Benincasa Special School
1 MOUNT MERRION AVE, BLACKROCK, CO DUBLIN · A94 X864 · Roll number 18863J
Benincasa Special School is one of 7 special schools in or within 3 km of Booterstown. Every school in and around Booterstown →
What stands out about Benincasa Special School
- A small special school: 35 pupils, against a typical 58.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 35 pupils, 22% fewer than the 45 of 2019/20.
- 3 girls and 32 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Archbishop of Dublin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Benincasa Special School had 35 pupils in 2025/26, down from 41 in 2015/16 (−15%). Girls are 9% of them. Its largest roll was 47, in 2020/21. Its roll rose in 5 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Benincasa Special 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 Benincasa Special 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 Benincasa Special 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 Benincasa Special School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at Benincasa Special School 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: Benincasa Special School has shrunk by 22% since 2019/20. All the schools around Booterstown together changed by +6%.
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 Benincasa Special School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −22%; 5 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benincasa Special School | 35 | −22% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Augustines School | 157 | −1% | Catholic | English | 1.5 km | |
| St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 2.3 km | |
| Red Door Special School | 29 | +21% | Other | English | 2.6 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 3.7 km | |
| Enable Ireland Sandymount School | 49 | +14% | Catholic | English | 3.8 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 3.9 km |
The other 48 special schools in Co. Dublin
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmona Special National School | 37 | +3% | Catholic | English | 4.1 km | |
| St Declans Special Sch | 35 | −3% | Catholic | English | 5.1 km | |
| Catherine Mc Auley N Sc | 99 | +0% | Catholic | English | 5.6 km | |
| St Peters Special Sch | 70 | +17% | Catholic | English | 5.7 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| St L O Tooles 2 Spec | 14 | −42% | Catholic | English | 7.1 km | |
| An Taonad Reamhscoile | 96 | −3% | Catholic | English | 7.4 km | |
| Central Remedial Clinic | 78 | −18% | Catholic | English | 7.5 km | |
| Hospital School CHI at Temple Street | 66 | −3% | Catholic | English | 8 km | |
| Henrietta Street School | 20 | +0% | Catholic | English | 8 km | |
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.1 km | |
| St Joseph's Adolescent School | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| An Cosan CSS | 56 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 8.4 km | |
| Our Lady of Hope School | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| Scoil Eoin | 142 | +5% | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| Libermann Spiritan School | 51 | – | Catholic | English | 8.6 km | |
| St Josephs for Blind N.S. | 48 | −16% | Catholic | English | 8.6 km | |
| Cheeverstown Sp Sch | 29 | +45% | Catholic | English | 8.7 km | |
| Solas Hospital School | 98 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.3 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Sp Sch | 52 | −10% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| St Michael's House Special National School Foxfield | 61 | +144% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.6 km | |
| ABACAS Kilbarrack | 54 | +10% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 9.6 km | |
| Setanta Special School | 68 | +28% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.6 km | |
| St John of God Sp Sch | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 9.6 km | |
| Belmayne Community Special School | 2 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 9.8 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 64 | +31% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St Pauls Hospital Special School | 54 | +0% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Beaumont Hospital Special School | 9 | – | Other | English | 10 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 86 | +4% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Holy Family School for the Deaf | 134 | −4% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Roses Special School | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Ciarans Spec Sch | 140 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Casa Caterina S S | 31 | −6% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Michaels House Special School | 56 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 12 km | |
| Phoenix Park Specialist School | 17 | – | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| St Vincents Home NS | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Youth Encounter Project | 14 | – | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| St Michaels Spec School | 163 | −2% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| The Adelaide and Meath Hospital | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Linn Dara Schools | 51 | +70% | Multi-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 16 km | |
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Crannog Nua Special School | 5 | – | Other | English | 21 km | |
| St Michaels Spec Sch | 30 | +0% | Catholic | English | 30 km |
Living in Booterstown
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the A94 Eircode area
Housing in Booterstown →The median sale price rose from €716,400 in 2023 to €826,400 in 2025 (+15%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the A94 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Booterstown
Cost of living in Booterstown →New tenancies in Booterstown averaged €2,648 a month in 2025, against €2,474 in 2024 (+7%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Booterstown, A94 X864
Special schools near Benincasa Special School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Benincasa Special School
Is Benincasa Special 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 Benincasa Special School have?
35 pupils in 2025/26. That is −22% since 2019/20.
Does Benincasa Special School teach through Irish?
No: Benincasa Special School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Benincasa Special School?
Benincasa Special School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Archbishop of Dublin.
How do pupils get a place at Benincasa Special 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 Benincasa Special School?
The nearest are St Augustines School (1.5 km), St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc (2.3 km) and Red Door Special School (2.6 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 Booterstown; 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).