Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara
Seanbhóthar Luimnigh, Nás na Ríogh, Co Chill Dara · W91 E282 · Roll number 68072I
Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara is one of 5 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Naas. Every school in and around Naas →
What stands out about Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara
- 401 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+8%).
- Every subject is taught through Irish.
- The smallest of the 5 post-primary schools around Naas.
- 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 An Foras Pátrúnachta; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara had 401 pupils in 2025/26, against 289 in 2015/16 (+39%). Girls are 58% of them. Its largest roll was 402, in 2024/25. 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 Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara
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 Chill Dara 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 Chill Dara
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 Chill Dara
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara 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 Chill Dara has grown by 8% since 2019/20. All the schools around Naas 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.
Each of the 6 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +8%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara | 401 | +8% | Catholic | All in Irish | ||
| Meánscoil Iognáid Ris | 1,013 | +0% | Catholic | English | 0.5 km | |
| Coláiste Naomh Mhuire | 1,076 | +3% | Catholic | English | 0.6 km | |
| Naas Community College | 928 | +95% | Multi-denominational | English | 1.9 km | |
| Piper's Hill College | 1,049 | +12% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 2.3 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Community School | 1,189 | +3% | Inter-denominational | English | 8.7 km | |
| Newbridge College | 923 | +4% | Catholic | English | 8.8 km |
The other 22 post-primary schools in Co. Kildare
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Family Secondary School | 789 | +11% | Catholic | English | 8.8 km | |
| Patrician Secondary School | 932 | +5% | Catholic | English | 8.9 km | |
| St Conleth's Community College | 752 | +37% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 9.5 km |
| St Farnan's Post Primary School | 676 | +50% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 9.6 km |
| Clongowes Wood College | 421 | −6% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Cross And Passion College | 843 | +1% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Curragh Community College | 288 | +112% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Wolstan's Community School | 846 | +17% | Inter-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Kildare Town Community School | 1,014 | +10% | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Salesian College | 880 | +25% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Celbridge Community School | 712 | +32% | Multi-denominational | English | 18 km | |
| Gaelcholáiste Mhaigh Nuad | 154 | – | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 19 km | |
| Maynooth Post Primary School | 1,018 | +5% | Multi-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Coláiste Chiaráin | 676 | +10% | Inter-denominational | English | 20 km | |
| Maynooth Community College | 1,013 | +66% | Multi-denominational | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Dara | 828 | −10% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Confey Community College | 934 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | 21 km | |
| Ardscoil Rath Iomgháin | 751 | +8% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| St Pauls Secondary School | 843 | +68% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Athy Community College | 646 | +51% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| Árdscoil na Trionóide | 894 | +4% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Colaiste Lorcain | 334 | −18% | Inter-denominational | English | 36 km |
Living in Naas
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the W91 Eircode area
Housing in Naas →The median sale price rose from €410,000 in 2023 to €435,000 in 2025 (+6%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the W91 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Naas
Cost of living in Naas →New tenancies in Naas averaged €1,889 a month in 2025, against €1,741 in 2024 (+9%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Naas, W91 E282
Post-primary schools near Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara
Is Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara 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 Chill Dara have?
401 pupils in 2025/26. That is +8% since 2019/20.
Does Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara teach through Irish?
Yes: every subject at Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara is taught through Irish.
Who runs Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara?
Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is An Foras Pátrúnachta.
How do pupils get a place at Gaelcholáiste Chill Dara?
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 Chill Dara?
The nearest are Meánscoil Iognáid Ris (0.5 km), Coláiste Naomh Mhuire (0.6 km) and Naas Community College (1.9 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 Naas; 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).