St Fergal's College
Rathdowney, Co Laois · R32 ED72 · Roll number 71520D
St Fergal's College is the only one of the post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Rathdowney. Every school in and around Rathdowney →
What stands out about St Fergal's College
- 383 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 383 pupils, 27% more than the 301 of 2019/20.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Laois & Offaly ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- The only post-primary school in Rathdowney or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Fergal's College had 383 pupils in 2025/26, against 272 in 2015/16 (+41%). Girls are 47% of them. 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 St Fergal's College
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 St Fergal's College 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 St Fergal's College
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 St Fergal's College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St Fergal's College 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Fergal's College has grown by 27% since 2019/20. All the schools around Rathdowney together changed by +21%.
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.
Of the 6 nearest post-primary schools, 5 have more pupils than St Fergal's College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +27%; 0 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Fergal's College | 383 | +27% | Multi-denominational | English | ||
| Coláiste Mhuire | 659 | +11% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 12 km |
| Mountrath Community School | 789 | +6% | Inter-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Colaiste Phobáil Ros Cré | 594 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Our Ladys Secondary School | 646 | +15% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Heywood Community School | 749 | +1% | Inter-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Cistercian College | 255 | +16% | Catholic | English | 22 km |
The other 7 post-primary schools in Co. Laois
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portlaoise College | 1,005 | +75% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Dunamase College (Coláiste Dhún Másc) | 506 | +175% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | 27 km | |
| Scoil Chriost Ri | 880 | −7% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| St. Mary's C.B.S. | 853 | +5% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Clonaslee College | 236 | −3% | Multi-denominational | English | 33 km | |
| Mountmellick Community School | 742 | +39% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 34 km |
| Coláiste Íosagáin | 1,182 | +19% | Catholic | English | 42 km |
Living in Rathdowney
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R32 Eircode area
Housing in Rathdowney →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 Rathdowney →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 ↗Rathdowney, R32 ED72
Post-primary schools near St Fergal's College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Fergal's College
Is St Fergal's College 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 St Fergal's College have?
383 pupils in 2025/26. That is +27% since 2019/20.
Does St Fergal's College teach through Irish?
No: St Fergal's College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Fergal's College?
St Fergal's College has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Laois & Offaly ETB.
How do pupils get a place at St Fergal's College?
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 St Fergal's College?
The nearest are Coláiste Mhuire (12 km), Mountrath Community School (17 km) and Colaiste Phobáil Ros Cré (18 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 Rathdowney; 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).