Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
An Leadhbgarbh, Árainn Mhór, Co Dhún na nGall · F92 YP83 · Roll number 71244F
Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada is one of 0 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Ailt An Chorráin. Every school in and around Ailt An Chorráin →
What stands out about Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
- A small post-primary school: 61 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Smaller than it was: 61 pupils, 26% fewer than the 82 of 2019/20.
- Some classes are taught entirely through Irish, the rest in English.
- In 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.
- An island school.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Donegal ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- Outside Ailt An Chorráin’s outline, 3.1 km away; listed with Ailt An Chorráin, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada had 61 pupils in 2025/26, down from 93 in 2015/16 (−34%). Girls are 51% of them. Its largest roll was 105, in 2016/17. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing schools by them, so this school has no letter and nothing here ranks it. Its facts are the Department of Education’s; its inspection reports are linked below.
What the Department of Education does publish for Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada is on this page: its pupils each September since 2015/16, girls and boys, its patron and ethos, whether it teaches through Irish, whether it is in DEIS, and its inspection reports.
Newspapers print lists of how many of a school’s leavers go on to college. Those count destinations, not exam results, and depend on who a school takes in; we don’t use them.
Inspection reports on Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate visits schools and publishes its reports. The reports describe what inspectors saw; they give no overall grade, and we don’t make one. Reports for this school on gov.ie ↗
Inspectors visit every kind of school. Whole-school evaluations look at teaching and learning, leadership and management; subject inspections look at one subject; follow-through inspections check whether earlier advice was taken. Each report is published on gov.ie with the school’s response.
Getting a place at Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; the school’s yearly admission notice gives the dates for applying and for its decisions.
A school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its admission policy, often brothers and sisters, the area it serves and, for post-primary schools, its feeder primaries. A family refused a place can appeal.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada has shrunk by 26% since 2019/20.
Pupils since 2019/20
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; Department of Education enrolments 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary).
Side by side with the nearest post-primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Each of the 3 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −26%; 3 of the 3 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 9.8 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 18 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 25 km |
The other 23 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 31 km |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 32 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 36 km |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 38 km |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 45 km | |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 48 km | |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 48 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 49 km | |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 50 km |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 50 km | |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 51 km | |
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 52 km |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 57 km |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 58 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 58 km | |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 59 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 68 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 68 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 69 km | |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 83 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 94 km |
Living in Ailt An Chorráin
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F94 Eircode area
Housing in Ailt An Chorráin →The median sale price rose from €185,000 in 2023 to €195,000 in 2025 (+5%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F94 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Donegal
Cost of living in Ailt An Chorráin →New tenancies in Co. Donegal averaged €977 a month in 2025, against €893 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Ailt An Chorráin, F92 YP83
Post-primary schools near Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada
Is Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada a good school?
We don’t grade it: Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them. Its inspection reports on gov.ie, a visit and a talk with the principal will tell you more than any table could.
How many pupils does Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada have?
61 pupils in 2025/26. That is −26% since 2019/20.
Does Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada teach through Irish?
In part: some classes are taught entirely through Irish, the rest in English.
Who runs Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada?
Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Donegal ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada?
Apply to the school directly. It publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates; if more children apply than it has places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Which schools of the same kind are near Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada?
The nearest are Rosses Community School (9.8 km), Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair (18 km) and St Columba's Comprehensive School (25 km).
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · inspection reports on gov.ie, linked by roll number. Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Facts from the Department of Education’s school lists. Listed with Ailt An Chorráin; nothing here rates the school.
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).