Photo: A.-K. D. · CC BY-SA 4.0Most post-primaries around Ballybane take girls and boys: 0% are single-sex, below Co. Galway’s towns and Irish towns
That leaves Ballybane below both Co. Galway’s towns (33%) and Irish towns (39%). In or within 3 km of Ballybane, they have 6,135 pupils in all. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Ballybane’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
12 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College (0.3 km), Galway Community College (3 km) and Calasanctius College (4.1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Where the 18 schools in and around Ballybane 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 Ballybane’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 Ballybane
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
2 of Ballybane’s 18 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Dara and Gaelscoil de hIde.
Who Ballybane’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Galway’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 Ballybane | Co. Galway | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 46% | 21% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 13% | 14% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 0% | 9% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
DEIS schools teach 46% of the pupils around Ballybane, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Galway: 21%). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at single-sex schools stand out most: 0% against 29%. The largest DEIS school here is Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College, with 710 pupils.
Each of the 18 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin CollegePost-primary · ETB | 710 | 48% | ✓ | |
| Merlin Woods Primary SchoolPrimary | 383 | 48% | ||
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | 223 | 46% | ||
| Scoil AineSpecial | 45 | 67% | ||
| Ábalta Special SchoolSpecial | 30 | 30% | ||
| Radharc na Mara National SchoolPrimary | 353 | 46% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil DaraPrimary | 419 | 53% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Caitriona SinsearPrimary | 365 | 50% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Caitriona SoisPrimary | 350 | 53% | ✓ | |
| S.N. ColmcillePrimary | 70 | 54% | ✓ | |
| Rosedale SchoolSpecial | 75 | 39% | ||
| Lakeview SchoolSpecial | 76 | 36% | ||
| Calasanctius CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 906 | 45% | ||
| Gaelscoil de hIdePrimary | 399 | 48% | ✓ | |
| Scoil ÍosaPrimary | 770 | 51% | ||
| Galway Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 395 | 47% | ✓ | |
| Tirellan Heights N.S.Primary | 330 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Scoil an Linbh IosaPrimary | 236 | 56% | ✓ |
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 Ballybane’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
15 of Ballybane’s 18 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora (14), Galway & Roscommon ETB (2) and Irish Autism Action (1). 8 of the 18 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 4 patrons of Ballybane’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
The schools around Ballybane answer to 4 patrons, and Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora leads with 14 of the 18 schools and 67% of their pupils. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh & KilfenoraScoil Íosa, Gaelscoil Dara, Gaelscoil de hIde, Merlin Woods Primary School, S.N. Caitriona Sinsear, Radharc na Mara, S.N. Caitriona Sois, Tirellan Heights, Scoil an Linbh Iosa, Scoil Mhuire, Lakeview School, Rosedale School, S.N. Colmcille, Scoil Aine | Catholic | 14 | 4,094 |
| Galway & Roscommon ETBColáiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College, Galway | Multi-denominational, Inter-denominational | 2 | 1,105 |
| CEISTCalasanctius College | Catholic | 1 | 906 |
| Irish Autism ActionÁbalta Special School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 30 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ballybane
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
4 schools here have grown by 5% or more since 2019/20, 7 have shrunk by as much, out of 12; across Ireland: +5%.
All 12 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.
The 18 schools in and around Ballybane
Here are the schools in Ballybane 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.
Inspection reports for Ballybane’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 18 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Merlin Woods Primary SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil AineSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Ábalta Special SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Radharc na Mara National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil DaraPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Caitriona SinsearPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Caitriona SoisPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. ColmcillePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Rosedale SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Lakeview SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Calasanctius CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil de hIdePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil ÍosaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Galway Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Tirellan Heights N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil an Linbh IosaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Ballybane
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Within 10 km of Ballybane there are 12 post-primary schools: 8 voluntary secondary schools and 4 ETB schools. 3 teach girls and boys apart: 2 girls’ and 1 boys’ schools. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 710 | 0.3 km |
| Galway Community CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 395 | 3 km |
| Calasanctius CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 906 | 4.1 km |
| Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 379 | 4.4 km |
| St Joseph's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 791 | 4.8 km |
| Coláiste Iognáid S.J.Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 637 | 5 km |
| Coláiste Muire MáthairVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 738 | 5.4 km |
| Dominican CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 564 | 6.1 km |
| Coláiste Bhaile ChláirETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,269 | 6.7 km |
| Coláiste EindeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 808 | 7 km |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 658 | 7 km |
| Coláiste na CoiribeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaeltacht school | 711 | 9.1 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ballybane
4 special schools serve the area: Scoil Aine, Ábalta Special School, Rosedale School and Lakeview School, 226 pupils between them. 8 of the 11 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.
Ballybane beside the 77 other Irish towns of 10,600 to 20,400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crumlin | 19,287 | 124 | 35,375 | 8 | 52% | 0.5 km |
| … | ||||||
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 85 | 30,738 | 9 | 42% | 0.8 km |
| Clontarf West | 15,296 | 151 | 40,521 | 9 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Kimmage | 15,207 | 132 | 38,981 | 9 | 45% | 0.5 km |
| Castletroy | 15,093 | 29 | 10,543 | 3 | 52% | 1.3 km |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 18 | 6,135 | 2 | 44% | 0.3 km |
| Belmayne | 15,047 | 63 | 17,963 | 5 | 40% | 0.2 km |
| Ashtown | 14,937 | 97 | 28,864 | 8 | 52% | 0.7 km |
| Ballyowen | 14,739 | 68 | 31,032 | 6 | 32% | 1 km |
| Darndale | 14,675 | 85 | 23,703 | 7 | 49% | 1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Skerries | 10,743 | 14 | 4,988 | 1 | 21% | 0.2 km |
Among the 77 other towns, 58 have more pupils at their schools than Ballybane does. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ballybane
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 Ballybane had 5,969 pupils in 2015/16 and 6,135 in 2025/26. Lakeview School grew most: +85% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ballybane
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 Ballybane
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybane | 18 | 6,135 | 2 | 44% | 0.3 km |
| Murrough 1.5 km | 22 | 7,826 | 2 | 41% | 1.6 km |
| Mervue 2.1 km | 30 | 9,041 | 4 | 37% | 0.9 km |
| Castlegar 3.1 km | 32 | 9,971 | 4 | 34% | 1.3 km |
| Eyre Square 3.4 km | 36 | 12,413 | 5 | 33% | 1.2 km |
| Ballinfoile and Terryland 4.1 km | 33 | 11,082 | 5 | 33% | 1.5 km |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island 4.3 km | 33 | 11,452 | 5 | 33% | 0.2 km |
Eyre Square has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 5. Pupils around Ballybane: +2% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Mervue led (+3%) and Woodquay and Nuns Island trailed (+1%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ballybane 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 Ballybane
How many schools are there in Ballybane?
In Ballybane or within 3 km of it: 11 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 4 special schools, with 6,135 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ballybane that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelscoil Dara and Gaelscoil de hIde teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Ballybane?
No: all 3 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Ballybane?
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 Ballybane?
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).