St Marys National School
Castle Street, Cloghan, Birr · R42 E521 · Roll number 20068W
St Marys National School is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Cloghan. Every school in and around Cloghan →
What stands out about St Marys National School
- 93 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−4%).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- 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.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only primary school in Cloghan or within 3 km of it.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26St Marys National School had 93 pupils in 2025/26, against 89 in 2015/16 (+4%). Girls are 46% of them. Its largest roll was 105, in 2024/25. Its roll rose in 4 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 Marys National School
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 Marys National School 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 Marys National School
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 Marys National School
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to St Marys National School 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: St Marys National School is about the size it was in 2019/20 (−4%).
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, 2 have more pupils than St Marys National School. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −4%; 4 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Marys National School | 93 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | |
| High St Mixed N.S. | 73 | +14% | Catholic | English | 3.7 km | |
| S.N. Lomchluana | 33 | −23% | Catholic | English | 5.9 km | |
| St. Cynoc's National School | 189 | −4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.4 km |
| St Rynaghs N.S. | 249 | +1% | Catholic | English | 7.8 km | |
| S.N. Chiarain Naofa | 29 | – | Catholic | English | 8.4 km | |
| St Cronans Mixed N.S. | 72 | +13% | Catholic | English | 11 km |
The other 60 primary schools in Co. Offaly
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S.N. Naomh Callin | 69 | −9% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Eoin | 148 | +23% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Agus Chormaic | 109 | +5% | Catholic | Some subjects in Irish | ✓ | 12 km |
| S.N. Muire Naofa | 64 | −27% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 13 km |
| S.N. Chiarain Naofa | 83 | +17% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Gaelscoil na Laochra | 45 | +29% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 13 km | |
| S.N. Bhride | 111 | +14% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S.N. Osmann | 86 | +4% | Church of Ireland | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| Mercy Primary School | 141 | −2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| St Brendans Monastery | 178 | −8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| St Ciarans Mixed N.S. | 110 | −12% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Croinchoill N.S. | 243 | +1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| S.N. Mhuire | 72 | +6% | Catholic | English | 16 km | |
| Mount Bolus N.S. | 25 | −29% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Ceann Eitigh N.S. | 132 | +15% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Seir Kierans N.S. | 71 | +20% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| S N Chartaigh Naofa | 147 | −21% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| S.N. Seosamh | 97 | +31% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| S.N. Phroinsiais Naofa | 186 | −14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Ballykilmurry N.S. | 199 | −6% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| S.N. Mhanachain | 176 | +5% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Clara Convent N.S. | 180 | −17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| Scoil Colmain Naofa | 322 | +5% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Coolderry Central N.S. | 82 | −10% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| S.N. Ros Com Rua | 21 | −28% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Brighde Buach | 116 | −32% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Scoil Mhuire | 249 | −20% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 26 km |
| Tullamore Educate Together NS | 236 | +7% | Multi-denominational | English | 26 km | |
| Arden Boys N.S. | 215 | +4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| St. Joseph's N.S. | 360 | −12% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Shinrone Mixed N.S. | 121 | +1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| S.N. Naomh Philomena | 164 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 27 km |
| Charleville N.S. | 173 | +92% | Church of Ireland | English | 27 km | |
| S.N. Peadar agus Pol | 15 | −52% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| Gaelscoil an Eiscir Riada | 185 | −11% | Catholic | All in Irish | 28 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Cholumchille | 197 | −8% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| S.N. Cronain Naofa | 171 | −21% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Shinchill N.S. | 286 | +3% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| S.N. Caoimhin Naofa | 67 | −17% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| S.N. Mhuire Bainrioghan | 76 | +23% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Clonaghadoo N.S. | 81 | −24% | Catholic | English | 35 km | |
| St Colmans N.S. | 97 | −14% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| S.N. Sheosaimh Naofa | 193 | +7% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| Geashill 1 N.S. | 126 | −2% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| S.N. Seosamh | 108 | +29% | Catholic | English | 39 km | |
| Daingean N.S. | 261 | +4% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| S.N. Mhuire | 124 | −8% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| Cloneyhurke N.S. | 18 | −40% | Catholic | English | 42 km | |
| Scoil Bhride | 70 | −23% | Catholic | English | 42 km | |
| Naomh Mhuire N.S. | 83 | −6% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 44 km |
| S.N. Mhuire Naofa | 91 | −40% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 47 km |
| S.N. Phadraig | 124 | −2% | Catholic | English | 51 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Brogain | 72 | −14% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 53 km |
| Clonbullogue N.S. | 84 | −9% | Catholic | English | 53 km | |
| Castlejordan Central N.S. | 79 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 54 km |
| Scoil Bhríde Primary School | 480 | −24% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 56 km |
| Gaelscoil Éadan Doire | 69 | −32% | Catholic | All in Irish | ✓ | 56 km |
| Edenderry 2 N.S. | 48 | −27% | Church of Ireland | English | 56 km | |
| St Patrick's National School | 192 | −13% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 56 km |
| Edenderry Convent N.S. | 429 | +12% | Catholic | English | 56 km |
Living in Cloghan
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the R42 Eircode area
Housing in Cloghan →The median sale price rose from €180,000 in 2023 to €240,000 in 2025 (+33%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the R42 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Offaly
Cost of living in Cloghan →New tenancies in Co. Offaly averaged €1,198 a month in 2025, against €1,089 in 2024 (+10%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Cloghan, R42 E521
Primary schools near St Marys National School
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about St Marys National School
Is St Marys National School 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 Marys National School have?
93 pupils in 2025/26. That is −4% since 2019/20.
Does St Marys National School teach through Irish?
No: St Marys National School teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs St Marys National School?
St Marys National School has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Ardagh & Clonmacnoise.
How do pupils get a place at St Marys National School?
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 Marys National School?
The nearest are High St Mixed N.S. (3.7 km), S.N. Lomchluana (5.9 km) and St. Cynoc'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 Cloghan; 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).