Photo: Kenneth Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0More of the schools around Rathmullan are in DEIS than around Co. Donegal’s towns or Irish towns: 100%
The DEIS programme includes 100% of the schools around Rathmullan, above both Co. Donegal’s towns (38%) and Irish towns (35%). DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas, reaches 2 of its 2 schools; across Ireland, 30%. 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 Rathmullan’s schools
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: Rathmullen N.S. (119) and St Garvans N.S. (33). Who runs them ↓
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Where the 2 schools in and around Rathmullan 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 Rathmullan’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.
Who runs Rathmullan’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
2 of Rathmullan’s 2 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. Their patron: Bishop of Raphoe (2). 2 of the 2 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.
Pupil numbers around Rathmullan
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Rathmullan had 112 pupils in 2015/16 and 152 in 2025/26.
Pupils at schools in and around Rathmullan
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 Rathmullan
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
None of the 2 schools in and around Rathmullan teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Rathmullan’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Donegal’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
| Share of pupils | Around Rathmullan | Co. Donegal | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 100% | 62% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 10% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
DEIS schools teach 100% of the pupils around Rathmullan, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Donegal: 62%). Set beside Ireland, pupils at all-Irish schools stand out most: 0% against 6%. The largest DEIS school here is Rathmullen N.S., with 119 pupils.
Each of the 2 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathmullen N.S.Primary | 119 | 50% | ✓ | |
| St Garvans N.S.Primary | 33 | 45% | ✓ |
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.
How children get a place in Rathmullan
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
Since 2019/20, 1 of these 2 schools have grown by 5% or more and 0 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +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 2 schools in and around Rathmullan
Here are the schools in Rathmullan or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Inspection reports for Rathmullan’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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 each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 2 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Rathmullen N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Garvans N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Rathmullan
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
3 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Rathmullan: 2 ETB schools and one voluntary secondary school. Every one of them takes girls and boys. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 885 | 5.5 km |
| Crana CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 585 | 5.7 km |
| Coláiste EoghainETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 13 | 6.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Rathmullan beside the 166 other Irish towns of 400 to 700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shanagarry | 700 | 2 | 201 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| … | ||||||
| Bridgetown | 544 | 3 | 1,049 | 0 | 67% | 0.1 km |
| Ballycotton | 544 | 2 | 201 | 0 | 0% | 14 km |
| Tinure | 530 | 1 | 192 | 0 | 0% | 4.5 km |
| Abbeydorney | 528 | 2 | 226 | 0 | 0% | 7.7 km |
| Rathmullan | 528 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 5.5 km |
| Moylough | 526 | 1 | 146 | 0 | 0% | 4.7 km |
| Oldtown | 523 | 2 | 435 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Ballyoulster | 523 | 24 | 10,718 | 1 | 0% | 3.1 km |
| Mullinahone | 523 | 2 | 169 | 0 | 50% | 9 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oilgate | 401 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 6.2 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 117 of the other 166 towns than around Rathmullan. 12 of the 167 towns have an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Rathmullan
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathmullan | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 5.5 km |
| Buncrana 6.5 km | 7 | 2,583 | 2 | 43% | 0.6 km |
| Milford 11 km | 3 | 1,645 | 0 | 67% | 0.5 km |
| Ramelton 11 km | 4 | 354 | 0 | 50% | 6.7 km |
| Newtowncunningham 12 km | 2 | 280 | 0 | 50% | 14 km |
| Muff 17 km | 1 | 196 | 0 | 0% | 14 km |
Buncrana has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 2. The roll around Rathmullan moved +19% since 2019/20; nearby, Milford grew most (+11%) and Newtowncunningham least (−11%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Rathmullan 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 Rathmullan
How many schools are there in Rathmullan?
In Rathmullan or within 3 km of it: 2 primary schools, with 152 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Rathmullan that teach through Irish?
None in Rathmullan or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Is there a secondary school in Rathmullan?
Not in Rathmullan or within 3 km of it; the nearest is Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, 5.5 km away.
What is the best school in Rathmullan?
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 Rathmullan?
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).