St Muredachs College
Sligo Road, Ballina, Co Mayo · F26 FF25 · Roll number 64510J
St Muredachs College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballina. Every school in and around Ballina →
What stands out about St Muredachs College
- 403 pupils, near the middle for post-primary schools in Ireland (the median is 585).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+14%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- A boys’ school.
- A voluntary secondary school: owned by its trustees, most often a religious order or its successor trust, and paid for by the State.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Killala; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Muredachs College had 403 pupils in 2025/26, against 364 in 2015/16 (+11%). Its roll rose in 7 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 Muredachs College
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 Muredachs College 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 Muredachs College
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 Muredachs College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St Muredachs College 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 takes boys only.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: St Muredachs College has grown by 14% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballina together changed by +10%.
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, 3 have more pupils than St Muredachs College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +14%; 3 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Muredachs College | 403 | +14% | Catholic | English | ||
| Moyne College | 221 | +21% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.4 km |
| St. Mary's Secondary School | 551 | +16% | Catholic | English | 1.5 km | |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary School | 541 | −6% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| St. Tiernan's College | 253 | +22% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 11 km |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary School | 244 | −22% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| St Joseph's Secondary School | 482 | +3% | Catholic | English | 15 km |
The other 20 post-primary schools in Co. Mayo
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Patrick's College | 181 | +1% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Scoil Muire Agus Padraig | 394 | +29% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| St Joseph's Community College | 223 | +44% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| Davitt College | 902 | +27% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 30 km |
| St Joseph's Secondary School | 542 | −9% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| St. Geralds College | 688 | +11% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| St Louis Community School | 701 | +20% | Inter-denominational | English | 31 km | |
| Balla Secondary School | 476 | +42% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Rice College | 615 | +34% | Catholic | English | 42 km | |
| Sacred Heart School | 530 | −3% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Coláiste Cholmáin | 402 | +6% | Catholic | English | 44 km | |
| Mount St Michael | 404 | −4% | Catholic | English | 44 km | |
| Ballyhaunis Community School | 717 | +12% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 46 km |
| Colaiste Chomain | 29 | −40% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ✓ | 47 km |
| Coláiste Mhuire | 95 | −41% | Catholic | All in Irish | 52 km | |
| Coláiste Pobail Acla | 232 | −1% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 54 km |
| Ballinrobe Community School | 865 | +28% | Inter-denominational | English | 55 km | |
| St. Brendan's College | 357 | −7% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 55 km |
| Our Lady's Secondary School | 265 | +37% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 56 km |
| Sancta Maria College | 571 | +19% | Catholic | English | 58 km |
Living in Ballina
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F26 Eircode area
Housing in Ballina →The median sale price rose from €184,800 in 2023 to €200,000 in 2025 (+8%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F26 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballina
Cost of living in Ballina →New tenancies in Ballina averaged €1,019 a month in 2025, against €901 in 2024 (+13%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballina, F26 FF25
Post-primary schools near St Muredachs College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Muredachs College
Is St Muredachs College 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 Muredachs College have?
403 pupils in 2025/26. That is +14% since 2019/20.
Does St Muredachs College teach through Irish?
No: St Muredachs College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Muredachs College?
St Muredachs College has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Killala.
How do pupils get a place at St Muredachs College?
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 Muredachs College?
The nearest are Moyne College (0.4 km), St. Mary's Secondary School (1.5 km) and Jesus & Mary Secondary School (10 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 Ballina; 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).