Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
St. Oran's Road, Buncrana, Co. Donegal · F93 PN53 · Roll number 62770C
Scoil Mhuire Secondary School is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Buncrana. Every school in and around Buncrana →
What stands out about Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 885 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 885 pupils, 19% more than the 744 of 2019/20.
- 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.
- The largest of the 3 post-primary schools around Buncrana.
- A voluntary secondary school: owned by its trustees, most often a religious order or its successor trust, and paid for by the State.
- Its patron is CEIST; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Scoil Mhuire Secondary School had 885 pupils in 2025/26, against 636 in 2015/16 (+39%). Girls are 49% of them. Its largest roll was 900, in 2023/24. Its roll rose in 9 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
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 Scoil Mhuire Secondary School 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 Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
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 Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Scoil Mhuire Secondary School 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: Scoil Mhuire Secondary School has grown by 19% since 2019/20. All the schools around Buncrana together changed by +5%.
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.
Of the 5 nearest post-primary schools, 1 have more pupils than Scoil Mhuire Secondary School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +19%; 0 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.4 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 1.5 km | |
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 18 km |
The other 21 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 25 km | |
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 41 km |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 41 km |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 42 km | |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 48 km |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 51 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 52 km |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 60 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 64 km |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 68 km |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 68 km | |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 83 km |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 84 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 90 km | |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 92 km |
Living in Buncrana
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F93 Eircode area
Housing in Buncrana →The median sale price rose from €161,000 in 2023 to €175,000 in 2025 (+9%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F93 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Buncrana
Cost of living in Buncrana →New tenancies in Buncrana averaged €893 a month in 2025, against €794 in 2024 (+13%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Buncrana, F93 PN53
Post-primary schools near Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Scoil Mhuire Secondary School
Is Scoil Mhuire Secondary School 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 Scoil Mhuire Secondary School have?
885 pupils in 2025/26. That is +19% since 2019/20.
Does Scoil Mhuire Secondary School teach through Irish?
No: Scoil Mhuire Secondary School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Scoil Mhuire Secondary School?
Scoil Mhuire Secondary School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is CEIST.
How do pupils get a place at Scoil Mhuire Secondary School?
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 Scoil Mhuire Secondary School?
The nearest are Crana College (0.4 km), Coláiste Eoghain (1.5 km) and Mulroy College (16 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 Buncrana; 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).