Photo: Marathon · CC BY-SA 2.0One of the secondary schools around Dock charges fees: Villiers Secondary School
58% of the post-primary schools around Dock take only girls or only boys, above both Co. Limerick’s towns (54%) and Irish towns (39%). 7 of its 12 secondary schools take only boys or only girls. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Dock’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 ↓
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
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: St Clements College (0.3 km), Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ (0.4 km) and Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJ (0.5 km). Post-primary choices ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
The 45 schools in and around Dock
Here are the schools in Dock or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Show all 27 primary schools
Where the 45 schools in and around Dock 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 Dock’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 Dock
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
5 of Dock’s 45 schools teach every subject through Irish: An Mhodh Scoil, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ and Gaelscoil Sheoirse.
Who Dock’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against 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 Dock | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 40% | 25% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 13% | 7% | 6% |
| Girls | 48% | 48% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 56% | 23% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 7% | 4% | 6% |
Around Dock, 40% 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 post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 56% here against 29%. The biggest school in DEIS is Thomond Community College (597 pupils).
Each of the 45 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.
Who runs Dock’s schools
Who runs each school, as listed for 2025/26; the bars give the share of schools of each kind.
37 of Dock’s 45 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Limerick (28), Le Chéile Schools Trust (2) and CEIST (2). 22 of the 45 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.
The 13 patrons of Dock’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Bishop of Limerick is patron of 28 of the 45 schools around Dock, which teach 53% of their pupils; 13 patrons run them 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 Neassain, Scoil Ide, Scoil Phoil Naofa, St Brigids, Corpus Christi, Gaelscoil Sairseal, Scoil Mathair de, Salesian Primary School, Our Lady Queen of Peace School, Presentation Primary School, Catherine Mc Auley Sp S, Scoil Chriost Ri B, S N Muire na hEireann, St Johns Convent, Scoil Iosagain, J F K Memorial School, Thomond Primary School, Scoil Padraig Naofa B, Scoil Padraig Naofa C, Le Chéile, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Mary's, St Michaels, Gaelscoil Sheoirse, St John the Baptist Boys, Mid West School for the Deaf, St Augustines Spec Sch | Catholic | 28 | 8,056 |
| 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 |
| Health Service ExecutiveThe Childrens Ark, St Canices Special School | Multi-denominational, Catholic | 2 | 51 |
| Minister for EducationCrescent College Comprehensive | Inter-denominational | 1 | 922 |
| 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 |
| St Gabriel's School and CentreSt Gabriels School | Multi-denominational | 1 | 64 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Dock
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 39 grew by 5% or more and 19 shrank as much, while Ireland’s pupil numbers moved +5%.
All 39 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 Dock’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, 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 45 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 Dock
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
15 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Dock: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Clements CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 411 | 0.3 km |
| Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | Gaelcholáiste | 315 | 0.4 km |
| Laurel Hill Secondary School FCJVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 746 | 0.5 km |
| Coláiste Nano NagleVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | DEIS | 365 | 0.8 km |
| Colaiste MhichilVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | DEIS | 349 | 0.9 km |
| Ardscoil RisVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 728 | 1 km |
| Villiers Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Church of Ireland | Girls and boys | Fee-paying, Boarding | 508 | 1.7 km |
| Gaelcholáiste LuimnighETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 606 | 1.8 km |
| Ardscoil MhuireVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 591 | 1.9 km |
| Crescent College ComprehensiveComprehensive · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 922 | 2.4 km |
| Thomond Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 597 | 2.5 km |
| St Munchin's CollegeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 682 | 3 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 | 3.9 km |
| Mungret Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 991 | 4.7 km |
| Castletroy CollegeETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 1,360 | 6.3 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Dock
6 special schools serve the area: Catherine Mc Auley Sp S, St Augustines Spec Sch, Mid West School for the Deaf, St Canices Special School, St Gabriels School and The Childrens Ark, 461 pupils between them. 17 of the 27 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.
Dock beside the 99 other Irish towns of 4,400 to 8,400 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canal Dock | 8,320 | 121 | 32,703 | 6 | 43% | 0.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Castleknock | 6,355 | 77 | 27,912 | 3 | 51% | 0.1 km |
| Loughrea | 6,322 | 6 | 2,361 | 1 | 0% | 0.7 km |
| Marino | 6,272 | 117 | 32,982 | 9 | 51% | 0.2 km |
| Sallins | 6,269 | 9 | 5,832 | 1 | 0% | 2.3 km |
| Dock | 6,258 | 45 | 15,206 | 5 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Lisduggan | 6,216 | 29 | 11,782 | 1 | 45% | 0.2 km |
| The Glen | 6,119 | 66 | 19,000 | 5 | 50% | 0.5 km |
| Passage West-Monkstown | 6,051 | 16 | 4,438 | 0 | 6% | 0.1 km |
| Kinsale | 5,991 | 5 | 2,264 | 1 | 0% | 0.5 km |
| … | ||||||
| Tivoli | 4,449 | 76 | 23,233 | 10 | 45% | 1 km |
Of these 99 other towns, 41 count more pupils at their schools than Dock. Within 3 km, 87 of these 100 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Dock
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 Dock had 14,877 pupils in 2015/16 and 15,206 in 2025/26. St John the Baptist Boys N.S. grew most: +116% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Dock
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 Dock
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km of its outline; distances as the crow flies.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dock | 45 | 15,206 | 5 | 49% | 0.3 km |
| Limerick City Centre 0.7 km | 43 | 14,494 | 5 | 51% | 0.4 km |
| Prospect and Newtown Pery 0.8 km | 46 | 15,489 | 5 | 48% | 0.7 km |
| Ballinacurra 1.2 km | 48 | 15,810 | 6 | 46% | 0.8 km |
| Farranshone 1.4 km | 49 | 16,369 | 6 | 47% | 0.4 km |
| Galvone 1.4 km | 48 | 16,815 | 5 | 46% | 0.6 km |
| Rathbane 1.8 km | 52 | 19,628 | 7 | 33% | 1.5 km |
Rathbane has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 7. Of Dock’s neighbours, Rathbane saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+7%) and Limerick City Centre the least (−1%); Dock itself: −1%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Dock 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 Dock
How many schools are there in Dock?
In Dock or within 3 km of it: 27 primary schools, 12 secondary schools and 6 special schools, with 15,206 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Dock that teach through Irish?
Yes, 5: An Mhodh Scoil, Laurel Hill Coláiste FCJ and Gaelscoil Sheoirse teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Dock?
1 of the 12: Villiers Secondary School. The others are free.
What is the best school in Dock?
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 Dock?
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).