Photo: MrPONTEIRO · CC BY 3.0One of the secondary schools around Ballynanty charges fees: Villiers Secondary School
Girls and boys are taught apart at 64% of the post-primaries around Ballynanty, above both Co. Limerick’s towns (54%) and Irish towns (39%). DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas, reaches 20 of its 39 schools; across Ireland, 30%. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Ballynanty’s schools
One fee-paying secondary school
One secondary school within reach charges fees; the others are free. The fee-paying one: Villiers Secondary School (508). Every school ↓
Extra support for many schools
Many schools here are in DEIS, which gives schools in disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and help; across Ireland, 30% of schools are. In DEIS: Thomond Community College (597), Ardscoil Mhuire (591), St Clements College (411) and Corpus Christi N.S. (403), and 16 more. Who runs them ↓
Mostly single-sex at secondary
Most secondary schools here take only boys or only girls; the mixed ones are marked on the cards below. Single-sex: Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ (746), Ardscoil Ris (728), St Munchin's College (682) and Ardscoil Mhuire (591), and 3 more. Every school ↓
A wide choice at twelve
15 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Thomond Community College (0.3 km), Ardscoil Ris (1.6 km) and St Munchin's College (2.1 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
The 39 schools in and around Ballynanty
Here are the schools in Ballynanty or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Who runs Ballynanty’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
34 of Ballynanty’s 39 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Limerick (25), Limerick & Clare ETB (2) and Edmund Rice Schools Trust (2). 20 of the 39 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
Where the 39 schools in and around Ballynanty are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Ballynanty’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Ballynanty
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
4 of Ballynanty’s 39 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Sairseal, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ and An Mhodh Scoil.
Who Ballynanty’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Limerick’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Ballynanty | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 44% | 25% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 15% | 7% | 6% |
| Girls | 48% | 48% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 65% | 23% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 9% | 4% | 6% |
More of the pupils around Ballynanty are at DEIS schools than across Ireland: 44% against 27% (Co. Limerick: 25%). Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at single-sex schools, at 65% against 29%. Thomond Community College, with 597 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 39 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomond Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 597 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Corpus Christi N.S.Primary | 403 | 50% | ✓ | |
| Thomond Primary SchoolPrimary | 215 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil SairsealPrimary | 369 | 55% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Chriost Ri BPrimary | 278 | 0% | ✓ | |
| S N Muire na hEireannPrimary | 262 | 100% | ✓ | |
| J F K Memorial SchoolPrimary | 218 | 0% | ||
| Ardscoil RisPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 728 | 0% | ||
| Salesian Primary SchoolPrimary | 361 | 72% | ||
| St Mary's National SchoolPrimary | 152 | 47% | ✓ | |
| St Munchin's CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 682 | 0% | ||
| Scoil IdePrimary | 654 | 48% | ||
| Villiers Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 508 | 56% | ||
| S.N. an Phairtin MixedPrimary | 317 | 51% | ||
| Ardscoil MhuirePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 591 | 100% | ✓ | |
| St Augustines Spec SchSpecial | 24 | 17% | ||
| Limerick School ProjectPrimary | 203 | 52% | ||
| St MichaelsPrimary | 116 | 47% | ||
| Coláiste Nano NaglePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 365 | – | ✓ | |
| St Clements CollegePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 411 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Presentation Primary SchoolPrimary | 279 | 82% | ✓ | |
| Scoil IosagainPrimary | 222 | 0% | ✓ | |
| St Michaels N.S.Primary | 126 | 38% | ✓ | |
| Colaiste MhichilPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 349 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 315 | 100% | ✓ | |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 746 | 100% | ||
| An Mhodh ScoilPrimary | 578 | 52% | ✓ | |
| St Johns ConventPrimary | 223 | 75% | ✓ | |
| St John the Baptist Boys N.S.Primary | 69 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighPost-primary · ETB | 606 | 61% | ✓ | |
| S.N. Mhuire MiliucPrimary | 84 | 56% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Mathair dePrimary | 362 | 48% | ||
| Catherine Mc Auley Sp SSpecial | 278 | 37% | ||
| Scoil Padraig Naofa CPrimary | 197 | 100% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Padraig Naofa BPrimary | 197 | 0% | ✓ | |
| St Canices Special SchoolSpecial | 7 | 29% | ||
| Mid West School for the DeafSpecial | 44 | 48% | ||
| Our Lady of Lourdes N.S.Primary | 161 | 48% | ✓ | |
| Our Lady Queen of Peace SchoolPrimary | 326 | 45% | ✓ |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
The 11 patrons of Ballynanty’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Of the 39 schools around Ballynanty, 25 have Bishop of Limerick as patron, teaching 52% of the pupils; 11 patrons in all. The local Education and Training Board runs 2. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of LimerickSt Munchin's College, Scoil Ide, Corpus Christi, Gaelscoil Sairseal, Scoil Mathair de, Salesian Primary School, Our Lady Queen of Peace School, S.N. an Phairtin Mixed, Presentation Primary School, Scoil Chriost Ri B, Catherine Mc Auley Sp S, S N Muire na hEireann, St Johns Convent, Scoil Iosagain, J F K Memorial School, Thomond Primary School, Scoil Padraig Naofa C, Scoil Padraig Naofa B, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Mary's, St Michaels, S.N. Mhuire Miliuc, St John the Baptist Boys, Mid West School for the Deaf, St Augustines Spec Sch | Catholic | 25 | 6,503 |
| Limerick & Clare ETBGaelcholáiste Luimnigh, Thomond | Inter-denominational, Multi-denominational | 2 | 1,203 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustArdscoil Ris, Colaiste Mhichil | Catholic | 2 | 1,077 |
