S.N. Baile Finn
Ballyfin, Portlaoise, Co. Laois · R32 N920 · Roll number 15537E
S.N. Baile Finn is one of 7 primary schools in or within 3 km of Portlaoise. Every school in and around Portlaoise →
What stands out about S.N. Baile Finn
- 208 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−11%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Portlaoise’s outline, 5.5 km away; listed with Portlaoise, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26S.N. Baile Finn had 208 pupils in 2025/26, down from 227 in 2015/16 (−8%). Girls are 53% of them. Its largest roll was 238, in 2018/19. 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. Baile Finn
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. Baile Finn 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. Baile Finn
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. Baile Finn
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to S.N. Baile Finn 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: S.N. Baile Finn has shrunk by 11% since 2019/20. All the schools around Portlaoise together changed by +10%.
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, 1 have more pupils than S.N. Baile Finn. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −11%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | ||
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 4.2 km |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.5 km |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 7.1 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 7.4 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.8 km |
The other 56 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.5 km | |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.6 km |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.6 km |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.7 km | |
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | 8.7 km | |
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 8.8 km | |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 8.8 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 8.9 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 9.2 km | |
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 9.3 km | |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 9.9 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 17 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 18 km | |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 22 km | |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 32 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 38 km |
Living in Portlaoise
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Portlaoise →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 Portlaoise
Cost of living in Portlaoise →New tenancies in Portlaoise averaged €1,268 a month in 2025, against €1,141 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Portlaoise, R32 N920
Primary schools near S.N. Baile Finn
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. Baile Finn
Is S.N. Baile Finn 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. Baile Finn have?
208 pupils in 2025/26. That is −11% since 2019/20.
Does S.N. Baile Finn teach through Irish?
No: S.N. Baile Finn teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs S.N. Baile Finn?
S.N. Baile Finn has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Kildare & Leighlin.
How do pupils get a place at S.N. Baile Finn?
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. Baile Finn?
The nearest are Barr na Sruthan N S (4.2 km), Scoil Bhride N.S. (6.5 km) and Naomh Padraig N.S. (6.9 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 Portlaoise; 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).