Ballybay Central N.S.
Ballybay, Co. Monaghan · A75 A382 · Roll number 19884W
Ballybay Central N.S. is one of 3 primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballybay. Every school in and around Ballybay →
What stands out about Ballybay Central N.S.
- 66 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 66 pupils, 27% more than the 52 of 2019/20.
- In 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.
- The smallest of the 3 primary schools around Ballybay.
- Its patron is Presbytery of Monaghan; its ethos is Presbyterian.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Ballybay Central N.S. had 66 pupils in 2025/26, against 41 in 2015/16 (+61%). Girls are 45% of them. Its roll rose in 6 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Ballybay Central N.S.
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 Ballybay Central N.S. 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 Ballybay Central N.S.
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 Ballybay Central N.S.
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Ballybay Central N.S. 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.
It is in DEIS, so it has extra support for pupils from disadvantaged areas.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Ballybay Central N.S. has grown by 27% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballybay 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 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, 5 have more pupils than Ballybay Central N.S.. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +27%; 0 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballybay Central N.S. | 66 | +27% | Presbyterian | English | ✓ | |
| Scoil Éanna | 228 | +2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 0.1 km |
| Doohamlet N.S. | 134 | +5% | Catholic | English | 4.4 km | |
| Naomh Oliver Plunkett | 255 | +4% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 6.7 km | |
| Latton | 161 | −11% | Catholic | English | 7.3 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 76 | −5% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.7 km |
| Clontibret N.S. | 23 | −41% | Church of Ireland | English | 7.8 km |
The other 55 primary schools in Co. Monaghan
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockcorry N.S. | 34 | +21% | Church of Ireland | English | 7.8 km | |
| Drumacruttin N.S. | 15 | −52% | Church of Ireland | English | 7.8 km | |
| Annyalla National School | 195 | −5% | Catholic | English | 8 km | |
| Corcaghan N.S. | 92 | +42% | Catholic | English | 9.1 km | |
| Scoil Mhichil | 60 | +94% | Catholic | English | 9.6 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Mhuire | 202 | +17% | Catholic | English | 10 km | |
| Gaelscoil Lorgan | 159 | +9% | Inter-denominational | All in Irish | 10 km | |
| Castleblayney Convent National School | 155 | +11% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| Castleblayney Convent Infants National School | 197 | +9% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| Scoil Mhuire BNS | 183 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 11 km |
| Castleblayney Cent N.S. | 10 | −50% | Presbyterian | English | 11 km | |
| Latnamard N.S. | 85 | −9% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St. Brigid's National School Aughnafarcon | 37 | −24% | Catholic | English | 12 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Padraig | 87 | +7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| Threemilehouse N.S. | 141 | +5% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Annalitten N.S. | 37 | +54% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| St. Louis Girls National School | 202 | −12% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| St Louis Infant School | 208 | −12% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| St Marys BNS | 229 | −17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Scoil Phadraig | 142 | −5% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Monaghan Model School | 199 | +26% | Church of Ireland | English | 14 km | |
| Lisdoonan N.S. | 150 | +3% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Phadraig | 23 | −12% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Gaelscoil Ultain | 373 | −5% | Catholic | All in Irish | 15 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 140 | +8% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Corcreagh N.S. | 34 | −11% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Drumcorrin N.S. | 20 | +0% | Presbyterian | English | 16 km | |
| Killeevan Central N.S. | 101 | +11% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Scoil Bhrighde | 75 | +7% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire | 99 | −8% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| The Billis National School | 16 | −57% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| Naomh Micheal | 108 | +42% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Mhuire Gransla | 77 | +17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 19 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 86 | +1% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Urbleshanny N.S. | 296 | +2% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| S.N. Blaithin Iosa | 27 | −34% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| St Dympnas N.S. | 124 | +46% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Rois | 260 | +6% | Catholic | All in Irish | 21 km | |
| Bunscoil Louis Naofa | 258 | −7% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| St Joseph's National School | 234 | −17% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Corr A Chrainn National School | 202 | −4% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Drumgossatt N.S. | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| S.N. Cholmcille | 103 | +29% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| St Tiarnach's Primary School | 217 | −17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Gaelscoil Éois | 126 | +11% | Catholic | All in Irish | ✓ | 22 km |
| Scoil Enda | 69 | +35% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Edenmore N.S. | 159 | +2% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | 23 km | |
| St Josephs N.S. | 60 | +62% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Naoimh Eanna | 203 | −6% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Deagha | 286 | +22% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Scoil Bride | 106 | −29% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Deravoy National School | 71 | +8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Knockconnon N.S. | 118 | −1% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| S.N. Comhghall | 17 | −45% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 33 | +10% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 31 km |
Living in Ballybay
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the A75 Eircode area
Housing in Ballybay →The median sale price rose from €200,000 in 2023 to €265,000 in 2025 (+33%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the A75 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballybay
Cost of living in Ballybay →New tenancies in Ballybay averaged €982 a month in 2025, against €874 in 2024 (+12%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Ballybay, A75 A382
Primary schools near Ballybay Central N.S.
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Ballybay Central N.S.
Is Ballybay Central N.S. 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 Ballybay Central N.S. have?
66 pupils in 2025/26. That is +27% since 2019/20.
Does Ballybay Central N.S. teach through Irish?
No: Ballybay Central N.S. teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Ballybay Central N.S.?
Ballybay Central N.S. has a Presbyterian ethos. Its patron is Presbytery of Monaghan.
How do pupils get a place at Ballybay Central N.S.?
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 Ballybay Central N.S.?
The nearest are Scoil Éanna (0.1 km), Doohamlet N.S. (4.4 km) and Naomh Oliver Plunkett (6.7 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 Ballybay; 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).