St Declans Special Sch
35 NORTHUMBERLAND ROAD, BALLSBRIDGE, DUBLIN 4 · D04 FD21 · Roll number 18569J
St Declans Special Sch is one of 10 special schools in or within 3 km of Ballsbridge. Every school in and around Ballsbridge →
What stands out about St Declans Special Sch
- A small special school: 35 pupils, against a typical 58.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−3%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 7 girls and 28 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Archbishop of Dublin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Declans Special Sch had 35 pupils in 2025/26, down from 42 in 2015/16 (−17%). Girls are 20% of them. Its roll rose in 2 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Declans Special Sch
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 St Declans Special Sch 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 St Declans Special Sch
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 St Declans Special Sch
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Declans Special Sch follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
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.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Declans Special Sch is about the size it was in 2019/20 (−3%). All the schools around Ballsbridge together changed by +10%.
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 special 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 6 nearest special schools, 4 have more pupils than St Declans Special Sch. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −3%; 3 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Declans Special Sch | 35 | −3% | Catholic | English | ||
| Catherine Mc Auley N Sc | 99 | +0% | Catholic | English | 0.6 km | |
| Enable Ireland Sandymount School | 49 | +14% | Catholic | English | 1.4 km | |
| St L O Tooles 2 Spec | 14 | −42% | Catholic | English | 2.2 km | |
| An Taonad Reamhscoile | 96 | −3% | Catholic | English | 2.4 km | |
| Hospital School CHI at Temple Street | 66 | −3% | Catholic | English | 2.9 km | |
| Henrietta Street School | 20 | +0% | Catholic | English | 2.9 km |
The other 48 special schools in Co. Dublin
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| An Cosan CSS | 56 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 3.3 km | |
| St Joseph's Adolescent School | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 3.3 km | |
| St Peters Special Sch | 70 | +17% | Catholic | English | 3.4 km | |
| St Josephs for Blind N.S. | 48 | −16% | Catholic | English | 3.9 km | |
| Central Remedial Clinic | 78 | −18% | Catholic | English | 4.5 km | |
| Our Lady of Hope School | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 4.8 km | |
| Scoil Eoin | 142 | +5% | Catholic | English | 4.9 km | |
| St John of God Sp Sch | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 4.9 km | |
| Benincasa Special School | 35 | −22% | Catholic | English | 5.1 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 64 | +31% | Catholic | English | 5.3 km | |
| Solas Hospital School | 98 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 5.5 km | |
| Holy Family School for the Deaf | 134 | −4% | Catholic | English | 5.5 km | |
| St Ciarans Spec Sch | 140 | +0% | Catholic | English | 5.9 km | |
| Libermann Spiritan School | 51 | – | Catholic | English | 6.1 km | |
| St Pauls Hospital Special School | 54 | +0% | Catholic | English | 6.1 km | |
| Casa Caterina S S | 31 | −6% | Catholic | English | 6.2 km | |
| Beaumont Hospital Special School | 9 | – | Other | English | 6.4 km | |
| St Augustines School | 157 | −1% | Catholic | English | 6.4 km | |
| Cheeverstown Sp Sch | 29 | +45% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| Setanta Special School | 68 | +28% | Multi-denominational | English | 6.9 km | |
| St Vincents Home NS | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 7 km | |
| Phoenix Park Specialist School | 17 | – | Catholic | English | 7 km | |
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 7 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Sp Sch | 52 | −10% | Catholic | English | 7.1 km | |
| St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 7.3 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 7.6 km | |
| Youth Encounter Project | 14 | – | Catholic | English | 7.6 km | |
| Red Door Special School | 29 | +21% | Other | English | 7.7 km | |
| Belmayne Community Special School | 2 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 7.7 km | |
| St Michael's House Special National School Foxfield | 61 | +144% | Multi-denominational | English | 7.7 km | |
| ABACAS Kilbarrack | 54 | +10% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 7.8 km | |
| St Michaels Spec School | 163 | −2% | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 86 | +4% | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| St Roses Special School | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 8.7 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 8.8 km | |
| ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 8.8 km | |
| Carmona Special National School | 37 | +3% | Catholic | English | 9.2 km | |
| Linn Dara Schools | 51 | +70% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.4 km | |
| St Michaels House Special School | 56 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km | |
| The Adelaide and Meath Hospital | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Crannog Nua Special School | 5 | – | Other | English | 19 km | |
| St Michaels Spec Sch | 30 | +0% | Catholic | English | 27 km |
Living in Ballsbridge
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the D04 Eircode area
Housing in Ballsbridge →The median sale price rose from €650,000 in 2023 to €685,000 in 2025 (+5%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the D04 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballsbridge
Cost of living in Ballsbridge →New tenancies in Ballsbridge averaged €2,570 a month in 2025, against €2,564 in 2024 (+0%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballsbridge, D04 FD21
Special schools near St Declans Special Sch
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Declans Special Sch
Is St Declans Special Sch 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 St Declans Special Sch have?
35 pupils in 2025/26. That is −3% since 2019/20.
Does St Declans Special Sch teach through Irish?
No: St Declans Special Sch teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Declans Special Sch?
St Declans Special Sch has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Archbishop of Dublin.
How do pupils get a place at St Declans Special Sch?
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 St Declans Special Sch?
The nearest are Catherine Mc Auley N Sc (0.6 km), Enable Ireland Sandymount School (1.4 km) and St L O Tooles 2 Spec (2.2 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 Ballsbridge; 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).