Photo: Joseph Mischyshyn · CC BY-SA 2.0Irish-medium schools are unusually common around Ardara: 40%, above Co. Donegal’s towns and Irish towns
That leaves Ardara above both Co. Donegal’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). Every subject is taught through Irish at 2 of its 5 schools; across Ireland it is 8%. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Ardara’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 S.N. an Bhreacaigh (24) and S.N. Mhin Teineadh de (21). Language ↓
Extra support for many schools
Many schools here are in DEIS, which gives schools in disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and help; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: S.N. Muire Gan Smal (94), S.N. an Bhreacaigh (24), Gortnacart N.S. (16) and Ardara Mixed N.S. (12). Who runs them ↓
One school growing fast
Of the schools here, S.N. Muire Gan Smal has grown fastest, from 69 in 2019/20 to 94. Getting a place ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Where the 5 schools in and around Ardara 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 Ardara’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.
Teaching through Irish in and around Ardara
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
2 of Ardara’s 5 schools teach every subject through Irish, 2 of them in the Gaeltacht: S.N. an Bhreacaigh and S.N. Mhin Teineadh de.
Who runs Ardara’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
4 of Ardara’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Raphoe (4) and Bishop of Derry & Raphoe COI (1). 4 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.
Who Ardara’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Donegal’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
| Share of pupils | Around Ardara | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 87% | 62% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 27% | 10% | 6% |
| Girls | 53% | 49% | 49% |
87% of the pupils around Ardara are at a DEIS school, more than the 27% across Ireland (62% in Co. Donegal). The biggest difference from Ireland is in pupils at all-Irish schools: 27% here, 6% there. Of the DEIS schools here, S.N. Muire Gan Smal is the biggest: 94 pupils.
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Muire Gan SmalPrimary | 94 | 59% | ✓ | |
| Ardara Mixed N.S.Primary | 12 | 58% | ✓ | |
| S.N. an BhreacaighPrimary | 24 | 42% | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gortnacart N.S.Primary | 16 | 38% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Mhin Teineadh dePrimary | 21 | 52% | ✓ |
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.
The 2 patrons of Ardara’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
The schools around Ardara answer to 2 patrons, and Bishop of Raphoe leads with 4 of the 5 schools and 93% of their pupils.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of RaphoeS.N. Muire Gan Smal, S.N. an Bhreacaigh, S.N. Mhin Teineadh de, Gortnacart | Catholic | 4 | 155 |
| Bishop of Derry & Raphoe COIArdara Mixed | Church of Ireland | 1 | 12 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ardara
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
Between 2019/20 and now, 1 of the 3 grew by 5% or more and 2 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +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.
The 5 schools in and around Ardara
Every school in Ardara or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
Inspection reports for Ardara’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and 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 |
|---|---|
| S.N. Muire Gan SmalPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ardara Mixed N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. an BhreacaighPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gortnacart N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Mhin Teineadh dePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Ardara
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
The only post-primary school within 10 km of Ardara is St Columba's Comprehensive School, a comprehensive school. It takes girls and boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Columba's Comprehensive SchoolComprehensive · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 400 | 8.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ardara
No special school is in or near Ardara. 1 of the 5 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.
Ardara beside the 207 other Irish towns of 500 to 1,100 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buttevant | 1,080 | 2 | 802 | 0 | 100% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Doirí Beaga | 794 | 4 | 749 | 4 | 100% | 2.3 km |
| Corofin | 793 | 2 | 182 | 0 | 0% | 12 km |
| Kilmuckridge | 792 | 2 | 542 | 0 | 50% | 0.2 km |
| Roosky | 787 | 1 | 160 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| Ardara | 785 | 5 | 167 | 2 | 80% | 8.6 km |
| Omeath | 778 | 2 | 136 | 0 | 50% | 11 km |
| Cappoquin | 778 | 1 | 189 | 0 | 100% | 6.6 km |
| Mountbellew | 774 | 5 | 1,503 | 0 | 0% | 1 km |
| Riverstick | 772 | 1 | 363 | 0 | 0% | 7.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Stradbally | 500 | 2 | 134 | 0 | 0% | 8.7 km |
Among the 207 other towns, 167 have more pupils at their schools than Ardara does. Within 3 km, 18 of these 208 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ardara
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 Ardara had 165 pupils in 2015/16 and 167 in 2025/26. S.N. Muire Gan Smal grew most: +36% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ardara
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 Ardara
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardara | 5 | 167 | 2 | 80% | 8.6 km |
| Killybegs 14 km | 5 | 697 | 0 | 80% | 0.5 km |
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ardara 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 Ardara
How many schools are there in Ardara?
In Ardara or within 3 km of it: 5 primary schools, with 167 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ardara that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: S.N. an Bhreacaigh and S.N. Mhin Teineadh de teach every subject through Irish.
Is there a secondary school in Ardara?
Not in Ardara or within 3 km of it; the nearest is St Columba's Comprehensive School, 8.6 km away.
What is the best school in Ardara?
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 Ardara?
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).