St. Brendan's College
Cill Airne, Co Chiarraí · V93 FP49 · Roll number 61320M
St. Brendan's College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Killarney. Every school in and around Killarney →
What stands out about St. Brendan's College
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 871 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+14%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- A boys’ school.
- The largest of the 3 post-primary schools around Killarney.
- A voluntary secondary school: owned by its trustees, most often a religious order or its successor trust, and paid for by the State.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kerry; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St. Brendan's College had 871 pupils in 2025/26, against 607 in 2015/16 (+43%). Its largest roll was 894, in 2023/24. Its roll rose in 7 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. Brendan's 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 St. Brendan's 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 St. Brendan's 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 St. Brendan's College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St. Brendan's 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 takes boys only.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St. Brendan's College has grown by 14% since 2019/20. All the schools around Killarney together changed by +7%.
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.
St. Brendan's College has more pupils than any of the 6 nearest post-primary schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +14%; 4 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Brendan's College | 871 | +14% | Catholic | English | ||
| Killarney Community College | 469 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.3 km |
| St. Brigid's Secondary School | 789 | +25% | Catholic | English | 0.3 km | |
| Presentation Secondary School | 712 | +16% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra | 367 | −6% | Inter-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Community College Killorglin | 285 | −7% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Castleisland Community College | 452 | +80% | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km |
The other 19 post-primary schools in Co. Kerry
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meanscoil Naomh Ioseph | 211 | −14% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Meanscoil Phadraig Naofa | 179 | −9% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| The Intermediate School | 711 | +48% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine | 646 | +31% | Inter-denominational | English | 20 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí | 312 | −11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 26 km | |
| Presentation Secondary School | 517 | −9% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| C.B.S. Secondary School | 801 | +26% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School | 279 | +29% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk | 1,322 | +5% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Meanscoil Nua an Leith Triuigh | 160 | +1% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| Causeway Comprehensive School | 646 | +35% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 42 km |
| Presentation Secondary School | 341 | +8% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| St. Michael's College | 347 | +37% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Coláiste na Ríochta | 178 | +109% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 43 km |
| Coláiste na Sceilge | 543 | +6% | Inter-denominational | Irish stream | 51 km | |
| St. Joseph's Secondary School | 349 | +9% | Catholic | English | 52 km | |
| Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne | 441 | +13% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 52 km | |
| Coláiste Íde | 123 | +23% | Catholic | All in Irish | 54 km | |
| Tarbert Comprehensive School | 546 | +9% | Inter-denominational | English | 58 km |
Living in Killarney
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the V93 Eircode area
Housing in Killarney →The median sale price rose from €284,000 in 2023 to €330,000 in 2025 (+16%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the V93 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Killarney
Cost of living in Killarney →New tenancies in Killarney averaged €1,302 a month in 2025, against €1,201 in 2024 (+8%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Killarney, V93 FP49
Post-primary schools near St. Brendan's College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St. Brendan's College
Is St. Brendan's 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 St. Brendan's College have?
871 pupils in 2025/26. That is +14% since 2019/20.
Does St. Brendan's College teach through Irish?
No: St. Brendan's College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St. Brendan's College?
St. Brendan's College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kerry.
How do pupils get a place at St. Brendan's 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 St. Brendan's College?
The nearest are Killarney Community College (0.3 km), St. Brigid's Secondary School (0.3 km) and Presentation Secondary School (16 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 Killarney; 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).