Photo: Santista1982 · Public domainFewer of the schools around Clonmel are in DEIS than around Co. Tipperary’s towns or Irish towns: 23%
That leaves Clonmel below both Co. Tipperary’s towns (50%) and Irish towns (35%). 8 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 special school are in or within 3 km of Clonmel, with 4,235 pupils between them. With no school results published in Ireland, and the Education Act 1998 restricting comparisons of them, these schools are described, not graded or ranked.
Every school in the town or within 3 km of its outline, from the Department of Education’s lists for 2025/26; Ireland’s figures are every school in the lists.
What stands out about Clonmel’s schools
Mostly single-sex at secondary
Most secondary schools here take only boys or only girls; the mixed ones are marked on the cards below. Single-sex: Ardscoil na mBráithre (706), Loreto Secondary School (465) and Presentation Secondary School (448). Every school ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
The 13 schools in and around Clonmel
Each school in or within 3 km of Clonmel links to a page of its own. No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
Where the 13 schools in and around Clonmel are
Each school where the official list places it, shaded by who runs it and sized by pupils; squares are secondary schools, triangles special schools. The dashed shape is Clonmel’s outline; schools within 3 km of it count.
Places from the Department of Education’s school lists (its own coordinates for all but a handful); map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Teaching through Irish in and around Clonmel
How many schools teach through each language; the tick marks Ireland’s share.
1 of Clonmel’s 13 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Chluain Meala.
Who Clonmel’s schools serve
The pupils at the area’s schools by share, beside Co. Tipperary’s and Ireland’s, 2025/26
Each bar is the area’s share; the tick marks Ireland’s.
DEIS by stage: pupils at DEIS schools
| Share of pupils | Around Clonmel | Co. Tipperary | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 24% | 31% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 7% | 3% | 6% |
| Girls | 50% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 82% | 41% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 4% | 6% |
Around Clonmel, 24% of pupils attend a school in DEIS; across Ireland it is 27%, and 31% in Co. Tipperary. Furthest from Ireland’s mix is the share of post-primary pupils at single-sex schools: 82% here against 29%. The biggest school in DEIS is Central Technical Institute, Clonmel (366 pupils).
Each of the 13 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardscoil na mBráithrePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 706 | 0% | ||
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 465 | 100% | ||
| Presentation Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 448 | 100% | ||
| SN Mhuire na nAingealPrimary | 407 | 94% | ||
| Central Technical Institute, ClonmelPost-primary · ETB | 366 | 36% | ✓ | |
| St Oliver Plunketts N.S.Primary | 334 | 44% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil Chluain MealaPrimary | 315 | 52% | ✓ | |
| St Peter and PaulPrimary | 304 | 0% | ✓ | |
| Presentation Primary SchoolPrimary | 266 | 80% | ||
| St Marys N.S.Primary | 222 | 0% | ||
| St Marys Parochial SchoolPrimary | 52 | 50% | ||
| Powerstown N.S.Primary | 338 | 46% | ||
| Coláiste Shliabh na mBanSpecial | 12 | 17% |
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary): enrolments by sex and the DEIS list. Shares are of pupils, not of schools; a county’s are the schools listed with its towns.
Who runs Clonmel’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
11 of Clonmel’s 13 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Waterford & Lismore (6), Tipperary ETB (2) and Edmund Rice Schools Trust (1). 3 of the 13 are in DEIS, the extra support for schools in disadvantaged areas (30% across Ireland).
Department of Education school lists: ethos 2025/26, patron 2024/25 (the 2025/26 lists don’t give it). DEIS list 2025/26.
The 7 patrons of Clonmel’s schools
The patron owns the school and sets its ethos; a board of management runs it day to day.
Bishop of Waterford & Lismore is patron of 6 of the 13 schools around Clonmel, which teach 44% of their pupils; 7 patrons run them in all. Education and Training Boards run 2 of them.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of Waterford & LismoreSN Mhuire na nAingeal, Powerstown, St Oliver Plunketts, St Peter and Paul, Presentation Primary School, St Marys | Catholic | 6 | 1,871 |
| Tipperary ETBCentral Technical Institute, Clonmel, Coláiste Shliabh na mBan | Multi-denominational, Catholic | 2 | 378 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustArdscoil na mBráithre | Catholic | 1 | 706 |
| Loreto Education TrustLoreto | Catholic | 1 | 465 |
| CEISTPresentation | Catholic | 1 | 448 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaGaelscoil Chluain Meala | Catholic | 1 | 315 |
| Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory COISt Marys Parochial School | Church of Ireland | 1 | 52 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Clonmel
Starting primary school
Children can start primary school once they are four, and must be in school by six. Families apply to each school directly. Every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice; a school with more applicants than places admits on the criteria in its policy. Since the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, a Catholic or other majority-faith primary school can’t put baptised children first; a school of a minority faith still can, to keep its ethos.
Moving to secondary school
Children move to post-primary school at about twelve, after sixth class. Again, families apply to each school, usually a year or more ahead, and an oversubscribed school admits on its published criteria, often brothers and sisters and its feeder primary schools.
Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018; each school’s admission policy and notice are on its own website.
Which schools are growing
Of these 12 schools, 3 have grown by at least 5% since 2019/20 and 3 have lost as much; Ireland’s pupils changed by +5%.
All 12 schools
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September, 2019/20 and 2025/26 (preliminary). No capacity is published, so how full a school is can’t be shown.
Inspection reports for Clonmel’s schools
The Department of Education’s Inspectorate: every school’s reports linked, none rated
Each school is visited by inspectors from time to time, for a whole-school evaluation of teaching, learning and leadership, for one subject, or to follow up earlier advice, and every report is posted on gov.ie with the school’s response.