| Le Chéile Schools TrustLaurel Hill Secondary School FCJ, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ | Catholic | 2 | 1,061 |
| CEISTArdscoil Mhuire, Coláiste Nano Nagle | Catholic | 2 | 956 |
| Minister for Education & SkillsAn Mhodh Scoil | Catholic | 1 | 578 |
| Board of Governors of Villiers Secondary SchoolVilliers | Church of Ireland | 1 | 508 |
| Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorist Fathers)St Clements College | Catholic | 1 | 411 |
| Educate TogetherLimerick School Project | Multi-denominational | 1 | 203 |
| Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COISt Michaels | Church of Ireland | 1 | 116 |
| Health Service ExecutiveSt Canices Special School | Catholic | 1 | 7 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Ballynanty
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools. The fee-paying school here sets its own fees and admissions.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Between 2019/20 and now, 11 of the 35 grew by 5% or more and 17 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 35 schools
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Ballynanty’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted on gov.ie with the school’s response.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 39 schools below each link their own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Ballynanty
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Families in Ballynanty have 15 post-primary schools within 10 km: 10 voluntary secondary schools, 4 ETB schools and one comprehensive school. 7 teach girls and boys apart: 3 girls’ and 4 boys’ schools. One of them charges fees. Every subject is taught through Irish at 2 of them.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomond Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 597 | 0.3 km |
| Ardscoil RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 728 | 1.6 km |
| St Munchin's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 682 | 2.1 km |
| Villiers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 508 | 2.1 km |
| Ardscoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 591 | 2.3 km |
| Coláiste Nano NagleVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 365 | 2.6 km |
| St Clements CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 411 | 2.7 km |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 315 | 2.7 km |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 746 | 2.7 km |
| Colaiste MhichilVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 349 | 2.8 km |
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 606 | 2.8 km |
| Crescent College ComprehensiveComprehensive · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 922 | 4.8 km |
All 15 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limerick City East Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 811 | 5.5 km |
| Mungret Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 991 | 6.2 km |
| Castletroy CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,360 | 7.2 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Ballynanty
4 special schools serve the area: St Augustines Spec Sch, Catherine Mc Auley Sp S, St Canices Special School and Mid West School for the Deaf, 353 pupils between them. 15 of the 24 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Ballynanty beside the 87 other Irish towns of 2,100 to 4,100 people
Towns of a similar size, with the schools in or within 3 km of each; ordered by population, never ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macroom | 4,096 | 6 | 1,897 | 0 | 17% | 0.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Ballinrobe | 3,148 | 3 | 1,391 | 0 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| Taylor's Hill | 3,141 | 30 | 10,795 | 4 | 23% | 0.4 km |
| Blackpool | 3,124 | 65 | 18,866 | 5 | 52% | 0.6 km |
| Kinnegad | 3,064 | 1 | 413 | 0 | 0% | 7.1 km |
| Ballynanty | 3,030 | 39 | 12,623 | 4 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Moate | 3,013 | 4 | 1,410 | 0 | 0% | 0.4 km |
| Togher | 3,007 | 60 | 20,680 | 6 | 45% | 1 km |
| Bailieborough | 2,974 | 5 | 1,420 | 0 | 20% | 0.1 km |
| Ballina | 2,959 | 4 | 1,336 | 0 | 50% | 1.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Dunleer | 2,143 | 5 | 1,205 | 0 | 20% | 0.8 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 14 of the other 87 towns than around Ballynanty. Within 3 km, 43 of these 88 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Ballynanty
Pupils every September at the schools in or within 3 km of the town, each counted at today’s site.
The schools in and around Ballynanty had 12,291 pupils in 2015/16 and 12,623 in 2025/26. St John the Baptist Boys N.S. grew most: +116% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Ballynanty
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Ballynanty
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballynanty | 39 | 12,623 | 4 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Farranshone 1.2 km | 49 | 16,369 | 6 | 47% | 0.4 km |
| Caherdavin 1.3 km | 46 | 16,583 | 5 | 39% | 1 km |
| Corbally and King's Island 2.2 km | 45 | 15,801 | 6 | 49% | 0.2 km |
| Limerick City Centre 2.3 km | 43 | 14,494 | 5 | 51% | 0.4 km |
| Dock 2.6 km | 45 | 15,206 | 5 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Westbury 3 km | 29 | 9,896 | 3 | 55% | 0.9 km |
Farranshone has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 6. The roll around Ballynanty moved −1% since 2019/20; nearby, Westbury grew most (+8%) and Dock least (−1%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Ballynanty or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- DEIS. DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) gives schools serving disadvantaged areas more teachers, money and support; the Department decides which schools are in it.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Ballynanty
How many schools are there in Ballynanty?
In Ballynanty or within 3 km of it: 24 primary schools, 11 secondary schools and 4 special schools, with 12,623 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Ballynanty that teach through Irish?
Yes, 4: Gaelscoil Sairseal, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ and An Mhodh Scoil teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Ballynanty?
1 of the 11: Villiers Secondary School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Ballynanty?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Ballynanty?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
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).