Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
ASHBOURNE AVE, SOUTH CIRCULAR ROAD, LIMERICK · V94 AW98 · Roll number 18692I
Catherine Mc Auley Sp S is one of 7 special schools in or within 3 km of Ballinacurra. Every school in and around Ballinacurra →
What stands out about Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
- One of the larger special schools: 278 pupils, against a typical 58.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+14%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- The largest of the 7 special schools around Ballinacurra.
- 102 girls and 176 boys: more of one than the other.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Limerick; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Catherine Mc Auley Sp S had 278 pupils in 2025/26, against 238 in 2015/16 (+17%). Girls are 37% of them. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
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 Catherine Mc Auley Sp S 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 Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
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 Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Places at Catherine Mc Auley Sp S follow a professional report on the child’s needs; the National Council for Special Education’s local special educational needs organiser helps families apply.
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: Catherine Mc Auley Sp S has grown by 14% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballinacurra together changed by +4%.
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 special schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Catherine Mc Auley Sp S has more pupils than any of the 6 nearest special schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +14%; 2 of the 4 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine Mc Auley Sp S | 278 | +14% | Catholic | English | ||
| Mid West School for the Deaf | 44 | +26% | Catholic | English | 1 km | |
| St Gabriels School | 64 | −2% | Multi-denominational | English | 1.7 km | |
| St Augustines Spec Sch | 24 | +0% | Catholic | English | 1.7 km | |
| The Childrens Ark | 44 | +100% | Multi-denominational | English | 1.9 km | |
| St Canices Special School | 7 | – | Catholic | English | 2.3 km | |
| Limerick Community Special School | 47 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 3.4 km |
The other 2 special schools in Co. Limerick
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hill School | 61 | +9% | Other | English | 4.8 km | |
| St Vincents Sp School | 100 | −15% | Catholic | English | 8.3 km |
Living in Ballinacurra
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the V94 Eircode area
Housing in Ballinacurra →The median sale price rose from €275,000 in 2023 to €351,500 in 2025 (+28%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the V94 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballinacurra
Cost of living in Ballinacurra →New tenancies in Ballinacurra averaged €1,709 a month in 2025, against €1,520 in 2024 (+12%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballinacurra, V94 AW98
Special schools near Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Catherine Mc Auley Sp S
Is Catherine Mc Auley Sp S 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 Catherine Mc Auley Sp S have?
278 pupils in 2025/26. That is +14% since 2019/20.
Does Catherine Mc Auley Sp S teach through Irish?
No: Catherine Mc Auley Sp S teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Catherine Mc Auley Sp S?
Catherine Mc Auley Sp S has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Limerick.
How do pupils get a place at Catherine Mc Auley Sp S?
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 Catherine Mc Auley Sp S?
The nearest are Mid West School for the Deaf (1 km), St Gabriels School (1.7 km) and St Augustines Spec Sch (1.7 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 Ballinacurra; 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).