Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0The schools around Listowel have grown: pupils +15% since 2019/20, more than around Co. Kerry’s towns or Irish towns
For Listowel, that is above both Co. Kerry’s towns (+8%) and Irish towns (+4%). 2 of its 3 secondary schools take only boys or only girls. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, 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 Listowel’s schools
Extra support for many schools
Many schools here are in DEIS, which gives schools in disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and help; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: Listowel Presentation Primary (186), Coláiste na Ríochta (178), Realt na Maidne (166) and Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail (136). Who runs them ↓
Mostly single-sex at secondary
Most secondary schools here take only boys or only girls; the mixed ones are marked on the cards below. Single-sex: St. Michael's College (347) and Presentation Secondary School (341). Every school ↓
One school growing fast
Of the schools here, St. Michael's College has grown fastest, from 253 in 2019/20 to 347. Getting a place ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Who runs Listowel’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
7 of Listowel’s 8 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kerry (6), CEIST (1) and Kerry ETB (1). 4 of the 8 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 8 schools in and around Listowel
Each school in or within 3 km of Listowel links to a page of its own. Without school-level results from Ireland, the cards show no letters.
Where the 8 schools in and around Listowel 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 Listowel’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 Listowel
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Listowel’s 8 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail.
Who Listowel’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Kerry’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 Listowel | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 43% | 20% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 9% | 9% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 79% | 33% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
43% of the pupils around Listowel are at a DEIS school, more than the 27% across Ireland (20% in Co. Kerry). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at single-sex schools stand out most: 79% against 29%. The largest DEIS school here is Listowel Presentation Primary, with 186 pupils.
Each of the 8 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Michael's CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 347 | 0% | ||
| Presentation Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 341 | 100% | ||
| Listowel Presentation PrimaryPrimary | 186 | 100% | ✓ | |
| Coláiste na RíochtaPost-primary · ETB | 178 | 44% | ✓ | |
| Realt na MaidnePrimary | 166 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil Lios TuathailPrimary | 136 | 65% | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nano Nagle N SchoolSpecial | 96 | 30% | ||
| S.N. Cill CruinnPrimary | 97 | 39% |
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 3 patrons of Listowel’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Bishop of Kerry is patron of 6 of the 8 schools around Listowel, which teach 66% of their pupils; 3 patrons run them in all. The local Education and Training Board runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of KerrySt. Michael's College, Listowel Presentation Primary, Realt na Maidne, Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail, S.N. Cill Cruinn, Nano Nagle N School | Catholic | 6 | 1,028 |
| CEISTPresentation | Catholic | 1 | 341 |
| Kerry ETBColáiste na Ríochta | Multi-denominational | 1 | 178 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Listowel
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
Between 2019/20 and now, 4 of the 7 grew by 5% or more and 3 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +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.
Inspection reports for Listowel’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted 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 8 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| St. Michael's CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Listowel Presentation PrimaryPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Coláiste na RíochtaPost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Realt na MaidnePrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Lios TuathailPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Nano Nagle N SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| S.N. Cill CruinnPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Listowel
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
3 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Listowel: 2 voluntary secondary schools and one ETB school. 2 of them are single-sex, 1 for girls and 1 for boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coláiste na RíochtaETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 178 | 0.4 km |
| St. Michael's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 347 | 0.6 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 341 | 0.7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Listowel
Nano Nagle N School is the special school here, with 96 pupils. 2 of the 4 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.
Listowel beside the 97 other Irish towns of 3,400 to 6,500 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castleknock | 6,355 | 77 | 27,912 | 3 | 51% | 0.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Poleberry | 4,875 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.4 km |
| Chapelizod | 4,862 | 154 | 44,846 | 5 | 58% | 0.7 km |
| Cashel | 4,805 | 6 | 1,837 | 0 | 33% | 0.6 km |
| Tramore | 4,803 | 75 | 22,562 | 7 | 48% | 0.7 km |
| Listowel | 4,794 | 8 | 1,547 | 1 | 50% | 0.4 km |
| Carrick-On-Shannon | 4,743 | 5 | 1,575 | 1 | 0% | 0.2 km |
| Birr | 4,726 | 7 | 1,708 | 1 | 86% | 1.4 km |
| Dangan | 4,621 | 30 | 10,789 | 5 | 23% | 1.6 km |
| Bohernabreena | 4,613 | 54 | 19,297 | 5 | 46% | 0.9 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clara | 3,403 | 3 | 699 | 0 | 100% | 0.3 km |
Of these 97 other towns, 84 count more pupils at their schools than Listowel. Within 3 km, 75 of these 98 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Listowel
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 Listowel had 1,432 pupils in 2015/16 and 1,547 in 2025/26. Coláiste na Ríochta grew most: +109% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Listowel
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 Listowel
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Listowel | 8 | 1,547 | 1 | 50% | 0.4 km |
| Abbeyfeale 14 km | 5 | 1,060 | 0 | 40% | 0.7 km |
| Ballybunion 15 km | 3 | 586 | 0 | 33% | 0.5 km |
Pupils around Listowel: +15% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Ballybunion led (+8%) and Abbeyfeale trailed (−6%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Listowel 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 Listowel
How many schools are there in Listowel?
In Listowel or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 1,547 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Listowel that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Listowel?
No: all 3 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Listowel?
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 Listowel?
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).