Photo: 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.02 of the 9 schools around Enniscorthy teach entirely through Irish
Around Enniscorthy, 22% of schools teach through Irish, above both Co. Wexford’s towns (3%) and Irish towns (8%). Primary schools here average 394 pupils, against 175 across Ireland. Nothing here grades or ranks these schools: Ireland publishes no results school by school, and the Education Act 1998 restricts comparing them.
Counted from the Department of Education’s 2025/26 lists: every school in the town or within 3 km of it, against every school in Ireland.
What stands out about Enniscorthy’s schools
More all-Irish schools than most places
Families here have more choice of a school that teaches every subject through Irish than in most of Ireland, where 8% of schools do. They are Meanscoil Gharman (205) and Gaelscoil Inis Corthaidh (184). Language ↓
From the Department of Education’s school lists: facts, not judgements of how well a school teaches.
Teaching through Irish in and around Enniscorthy
The schools by teaching language, with Ireland’s share as the black tick.
2 of Enniscorthy’s 9 schools teach every subject through Irish: Gaelscoil Inis Corthaidh and Meanscoil Gharman.
The 9 schools in and around Enniscorthy
Here are the schools in Enniscorthy or within 3 km of it, every one with its own page. No letters, no results: Irish schools aren’t ranked one by one.
Where the 9 schools in and around Enniscorthy 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 Enniscorthy’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.
Who Enniscorthy’s schools serve
How the area’s pupils divide, against Co. Wexford’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 Enniscorthy | Co. Wexford | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at DEIS schools | 64% | 37% | 27% |
| Pupils at all-Irish schools | 10% | 2% | 6% |
| Girls | 49% | 49% | 49% |
| Post-primary pupils at single-sex schools | 68% | 45% | 29% |
| Post-primary pupils at fee-paying schools | 0% | 0% | 6% |
64% of the pupils around Enniscorthy are at a DEIS school, more than the 27% across Ireland (37% in Co. Wexford). Where this area differs most from Ireland is post-primary pupils at single-sex schools, at 68% against 29%. St Aidans Parish School, with 869 pupils, is the largest school here in DEIS.
Each of the 9 schools
| School | Pupils | Girls | DEIS | All-Irish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Aidans Parish SchoolPrimary | 869 | 48% | ✓ | |
| St. Mary's C.B.S.Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | 770 | 0% | ||
| Coláiste BrídePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 744 | 100% | ✓ | |
| Enniscorthy Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | 492 | 52% | ✓ | |
| St Senans National SchPrimary | 437 | 49% | ✓ | |
| Gaelscoil Inis CorthaidhPrimary | 184 | 51% | ✓ | |
| St Patricks Spec SchoolSpecial | 166 | 30% | ||
| St Marys N.S.Primary | 84 | 51% | ||
| Meanscoil GharmanPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | 205 | 56% | ✓ |
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 Enniscorthy’s schools
Ethos as listed for 2025/26: each bar splits the schools by who runs them.
6 of Enniscorthy’s 9 schools have a Catholic ethos, against 80% across Ireland. The patrons with most schools here: Bishop of Ferns (3), An Foras Pátrúnachta (2) and Edmund Rice Schools Trust (1). 4 of the 9 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 6 patrons of Enniscorthy’s schools
Patrons own the schools and set their ethos; boards of management run them day to day.
Bishop of Ferns is patron of 3 of the 9 schools around Enniscorthy, which teach 37% of their pupils; 6 patrons run them in all. One is an ETB school.
| Patron | Ethos | Schools | Pupils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop of FernsSt Aidans Parish School, St Senans National Sch, St Patricks Spec School | Catholic | 3 | 1,472 |
| An Foras PátrúnachtaMeanscoil Gharman, Gaelscoil Inis Corthaidh | Inter-denominational, Catholic | 2 | 389 |
| Edmund Rice Schools TrustSt. Mary's C.B.S. | Catholic | 1 | 770 |
| CEISTColáiste Bríde | Catholic | 1 | 744 |
| Waterford & Wexford ETBEnniscorthy | Multi-denominational | 1 | 492 |
| Bishop of Cashel, Ferns & Ossory COISt Marys | Church of Ireland | 1 | 84 |
Department of Education school lists: patron 2024/25, ethos 2025/26.
How children get a place in Enniscorthy
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
Since 2019/20, 3 of these 8 schools have grown by 5% or more and 1 have shrunk as much; across Ireland the number of pupils changed by +5%.
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 Enniscorthy’s schools
The Inspectorate’s published reports for each school, linked, without ratings
Reports come from whole-school evaluations (teaching, learning, leadership and management), subject inspections and follow-through visits that check earlier advice; gov.ie publishes each one with the school’s response.
