Photo: sarah777 · CC BY-SA 2.04 of the secondary schools in and around Shankill charge fees
Girls and boys are taught apart at 23% of the post-primaries around Shankill, below both Co. Dublin’s towns (40%) and Irish towns (39%). 13,386 pupils go to the 26 primary schools, 13 secondary schools and 4 special schools in or within 3 km of Shankill. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Shankill’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: St. Gerard's School (623), Holy Child Killiney (382), St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary School (270) and John Scottus Secondary School (211). Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 36 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Woodbrook College (1.9 km), John Scottus Secondary School (2 km) and Holy Child Killiney (2.3 km). Post-primary choices ↓
One school growing fast
The fastest-growing school here is Woodbrook College: 412 pupils in 2019/20, 623 now. Getting a place ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
The 43 schools in and around Shankill
Here are the schools in Shankill or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. You won’t find letters or results below: Ireland publishes none for single schools.
Show all 26 primary schools
Where the 43 schools in and around Shankill 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 Shankill’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 Shankill
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
5 of Shankill’s 43 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Phadraig, Coláiste Raithín and Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh.
Who Shankill’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 Shankill | Co. Dublin | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 25% | 28% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 9% | 6% | 6% |
| Girls | 52% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 30% | 38% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 25% | 18% | 6% |
Around Shankill, 25% of pupils attend a school in DEIS, near Ireland’s 27% and Co. Dublin’s 28%. The biggest difference from Ireland is in post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools: 25% here, 6% there. Of the DEIS schools here, Woodbrook College is the biggest: 623 pupils.
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 Shankill’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
29 of Shankill’s 43 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Archbishop of Dublin (18), Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COI (4) and Educate Together (4). 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 16 patrons of Shankill’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Of the 43 schools around Shankill, 18 have Archbishop of Dublin as patron, teaching 40% of the pupils; 16 patrons in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 2. Educate Together runs 4.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishop of DublinScoil Padraig Naofa, St Brigids Girls, Ravenswell Primary School, St Annes Mxd, Our Lady Good Counsel GNS, Our Lady of Good Counsel Boys, Cronan Naofa, St Fergal's, Our Lady of the Wayside NS, Scoil Mhuire, S.N. Padraig Naofa, Scoil Chualann, St Johns, St. Peter's Primary School, Scoil Colmcille Senior, Scoil Cholmcille Junior, St Columbanus, St Kierans Spec School | Catholic | 18 | 5,310 |
| Educate TogetherStepaside Educate Together, North Wicklow Educate Together, Blackrock Educate Together, Cherrywood Educate Together | Multi-denominational | 4 | 1,521 |
| Archbishop of Dublin & Bishop of Glendalough COIS N Gleann na gCaorach Iníon Léinín, Kilternan Church of Ireland, Rathmichael, St Andrews | Church of Ireland | 4 | 826 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustHoly Child Killiney, St Laurence College, St Joseph Of Cluny | Catholic | 3 | 954 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Shliabh Rua, Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh, Gaelscoil Phadraig | Multi-denominational, Catholic | 3 | 643 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 747 |
| Presentation Brothers Schools TrustPresentation College | Catholic | 1 | 667 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustWoodbrook College | Catholic | 1 | 623 |
| Board of Governors of St Gerard's SchoolSt. Gerard's School | Catholic | 1 | 623 |
| Dublin & Dún Laoghaire ETB & Archbishop of DublinCabinteely | Inter-denominational | 1 | 512 |
| Kildare & Wicklow ETBColáiste Raithín | Multi-denominational | 1 | 326 |
| The Bray School ProjectBray School Project | Multi-denominational | 1 | 223 |
| The John Scottus Education TrustJohn Scottus | Inter-denominational | 1 | 211 |
| Sunbeam House ServicesNew Court School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 100 |
| Health Service ExecutiveBallyowen Meadows | Catholic | 1 | 53 |
| Enable Ireland Disability ServicesMarino School | Catholic | 1 | 47 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Shankill
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 4 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
Of these 37 schools, 12 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 17 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 37 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 Shankill’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
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 Shankill
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Families in Shankill have 36 post-primary schools within 10 km: 30 voluntary secondary schools, 4 community schools, one ETB school and one comprehensive school. 18 of them are single-sex, 10 for girls and 8 for boys. Fees are charged at 14 of them. Every subject is taught through Irish at 3 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbrook CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 623 | 1.9 km |
| John Scottus Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 211 | 2 km |
