Coláiste Ailigh
Cnoc na Móna, Leitir Ceanainn, Co Dhún na nGall · F92 N2HE · Roll number 76081F
Coláiste Ailigh is one of 4 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Letterkenny. Every school in and around Letterkenny →
What stands out about Coláiste Ailigh
- A small post-primary school: 324 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Growing: 324 pupils, 23% more than the 263 of 2019/20.
- Every subject is taught through Irish.
- The smallest of the 4 post-primary schools around Letterkenny.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Donegal ETB; its ethos is inter-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Coláiste Ailigh had 324 pupils in 2025/26, against 267 in 2015/16 (+21%). Girls are 56% of them. Its roll rose in 8 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Coláiste Ailigh
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 Coláiste Ailigh 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 Coláiste Ailigh
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 Coláiste Ailigh
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Coláiste Ailigh 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 teaches every subject through Irish.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Coláiste Ailigh has grown by 23% since 2019/20. All the schools around Letterkenny together changed by +18%.
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 6 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Coláiste Ailigh. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +23%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Ailigh | 324 | +23% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ||
| Errigal College | 662 | +153% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.6 km |
| Loreto Secondary School | 938 | +2% | Catholic | English | 1.9 km | |
| St Eunan's College | 1,003 | +15% | Catholic | English | 1.9 km | |
| Deele College | 840 | +39% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| The Royal and Prior School | 609 | +13% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Loreto Community School | 810 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 14 km |
The other 20 post-primary schools in Co. Donegal
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulroy College | 617 | +17% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Finn Valley College | 424 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| St Columbas College | 983 | +17% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Gairm Scoil Chú Uladh | 87 | −49% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 23 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary School | 885 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Crana College | 585 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Coláiste Eoghain | 13 | −59% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 26 km | |
| Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola | 455 | +2% | Inter-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 31 km |
| Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair | 414 | −8% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 38 km |
| Rosses Community School | 509 | +26% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| St Columba's Comprehensive School | 400 | +4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| Carndonagh Community School | 1,118 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 43 km |
| Abbey Vocational School | 999 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 43 km | |
| Coláiste Phobail Cholmcille | 11 | – | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 46 km |
| Gairmscoil Mhic Diarmada | 61 | −26% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 49 km |
| Moville Community College | 648 | +25% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 50 km |
| St. Catherine's Vocational School | 359 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 58 km |
| Coláiste Cholmcille | 682 | +7% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 59 km |
| Magh Ene College | 333 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 65 km | |
| Coláiste na Carraige | 210 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 68 km |
Living in Letterkenny
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F92 Eircode area
Housing in Letterkenny →The median sale price rose from €188,000 in 2023 to €214,000 in 2025 (+14%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F92 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Letterkenny
Cost of living in Letterkenny →New tenancies in Letterkenny averaged €1,138 a month in 2025, against €1,043 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Letterkenny, F92 N2HE
Post-primary schools near Coláiste Ailigh
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Coláiste Ailigh
Is Coláiste Ailigh 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 Coláiste Ailigh have?
324 pupils in 2025/26. That is +23% since 2019/20.
Does Coláiste Ailigh teach through Irish?
Yes: every subject at Coláiste Ailigh is taught through Irish.
Who runs Coláiste Ailigh?
Coláiste Ailigh has a inter-denominational ethos. Its patron is Donegal ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Coláiste Ailigh?
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 Coláiste Ailigh?
The nearest are Errigal College (0.6 km), Loreto Secondary School (1.9 km) and St Eunan's College (1.9 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 Letterkenny; 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).