Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
An Chluain Mhór, Trá Lí, Co Chiarraí · V92 V82V · Roll number 70560K
Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí is one of 5 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Tralee. Every school in and around Tralee →
What stands out about Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
- A small post-primary school: 312 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−11%).
- Every subject is taught through Irish.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Kerry ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí had 312 pupils in 2025/26, down from 325 in 2015/16 (−4%). Girls are 60% of them. Its largest roll was 359, in 2016/17. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
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 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí 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 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
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 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí 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 teaches every subject through Irish.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí has shrunk by 11% since 2019/20. All the schools around Tralee together changed by +5%.
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, 4 have more pupils than Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −11%; 5 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí | 312 | −11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ||
| Presentation Secondary School | 517 | −9% | Catholic | English | 0.6 km | |
| Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School | 279 | +29% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.8 km |
| C.B.S. Secondary School | 801 | +26% | Catholic | English | 1 km | |
| Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk | 1,322 | +5% | Catholic | English | 2.9 km | |
| Presentation Secondary School | 712 | +16% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Meanscoil Naomh Ioseph | 211 | −14% | Catholic | English | 16 km |
The other 19 post-primary schools in Co. Kerry
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meanscoil Phadraig Naofa | 179 | −9% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Causeway Comprehensive School | 646 | +35% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Castleisland Community College | 452 | +80% | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| The Intermediate School | 711 | +48% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Community College Killorglin | 285 | −7% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Meanscoil Nua an Leith Triuigh | 160 | +1% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Presentation Secondary School | 341 | +8% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Coláiste na Ríochta | 178 | +109% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| St. Michael's College | 347 | +37% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Killarney Community College | 469 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| St. Brendan's College | 871 | +14% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| St. Brigid's Secondary School | 789 | +25% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| St. Joseph's Secondary School | 349 | +9% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra | 367 | −6% | Inter-denominational | English | 37 km | |
| Tarbert Comprehensive School | 546 | +9% | Inter-denominational | English | 40 km | |
| Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne | 441 | +13% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 42 km | |
| Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine | 646 | +31% | Inter-denominational | English | 43 km | |
| Coláiste Íde | 123 | +23% | Catholic | All in Irish | 45 km | |
| Coláiste na Sceilge | 543 | +6% | Inter-denominational | Irish stream | 52 km |
Living in Tralee
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the V92 Eircode area
Housing in Tralee →The median sale price rose from €220,000 in 2023 to €272,000 in 2025 (+24%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the V92 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Tralee
Cost of living in Tralee →New tenancies in Tralee averaged €1,210 a month in 2025, against €1,112 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Tralee, V92 V82V
Post-primary schools near Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
Is Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí 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 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí have?
312 pupils in 2025/26. That is −11% since 2019/20.
Does Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí teach through Irish?
Yes: every subject at Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí is taught through Irish.
Who runs Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí?
Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Kerry ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí?
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 Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí?
The nearest are Presentation Secondary School (0.6 km), Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School (0.8 km) and C.B.S. Secondary School (1 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 Tralee; 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).