Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0In and around Tralee, 18 schools: 12 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school
Around Tralee, 39% of schools are in DEIS, above both Co. Kerry’s towns (18%) and Irish towns (35%). In or within 3 km of Tralee, they have 6,726 pupils in all. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Tralee’s schools
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 5 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Presentation Secondary School (0.6 km), Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí (0.8 km) and Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School (0.9 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Where the 18 schools in and around Tralee 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 Tralee’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 Tralee
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
2 of Tralee’s 18 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn and Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí.
Who Tralee’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 Tralee | Co. Kerry | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 27% | 20% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 11% | 9% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 41% | 33% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
27% of the pupils around Tralee are at a DEIS school, close to the 27% across Ireland (20% in Co. Kerry). Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 41% here against 29%. The biggest school in DEIS is S N Mhuire na mBraithre (414 pupils).
Each of the 18 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercy Secondary School MounthawkPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 1,322 | 56% | ||
| C.B.S. Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 801 | 0% | ||
| Scoil EoinPrimary | 589 | 52% | ||
| Presentation Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 517 | 100% | ||
| Gaelscoil Mhic EasmainnPrimary | 415 | 50% | ✓ | |
| S N Mhuire na mBraithrePrimary | 414 | 46% | ✓ | |
| Scoil MhuirePrimary | 378 | 47% | ✓ | |
| S N an Chroi NaofaPrimary | 342 | 56% | ✓ | |
| Gaelcholáiste ChiarraíPost-primary · ETB | 312 | 60% | ✓ | |
| Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary SchoolPost-primary · ETB | 279 | 43% | ✓ | |
| Holy FamilyPrimary | 265 | 43% | ✓ | |
| St Itas & St Josephs N.S.Special | 127 | 39% | ||
| Tralee Educate Together NSPrimary | 88 | 53% | ✓ | |
| St Johns Parochial SchoolPrimary | 61 | 52% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Breandan NaofaPrimary | 207 | 48% | ||
| S.N. Lios TeilicPrimary | 211 | 50% | ||
| Naomh Padraig MeascPrimary | 168 | 48% | ||
| Spa National SchoolPrimary | 230 | 53% |
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 Tralee’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
14 of Tralee’s 18 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Kerry (11), CEIST (2) and Kerry ETB (2). 7 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 6 patrons of Tralee’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Tralee answer to 6 patrons, and Bishop of Kerry leads with 11 of the 18 schools and 50% of their pupils. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of KerryScoil Eoin, Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn, S N Mhuire na mBraithre, Scoil Mhuire, S N an Chroi Naofa, Holy Family, Spa, S.N. Lios Teilic, S.N. Breandan Naofa, Naomh Padraig Measc, St Itas & St Josephs | Catholic | 11 | 3,346 |
| CEISTMercy Secondary School Mounthawk, Presentation | Catholic | 2 | 1,839 |
| Kerry ETBGaelcholáiste Chiarraí, Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary School | Multi-denominational | 2 | 591 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustC.B.S. | Catholic | 1 | 801 |
| Educate TogetherTralee Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 88 |
| Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COISt Johns Parochial School | Church of Ireland | 1 | 61 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Tralee
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
Of these 17 schools, 7 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 6 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 17 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 Tralee
Each school in or within 3 km of Tralee links to a page of its own. Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Inspection reports for Tralee’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
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 18 schools below each link their own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Tralee
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
Within 10 km of Tralee there are 5 post-primary schools: 3 voluntary secondary schools and 2 ETB schools. 2 of them are single-sex, 1 for girls and 1 for boys. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 517 | 0.6 km |
| Gaelcholáiste ChiarraíETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 312 | 0.8 km |
| Coláiste Gleann Lí Post Primary SchoolETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 279 | 0.9 km |
| C.B.S. Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 801 | 0.9 km |
| Mercy Secondary School MounthawkVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 1,322 | 2.1 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Tralee
St Itas & St Josephs N.S. is the special school here, with 127 pupils. 5 of the 12 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.
Tralee beside the 41 other Irish towns of 18,300 to 35,200 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navan | 33,886 | 20 | 9,158 | 1 | 35% | 0.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ennis | 27,923 | 18 | 7,595 | 1 | 33% | 0.3 km |
| Carlow | 27,351 | 19 | 7,832 | 2 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Kilkenny | 27,184 | 19 | 8,557 | 2 | 11% | 0.6 km |
| Naas | 26,180 | 15 | 8,304 | 2 | 7% | 0.1 km |
| Tralee | 26,079 | 18 | 6,726 | 2 | 39% | 0.6 km |
| Blanchardstown | 24,613 | 91 | 36,302 | 5 | 44% | 0.7 km |
| Newbridge | 24,366 | 18 | 7,450 | 1 | 33% | 0.4 km |
| Balbriggan | 24,322 | 17 | 8,295 | 2 | 29% | 0.3 km |
| Portlaoise | 23,494 | 13 | 6,518 | 1 | 15% | 0.6 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clonmel | 18,369 | 13 | 4,235 | 1 | 23% | 0.4 km |
Among the 41 other towns, 36 have more pupils at their schools than Tralee 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 Tralee
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 Tralee had 6,903 pupils in 2015/16 and 6,726 in 2025/26, fewer than before. St Johns Parochial School grew most: +49% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Tralee
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 Tralee
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tralee | 18 | 6,726 | 2 | 39% | 0.6 km |
| Milltown 14 km | 4 | 1,193 | 0 | 25% | 0.2 km |
| Castleisland 17 km | 7 | 1,283 | 1 | 29% | 0.3 km |
Since 2019/20 the pupils around Tralee changed by +5%; among its neighbours, Castleisland’s grew most (+12%) and Milltown’s least (+9%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Tralee 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 Tralee
How many schools are there in Tralee?
In Tralee or within 3 km of it: 12 primary schools, 5 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 6,726 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Tralee that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn and Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Tralee?
No: all 5 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Tralee?
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 Tralee?
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).