| Holy Child KillineyVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 382 | 2.3 km |
| St Laurence CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 302 | 2.3 km |
| Blackrock Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 236 | 2.6 km |
| Coláiste RaithínETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 326 | 2.7 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 324 | 2.8 km |
| St. Gerard's SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 623 | 3.4 km |
| Cabinteely Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 512 | 3.6 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 747 | 4.1 km |
| St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 270 | 4.2 km |
| Presentation CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 667 | 4.7 km |
All 36 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clonkeen CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 635 | 4.8 km |
| Rathdown SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 364 | 4.9 km |
| Holy Child Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 275 | 4.9 km |
| St. Kilian's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 427 | 5.3 km |
| Loreto Abbey Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 757 | 5.4 km |
| Stepaside Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 741 | 5.7 km |
| Loreto College FoxrockVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 660 | 5.8 km |
| Christian Brothers CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying | 549 | 6.6 km |
| Rockford Manor Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 273 | 6.6 km |
| Newpark Comprehensive SchoolComprehensive · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 884 | 7.2 km |
| Rosemont SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 307 | 7.8 km |
| St Raphaela's Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 637 | 7.9 km |
| Oatlands CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 623 | 8.5 km |
| St Benildus CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 949 | 8.8 km |
| Dominican CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 521 | 8.9 km |
| Blackrock CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 1,041 | 9.1 km |
| Temple Carrig Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | – | 931 | 9.2 km |
| Wesley CollegeVoluntary secondary · Methodist | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 942 | 9.5 km |
| Coláiste ÍosagáinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 488 | 9.5 km |
| St. Tiernan's Community SchoolCommunity school · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 368 | 9.5 km |
| Mount Anville Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Fee-paying | 726 | 9.5 km |
| Willow Park SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 206 | 9.5 km |
| Coláiste EoinVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | Gaelcholáiste | 517 | 9.5 km |
| St Andrews CollegeVoluntary secondary · Presbyterian | Girls and boys | Fee-paying | 1,011 | 9.7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Shankill
4 special schools serve the area: St Kierans Spec School, Ballyowen Meadows, Marino School N.S. and New Court School, 259 pupils between them. 16 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.
Shankill beside the 87 other Irish towns of 7,700 to 14,900 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballyowen | 14,739 | 68 | 31,032 | 6 | 32% | 1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Drumcondra | 11,149 | 151 | 41,836 | 12 | 58% | 0.3 km |
| Ronanstown | 11,130 | 76 | 32,256 | 6 | 40% | 0.2 km |
| Athy | 11,035 | 7 | 2,975 | 1 | 57% | 0.8 km |
| Palmerston | 11,012 | 80 | 33,167 | 7 | 40% | 0.4 km |
| Shankill | 11,009 | 43 | 13,386 | 5 | 28% | 1.9 km |
| Longford | 10,952 | 12 | 3,607 | 1 | 83% | 0.2 km |
| Rush | 10,875 | 13 | 5,851 | 2 | 8% | 0.7 km |
| Portmarnock | 10,750 | 53 | 18,370 | 3 | 26% | 0.5 km |
| Skerries | 10,743 | 14 | 4,988 | 1 | 21% | 0.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Baldoyle | 7,864 | 53 | 16,574 | 4 | 28% | 0.7 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 48 of the other 87 towns than around Shankill. An all-Irish school is within 3 km of 85 of the 88.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Shankill
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 Shankill had 12,825 pupils in 2015/16 and 13,386 in 2025/26. Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School grew most: +246% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Shankill
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 Shankill
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shankill | 43 | 13,386 | 5 | 28% | 1.9 km |
| Killiney 2.1 km | 45 | 13,019 | 1 | 31% | 0.7 km |
| Ballybrack 3 km | 41 | 11,728 | 1 | 29% | 0.9 km |
| Cabinteely 3.4 km | 67 | 21,279 | 4 | 21% | 0.6 km |
| Bray 4.1 km | 30 | 9,081 | 4 | 27% | 0.7 km |
| Dalkey 4.9 km | 43 | 12,331 | 1 | 28% | 0.9 km |
| Foxrock 4.9 km | 80 | 28,450 | 7 | 18% | 0.8 km |
Foxrock has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. Since 2019/20 the pupils around Shankill changed by +9%; among its neighbours, Cabinteely’s grew most (+8%) and Bray’s least (+1%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Shankill 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 Shankill
How many schools are there in Shankill?
In Shankill or within 3 km of it: 26 primary schools, 13 secondary schools and 4 special schools, with 13,386 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Shankill that teach through Irish?
Yes, 5: Gaelscoil Phadraig, Coláiste Raithín and Gaelscoil Ui Cheadaigh teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Shankill?
4 of the 13: John Scottus Secondary School, Holy Child Killiney, St. Gerard's School and St Joseph Of Cluny Secondary School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Shankill?
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 Shankill?
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).