The reports describe what inspectors saw and what each school should do next. They give no overall grade, so none is shown here; the 13 schools below each link their own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| Ardscoil na mBráithrePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| SN Mhuire na nAingealPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Central Technical Institute, ClonmelPost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Oliver Plunketts N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Chluain MealaPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Peter and PaulPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Presentation Primary SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Marys N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Marys Parochial SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Powerstown N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Coláiste Shliabh na mBanSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Clonmel
Post-primary schools within 10 km of the town; children move at about twelve, and families apply to each school
Families in Clonmel have 4 post-primary schools within 10 km: 3 voluntary secondary schools and one ETB school. 3 teach girls and boys apart: 2 girls’ and 1 boys’ schools. None within 10 km teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardscoil na mBráithreVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 706 | 0.4 km |
| Central Technical Institute, ClonmelETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | Irish stream, DEIS | 366 | 0.8 km |
| Loreto Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 465 | 1.1 km |
| Presentation Secondary SchoolVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | – | 448 | 1.4 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Clonmel
Coláiste Shliabh na mBan is the special school here, with 12 pupils. 2 of the 8 primary schools have special classes for children who need more support. Their cards ↑
Special schools and primary schools with special classes as the Department lists them; the National Council for Special Education places pupils in special classes.
Clonmel beside the 76 other Irish towns of 12,900 to 24,800 people
Schools in or within 3 km of each town, by population; none is ranked, as Ireland publishes no results
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanchardstown | 24,613 | 91 | 36,302 | 5 | 44% | 0.7 km |
| … | ||||||
| Malahide | 18,608 | 24 | 12,134 | 1 | 8% | 1.1 km |
| Dooradoyle | 18,593 | 42 | 13,180 | 5 | 36% | 1 km |
| The Liberties | 18,460 | 129 | 33,405 | 9 | 53% | 0.3 km |
| Knocknacarra | 18,398 | 29 | 10,407 | 5 | 17% | 0.9 km |
| Clonmel | 18,369 | 13 | 4,235 | 1 | 23% | 0.4 km |
| Carrigaline | 18,239 | 12 | 4,439 | 2 | 8% | 0.5 km |
| Stillorgan | 18,212 | 81 | 32,574 | 8 | 7% | 0.4 km |
| Templeogue | 18,076 | 118 | 40,646 | 8 | 34% | 0.5 km |
| Dún Laoghaire | 17,994 | 52 | 17,578 | 1 | 19% | 0.8 km |
| … | ||||||
| Wicklow | 12,957 | 11 | 4,543 | 1 | 36% | 0.6 km |
Of these 76 other towns, 73 count more pupils at their schools than Clonmel. Every one of them has an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Clonmel
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Clonmel had 4,379 pupils in 2015/16 and 4,235 in 2025/26, fewer than before. St Marys Parochial School grew most: +108% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Clonmel
Department of Education enrolments at 30 September each year, 2015/16 to 2025/26 (preliminary), for every school placed in the area today; schools that have since closed or merged count where they stood.
Schools in the towns around Clonmel
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
Since 2019/20 the pupils around Clonmel changed by +4%; among its neighbours, Fethard’s grew most (+32%) and Cahir’s least (+13%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Clonmel or within 3 km of its outline, as the Department places it: families here use them. Schools further out are on the map of each school’s own page.
- The kinds of school. Primary schools take children from junior infants to sixth class, about ages 4 to 12. Post-primary schools teach the Junior and Leaving Certificate, about ages 12 to 18: voluntary secondary schools (mostly with a religious patron), ETB schools and community colleges run by an Education and Training Board, and community and comprehensive schools. Special schools teach children with particular needs.
- Teaching through Irish. All-Irish: every subject taught through Irish, in the Gaeltacht or, outside it, a Gaelscoil or Gaelcholáiste. Partly in Irish: an Irish stream (some classes entirely through Irish) or some subjects through Irish. Every other school teaches Irish as a subject.
- 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.
- Ethos and patron. Most Irish schools are owned by a patron, mostly a church; the patron sets the school’s ethos. Multi-denominational schools (Educate Together, many ETB schools) teach children of every faith and none together.
- No grade. Section 53 of the Education Act 1998 lets the Minister refuse to release information that would allow schools’ exam results to be compared, and no results are published school by school. So Ireland’s schools have no letters and its towns no School Grade; nothing on this page ranks them.
- What isn’t here. What the UK and French pages show from results, these can’t: results charts, results against pupils’ backgrounds and towns ranked by their schools (no published results), and how full each school is (no capacity is published). Every post-primary school teaches to the Leaving Certificate, so there is no sixth-form split to show.
- Inspections. The Inspectorate’s reports are linked from each school’s page. They give no overall grade, so none is shown.
- The year. The 2025/26 lists are the Department’s preliminary release; numbers can change a little in the final lists.
Questions about schools in Clonmel
How many schools are there in Clonmel?
In Clonmel or within 3 km of it: 8 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 4,235 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Clonmel that teach through Irish?
Yes, 1: Gaelscoil Chluain Meala teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Clonmel?
No: all 4 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Clonmel?
We don’t say. Ireland publishes no exam results school by school, and section 53 of the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them; a ranking would rest on guesses. Each school’s page has its own facts and a link to its inspection reports, and visiting the schools you are weighing is still the best guide.
How do I get a place at a school in Clonmel?
Apply to each school directly: every school publishes an admission policy and a yearly admission notice with its dates. If it has more applicants than places, it admits on the criteria in its policy.
Sources: Department of Education, school lists 2025/26 (preliminary) and enrolments since 2015/16, CC BY 4.0 · one school placed with OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
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).