Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0The schools around Rathcoole have grown: pupils +23% since 2019/20, more than around Co. Dublin’s towns or Irish towns
That puts Rathcoole above both Co. Dublin’s towns (+4%) and Irish towns (+4%). 7 of its 11 schools are multi- or inter-denominational, against 14% across Ireland. 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 Rathcoole’s schools
More all-Irish schools than most places
Families here have more choice of a school that teaches every subject through Irish than in most of Ireland, where 8% of schools do. They are Scoil Chronain (354) and Gaelscoil Lir (53). Language ↓
A choice beyond the church schools
Most schools in Ireland have a church patron; here more of them are multi- or inter-denominational than in most places (14% across Ireland). They are Holy Family Community School (998), Coláiste pobail Fóla (758), Citywest & Saggart Community National School (413) and City West Educate Together National School (376), and 3 more. Who runs them ↓
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Families here can choose among 30 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: Holy Family Community School (0.5 km), Coláiste pobail Fóla (2.5 km) and St Aidan's Community School (4.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Teaching through Irish in and around Rathcoole
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
2 of Rathcoole’s 11 schools teach every subject through Irish: Scoil Chronain and Gaelscoil Lir.
Who runs Rathcoole’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
4 of Rathcoole’s 11 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (4), Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB (3) and Educate Together (2). 1 of the 11 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.
Pupil numbers around Rathcoole
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Rathcoole had 3,372 pupils in 2015/16 and 5,371 in 2025/26. Scoil Aoife CNS grew most: +59% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Rathcoole
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.
Where the 11 schools in and around Rathcoole 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 Rathcoole’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.
Who Rathcoole’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, 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 Rathcoole | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 6% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 47% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 0% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 18% | 6% |
Fewer of the pupils around Rathcoole are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 6% against 27% (Co. Dublin: 28%). The biggest difference from Ireland is in post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 0% here, 29% there. Of the DEIS schools here, Scoil Aoife CNS is the biggest: 342 pupils.
Each of the 11 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | 998 | 48% | ||
| Holy Family National SchoolPrimary | 671 | 48% | ||
| Scoil ChronainPrimary | 354 | 44% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Naomh MhuirePrimary | 666 | 45% | ||
| Rathcoole ETNSPrimary | 114 | 40% | ||
| Citywest & Saggart Community National SchoolPrimary | 413 | 46% | ||
| Gaelscoil LirPrimary | 53 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Coláiste pobail FólaPost-primary · ETB | 758 | 47% | ||
| City West Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | 376 | 47% | ||
| Caisleain Nua LiamhnaPrimary | 626 | 50% | ||
| Scoil Aoife CNSPrimary | 342 | 50% | ✓ |
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.
The 5 patrons of Rathcoole’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
5 patrons run the 11 schools around Rathcoole; the largest, Archbishop of Dublin, has 4 of them and 43% of the pupils. 4 are ETB schools. Educate Together runs 2.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinHoly Family, S.N. Naomh Mhuire, Caisleain Nua Liamhna, Scoil Chronain | Catholic | 4 | 2,317 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETBColáiste pobail Fóla, Citywest & Saggart Community, Scoil Aoife CNS | Multi-denominational | 3 | 1,513 |
| Educate TogetherCity West Educate Together, Rathcoole ETNS | Multi-denominational | 2 | 490 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB & The Spiritan Education TrustHoly Family | Inter-denominational | 1 | 998 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Lir | Multi-denominational | 1 | 53 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Rathcoole
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.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 8 schools, 2 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 3 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
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.
The 11 schools in and around Rathcoole
Each school in or within 3 km of Rathcoole links to a page of its own. No letters and no results: Ireland publishes none school by school.
