Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
c/o Galway-Roscommon ETB, Doughiska Road, Galway · H91 309Y · Roll number 76096S
Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballybane. Every school in and around Ballybane →
What stands out about Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
- 710 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+15%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- In 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.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Galway & Roscommon ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College had 710 pupils in 2025/26, against 283 in 2015/16 (+151%). Girls are 48% of them. Its largest roll was 725, in 2024/25. Its roll rose in 9 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
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 Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College 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 Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
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 Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; the school’s yearly admission notice gives the dates for applying and for its decisions.
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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College has grown by 15% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballybane together changed by +2%.
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 post-primary 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 post-primary schools, 3 have more pupils than Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +15%; 2 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College | 710 | +15% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| Galway Community College | 395 | +49% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 3.2 km |
| Calasanctius College | 906 | +6% | Catholic | English | 3.8 km | |
| Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School | 379 | +924% | Multi-denominational | English | 4.7 km | |
| St Joseph's College | 791 | +5% | Catholic | English | 5 km | |
| Coláiste Iognáid S.J. | 637 | +2% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 5.3 km | |
| Coláiste Muire Máthair | 738 | – | Catholic | English | 5.6 km |
The other 37 post-primary schools in Co. Galway
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican College | 564 | −11% | Catholic | English | 6.3 km | |
| Coláiste Bhaile Chláir | 1,269 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 6.7 km | |
| Coláiste Einde | 808 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.2 km |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary School | 658 | +0% | Catholic | English | 7.3 km | |
| Coláiste na Coiribe | 711 | +19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 9.4 km | |
| Presentation College | 1,100 | +2% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Clárin College | 1,140 | +118% | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Coláiste an Eachréidh | 234 | −3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 16 km | |
| Seamount College | 628 | +19% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Colaiste Chroi Mhuire | 270 | +17% | Catholic | All in Irish | 22 km | |
| Presentation College | 857 | +10% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Archbishop McHale College | 479 | +94% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Gort Community School | 1,043 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 27 km | |
| Colaiste Cholmcille | 101 | −11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 27 km |
| St. Jarlaths College | 762 | +34% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| High Cross College | 777 | – | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| St Pauls | 465 | +8% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| St Raphaels College | 749 | +12% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| St Brigids College | 751 | +21% | Multi-denominational | English | 30 km | |
| St Killian's College (Coláiste Chilleáin Naofa) | 168 | +2% | Multi-denominational | English | 33 km | |
| St. Cuan's College | 435 | +42% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Holy Rosary College | 720 | +2% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Coláiste an Chreagáin | 116 | +47% | Multi-denominational | English | 39 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Feichín | 63 | −19% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 40 km | |
| Dunmore Community School | 367 | +29% | Inter-denominational | English | 41 km | |
| Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin | 440 | +20% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 41 km |
| Coláiste Na bPiarsach | 54 | −17% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 43 km |
| Coláiste Ghobnait | 35 | +46% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 43 km | |
| Glenamaddy Community School | 433 | +15% | Inter-denominational | English | 46 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Eoin | 41 | +3% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 46 km | |
| Mercy College | 157 | +6% | Catholic | English | 47 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Éinne | 59 | +7% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 49 km | |
| Clonfert College | 926 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Coláiste Mhuire | 306 | +26% | Catholic | English | 52 km | |
| Portumna Community School | 506 | +14% | Inter-denominational | English | 55 km | |
| Scoil Phobail Mhic Dara | 117 | +22% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 56 km |
| Scoil Phobail | 489 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 72 km |
Living in Ballybane
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the H91 Eircode area
Housing in Ballybane →The median sale price rose from €338,600 in 2023 to €408,300 in 2025 (+21%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the H91 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballybane
Cost of living in Ballybane →New tenancies in Ballybane averaged €1,584 a month in 2025, against €1,490 in 2024 (+6%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballybane, H91 309Y
Post-primary schools near Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College
Is Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College 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 Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College have?
710 pupils in 2025/26. That is +15% since 2019/20.
Does Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College teach through Irish?
No: Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College?
Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Galway & Roscommon ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College?
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 Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College?
The nearest are Galway Community College (3.2 km), Calasanctius College (3.8 km) and Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School (4.7 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 Ballybane; 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).