlara teaches every subject through Irish.
Who runs Clonlara’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
1 of Clonlara’s 1 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. Their patron: Bishop of Killaloe (1). None of the 1 is 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.
How children get a place in Clonlara
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.
The school in and around Clonlara
Each school in or within 3 km of Clonlara links to a page of its own. Results by school aren’t published in Ireland, so the cards carry none.
Inspection reports for Clonlara’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted on gov.ie with the school’s response.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what the school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the school below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Scoil Seanain NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Clonlara
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Families in Clonlara have 15 post-primary schools within 10 km: 11 voluntary secondary schools and 4 ETB schools. 7 teach girls and boys apart: 3 girls’ and 4 boys’ schools. One of them charges fees. Every subject is taught through Irish at 2 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Munchin's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 682 | 6.4 km |
| Castletroy CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,360 | 6.9 km |
| Ardscoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 591 | 7.4 km |
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 606 | 7.7 km |
| Limerick City East Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 811 | 8.1 km |
| Thomond Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 597 | 8.3 km |
| Coláiste Nano NagleVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 365 | 8.6 km |
| Colaiste MhichilVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 349 | 8.7 km |
| Ardscoil RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 728 | 8.9 km |
| St. Mary's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 719 | 9.6 km |
| St Clements CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 411 | 9.6 km |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 315 | 9.7 km |
All 15 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 746 | 9.8 km |
| Newport CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 407 | 9.9 km |
| Villiers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 508 | 10 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Clonlara beside the 187 other Irish towns of 500 to 1,000 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletownbere | 999 | 3 | 524 | 0 | 67% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Kildalkey | 739 | 1 | 210 | 0 | 0% | 6 km |
| Castlefinn | 730 | 4 | 234 | 0 | 100% | 7.7 km |
| Bweeng | 728 | 1 | 113 | 0 | 0% | 10 km |
| An Cheathrú Rua | 725 | 3 | 661 | 2 | 67% | 0.8 km |
| Clonlara | 724 | 1 | 276 | 0 | 0% | 6.4 km |
| Grenagh | 724 | 1 | 197 | 0 | 0% | 9.6 km |
| Borrisoleigh | 724 | 2 | 571 | 0 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Kinvarra | 721 | 3 | 1,016 | 0 | 0% | 0.3 km |
| Whitechurch | 719 | 3 | 1,102 | 0 | 0% | 3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Stradbally | 500 | 2 | 134 | 0 | 0% | 8.7 km |
Among the 187 other towns, 85 have more pupils at their schools than Clonlara does. Within 3 km, 16 of these 188 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Clonlara
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clonlara | 1 | 276 | 0 | 0% | 6.4 km |
| Castleconnell 3.8 km | 2 | 536 | 0 | 0% | 5.9 km |
| Ardnacrusha 4.4 km | 5 | 2,332 | 0 | 20% | 3.1 km |
| Westbury 5.8 km | 29 | 9,896 | 3 | 55% | 0.9 km |
| Castletroy 6.9 km | 29 | 10,543 | 3 | 52% | 1.3 km |
| Annacotty 6.9 km | 8 | 4,443 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Corbally and King's Island 7.3 km | 45 | 15,801 | 6 | 49% | 0.2 km |
Corbally and King's Island has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 6. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Clonlara changed by −12%; among its neighbours, Annacotty’s grew most (+19%) and Castleconnell’s least (−5%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Clonlara 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 Clonlara
How many schools are there in Clonlara?
In Clonlara or within 3 km of it: 1 primary school, with 276 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Clonlara that teach through Irish?
None in Clonlara or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Is there a secondary school in Clonlara?
Not in Clonlara or within 3 km of it; the nearest is St Munchin's College, 6.4 km away.
What is the best school in Clonlara?
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 Clonlara?
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).