S.N. Muire
Gowran, Co. Kilkenny · R95 ND27 · Roll number 18064C
S.N. Muire is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Gowran. Every school in and around Gowran →
What stands out about S.N. Muire
- 197 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 197 pupils, 24% fewer than the 260 of 2019/20.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ossory; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only primary school in Gowran or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26S.N. Muire had 197 pupils in 2025/26, down from 264 in 2015/16 (−25%). Girls are 50% of them. Its largest roll was 284, in 2017/18. 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 S.N. Muire
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 S.N. Muire 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 S.N. Muire
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 S.N. Muire
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to S.N. Muire directly. Children can start once they are four and must be in school by six; 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.
Places in special classes and special schools are allocated with the National Council for Special Education.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: S.N. Muire has shrunk by 24% since 2019/20. All the schools around Gowran together changed by −24%.
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 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 primary schools, 3 have more pupils than S.N. Muire. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −24%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Muire | 197 | −24% | Catholic | English | ||
| Goresbridge N.S. | 68 | −23% | Catholic | English | 5.4 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmain | 204 | −5% | Catholic | English | 6.1 km | |
| Skeaghvastheen N.S. | 85 | −13% | Catholic | English | 7 km | |
| Scoil Bhride B7C | 217 | −15% | Catholic | English | 7 km | |
| Bennettsbridge National School | 206 | +7% | Catholic | English | 8.1 km | |
| Baile an Chuilinn N.S. | 126 | +5% | Catholic | English | 10 km |
The other 62 primary schools in Co. Kilkenny
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Tobair Eoin Baisde | 45 | −34% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Gaelscoil Osrai | 438 | −5% | Catholic | All in Irish | 11 km | |
| St. John's National School | 441 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 12 km |
| St Mary's National School | 398 | −12% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 12 km | |
| Kilkenny School Project | 236 | +1% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Eoin Dea | 330 | −2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| S.N. Padraig Naofa | 331 | −15% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| St Michaels National School | 63 | +34% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 400 | −10% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Kilkenny Mixed N.S. | 198 | −4% | Church of Ireland | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Iognaid de Ris | 278 | +37% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 148 | −8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Graig na Manach Buac | 68 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Canices Central N.S. | 648 | −1% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Chiaran Naofa | 142 | +29% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Cholmcille | 104 | −27% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| S.N. Bhreandain Naofa | 192 | −11% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Church Hill Mixed N.S. | 192 | +14% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Burnchurch National School | 44 | −28% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| S.N. Bhridhe | 27 | – | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| S.N. Bhrighde | 46 | −12% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| S.N. Lisnafunchin | 32 | −32% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Padraig Mxd | 173 | −3% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| S.N. Colmain | 20 | – | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil San Lionard | 115 | −15% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Ioseph | 127 | +37% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| The Rower Mixed N.S. | 115 | −33% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Scoil Íosagáin | 121 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Wandesforde Mixed N.S. | 52 | −10% | Church of Ireland | English | 22 km | |
| St Brendans Mixed N.S. | 50 | −17% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Bunscoil McAuley Rice | 406 | −9% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| St Aidans N.S. | 175 | −9% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. an Moinin Rua | 127 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 24 km |
| Scoil Mholainge Listerlin | 148 | +9% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Lachtain | 201 | +6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 24 km |
| S.N. Tulach Ruain | 91 | −7% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Ballyragget National School | 163 | +20% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Moin Ruadh Mixed | 56 | +0% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Kilmoganny Mixed N.S. | 23 | +10% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 57 | −25% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Holycross N.S. | 72 | −23% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Clontubrid Mixed N.S. | 43 | −26% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Lisdowney N.S. | 96 | +1% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| S N San Nioclas | 120 | +3% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| S.N. Baile an Fhasaigh | 54 | −10% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| St Beacons N.S. | 175 | −5% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| S.N. Seamus Naofa | 91 | −13% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| S.N. Chrion Choill | 28 | −24% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Templeorum N.S. | 38 | −32% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Owning National School | 100 | +0% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Colmcille Mixed N.S. | 20 | −29% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| S.N. Baile an Phiull | 254 | −23% | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| St. Senan's National School | 176 | +2% | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Chiarain | 90 | +6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| Scoil an Chroí Ró-Naofa | 223 | −15% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| Ringville National School | 35 | −31% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Padraigh | 202 | +3% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| S.N. Mhichil Naofa | 62 | +3% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Slieverue Mixed N.S. | 208 | −8% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Scoil Mhichil Naofa | 14 | −56% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 261 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Carigeen N.S. | 123 | −23% | Catholic | English | 41 km |
Living in Gowran
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R95 Eircode area
Housing in Gowran →The median sale price rose from €289,400 in 2023 to €351,700 in 2025 (+22%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R95 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Kilkenny
Cost of living in Gowran →New tenancies in Co. Kilkenny averaged €1,207 a month in 2025, against €1,119 in 2024 (+8%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Gowran, R95 ND27
Primary schools near S.N. Muire
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about S.N. Muire
Is S.N. Muire 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 S.N. Muire have?
197 pupils in 2025/26. That is −24% since 2019/20.
Does S.N. Muire teach through Irish?
No: S.N. Muire teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs S.N. Muire?
S.N. Muire has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ossory.
How do pupils get a place at S.N. Muire?
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 S.N. Muire?
The nearest are Goresbridge N.S. (5.4 km), S.N. Naomh Colmain (6.1 km) and Skeaghvastheen N.S. (7 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 Gowran; 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).