Reports say what inspectors found and what should improve, without an overall grade, so none appears here; each of the 9 schools below links its own.
| School | Reports on gov.ie |
|---|---|
| St Aidans Parish SchoolPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St. Mary's C.B.S.Post-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Coláiste BrídePost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Enniscorthy Community CollegePost-primary · ETB | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Senans National SchPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Gaelscoil Inis CorthaidhPrimary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Patricks Spec SchoolSpecial | Inspection reports ↗ |
| St Marys N.S.Primary | Inspection reports ↗ |
| Meanscoil GharmanPost-primary · Voluntary secondary | Inspection reports ↗ |
Department of Education Inspectorate reports on gov.ie, found by each school’s roll number.
Post-primary schools within reach of Enniscorthy
All post-primaries within 10 km; at about twelve, families choose and apply school by school
Families in Enniscorthy have 4 post-primary schools within 10 km: 3 voluntary secondary schools and one ETB school. 2 of them are single-sex, 1 for girls and 1 for boys. Just one teaches every subject through Irish.
| School | Takes | Also | Pupils | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Mary's C.B.S.Voluntary secondary · Catholic | Boys | – | 770 | 0.9 km |
| Enniscorthy Community CollegeETB · Multi-denominational | Girls and boys | DEIS | 492 | 0.9 km |
| Coláiste BrídeVoluntary secondary · Catholic | Girls | DEIS | 744 | 1 km |
| Meanscoil GharmanVoluntary secondary · Inter-denominational | Girls and boys | Gaelcholáiste | 205 | 3.7 km |
Department of Education post-primary list 2025/26; straight-line distances from the town’s centre point.
Special schools and classes around Enniscorthy
St Patricks Spec School is the special school here, with 166 pupils. 2 of the 4 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.
Enniscorthy beside the 86 other Irish towns of 8,600 to 16,600 people
Each town’s schools in or within 3 km, listed by population: Ireland publishes no results, so none is ranked
| Town | People | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dundrum | 16,570 | 89 | 35,482 | 10 | 7% | 0.4 km |
| … | ||||||
| Hollystown | 12,884 | 68 | 22,939 | 3 | 50% | 1.9 km |
| Blackrock | 12,816 | 66 | 25,764 | 6 | 11% | 0.8 km |
| Ballsbridge | 12,743 | 116 | 31,567 | 9 | 42% | 0.7 km |
| Finglas South | 12,475 | 99 | 29,161 | 9 | 57% | 0.5 km |
| Enniscorthy | 12,310 | 9 | 3,951 | 2 | 44% | 0.9 km |
| Firhouse | 12,254 | 70 | 25,224 | 5 | 34% | 0.7 km |
| Foxrock | 12,163 | 80 | 28,450 | 7 | 18% | 0.8 km |
| Summerhill | 11,911 | 118 | 31,929 | 8 | 51% | 0.3 km |
| Cavan | 11,741 | 14 | 4,634 | 1 | 29% | 1.2 km |
| … | ||||||
| Hollyhill and Ballincolly | 8,606 | 84 | 27,337 | 7 | 43% | 1.1 km |
Of these 86 other towns, 70 count more pupils at their schools than Enniscorthy. 85 of the 87 towns have an all-Irish school within 3 km.
Department of Education school lists 2025/26 (preliminary); CSO Census 2022 populations.
Pupil numbers around Enniscorthy
Every school in or within 3 km of the town each September, counted where it stands today.
The schools in and around Enniscorthy had 4,009 pupils in 2015/16 and 3,951 in 2025/26, fewer than before. St Marys N.S. grew most: +45% since 2019/20.
Pupils at schools in and around Enniscorthy
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 Enniscorthy
Schools in or within 3 km of each neighbouring town; distances in a straight line.
| Town | Schools | Pupils | All-Irish | DEIS schools | Nearest post-primary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enniscorthy | 9 | 3,951 | 2 | 44% | 0.9 km |
| Ferns 11 km | 2 | 324 | 0 | 50% | 10 km |
| Castlebridge 16 km | 3 | 459 | 0 | 0% | 5.1 km |
| Bunclody 17 km | 5 | 1,912 | 0 | 40% | 0.5 km |
Pupils around Enniscorthy: +5% since 2019/20. Among the neighbours, Bunclody led (+16%) and Ferns trailed (+5%).
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Which schools count. Every school in Enniscorthy 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 Enniscorthy
How many schools are there in Enniscorthy?
In Enniscorthy or within 3 km of it: 4 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 1 special school, with 3,951 pupils between them.
Are there schools in Enniscorthy that teach through Irish?
Yes, 2: Gaelscoil Inis Corthaidh and Meanscoil Gharman teach every subject through Irish.
Are there fee-paying secondary schools near Enniscorthy?
No: all 4 secondary schools here are free.
What is the best school in Enniscorthy?
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 Enniscorthy?
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).