Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
Ballymote, Co. Sligo · F56 CP59 · Roll number 19964U
Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal is the only one of the primary schools in or within 3 km of Ballymote. Every school in and around Ballymote →
What stands out about Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
- 215 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (−7%).
- 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 Achonry; its ethos is Catholic.
- The only primary school in Ballymote or within 3 km of it.
- Outside Ballymote’s outline, 0 km away; listed with Ballymote, the nearest town in its county.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal had 215 pupils in 2025/26, down from 220 in 2015/16 (−2%). Girls are 49% of them. Its largest roll was 235, in 2018/19. Its roll rose in 3 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
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 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal 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 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
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 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal 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: Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal has shrunk by 7% since 2019/20. All the schools around Ballymote together changed by +15%.
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.
Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal has more pupils than any of the 6 nearest primary schools. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by −7%; 2 of the 6 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal | 215 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | |
| S.N. Cnoc Mionna | 52 | −39% | Catholic | English | 3.9 km | |
| S.N. Lissara Naofa | 66 | −32% | Catholic | English | 5.6 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Mhuire | 47 | +0% | Catholic | English | 6.4 km | |
| Killaville N.S. | 19 | −21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 6.4 km |
| Scoil Croi Naofa | 81 | +11% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.2 km |
| S.N. Cul Fada | 73 | −15% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 7.7 km |
The other 55 primary schools in Co. Sligo
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taunagh National School | 30 | +11% | Church of Ireland | English | 8.7 km | |
| Ardkeerin N.S. | 111 | −9% | Catholic | English | 8.7 km | |
| S.N. Clochog | 61 | −22% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 8.9 km |
| S.N. Naithi Naofa | 77 | −10% | Catholic | English | 9.7 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire agus Iosaf | 241 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 10 km |
| St Pauls N.S. Collooney | 75 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 10 km | |
| Carn N.S. | 116 | −4% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Rockfield N.S. | 174 | −19% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Sooey N.S. | 112 | −15% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| Kilross N.S. | 42 | +110% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Eoin Naofa | 226 | +3% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| Moylough N.S. | 100 | −18% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| Holy Family School | 192 | −2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 14 km |
| S.N. Ronain Naofa | 37 | +54% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 15 km |
| Ballintogher N.S. | 87 | +7% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Aodain | 79 | +52% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Ransboro New Central | 247 | +0% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Carraroe N.S. | 389 | +4% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| S.N. Baile an Luig | 29 | +38% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| Cloonacool N.S. | 103 | −10% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Ailbhe | 97 | – | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 103 | +58% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Gaelscoil Chnoc na Re | 208 | −12% | Catholic | All in Irish | 19 km | |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 76 | −24% | Catholic | English | 19 km | |
| Scoil Eoin Naofa | 289 | +17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Our Lady of Mercy N.S. | 449 | −2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| S.N. Ursula | 439 | +0% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| Sligo Project School | 52 | +117% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 20 km |
| Carbury National School | 210 | −5% | Church of Ireland | English | 20 km | |
| Scoil Asicus | 252 | −2% | Catholic | English | 20 km | |
| S.N. Pairc Ard | 99 | +6% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| St Brendans N.S. | 177 | +26% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| St Edwards N.S. | 207 | +50% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 21 km |
| Our Lady's National School | 40 | −9% | Catholic | English | 22 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 182 | +17% | Catholic | English | 23 km | |
| Castlerock N.S. | 31 | −18% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 23 km |
| S N Realt na Mara | 117 | +14% | Catholic | English | 24 km | |
| Rathcormack N.S. | 244 | −4% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 24 | −14% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Iosef | 29 | −34% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| S.N. Padraig Naofa | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 29 km | |
| Dromore West Central | 90 | +58% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 29 km |
| Scoil Naomh Molaise | 274 | −4% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Killeenduff N.S. | 20 | −20% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 34 km |
| Owenbeg N.S. | 36 | −36% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 34 km |
| Stokane N.S. | 30 | −25% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| S.N. Bhride | 35 | +6% | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| S.N. Aodain | 16 | – | Catholic | English | 36 km | |
| Kilglass N.S. | 114 | −8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 37 km |
| Corballa N.S. | 115 | +3% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Cliffoney N.S. | 96 | +43% | Catholic | English | 38 km | |
| Leaffoney N.S. | 1 | – | Church of Ireland | English | 38 km | |
| Rathlee N.S. | 68 | +11% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 39 km |
| Enniscrone N.S. | 137 | +9% | Catholic | English | 40 km | |
| S.N. Mhuire | 15 | −64% | Catholic | English | 41 km |
Living in Ballymote
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F56 Eircode area
Housing in Ballymote →The median sale price rose from €166,000 in 2023 to €190,500 in 2025 (+15%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F56 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Ballymote
Cost of living in Ballymote →New tenancies in Ballymote averaged €1,000 a month in 2025, against €942 in 2024 (+6%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗near Ballymote, F56 CP59
Primary schools near Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal
Is Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal 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 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal have?
215 pupils in 2025/26. That is −7% since 2019/20.
Does Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal teach through Irish?
No: Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal?
Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Achonry.
How do pupils get a place at Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal?
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 Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal?
The nearest are S.N. Cnoc Mionna (3.9 km), S.N. Lissara Naofa (5.6 km) and S.N. Naomh Mhuire (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 Ballymote; 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).