Inspection reports for Rathcoole’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
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 11 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Holy Family Community SchoolPost-primary · Community school | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Holy Family National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil ChronainPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Naomh MhuirePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Rathcoole ETNSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Citywest & Saggart Community National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil LirPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Coláiste pobail FólaPost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| City West Educate Together National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Caisleain Nua LiamhnaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Aoife CNSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Rathcoole
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Rathcoole there are 30 post-primary schools: 16 ETB schools, 8 community schools and 6 voluntary secondary schools. Of these, 6 are single-sex: 4 for girls and 2 for boys. Every subject is taught through Irish at 3 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 998 | 0.5 km |
| Coláiste pobail FólaETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 758 | 2.5 km |
| St Aidan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 561 | 4.2 km |
| Mount Seskin Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 350 | 4.3 km |
| Killinarden Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 471 | 5.1 km |
| St Marks Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 931 | 5.8 km |
| Deansrath Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 425 | 6.1 km |
| Adamstown Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 981 | 6.4 km |
| Moyle Park CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 763 | 6.9 km |
| Coláiste ChilliainETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 400 | 6.9 km |
| Old Bawn Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,024 | 6.9 km |
| Coláiste BrídeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 993 | 7 km |
All 30 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kishoge Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 937 | 7.1 km |
| Griffeen Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 576 | 7.1 km |
| Kingswood Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,006 | 7.4 km |
| Lucan Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 966 | 7.8 km |
| Coláiste Cois LifeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 592 | 8.2 km |
| Firhouse Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 825 | 8.4 km |
| St Wolstan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls | – | 846 | 8.4 km |
| Collinstown Park Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 630 | 8.6 km |
| Coláiste de hÍdeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste, DEIS | 266 | 8.7 km |
| St Joseph's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 934 | 9.1 km |
| Coláiste Phádraig CBSVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 745 | 9.1 km |
| Tallaght Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 840 | 9.2 km |
| St. Kevin's Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 525 | 9.4 km |
| Firhouse Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 411 | 9.5 km |
| Coláiste ChiaráinCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 676 | 9.6 km |
| Greenhills CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 186 | 9.8 km |
| St Mac Dara's Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 915 | 10 km |
| St Pauls Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 466 | 10 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Rathcoole
No special school is in or near Rathcoole. 7 of the 9 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.
Rathcoole beside the 95 other Irish towns of 4,100 to 7,800 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankfield and Grange | 7,687 | 58 | 20,798 | 6 | 24% | 2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ayrfield | 5,863 | 73 | 20,467 | 5 | 40% | 0.6 km |
| Gillabbey | 5,857 | 72 | 22,124 | 6 | 50% | 0.7 km |
| Ballinfoile and Terryland | 5,851 | 33 | 11,082 | 5 | 33% | 1.5 km |
| Oranmore | 5,819 | 8 | 3,669 | 1 | 13% | 0.4 km |
| Rathcoole | 5,792 | 11 | 5,371 | 2 | 9% | 0.5 km |
| Sutton | 5,789 | 50 | 14,773 | 4 | 30% | 0.4 km |
| Harmonstown | 5,769 | 84 | 25,004 | 5 | 39% | 0.4 km |
| Rathgar | 5,768 | 105 | 34,594 | 8 | 21% | 0.3 km |
| Ferrybank | 5,766 | 32 | 12,081 | 2 | 38% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Grange | 4,109 | 32 | 12,776 | 3 | 41% | 1.3 km |
Of the other 95 towns, 63 have more pupils at the schools around them than Rathcoole. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 83 of the 96.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Rathcoole
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
Tallaght has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 9. Of Rathcoole’s neighbours, Newcastle saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+18%) and Deansrath the least (−1%); Rathcoole itself: +23%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Rathcoole 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 Rathcoole
How many schools are there in Rathcoole?
In Rathcoole or within 3 km of it: 9 primary schools and 2 secondary schools, with 5,371 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Rathcoole that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Scoil Chronain and Gaelscoil Lir teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Rathcoole?
No: all 2 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Rathcoole?
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 Rathcoole?
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).