Photo: David Hawgood · CC BY-SA 2.0Extra support for disadvantaged areas reaches 15 of the 29 schools around Castletroy
The DEIS programme includes 52% of the schools around Castletroy, above both Co. Limerick’s towns (46%) and Irish towns (35%). 10,543 pupils go to the 19 primary schools, 7 secondary schools and 3 special schools in or within 3 km of Castletroy. These schools are described rather than graded, because Ireland publishes no school results and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Castletroy’s schools
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: Ardscoil Mhuire (591), St Brigids N.S. (457), Coláiste Nano Nagle (365) and Colaiste Mhichil (349), and 11 more. Who runs them ↓
A wide choice at twelve
Within 10 km of the town there are 15 post-primary schools to choose from, of different kinds; each sets its own admission policy, and many families apply to several. The nearest: Castletroy College (1.3 km), Limerick City East Secondary School (1.5 km) and Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh (3.4 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Who runs Castletroy’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
26 of Castletroy’s 29 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Limerick (19), Limerick & Clare ETB (2) and Bishop of Killaloe (2). 15 of the 29 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 29 schools in and around Castletroy 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 Castletroy’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 Castletroy
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
3 of Castletroy’s 29 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Chaladh an Treoigh, Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh and Gaelscoil Sheoirse.
Who Castletroy’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 Castletroy | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 36% | 25% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 10% | 7% | 6% |
| Girls | 46% | 48% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 34% | 23% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 4% | 6% |
36% of the pupils around Castletroy are at a DEIS school, more than the 27% across Ireland (25% in Co. Limerick). Set beside Ireland, post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools stand out most: 0% against 6%. The largest DEIS school here is Ardscoil Mhuire, with 591 pupils.
Each of the 29 schools
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 8 patrons of Castletroy’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Of the 29 schools around Castletroy, 19 have Bishop of Limerick as patron, teaching 54% of the pupils; 8 patrons in all. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of LimerickScoil Moin A Lin, St Munchin's College, Scoil Ide, Milford Grange N School, St Brigids, Our Lady Queen of Peace School, S.N. an Phairtin Mixed, Presentation Primary School, St Johns Convent, Scoil Iosagain, Scoil Padraig Naofa B, Scoil Padraig Naofa C, Le Chéile, St Mary's, Donoughmore, St Michaels, Gaelscoil Sheoirse, St John the Baptist Boys, St Augustines Spec Sch | Catholic | 19 | 5,647 |
| Limerick & Clare ETBCastletroy College, Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh | Inter-denominational | 2 | 1,966 |
| CEISTArdscoil Mhuire, Coláiste Nano Nagle | Catholic | 2 | 956 |
| Bishop of KillaloeS N Lios na Groi, St Vincents Sp School | Catholic | 2 | 395 |
| Educate TogetherLimerick City East | Multi-denominational | 1 | 811 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Chaladh an Treoigh | Catholic | 1 | 412 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustColaiste Mhichil | Catholic | 1 | 349 |
| 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 Castletroy
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.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 26 schools, 7 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 9 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 26 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.
The 29 schools in and around Castletroy
Each school in or within 3 km of Castletroy links to a page of its own. Letters and results are missing here for a reason: Ireland publishes neither school by school.
Inspection reports for Castletroy’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
The Inspectorate inspects schools in several ways: a whole-school evaluation covers teaching, learning and how the school is led; a subject inspection looks at one subject; a follow-through checks on earlier advice. Reports go on gov.ie with the school’s reply.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 29 schools below links its own.
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Castletroy
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Families in Castletroy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castletroy CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,360 | 1.3 km |
| Limerick City East Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 811 | 1.5 km |
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 606 | 3.4 km |
| Ardscoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 591 | 3.8 km |
| Colaiste MhichilVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 349 | 4.2 km |
| Coláiste Nano NagleVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 365 | 4.2 km |
| St Munchin's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 682 | 4.2 km |
| St Clements CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 411 | 5.3 km |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 315 | 5.4 km |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 746 | 5.4 km |
| Ardscoil RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 728 | 5.5 km |
| Crescent College ComprehensiveComprehensive · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 922 | 6.2 km |
All 15 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomond Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 597 | 6.2 km |
| Villiers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 508 | 6.6 km |
| Mungret Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 991 | 9.3 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Castletroy
3 special schools serve the area: St Vincents Sp School, St Canices Special School and St Augustines Spec Sch, 131 pupils between them. 14 of the 19 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.
Castletroy beside the 77 other Irish towns of 10,600 to 20,400 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crumlin | 19,287 | 124 | 35,375 | 8 | 52% | 0.5 km |
| … | ||||||
| Tullamore | 15,598 | 14 | 4,273 | 1 | 43% | 0.4 km |
| Tallaght | 15,588 | 85 | 30,738 | 9 | 42% | 0.8 km |
| Clontarf West | 15,296 | 151 | 40,521 | 9 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Kimmage | 15,207 | 132 | 38,981 | 9 | 45% | 0.5 km |
| Castletroy | 15,093 | 29 | 10,543 | 3 | 52% | 1.3 km |
| Ballybane | 15,082 | 18 | 6,135 | 2 | 44% | 0.3 km |
| Belmayne | 15,047 | 63 | 17,963 | 5 | 40% | 0.2 km |
| Ashtown | 14,937 | 97 | 28,864 | 8 | 52% | 0.7 km |
| Ballyowen | 14,739 | 68 | 31,032 | 6 | 32% | 1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Skerries | 10,743 | 14 | 4,988 | 1 | 21% | 0.2 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 54 of the other 77 towns than around Castletroy. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Castletroy
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Castletroy had 9,848 pupils in 2015/16 and 10,543 in 2025/26. Limerick City East Secondary School grew most: +587% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Castletroy
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 Castletroy
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
Rathbane has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. Pupils around Castletroy: +6% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Annacotty led (+19%) and Garryowen trailed (+3%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Castletroy 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 Castletroy
How many schools are there in Castletroy?
In Castletroy or within 3 km of it: 19 primary schools, 7 secondary schools and 3 special schools, with 10,543 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Castletroy that teach through Irish?
Yes, 3: Gaelscoil Chaladh an Treoigh, Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh and Gaelscoil Sheoirse teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Castletroy?
No: all 7 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Castletroy?
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 Castletroy?
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).