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Ballinphull, Cliffoney, Co. Sligo · F91 YC85 · Roll number 16136O
Cliffoney N.S. is one of 2 primary schools in or within 3 km of Cliffony. Every school in and around Cliffony →
What stands out about Cliffoney N.S.
- 96 pupils, near the middle for primary schools in Ireland (the median is 131).
- Teaches through English, with Irish as a subject.
- Growing: 96 pupils, 43% more than the 67 of 2019/20.
- Its patron is the Bishop of Elphin; its ethos is Catholic.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Cliffoney N.S. had 96 pupils in 2025/26, against 59 in 2015/16 (+63%). Girls are 43% of them. Its roll rose in 8 of the 10 years.
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year; girls and boys where the lists give them.
No letter for Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney N.S.
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Cliffoney 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.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Cliffoney N.S. has grown by 43% since 2019/20. All the schools around Cliffony together changed by +31%.
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, 3 have more pupils than Cliffoney N.S.. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +43%; 0 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cliffoney N.S. | 96 | +43% | Catholic | English | ||
| S.N. Bhride | 35 | +6% | Catholic | English | 3.4 km | |
| S.N. Aodain | 16 | – | Catholic | English | 3.9 km | |
| S.N. Mhuire | 15 | −64% | Catholic | English | 4.6 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Molaise | 274 | −4% | Catholic | English | 6.3 km | |
| Four Masters N.S. | 289 | −3% | Catholic | English | 11 km | |
| St Macartans Central | 276 | −1% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 12 km |
The other 57 primary schools in Co. Sligo
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathcormack N.S. | 244 | −4% | Catholic | English | 13 km | |
| S.N. Padraig Naofa | 75 | −18% | Catholic | English | 14 km | |
| S N Realt na Mara | 117 | +14% | Catholic | English | 15 km | |
| St Patricks N.S. | 182 | +17% | Catholic | English | 17 km | |
| St Edwards N.S. | 207 | +50% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| St Brendans N.S. | 177 | +26% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 17 km |
| Carbury National School | 210 | −5% | Church of Ireland | English | 18 km | |
| Sligo Project School | 52 | +117% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| S.N. Ursula | 439 | +0% | Catholic | English | 18 km | |
| Our Lady of Mercy N.S. | 449 | −2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Scoil Eoin Naofa | 289 | +17% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 18 km |
| Gaelscoil Chnoc na Re | 208 | −12% | Catholic | All in Irish | 19 km | |
| Scoil Asicus | 252 | −2% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Carraroe N.S. | 389 | +4% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Ransboro New Central | 247 | +0% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| S.N. Eoin Naofa | 226 | +3% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Pairc Ard | 99 | +6% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| S.N. Baile an Luig | 29 | +38% | Catholic | English | 25 km | |
| Ballintogher N.S. | 87 | +7% | Catholic | English | 26 km | |
| Kilross N.S. | 42 | +110% | Catholic | English | 27 km | |
| St Pauls N.S. Collooney | 75 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 28 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire agus Iosaf | 241 | −3% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 28 km |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 24 | −14% | Catholic | English | 28 km | |
| Sooey N.S. | 112 | −15% | Catholic | English | 30 km | |
| Rockfield N.S. | 174 | −19% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Iosef | 29 | −34% | Catholic | English | 31 km | |
| Taunagh National School | 30 | +11% | Church of Ireland | English | 34 km | |
| Ardkeerin N.S. | 111 | −9% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| S.N. Lissara Naofa | 66 | −32% | Catholic | English | 34 km | |
| Dromore West Central | 90 | +58% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| Killeenduff N.S. | 20 | −20% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 35 km |
| S.N. Cnoc Mionna | 52 | −39% | Catholic | English | 37 km | |
| Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal | 215 | −7% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 38 km |
| Owenbeg N.S. | 36 | −36% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 38 km |
| S.N. Naomh Ailbhe | 97 | – | Catholic | English | 39 km | |
| S.N. Clochog | 61 | −22% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 40 km |
| Rathlee N.S. | 68 | +11% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 41 km |
| S.N. Naithi Naofa | 77 | −10% | Catholic | English | 41 km | |
| Leaffoney N.S. | 1 | – | Church of Ireland | English | 42 km | |
| S.N. Naomh Mhuire | 47 | +0% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Cloonacool N.S. | 103 | −10% | Catholic | English | 43 km | |
| Scoil Croi Naofa | 81 | +11% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 43 km |
| Kilglass N.S. | 114 | −8% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 44 km |
| Killaville N.S. | 19 | −21% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 44 km |
| S.N. Cul Fada | 73 | −15% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 45 km |
| Holy Family School | 192 | −2% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 45 km |
| Stokane N.S. | 30 | −25% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 47 km |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 103 | +58% | Catholic | English | 47 km | |
| Moylough N.S. | 100 | −18% | Catholic | English | 48 km | |
| Enniscrone N.S. | 137 | +9% | Catholic | English | 48 km | |
| Carn N.S. | 116 | −4% | Catholic | English | 49 km | |
| Castlerock N.S. | 31 | −18% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 49 km |
| Our Lady's National School | 40 | −9% | Catholic | English | 50 km | |
| Corballa N.S. | 115 | +3% | Catholic | English | 50 km | |
| S.N. Ronain Naofa | 37 | +54% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 51 km |
| S.N. Muire Gan Smal | 76 | −24% | Catholic | English | 52 km | |
| Scoil Naomh Aodain | 79 | +52% | Catholic | English | ✓ | 54 km |
Living in Cliffony
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the F91 Eircode area
Housing in Cliffony →The median sale price rose from €189,000 in 2023 to €275,000 in 2025 (+46%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the F91 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Co. Sligo
Cost of living in Cliffony →New tenancies in Co. Sligo averaged €1,156 a month in 2025, against €1,044 in 2024 (+11%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗














Cliffony, F91 YC85
Primary schools near Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney N.S.
Is Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney N.S. have?
96 pupils in 2025/26. That is +43% since 2019/20.
Does Cliffoney N.S. teach through Irish?
No: Cliffoney N.S. teaches in English, with Irish as a subject.
Who runs Cliffoney N.S.?
Cliffoney N.S. has a Catholic ethos. Its patron is Bishop of Elphin.
How do pupils get a place at Cliffoney 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 Cliffoney N.S.?
The nearest are S.N. Bhride (3.4 km), S.N. Aodain (3.9 km) and S.N. Mhuire (4.6 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 Cliffony; 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).