Photo: Djm-leighpark · CC BY-SA 4.06 of the secondary schools in and around Ballybrack charge fees
Around Ballybrack, 2% of schools teach through Irish, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). Families in Ballybrack have 26 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and 4 special schools within 3 km, teaching 11,728 pupils. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Ballybrack’s schools
Fee-paying secondary schools
Several of the secondary schools within reach charge fees; the others are free. Fee-paying schools are listed with the rest below, each with its own page. Fee-paying: Loreto Abbey Secondary School (757), Loreto College Foxrock (660), Christian Brothers College (549) and Holy Child Killiney (382), and 2 more. Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 45 post-primary schools within 10 km of the town, of more than one kind; each admits on its own published policy, so applying to more than one is common. The nearest: Cabinteely Community School (0.9 km), St Laurence College (0.9 km) and Holy Child Killiney (1.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 41 schools in and around Ballybrack
Every school in Ballybrack or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Show all 26 primary schools
Where the 41 schools in and around Ballybrack 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 Ballybrack’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 Ballybrack
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Ballybrack’s 41 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Phadraig.
Who Ballybrack’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Dublin’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Ballybrack | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 23% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 1% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 53% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 60% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 60% | 18% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 23% of the pupils around Ballybrack, a smaller share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Dublin: 28%). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools: 60% here against 6%. The biggest school in DEIS is Cabinteely Community School (512 pupils).
Each of the 41 schools
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.
Who runs Ballybrack’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
26 of Ballybrack’s 41 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (16), Educate Together (4) and Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COI (4). 12 of the 41 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.
The 16 patrons of Ballybrack’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Of the 41 schools around Ballybrack, 16 have Archbishop of Dublin as patron, teaching 40% of the pupils; 16 patrons in all. Education and Training Boards run 3 of them. Educate Together runs 5.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinThe Harold School, St Brigids Girls, St Annes Mxd, St Brigids Boys, Our Lady Good Counsel GNS, Our Lady of Good Counsel Boys, St Josephs, Loreto, Scoil Mhuire, St Kevins, St Johns, Holy Family School, Scoil Colmcille Senior, Scoil Cholmcille Junior, St Columbanus, Harold Boys | Catholic | 16 | 4,740 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COIS N Gleann na gCaorach Iníon Léinín, Kill-O'-The-Grange, Rathmichael, Dalkey N.S. | Church of Ireland | 4 | 725 |
| Educate TogetherBlackrock Educate Together, Cherrywood Educate Together, Dun Laoghaire ETNS, Sallynoggin Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 4 | 679 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustHoly Child Killiney, St Laurence College, St Joseph Of Cluny | Catholic | 3 | 954 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto Abbey, Loreto College Foxrock | Catholic | 2 | 1,417 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustClonkeen College, Christian Brothers College | Catholic | 2 | 1,184 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB & Archbishop of DublinCabinteely | Inter-denominational | 1 | 512 |
| The Dalkey School Project & Educate TogetherMonkstown Eucate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 415 |
| Board of Governors of Rathdown SchoolRathdown School | Church of Ireland | 1 | 364 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB & Society of the Holy Child JesusHoly Child | Inter-denominational | 1 | 275 |
| The Dalkey School ProjectDalkey School Project | Multi-denominational | 1 | 220 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Phadraig | Catholic | 1 | 118 |
| Health Service ExecutiveBallyowen Meadows | Catholic | 1 | 53 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & St John of God Hospitaller OrderCarmona Special | Catholic | 1 | 37 |
| Irish Autism ActionRed Door Special School | Other | 1 | 29 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETBOur Lady of Lourdes School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 6 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ballybrack
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. The 6 fee-paying schools here set their own fees and admissions.
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, 13 of the 34 grew by 5% or more and 16 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 34 schools
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.
