Fewer single-sex secondaries around Clarina than around Co. Limerick’s towns or Irish towns: 0%
Measured that way, Clarina is below both Co. Limerick’s towns (54%) and Irish towns (39%). One of its 5 schools teaches every subject through Irish, against 8% of schools across Ireland. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
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 Clarina’s schools
More pupils every year
Pupil numbers at the schools here have grown faster than across Ireland (+5% since 2019/20), so classes and new places are a question worth asking. Pupils over time ↓
More all-Irish schools than most places
Families here have more choice of a school that teaches every subject through Irish than in most of Ireland, where 8% of schools do. The school is Gaelscoil an Raithin (389). Language ↓
A choice beyond the church schools
Most schools in Ireland have a church patron; here more of them are multi- or inter-denominational than in most places (14% across Ireland). They are Mungret Community College (991), Limerick City East Educate Together NS (373) and Limerick Community Special School (47). Who runs them ↓
A wide choice at twelve
14 post-primary schools lie within 10 km, so families here have a real choice at twelve; each admits on its own policy. The nearest: Mungret Community College (3.2 km), Villiers Secondary School (5.9 km) and Crescent College Comprehensive (6.2 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Drawn from the Department of Education’s lists; none of it judges how well a school teaches.
Pupil numbers around Clarina
Each September’s pupils at every school in or within 3 km of the town, counted where the school stands today.
The schools in and around Clarina had 800 pupils in 2015/16 and 2,090 in 2025/26. Mungret Community College grew most: +175% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Clarina
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.
Teaching through Irish in and around Clarina
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Clarina’s 5 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil an Raithin.
Who runs Clarina’s schools
Each school’s ethos, 2025/26: the bars show the share of schools of each kind.
2 of Clarina’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Limerick (2), Limerick & Clare ETB (2) and Educate Together (1). None of the 5 is 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 5 schools in and around Clarina 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 Clarina’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.
Who Clarina’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, 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 Clarina | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 0% | 25% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 19% | 7% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 48% | 49% |
Around Clarina, 0% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 25% in Co. Limerick. Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of pupils at all-Irish schools: 19% here against 6%.
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S N Naomh IosefPrimary | 290 | 53% | ||
| Mungret Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 991 | 49% | ||
| Limerick City East Educate Together NSPrimary | 373 | 52% | ||
| Gaelscoil an RaithinPrimary | 389 | 52% | ✓ | |
| Limerick Community Special SchoolSpecial | 47 | 23% |
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 3 patrons of Clarina’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Limerick & Clare ETB is patron of 2 of the 5 schools around Clarina, which teach 50% of their pupils; 3 patrons run them in all. 2 are ETB schools. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limerick & Clare ETBMungret, Limerick Community Special School | Multi-denominational | 2 | 1,038 |
| Bishop of LimerickGaelscoil an Raithin, S N Naomh Iosef | Catholic | 2 | 679 |
| Educate TogetherLimerick City East Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 373 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Clarina
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
Between 2019/20 and now, 2 of the 4 grew by 5% or more and 1 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
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 5 schools in and around Clarina
Every school in Clarina or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. There are no letters or results on these cards, because Ireland publishes none school by school.
Inspection reports for Clarina’s schools
Reports from the Department of Education’s Inspectorate, every school’s linked and none rated
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 5 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| S N Naomh IosefPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Mungret Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Limerick City East Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil an RaithinPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Limerick Community Special SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Clarina
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
14 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Clarina: 10 voluntary secondary schools, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mungret Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 991 | 3.2 km |
| Villiers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 508 | 5.9 km |
| Crescent College ComprehensiveComprehensive · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 922 | 6.2 km |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 746 | 6.7 km |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 315 | 6.7 km |
| St Clements CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 411 | 6.8 km |
| Ardscoil RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 728 | 7.1 km |
| Thomond Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 597 | 7.5 km |
| Coláiste Nano NagleVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 365 | 8 km |
| Colaiste MhichilVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 349 | 8 km |
| Salesian Secondary CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 746 | 8.5 km |
| Ardscoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 591 | 8.9 km |
All 14 post-primary schools within reach
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 606 | 8.9 km |
| St Munchin's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 682 | 9.6 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Clarina
Limerick Community Special School is the special school here, with 47 pupils. 1 of the 3 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.
Clarina beside the 215 other Irish towns of 400 to 800 people
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km, listed by population: Ireland publishes no results, so none is ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crinkill | 795 | 7 | 1,708 | 1 | 86% | 3.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clogheen | 564 | 1 | 81 | 0 | 100% | 13 km |
| Carrignavar | 563 | 2 | 778 | 0 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| Rathard-Aherla | 562 | 2 | 246 | 0 | 0% | 7.7 km |
| The Ballagh | 560 | 2 | 270 | 0 | 50% | 9.6 km |
| Clarina | 559 | 5 | 2,090 | 1 | 0% | 3.2 km |
| Ballinabrannagh | 557 | 1 | 184 | 0 | 0% | 4.6 km |
| Glenamaddy | 557 | 3 | 623 | 0 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| Ballygarvan | 556 | 1 | 366 | 0 | 0% | 4.2 km |
| Waterville | 555 | 1 | 110 | 0 | 0% | 13 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oilgate | 401 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 6.2 km |
Of these 215 other towns, 8 count more pupils at their schools than Clarina. Within 3 km, 18 of these 216 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Schools in the towns around Clarina
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarina | 5 | 2,090 | 1 | 0% | 3.2 km |
| Dooradoyle 5.5 km | 42 | 13,180 | 5 | 36% | 1 km |
| Ballinacurra 6.2 km | 48 | 15,810 | 6 | 46% | 0.8 km |
| Caherdavin 6.6 km | 46 | 16,583 | 5 | 39% | 1 km |
| Dock 7.1 km | 45 | 15,206 | 5 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Farranshone 7.2 km | 49 | 16,369 | 6 | 47% | 0.4 km |
| Prospect and Newtown Pery 7.6 km | 46 | 15,489 | 5 | 48% | 0.7 km |
Ballinacurra has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 6. Of Clarina’s neighbours, Ballinacurra saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+4%) and Dock the least (−1%); Clarina itself: +50%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Clarina 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 Clarina
How many schools are there in Clarina?
In Clarina or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools, 1 secondary school and 1 special school, with 2,090 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Clarina that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil an Raithin teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Clarina?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Clarina?
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 Clarina?
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).