Colaiste Chiarain
Skagh, Croom, Co. Limerick · V35 XN29 · Roll number 71840V
Colaiste Chiarain is the only one of the post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Croom. Every school in and around Croom →
What stands out about Colaiste Chiarain
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 821 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 821 pupils, 21% more than the 681 of 2019/20.
- In 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.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Limerick & Clare ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
- The only post-primary school in Croom or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Colaiste Chiarain had 821 pupils in 2025/26, down from 877 in 2015/16 (−6%). Girls are 51% of them. Its roll rose in 5 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Colaiste Chiarain
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 Colaiste Chiarain 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 Colaiste Chiarain
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 Colaiste Chiarain
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Colaiste Chiarain 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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Colaiste Chiarain has grown by 21% since 2019/20. All the schools around Croom together changed by +16%.
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, 2 have more pupils than Colaiste Chiarain. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +21%; 1 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colaiste Chiarain | 821 | +21% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | |
| Mungret Community College | 991 | +175% | Multi-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Crescent College Comprehensive | 922 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 13 km | |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ | 746 | +19% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ | 315 | −23% | Catholic | All in Irish | 15 km | |
| St Clements College | 411 | −19% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College) | 537 | +9% | Inter-denominational | English | 15 km |
The other 21 post-primary schools in Co. Limerick
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villiers Secondary School | 508 | −5% | Church of Ireland | English | 15 km | |
| Colaiste Mhichil | 349 | +6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Coláiste Nano Nagle | 365 | +13% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Ardscoil Ris | 728 | −3% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Salesian Secondary College | 746 | +5% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Limerick City East Secondary School | 811 | +587% | Multi-denominational | English | 17 km | |
| Coláiste Iósaef | 505 | +31% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Gaelcholáiste Luimnigh | 606 | −7% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 17 km | |
| Ardscoil Mhuire | 591 | +4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Thomond Community College | 597 | +13% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| St Munchin's College | 682 | +4% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Castletroy College | 1,360 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| Colaiste Mhuire | 269 | −32% | Inter-denominational | English | 19 km | |
| John The Baptist Community School | 960 | −12% | Inter-denominational | English | 20 km | |
| Hazelwood College | 562 | −1% | Multi-denominational | English | 24 km | |
| Desmond College | 539 | +38% | Multi-denominational | Irish stream | ✓ | 24 km |
| Scoil Pól | 715 | +40% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire & Íde | 754 | +6% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Glenstal Abbey School | 203 | −11% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Scoil na Tríonóide Naofa | 518 | −19% | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| Coláiste Íde agus Iosaef | 669 | −1% | Multi-denominational | English | 43 km |
Living in Croom
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the V35 Eircode area
Housing in Croom →The median sale price rose from €180,000 in 2023 to €312,500 in 2025 (+74%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the V35 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Limerick
Cost of living in Croom →New tenancies in Co. Limerick averaged €1,619 a month in 2025, against €1,436 in 2024 (+13%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Croom, V35 XN29
Post-primary schools near Colaiste Chiarain
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Colaiste Chiarain
Is Colaiste Chiarain 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 Colaiste Chiarain have?
821 pupils in 2025/26. That is +21% since 2019/20.
Does Colaiste Chiarain teach through Irish?
No: Colaiste Chiarain teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Colaiste Chiarain?
Colaiste Chiarain has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Limerick & Clare ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Colaiste Chiarain?
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 Colaiste Chiarain?
The nearest are Mungret Community College (11 km), Crescent College Comprehensive (13 km) and Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ (15 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 Croom; 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).