Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
Cnoc an tSamhraidh, Portlaoise, Co. Laoise · R32 YA66 · Roll number 20081O
Gaelscoil Phort Laoise is one of 7 primary schools in or within 3 km of Portlaoise. Every school in and around Portlaoise →
What stands out about Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
- One of the larger primary schools: 369 pupils, against a typical 131.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+4%).
- Every subject is taught through Irish.
- Its patron is An Foras Pátrúnachta; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Portlaoise’s outline, 0.1 km away; listed with Portlaoise, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Gaelscoil Phort Laoise had 369 pupils in 2025/26, against 297 in 2015/16 (+24%). Girls are 51% of them. Its largest roll was 386, in 2022/23. 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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise 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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Gaelscoil Phort Laoise 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.
It teaches every subject through Irish.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Gaelscoil Phort Laoise is about the size it was in 2019/20 (+4%). 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, 4 have more pupils than Gaelscoil Phort Laoise. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +4%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil Phort Laoise | 369 | +4% | Catholic | All in Irish | ||
| Portlaoise Educate Together NS | 457 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | 0.1 km | |
| Maryboro N.S. | 96 | +5% | Church of Ireland | English | 0.1 km | |
| Holy Family Junior School | 599 | −9% | Catholic | English | 0.5 km | |
| Holy Family Senior School | 644 | −13% | Catholic | English | 0.6 km | |
| Scoil Bhride N.S. | 727 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 2.2 km |
| Fraoch Mor N.S. | 212 | −10% | Catholic | English | 5 km |
The other 56 primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raithin an Uisce N.S. | 211 | −4% | Catholic | English | 5.2 km | |
| Barr na Sruthan N S | 91 | +42% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.2 km |
| S.N. Baile Finn | 208 | −11% | Catholic | English | 8.7 km | |
| Tobar an Leinn | 168 | +56% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| Emo Mixed N.S. | 207 | −1% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Mhuire Fatima N.S. | 193 | +31% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Ballyroan Primary School | 177 | +11% | Catholic | English | 9.4 km | |
| Cosby N.S. | 57 | +90% | Church of Ireland | English | 9.5 km | |
| St Coleman's National School | 318 | +16% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 9.5 km | |
| Na Carraige N.S. | 204 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.5 km |
| St Josephs Girls N.S. | 230 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.6 km |
| Mountmellick Boys N.S. | 188 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.6 km |
| St Pauls N.S. | 41 | +32% | Church of Ireland | English | 10 km | |
| Trummera N.S. | 34 | −6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 11 km | |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 86 | −2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 269 | −14% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Cluain Eidhneach N.S. | 89 | +22% | Church of Ireland | English | 13 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 95 | +14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Fintans N.S. | 108 | +19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Abbeyleix Sth N.S. | 84 | −21% | Church of Ireland | English | 14 km | |
| Paddock N.S. | 80 | −2% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Molaise | 58 | −9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 374 | −11% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Rosenallis N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| S.N. Fionntan Naofa | 60 | −22% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Rath Mixed N.S. | 194 | −11% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Castletown N.S. | 111 | −8% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 521 | −0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Ballyadams N.S. | 111 | +0% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Presentation Primary School | 496 | −30% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Náisiúnta Cúil an tSúdaire 2 | 84 | −16% | Church of Ireland | English | 16 km | |
| Ballinakill Mixed N.S. | 98 | +7% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 9 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Cill an Iubhair N.S. | 23 | −30% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Scoil Padraig | 218 | −16% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Scoil an Chroi Ro Naofa | 29 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Naomh Pius X N.S. | 49 | +58% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Rushall N.S. | 30 | −27% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Camross N.S. | 156 | +24% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 127 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Shanganamore N.S. | 106 | −8% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Abban | 73 | +38% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Our Ladys Meadow National Schoo | 192 | +7% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Cloch an Tsionnaigh N.S. | 64 | −22% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Ardlios N.S. | 50 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Scoil Mhuire Muigheo | 22 | −42% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Naofa Castlecuffe | 53 | −38% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Scoil Abbain Cillin | 99 | +5% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| St Josephs National School | 95 | −10% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Tíghearnach Naofa | 108 | +9% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Scoil Chomhgain Naofa | 380 | −5% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 244 | +21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| Gaelscoil an Tsli Dala | 49 | +7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 28 km | |
| Kiladooley Mixed N.S. | 132 | +25% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Bhride N.S. | 13 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 71 | +0% | Catholic | English | 33 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 YA66
Primary schools near Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
Is Gaelscoil Phort Laoise 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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise have?
369 pupils in 2025/26. That is +4% since 2019/20.
Does Gaelscoil Phort Laoise teach through Irish?
Yes: every subject at Gaelscoil Phort Laoise is taught through Irish.
Who runs Gaelscoil Phort Laoise?
Gaelscoil Phort Laoise has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is An Foras Pátrúnachta.
How do pupils get a place at Gaelscoil Phort Laoise?
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 Gaelscoil Phort Laoise?
The nearest are Portlaoise Educate Together NS (0.1 km), Maryboro N.S. (0.1 km) and Holy Family Junior School (0.5 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).