Saint Mels
Ardagh Village, Co. Longford · N39 CD85 · Roll number 19467G
Saint Mels is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Legan. Every school in and around Legan →
What stands out about Saint Mels
- 180 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Smaller than it was: 180 pupils, 19% fewer than the 221 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise; its ethos is Catholic.
- Outside Legan’s outline, 5.6 km away; listed with Legan, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Saint Mels had 180 pupils in 2025/26, down from 219 in 2015/16 (−18%). Girls are 44% of them. Its largest roll was 230, in 2018/19. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Saint Mels
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 Saint Mels 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 Saint Mels
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 Saint Mels
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Saint Mels 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: Saint Mels has shrunk by 19% since 2019/20.
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.
Of the 6 nearest primary schools, 1 have more pupils than Saint Mels. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −19%; 4 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Mels | 180 | −19% | Catholic | English | ||
| Scoil Bhríde | 52 | +86% | Catholic | English | 4.7 km | |
| S.N. an Leana Mor | 69 | +53% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.3 km |
| St. John's National School, | 19 | −27% | Church of Ireland | English | 6.4 km | |
| St Marys N.S. | 352 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.8 km |
| Colehill Mixed N.S. | 96 | −19% | Catholic | English | 7.8 km | |
| Tashinny N.S. | 23 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.4 km |
The other 31 primary schools in Co. Longford
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil an Longfoirt | 112 | −30% | Catholic | All in Irish | ✓ | 9 km |
| Stonepark N.S. | 239 | +4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.1 km |
| St Emer's National School | 215 | +0% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.2 km |
| St Josephs Convent | 527 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.4 km |
| Naomh Dominic N.S. | 109 | −35% | Catholic | English | 9.7 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Micheal | 224 | −5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 9.8 km |
| St. Johns National School | 67 | +24% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| S.N. Cnoc an Mharcaigh | 289 | +2% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| St Matthews Mixed N.S. | 373 | +5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 12 km |
| Samhthann N.S. | 145 | −3% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Forgney N.S. | 23 | – | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Naomh Earnain N.S. | 29 | +21% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Treasa | 306 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Naomh Padraig N.S. | 57 | +19% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Cloontagh Mixed N.S. | 14 | – | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Scoil Mhuire N.S. | 317 | −13% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Naomh Guasachta N.S. | 44 | −14% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| S.N. Mhuire | 94 | −3% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Killasonna Mixed N.S. | 41 | −18% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| St Marys Mixed N.S. | 215 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| The Sacred Heart Primary NS | 250 | +32% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| S.N. Naomh Mhuire | 64 | −35% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| St Bernards Mixed N.S. | 29 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Lanesborough Primary School | 88 | +5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 69 | −15% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Fermoyle Mixed N.S. | 112 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 45 | −33% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Colmcille | 155 | +37% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| St Patricks | 63 | −28% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| St Columbas Mxd N.S. | 56 | +47% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. Longford | 108 | −24% | Catholic | English | 27 km |
Living in Legan
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the N39 Eircode area
Housing in Legan →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 Legan →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 Legan, N39 CD85
Primary schools near Saint Mels
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Saint Mels
Is Saint Mels 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 Saint Mels have?
180 pupils in 2025/26. That is −19% since 2019/20.
Does Saint Mels teach through Irish?
No: Saint Mels teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Saint Mels?
Saint Mels has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise.
How do pupils get a place at Saint Mels?
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 Saint Mels?
The nearest are Scoil Bhríde (4.7 km), S.N. an Leana Mor (6.3 km) and St. John's National School, (6.4 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 Legan; 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).