Photo: Greatal386 at English Wikipedia · CC BY 2.56 of the secondary schools in and around Dalkey charge fees
All-Irish schools make up 2% of those around Dalkey, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (7%) and Irish towns (8%). 12,331 pupils go to the 26 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and 5 special schools in or within 3 km of Dalkey. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
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 Dalkey’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 43 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: Loreto Abbey Secondary School (0.8 km), St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary School (1 km) and Rathdown School (1.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
The 43 schools in and around Dalkey
Each school in or within 3 km of Dalkey links to a page of its own. No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Show all 26 primary schools
Where the 43 schools in and around Dalkey 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 Dalkey’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 Dalkey
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
1 of Dalkey’s 43 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Phadraig.
Who Dalkey’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside 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 Dalkey | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 22% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 1% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 54% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 62% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 57% | 18% | 6% |
Around Dalkey, 22% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 28% in Co. Dublin. Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools, at 57% against 6%. Cabinteely Community School, with 512 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 43 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 Dalkey’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
29 of Dalkey’s 43 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (18), Educate Together (4) and Le Chéile Schools Trust (3). 12 of the 43 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 17 patrons of Dalkey’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Archbishop of Dublin is patron of 18 of the 43 schools around Dalkey, which teach 43% of their pupils; 17 patrons run them in all. 3 are ETB schools. Educate Together runs 5.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinThe Harold School, St Brigids Girls, Scoil Padraig Naofa B, St Patricks GNS, St Brigids Boys, Our Lady Good Counsel GNS, Our Lady of Good Counsel Boys, St Josephs, Loreto, St Kevins, Clochar San Dominic, St Johns, Holy Family School, Scoil Colmcille Senior, Scoil Cholmcille Junior, St Columbanus, Harold Boys, St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | Catholic | 18 | 5,275 |
| 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 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COIS N Gleann na gCaorach Iníon Léinín, Kill-O'-The-Grange, Dalkey N.S. | Church of Ireland | 3 | 520 |
| 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 |
| CEISTRockford Manor | Catholic | 1 | 273 |
| 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 Dalkey
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 35 grew by 5% or more and 16 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 35 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 Dalkey’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 43 schools below links its own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Dalkey
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
43 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Dalkey: 37 voluntary secondary schools, 4 community schools, one comprehensive school and one ETB school. 22 of them are single-sex, 13 for girls and 9 for boys. Fees are charged at 18 of them. Every subject is taught through Irish at 3 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto Abbey Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 757 | 0.8 km |
| St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 270 | 1 km |
| Rathdown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 364 | 1.2 km |
| Holy Child Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 275 | 1.7 km |
| Holy Child KillineyVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 382 | 2.6 km |
| Cabinteely Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 512 | 2.8 km |
| Christian Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 549 | 2.8 km |
| Clonkeen CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 635 | 3.1 km |
| St Laurence CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 3.4 km |
| Rockford Manor Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 273 | 3.6 km |
| Newpark Comprehensive SchoolComprehensive · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 884 | 4.3 km |
| Loreto College FoxrockVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 660 | 4.4 km |
All 43 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackrock Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 236 | 4.5 km |
| Stepaside Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 741 | 5.7 km |
| Dominican CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 521 | 5.9 km |
| Blackrock CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 1,041 | 6.1 km |
| St Raphaela's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 637 | 6.3 km |
| Oatlands CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 623 | 6.3 km |
| Willow Park SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 206 | 6.5 km |
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 211 | 6.8 km |
| Coláiste ÍosagáinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 488 | 6.8 km |
| Woodbrook CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 623 | 6.8 km |
| St Andrews CollegeVoluntary secondary · Presbyterian | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 1,011 | 6.8 km |
| Coláiste EoinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Gaelcholáiste | 517 | 6.9 km |
| St Benildus CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 949 | 7.4 km |
| Coláiste RaithínETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 326 | 7.4 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 324 | 7.6 km |
| Mount Anville Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 726 | 7.6 km |
| Rosemont SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 307 | 8 km |
| St. Gerard's SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 623 | 8.3 km |
| Goatstown Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 366 | 8.3 km |
| St Kilian's Deutsche SchuleVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 475 | 8.4 km |
| St. Tiernan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 368 | 8.5 km |
| St Michaels CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 731 | 8.5 km |
| Our Lady's Grove Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 295 | 8.6 km |
| Wesley CollegeVoluntary secondary · Methodist | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 942 | 8.7 km |
| The Teresian SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 230 | 8.8 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 747 | 8.9 km |
| Sandymount Park Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 437 | 9.2 km |
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 667 | 9.4 km |
| Marian CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 319 | 9.9 km |
| Ballinteer Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 415 | 9.9 km |
| Alexandra CollegeVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls | Fee-paying, Boarding | 664 | 10 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Dalkey
5 special schools serve the area: Carmona Special National School, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Ballyowen Meadows, Red Door Special School and St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc, 188 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.
Dalkey beside the 90 other Irish towns of 5,800 to 11,200 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drumcondra | 11,149 | 151 | 41,836 | 12 | 58% | 0.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Youghal | 8,564 | 5 | 2,077 | 1 | 20% | 1.3 km |
| Booterstown | 8,505 | 73 | 27,367 | 8 | 7% | 0.2 km |
| Grand Canal Dock | 8,320 | 121 | 32,703 | 6 | 43% | 0.7 km |
| Cherry Orchard | 8,280 | 78 | 26,412 | 4 | 54% | 1.2 km |
| Dalkey | 8,275 | 43 | 12,331 | 1 | 28% | 0.9 km |
| Bandon | 8,196 | 10 | 3,617 | 1 | 10% | 0.4 km |
| Howth | 8,192 | 27 | 8,571 | 3 | 11% | 0.8 km |
| Ballybough | 8,188 | 126 | 34,469 | 8 | 52% | 0.2 km |
| Thurles | 8,185 | 10 | 3,787 | 1 | 10% | 0.3 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oranmore | 5,819 | 8 | 3,669 | 1 | 13% | 0.4 km |
Of these 90 other towns, 48 count more pupils at their schools than Dalkey. Within 3 km, 86 of these 91 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Dalkey
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 Dalkey had 12,289 pupils in 2015/16 and 12,331 in 2025/26. Dun Laoghaire ETNS grew most: +185% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Dalkey
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 Dalkey
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalkey | 43 | 12,331 | 1 | 28% | 0.9 km |
| Sallynoggin 2 km | 51 | 15,036 | 2 | 24% | 0.6 km |
| Dún Laoghaire 2.1 km | 52 | 17,578 | 1 | 19% | 0.8 km |
| Ballybrack 2.4 km | 41 | 11,728 | 1 | 29% | 0.9 km |
| Killiney 2.9 km | 45 | 13,019 | 1 | 31% | 0.7 km |
| Cabinteely 3.4 km | 67 | 21,279 | 4 | 21% | 0.6 km |
| Foxrock 3.9 km | 80 | 28,450 | 7 | 18% | 0.8 km |
Foxrock has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. The roll around Dalkey moved +5% since 2019/20; nearby, Cabinteely grew most (+8%) and Dún Laoghaire least (+2%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Dalkey 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 Dalkey
How many schools are there in Dalkey?
In Dalkey or within 3 km of it: 26 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and 5 special schools, with 12,331 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Dalkey that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Phadraig teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Dalkey?
6 of the 12: Loreto Abbey Secondary School, St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary School, Rathdown School and Holy Child Killiney. The others are free.
What is the best school in Dalkey?
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 Dalkey?
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).