Inspection reports for Ballybrack’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 41 schools below each link their own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Ballybrack
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
45 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Ballybrack: 38 voluntary secondary schools, 5 community schools, one comprehensive school and one ETB school. 22 teach girls and boys apart: 13 girls’ and 9 boys’ schools. Fees are charged at 19 of them. Every subject is taught through Irish at 3 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabinteely Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 512 | 0.9 km |
| St Laurence CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 0.9 km |
| Holy Child KillineyVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 382 | 1.4 km |
| St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 270 | 1.5 km |
| Holy Child Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 275 | 1.9 km |
| Rathdown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 364 | 2 km |
| Clonkeen CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 635 | 2 km |
| Blackrock Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 236 | 2.1 km |
| Loreto Abbey Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 757 | 3.2 km |
| Loreto College FoxrockVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 660 | 3.3 km |
| Christian Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 549 | 3.6 km |
| Rockford Manor Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 273 | 3.7 km |
All 45 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stepaside Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 741 | 4 km |
| Newpark Comprehensive SchoolComprehensive · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 884 | 4.3 km |
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 211 | 4.6 km |
| Woodbrook CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 623 | 4.9 km |
| St Raphaela's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 637 | 5.5 km |
| Coláiste RaithínETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 326 | 5.7 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 324 | 5.8 km |
| Oatlands CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 623 | 5.9 km |
| Dominican CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 521 | 6 km |
| St. Gerard's SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 623 | 6.2 km |
| Blackrock CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 1,041 | 6.3 km |
| Rosemont SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 307 | 6.4 km |
| St Benildus CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 949 | 6.5 km |
| Willow Park SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 206 | 6.7 km |
| Coláiste ÍosagáinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 488 | 6.7 km |
| Coláiste EoinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Gaelcholáiste | 517 | 6.8 km |
| St Andrews CollegeVoluntary secondary · Presbyterian | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 1,011 | 6.9 km |
| Mount Anville Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 726 | 7.1 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 747 | 7.1 km |
| St. Tiernan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 368 | 7.5 km |
| Wesley CollegeVoluntary secondary · Methodist | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 942 | 7.6 km |
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 667 | 7.7 km |
| Goatstown Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 366 | 7.7 km |
| St Kilian's Deutsche SchuleVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 475 | 8.1 km |
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 427 | 8.2 km |
| Our Lady's Grove Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 295 | 8.2 km |
| St Michaels CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 731 | 8.7 km |
| Ballinteer Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 415 | 8.8 km |
| The Teresian SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 230 | 8.9 km |
| St Columba's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 357 | 9.1 km |
| Alexandra CollegeVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls | Fee-paying, Boarding | 664 | 9.6 km |
| De La Salle CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 463 | 9.7 km |
| Sandymount Park Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 437 | 9.8 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ballybrack
4 special schools serve the area: Ballyowen Meadows, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Carmona Special National School and Red Door Special School, 125 pupils between them. 14 of the 26 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.
Ballybrack beside the 87 other Irish towns of 2,000 to 3,900 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claremorris | 3,857 | 3 | 1,120 | 0 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Boyle | 2,915 | 4 | 1,103 | 0 | 0% | 0.2 km |
| Murrough | 2,909 | 22 | 7,826 | 2 | 41% | 1.6 km |
| Skibbereen | 2,903 | 5 | 1,562 | 1 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Carna | 2,897 | 60 | 18,688 | 4 | 58% | 0.9 km |
| Ballybrack | 2,872 | 41 | 11,728 | 1 | 29% | 0.9 km |
| Gort | 2,870 | 5 | 1,467 | 1 | 20% | 0.7 km |
| Mayfield | 2,846 | 65 | 19,177 | 6 | 45% | 0.3 km |
| Sixmilebridge | 2,832 | 1 | 423 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
| Edenmore | 2,831 | 71 | 20,216 | 5 | 41% | 0.9 km |
| … | ||||||
| Enniskerry | 2,000 | 10 | 2,487 | 0 | 20% | 2.9 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 18 of the other 87 towns than around Ballybrack. Within 3 km, 42 of these 88 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ballybrack
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Ballybrack had 10,858 pupils in 2015/16 and 11,728 in 2025/26. Dun Laoghaire ETNS grew most: +185% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ballybrack
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 Ballybrack
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybrack | 41 | 11,728 | 1 | 29% | 0.9 km |
| Killiney 1 km | 45 | 13,019 | 1 | 31% | 0.7 km |
| Cabinteely 1.2 km | 67 | 21,279 | 4 | 21% | 0.6 km |
| Sallynoggin 2.4 km | 51 | 15,036 | 2 | 24% | 0.6 km |
| Dalkey 2.4 km | 43 | 12,331 | 1 | 28% | 0.9 km |
| Foxrock 2.5 km | 80 | 28,450 | 7 | 18% | 0.8 km |
| Shankill 3 km | 43 | 13,386 | 5 | 28% | 1.9 km |
Foxrock has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. The roll around Ballybrack moved +7% since 2019/20; nearby, Shankill grew most (+9%) and Sallynoggin least (+4%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ballybrack 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 Ballybrack
How many schools are there in Ballybrack?
In Ballybrack or within 3 km of it: 26 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and 4 special schools, with 11,728 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ballybrack that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Phadraig teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Ballybrack?
6 of the 11: Holy Child Killiney, St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary School, Rathdown School and Loreto Abbey Secondary School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Ballybrack?
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 Ballybrack?
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).