De Lacy College
Ashbourne Education Campus, Killegland, Ashbourne, Co. Meath · A84 TW90 · Roll number 76196W
De Lacy College is one of 3 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Ashbourne. Every school in and around Ashbourne →
What stands out about De Lacy College
- One of the larger post-primary schools: 929 pupils, against a typical 585.
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 929 pupils, 68% more than the 553 of 2019/20.
- The smallest of the 3 post-primary schools around Ashbourne.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Louth & Meath ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26De Lacy College had 929 pupils in 2025/26, against 109 in 2015/16 (+752%). Girls are 49% of them. Its roll rose in 10 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for De Lacy 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 De Lacy 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 De Lacy 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 De Lacy College
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to De Lacy 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: De Lacy College has grown by 68% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ashbourne together changed by +2%.
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, 5 have more pupils than De Lacy College. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +68%; 1 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Lacy College | 929 | +68% | Multi-denominational | English | ||
| Ashbourne Community School | 1,109 | +13% | Inter-denominational | English | 2 km | |
| Ratoath College | 1,132 | +6% | Inter-denominational | English | 3.1 km | |
| Coláiste Rioga | 267 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 8 km | |
| Community College Dunshaughlin | 1,120 | +5% | Inter-denominational | English | 8.8 km | |
| St Peter's College | 1,214 | +0% | Inter-denominational | English | 11 km | |
| Swords Community College | 952 | +473% | Multi-denominational | English | 12 km |
The other 18 post-primary schools in Co. Meath
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franciscan College | 321 | −26% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Coláiste na Mí | 913 | +26% | Multi-denominational | English | 21 km | |
| Beaufort College | 926 | +61% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Colaiste na hInse | 1,021 | +3% | Multi-denominational | English | 23 km | |
| Laytown & Drogheda Educate Together Secondary School | 520 | +1,344% | Multi-denominational | English | 23 km | |
| Loreto Secondary School | 920 | +14% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| St. Joseph's Secondary School, Navan, | 682 | −7% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| St Patrick's Classical School | 967 | +7% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Boyne Community School | 1,008 | +22% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 25 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 814 | −1% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Enfield Community College | 684 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 29 km | |
| Coláiste Pobail Rath Cairn | 140 | +9% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 32 km | |
| Coláiste Clavin | 519 | +40% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 34 km |
| Athboy Community School | 681 | +16% | Inter-denominational | English | 35 km | |
| St Ciaran's Community School | 619 | −4% | Inter-denominational | English | 38 km | |
| Eureka Secondary School | 735 | +5% | Catholic | English | 39 km | |
| O'Carolan College | 725 | +37% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| St Oliver Post Primary | 630 | +6% | Multi-denominational | English | 57 km |
Living in Ashbourne
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the A84 Eircode area
Housing in Ashbourne →The median sale price rose from €347,200 in 2023 to €485,000 in 2025 (+40%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the A84 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ashbourne
Cost of living in Ashbourne →New tenancies in Ashbourne averaged €1,755 a month in 2025, against €1,652 in 2024 (+6%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ashbourne, A84 TW90
Post-primary schools near De Lacy College
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about De Lacy College
Is De Lacy 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 De Lacy College have?
929 pupils in 2025/26. That is +68% since 2019/20.
Does De Lacy College teach through Irish?
No: De Lacy College teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs De Lacy College?
De Lacy College has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Louth & Meath ETB.
How do pupils get a place at De Lacy 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 De Lacy College?
The nearest are Ashbourne Community School (2 km), Ratoath College (3.1 km) and Coláiste Rioga (8 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 Ashbourne; 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).