St Josephs for Blind N.S.
ST JOSEPHS SCHOOL FOR, VISUALLY IMPAIRED BOYS, DRUMCONDRA, DUBLIN 9 · D09 C803 · Roll number 18417J
St Josephs for Blind N.S. is one of 16 special schools in or within 3 km of Drumcondra. Every school in and around Drumcondra →
What stands out about St Josephs for Blind N.S.
- 48 pupils, near the middle for special schools in Ireland (the median is 58).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 48 pupils, 16% fewer than the 57 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is the Archbishop of Dublin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Josephs for Blind N.S. had 48 pupils in 2025/26, down from 53 in 2015/16 (−9%). Girls are 44% of them. Its largest roll was 57, in 2019/20. Its roll rose in 4 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 Josephs for Blind N.S.
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 Josephs for Blind N.S. 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 Josephs for Blind N.S.
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 Josephs for Blind N.S.
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at St Josephs for Blind N.S. 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 Josephs for Blind N.S. has shrunk by 16% since 2019/20. All the schools around Drumcondra together changed by +1%.
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 Josephs for Blind N.S.. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −16%; 4 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Josephs for Blind N.S. | 48 | −16% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Joseph's Adolescent School | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 0.6 km | |
| St L O Tooles 2 Spec | 14 | −42% | Catholic | English | 1.7 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 64 | +31% | Catholic | English | 1.7 km | |
| An Taonad Reamhscoile | 96 | −3% | Catholic | English | 1.7 km | |
| Hospital School CHI at Temple Street | 66 | −3% | Catholic | English | 1.8 km | |
| St Ciarans Spec Sch | 140 | +0% | Catholic | English | 2.3 km |
The other 48 special schools in Co. Dublin
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Pauls Hospital Special School | 54 | +0% | Catholic | English | 2.5 km | |
| Henrietta Street School | 20 | +0% | Catholic | English | 2.5 km | |
| Beaumont Hospital Special School | 9 | – | Other | English | 2.9 km | |
| An Cosan CSS | 56 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 2.9 km | |
| Central Remedial Clinic | 78 | −18% | Catholic | English | 3 km | |
| Catherine Mc Auley N Sc | 99 | +0% | Catholic | English | 3.8 km | |
| Holy Family School for the Deaf | 134 | −4% | Catholic | English | 3.9 km | |
| St Declans Special Sch | 35 | −3% | Catholic | English | 3.9 km | |
| Casa Caterina S S | 31 | −6% | Catholic | English | 4.1 km | |
| Enable Ireland Sandymount School | 49 | +14% | Catholic | English | 4.9 km | |
| Youth Encounter Project | 14 | – | Catholic | English | 5 km | |
| St John of God Sp Sch | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 5.1 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Sp Sch | 52 | −10% | Catholic | English | 5.2 km | |
| St Vincents Home NS | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 5.3 km | |
| Phoenix Park Specialist School | 17 | – | Catholic | English | 5.4 km | |
| Belmayne Community Special School | 2 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 5.8 km | |
| St Michael's House Special National School Foxfield | 61 | +144% | Multi-denominational | English | 6.1 km | |
| ABACAS Kilbarrack | 54 | +10% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 6.2 km | |
| Our Lady of Hope School | 45 | – | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| St Peters Special Sch | 70 | +17% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| Solas Hospital School | 98 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 6.8 km | |
| Scoil Eoin | 142 | +5% | Catholic | English | 6.8 km | |
| St Michaels Spec School | 163 | −2% | Catholic | English | 7.3 km | |
| St Michaels House Special School | 56 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.5 km | |
| Libermann Spiritan School | 51 | – | Catholic | English | 8.5 km | |
| Benincasa Special School | 35 | −22% | Catholic | English | 8.6 km | |
| Setanta Special School | 68 | +28% | Multi-denominational | English | 9 km | |
| Linn Dara Schools | 51 | +70% | Multi-denominational | English | 9.2 km | |
| Danu Community Special School | 43 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 9.5 km | |
| Cheeverstown Sp Sch | 29 | +45% | Catholic | English | 9.6 km | |
| St Augustines School | 157 | −1% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Saplings Special School | 30 | +0% | Multi-denominational | English | 10 km | |
| St Josephs Special Sch | 86 | +4% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St Oliver Plunkett Sp Sc | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Ballydowd High Support Special School | 7 | – | Inter-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism | 30 | +3% | Multi-denominational | Some subjects in Irish | 11 km | |
| Red Door Special School | 29 | +21% | Other | English | 11 km | |
| St Roses Special School | 63 | +0% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Michaels Hse Spec Sc | 68 | −1% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Stewarts School | 145 | +23% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Our Lady of Lourdes School | 6 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| The Adelaide and Meath Hospital | 11 | – | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Carmona Special National School | 37 | +3% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mochua | 69 | −7% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Lucan Community Special School | 0 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 14 km | |
| Ballyowen Meadows | 53 | +13% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Crannog Nua Special School | 5 | – | Other | English | 16 km | |
| St Michaels Spec Sch | 30 | +0% | Catholic | English | 23 km |
Living in Drumcondra
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the D09 Eircode area
Housing in Drumcondra →The median sale price rose from €439,500 in 2023 to €518,400 in 2025 (+18%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the D09 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Drumcondra
Cost of living in Drumcondra →New tenancies in Drumcondra averaged €2,014 a month in 2025, against €1,927 in 2024 (+5%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Drumcondra, D09 C803
Special schools near St Josephs for Blind N.S.
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Josephs for Blind N.S.
Is St Josephs for Blind N.S. 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 Josephs for Blind N.S. have?
48 pupils in 2025/26. That is −16% since 2019/20.
Does St Josephs for Blind N.S. teach through Irish?
No: St Josephs for Blind N.S. teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Josephs for Blind N.S.?
St Josephs for Blind N.S. has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Archbishop of Dublin.
How do pupils get a place at St Josephs for Blind N.S.?
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 Josephs for Blind N.S.?
The nearest are St Joseph's Adolescent School (0.6 km), St L O Tooles 2 Spec (1.7 km) and St Michaels Hse Spec Sc (1.7 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 Drumcondra; 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).