Photo: Liz McCabe · CC BY-SA 2.0DEIS support is widespread around Killala: 67% of schools, above Co. Mayo’s towns and Irish towns
For Killala, that is above both Co. Mayo’s towns (18%) and Irish towns (35%). DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas, reaches 2 of its 3 schools; across Ireland, 30%. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Schools in the town or within 3 km of its outline, Department of Education lists for 2025/26; the Ireland figures cover all schools listed.
What stands out about Killala’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: Killala N.S. (85) and Templemary N.S. (47). Who runs them ↓
Facts from the Department of Education’s lists; nothing here judges how well a school teaches.
Where the 3 schools in and around Killala 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 Killala’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.
Who runs Killala’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
2 of Killala’s 3 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Killala (2) and Educate Together (1). 2 of the 3 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 3 schools in and around Killala
Here are the schools in Killala or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. Ireland doesn’t publish results for individual schools, so none of these carries a letter.
Teaching through Irish in and around Killala
Schools by the language they teach in; the black tick is Ireland’s share.
None of the 3 schools in and around Killala teaches every subject through Irish.
Who Killala’s schools serve
Shares of the pupils at the area’s schools, beside Co. Mayo’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
| Share of pupils | Around Killala | Co. Mayo | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 69% | 37% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 0% | 5% | 6% |
| Girls | 41% | 48% | 49% |
DEIS schools teach 69% of the pupils around Killala, a larger share than Ireland’s 27% (Co. Mayo: 37%). Set beside Ireland, girls stand out most: 41% against 49%. The largest DEIS school here is Killala N.S., with 85 pupils.
Each of the 3 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killala N.S.Primary | 85 | 33% | ✓ | |
| Newtownwhite Educate Together NSPrimary | 59 | 51% | ||
| Templemary N.S.Primary | 47 | 43% | ✓ |
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 2 patrons of Killala’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
The schools around Killala answer to 2 patrons, and Bishop of Killala leads with 2 of the 3 schools and 69% of their pupils. Educate Together runs one.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of KillalaKillala, Templemary | Catholic | 2 | 132 |
| Educate TogetherNewtownwhite Educate Together NS | Multi-denominational | 1 | 59 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Killala
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, 2 of the 3 grew by 5% or more and 1 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 Killala’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
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 3 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Killala N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Newtownwhite Educate Together NSPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Templemary 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 Killala
Every post-primary school within 10 km of the town; families choose and apply to each, at about twelve
2 post-primary schools are within 10 km of Killala: one ETB school and one voluntary secondary school. Every one of them takes girls and boys. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Patrick's CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 181 | 4.9 km |
| Jesus & Mary Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls and boys | – | 244 | 8.2 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Killala
No special school is in or near Killala. 1 of the 3 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.
Killala beside the 215 other Irish towns of 400 to 800 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crinkill | 795 | 7 | 1,708 | 1 | 86% | 3.1 km |
| … | ||||||
| Saleen | 601 | 2 | 653 | 0 | 0% | 4.6 km |
| Na Dúnaibh | 601 | 2 | 202 | 1 | 100% | 14 km |
| Freshford | 593 | 2 | 244 | 0 | 50% | 10 km |
| Fahan | 589 | 1 | 189 | 0 | 0% | 4.9 km |
| Killala | 587 | 3 | 191 | 0 | 67% | 4.9 km |
| Ballyneety | 586 | 3 | 321 | 0 | 0% | 7 km |
| Lackaghbeg | 576 | 2 | 296 | 0 | 0% | 4.7 km |
| Ringaskiddy-Loughbeg | 575 | 11 | 3,287 | 0 | 18% | 3.4 km |
| Shercock | 574 | 2 | 217 | 0 | 0% | 11 km |
| … | ||||||
| Oilgate | 401 | 2 | 152 | 0 | 100% | 6.2 km |
Among the 215 other towns, 130 have more pupils at their schools than Killala does. Within 3 km, 18 of these 216 towns have a school teaching through Irish.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Killala
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Killala had 185 pupils in 2015/16 and 191 in 2025/26. Templemary N.S. grew most: +21% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Killala
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 Killala
For each nearby town, its schools in or within 3 km of its outline, with straight-line distances.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killala | 3 | 191 | 0 | 67% | 4.9 km |
| Enniscrone 8.4 km | 2 | 381 | 0 | 0% | 0.3 km |
| Ballina 12 km | 14 | 2,979 | 1 | 50% | 0.5 km |
| Crossmolina 14 km | 3 | 1,029 | 0 | 33% | 0.8 km |
Ballina has the most schools teaching through Irish nearby: 1. Of Killala’s neighbours, Ballina saw the most growth in pupils since 2019/20 (+10%) and Enniscrone the least (−13%); Killala itself: −1%.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Killala 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 Killala
How many schools are there in Killala?
In Killala or within 3 km of it: 3 primary schools, with 191 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Killala that teach through Irish?
None in Killala or within 3 km of it teaches every subject through Irish; some teach it as a subject only.
Is there a secondary school in Killala?
Not in Killala or within 3 km of it; the nearest is St. Patrick's College, 4.9 km away.
What is the best school in Killala?
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 Killala?
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).