S.N. Fionntan Naofa
Shanahoe, Abbeyleix, Portlaoise · R32 F899 · Roll number 17489G
S.N. Fionntan Naofa is one of 2 primary schools in or within 3 km of Abbeyleix. Every school in and around Abbeyleix →
What stands out about S.N. Fionntan Naofa
- A small primary school: 60 pupils, against a typical 131.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 60 pupils, 22% fewer than the 77 of 2019/20.
- Has special classes for children who need more support.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Abbeyleix’s outline, 4.6 km away; listed with Abbeyleix, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26S.N. Fionntan Naofa had 60 pupils in 2025/26, down from 85 in 2015/16 (−29%). Girls are 58% of them. Its roll rose in 0 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. Fionntan Naofa
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. Fionntan Naofa 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. Fionntan Naofa
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. Fionntan Naofa
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to S.N. Fionntan Naofa 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. Fionntan Naofa has shrunk by 22% since 2019/20. All the schools around Abbeyleix together changed by −16%.
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, 4 have more pupils than S.N. Fionntan Naofa. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −22%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | ||
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 5.1 km | |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 5.4 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 5.4 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 5.6 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 5.7 km | |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km |
The other 56 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 7.2 km | |
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.6 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.7 km |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 8.8 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.9 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 9.8 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 15 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 15 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 15 km | |
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 18 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 21 km | |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 21 km | |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 22 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 31 km |
Living in Abbeyleix
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Abbeyleix →The median sale price rose from €250,000 in 2023 to €320,000 in 2025 (+28%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R32 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Laois
Cost of living in Abbeyleix →New tenancies in Co. Laois averaged €1,235 a month in 2025, against €1,112 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Abbeyleix, R32 F899
Primary schools near S.N. Fionntan Naofa
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. Fionntan Naofa
Is S.N. Fionntan Naofa 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. Fionntan Naofa have?
60 pupils in 2025/26. That is −22% since 2019/20.
Does S.N. Fionntan Naofa teach through Irish?
No: S.N. Fionntan Naofa teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs S.N. Fionntan Naofa?
S.N. Fionntan Naofa has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at S.N. Fionntan Naofa?
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. Fionntan Naofa?
The nearest are Abbeyleix Sth N.S. (5.1 km), Naomh Pius X N.S. (5.4 km) and Trummera N.S. (5.4 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 Abbeyleix; 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).