Photo: Barry Hunter · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer single-sex secondaries around Rathkeale than around Co. Limerick’s towns or Irish towns: 0%
On this, Rathkeale is below both Co. Limerick’s towns (54%) and Irish towns (39%). Its one secondary school within 3 km, Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College), has 537 pupils. 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 Rathkeale’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: Scoil Aine Naofa (224), Scoil Naomh Iosef (86) and Church Street National School (14). Who runs them ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Who runs Rathkeale’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
3 of Rathkeale’s 5 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Limerick (3), Limerick & Clare ETB (1) and Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COI (1). 3 of the 5 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 5 schools in and around Rathkeale
Every school in Rathkeale or within 3 km of its outline, each linked to its own page. No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Where the 5 schools in and around Rathkeale 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 Rathkeale’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 Rathkeale
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
None of the 5 schools in and around Rathkeale teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Rathkeale’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 Rathkeale | Co. Limerick | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 33% | 25% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 7% | 6% |
| Girls | 51% | 48% | 49% |
33% of the pupils around Rathkeale are at a DEIS school, more than the 27% across Ireland (25% in Co. Limerick). Where this area differs most from Ireland is pupils at all-Irish schools, at 0% against 6%. Scoil Aine Naofa, with 224 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 5 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College)Post-primary · ETB | 537 | 49% | ||
| Scoil Aine NaofaPrimary | 224 | 75% | ✓ | |
| Scoil Naomh IosefPrimary | 86 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Church Street National SchoolPrimary | 14 | 64% | ✓ | |
| St James N.S.Primary | 110 | 50% |
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 Rathkeale’s schools
Each school has a patron that owns it and sets its ethos; its board of management runs it.
Of the 5 schools around Rathkeale, 3 have Bishop of Limerick as patron, teaching 43% of the pupils; 3 patrons in all. One is an ETB school.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of LimerickScoil Aine Naofa, St James, Scoil Naomh Iosef | Catholic | 3 | 420 |
| Limerick & Clare ETBColaiste na Trocaire | Inter-denominational | 1 | 537 |
| Bishop of Limerick, Killaloe & Ardfert COIChurch Street | Church of Ireland | 1 | 14 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Rathkeale
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, 3 of the 5 grew by 5% or more and 2 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.
Inspection reports for Rathkeale’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
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 5 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College)Post-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Aine NaofaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Scoil Naomh IosefPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Church Street National SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St James N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Rathkeale
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Within 10 km of Rathkeale there are 2 post-primary schools: 2 ETB schools. Every one of them takes girls and boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colaiste na Trocaire (Mercy Community College)ETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 537 | 0.2 km |
| Colaiste MhuireETB · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | – | 269 | 9.1 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Rathkeale
No special school is in or near Rathkeale. 2 of the 4 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.
Rathkeale beside the 124 other Irish towns of 900 to 1,700 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tullyallen | 1,697 | 1 | 411 | 0 | 0% | 3.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Headford | 1,235 | 4 | 1,120 | 0 | 0% | 0.8 km |
| Carnew | 1,233 | 4 | 1,150 | 0 | 50% | 0.3 km |
| Castlebellingham-Kilsaran | 1,232 | 3 | 506 | 0 | 0% | 7.7 km |
| Kiltimagh | 1,232 | 2 | 963 | 0 | 0% | 0.3 km |
| Rathkeale | 1,231 | 5 | 971 | 0 | 60% | 0.2 km |
| Ardnacrusha | 1,229 | 5 | 2,332 | 0 | 20% | 3.1 km |
| Adare | 1,224 | 4 | 446 | 0 | 0% | 6.6 km |
| Daingean | 1,223 | 1 | 261 | 0 | 100% | 13 km |
| Kilkee | 1,214 | 3 | 312 | 0 | 67% | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Clarinbridge | 905 | 2 | 451 | 0 | 0% | 5.5 km |
More pupils attend the schools around 32 of the other 124 towns than around Rathkeale. Within 3 km, 14 of these 125 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Rathkeale
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 Rathkeale had 834 pupils in 2015/16 and 971 in 2025/26. Scoil Aine Naofa grew most: +33% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Rathkeale
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 Rathkeale
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathkeale | 5 | 971 | 0 | 60% | 0.2 km |
| Askeaton 9.5 km | 2 | 426 | 0 | 50% | 0.5 km |
| Adare 11 km | 4 | 446 | 0 | 0% | 6.6 km |
| Newcastle West 11 km | 8 | 2,648 | 1 | 38% | 0.6 km |
| Croom 15 km | 2 | 990 | 0 | 100% | 1 km |
Newcastle West has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 1. The roll around Rathkeale moved +7% since 2019/20; nearby, Croom grew most (+16%) and Askeaton least (−22%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Rathkeale 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 Rathkeale
How many schools are there in Rathkeale?
In Rathkeale or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school, with 971 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Rathkeale that teach through Irish?
None in Rathkeale or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Rathkeale?
No: the secondary school here is free.
What is the best school in Rathkeale?
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 Rathkeale?
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).