St Patricks
BALLINAMUCK, CO LONGFORD · N39 P276 · Roll number 19975C
St Patricks is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Drumlish. Every school in and around Drumlish →
What stands out about St Patricks
- A small primary school: 63 pupils, against a typical 131.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 63 pupils, 28% fewer than the 87 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Drumlish’s outline, 4.1 km away; listed with Drumlish, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Patricks had 63 pupils in 2025/26, down from 94 in 2015/16 (−33%). Girls are 49% of them. Its largest roll was 94, in 2016/17. Its roll rose in 1 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for St Patricks
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 St Patricks 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 St Patricks
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 St Patricks
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St Patricks directly. Children can start once they are four and must be in school by six; 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Patricks has shrunk by 28% since 2019/20. All the schools around Drumlish together changed by −7%.
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 primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Each of the 6 nearest primary schools has more pupils than St Patricks. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −28%; 6 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Patricks | 63 | −28% | Catholic | English | ||
| St Marys Mixed N.S. | 215 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 5.6 km |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 155 | +37% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. Longford | 108 | −24% | Catholic | English | 6.9 km | |
| Gortletteragh Central | 72 | +9% | Catholic | English | 7.5 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Treasa | 306 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.5 km |
| Samhthann N.S. | 145 | −3% | Catholic | English | 9.7 km |
The other 32 primary schools in Co. Longford
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Naomh Guasachta N.S. | 44 | −14% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| S.N. Cnoc an Mharcaigh | 289 | +2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| St Columbas Mxd N.S. | 56 | +47% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire N.S. | 317 | −13% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| St Emer's National School | 215 | +0% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 57 | +19% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| St. Johns National School | 67 | +24% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Scoil Naomh Micheal | 224 | −5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| St Josephs Convent | 527 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| The Sacred Heart Primary NS | 250 | +32% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Gaelscoil an Longfoirt | 112 | −30% | Catholic | All in Irish | ✓ | 17 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 45 | −33% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| St. John's National School, | 19 | −27% | Church of Ireland | English | 19 km | |
| St Marys N.S. | 352 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| S.N. Mhuire | 94 | −3% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Stonepark N.S. | 239 | +4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Killasonna Mixed N.S. | 41 | −18% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| St Bernards Mixed N.S. | 29 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Saint Mels | 180 | −19% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Scoil Bhríde | 52 | +86% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| Naomh Earnain N.S. | 29 | +21% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. an Leana Mor | 69 | +53% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Naomh Dominic N.S. | 109 | −35% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Cloontagh Mixed N.S. | 14 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Lanesborough Primary School | 88 | +5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 69 | −15% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Colehill Mixed N.S. | 96 | −19% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Tashinny N.S. | 23 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 29 km | |
| Fermoyle Mixed N.S. | 112 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| St Matthews Mixed N.S. | 373 | +5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 32 km |
| Forgney N.S. | 23 | – | Catholic | English | 33 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Mhuire | 64 | −35% | Catholic | English | 34 km |
Living in Drumlish
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the N39 Eircode area
Housing in Drumlish →The median sale price rose from €170,000 in 2023 to €200,000 in 2025 (+18%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the N39 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Longford
Cost of living in Drumlish →New tenancies in Co. Longford averaged €1,120 a month in 2025, against €1,004 in 2024 (+12%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Drumlish, N39 P276
Primary schools near St Patricks
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Patricks
Is St Patricks 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 St Patricks have?
63 pupils in 2025/26. That is −28% since 2019/20.
Does St Patricks teach through Irish?
No: St Patricks teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Patricks?
St Patricks has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise.
How do pupils get a place at St Patricks?
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 St Patricks?
The nearest are St Marys Mixed N.S. (5.6 km), S.N. Naomh Colmcille (6.9 km) and St Patricks N.S. Longford (6.9 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 Drumlish; 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).