Gaelcholáiste na Mara
Pairc Na bPiarsach, Bothar an Ghleanntain, Arklow, Co.Wicklow · Y14 DX27 · Roll number 76106S
Gaelcholáiste na Mara is one of 4 post-primary schools in or within 3 km of Arklow. Every school in and around Arklow →
What stands out about Gaelcholáiste na Mara
- A small post-primary school: 279 pupils, against a typical 585.
- About as many pupils as in 2019/20 (+2%).
- Every subject is taught through Irish.
- The smallest of the 4 post-primary schools around Arklow.
- An ETB school: run by the county’s Education and Training Board.
- Its patron is the Kildare & Wicklow ETB; its ethos is multi-denominational.
Pupils over time
2015/16 to 2025/26Gaelcholáiste na Mara had 279 pupils in 2025/26, against 203 in 2015/16 (+37%). Girls are 48% of them. Its largest roll was 323, in 2022/23. 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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara
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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara 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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara
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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara
Every school admits under its own published admission policy; no admissions numbers are published.
Families apply to Gaelcholáiste na Mara directly, usually in the year before their child finishes sixth class; 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 teaches every subject through Irish.
No figures on applications are published, but the roll shows demand: Gaelcholáiste na Mara is about the size it was in 2019/20 (+2%). All the schools around Arklow together changed by −7%.
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 post-primary schools
2025/26The nearest schools of the same kind, as the crow flies: their pupils, ethos and language. No results: none are published.
Each of the 6 nearest post-primary schools has more pupils than Gaelcholáiste na Mara. Since 2019/20 its roll has changed by +2%; 3 of the 5 grew faster.
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelcholáiste na Mara | 279 | +2% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | ||
| Arklow CBS | 392 | +5% | Catholic | English | 0.4 km | |
| Glenart College | 633 | +52% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 0.8 km |
| St Marys College | 527 | −5% | Catholic | English | 0.8 km | |
| Avondale Community College | 644 | +20% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Gorey Educate Together Secondary School | 323 | – | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 16 km |
| Gorey Community School | 1,546 | +1% | Inter-denominational | English | 16 km |
The other 18 post-primary schools in Co. Wicklow
| School | Pupils | Since 2019/20 | Ethos | Language | DEIS | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican College | 461 | −0% | Catholic | English | 21 km | |
| Coláiste Chill Mhantáin | 995 | +11% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School | 404 | +963% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 22 km |
| East Glendalough School | 365 | −1% | Church of Ireland | English | 22 km | |
| Coláiste Bhríde Carnew | 836 | −4% | Multi-denominational | English | 25 km | |
| Colaiste Chraobh Abhann | 778 | +4% | Multi-denominational | English | 34 km | |
| Greystones Community College | 765 | – | Multi-denominational | English | 37 km | |
| Scoil Chonglais | 452 | −9% | Multi-denominational | English | 39 km | |
| St David's Holy Faith Secondary | 792 | +37% | Catholic | English | 39 km | |
| Temple Carrig Secondary School | 931 | +15% | Church of Ireland | English | 40 km | |
| St. Kilian's Community School | 427 | −4% | Inter-denominational | English | ✓ | 43 km |
| Presentation College | 667 | +4% | Catholic | English | 44 km | |
| Loreto Secondary School | 747 | +0% | Catholic | English | 44 km | |
| St. Gerard's School | 623 | +13% | Catholic | English | 45 km | |
| St Kevin's Community College | 829 | +32% | Multi-denominational | English | ✓ | 45 km |
| North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School | 324 | +43% | Multi-denominational | English | 45 km | |
| Coláiste Raithín | 326 | +11% | Multi-denominational | All in Irish | 46 km | |
| Blessington Community College | 737 | +44% | Multi-denominational | English | 48 km |
Living in Arklow
The town’s figures, not this street’s.
Homes in the Y14 Eircode area
Housing in Arklow →The median sale price rose from €275,000 in 2023 to €300,000 in 2025 (+9%).
New against second-hand, 2023 to 2025
Property Price Register sales in the Y14 Eircode routing area, 2023 to 2025.
Renting in Arklow
Cost of living in Arklow →New tenancies in Arklow averaged €1,359 a month in 2025, against €1,268 in 2024 (+7%).
Residential Tenancies Board rent index, new tenancies, 2024 and 2025.
Location
Directions ↗Arklow, Y14 DX27
Post-primary schools near Gaelcholáiste na Mara
Nearest first, as the crow flies, up to 25 km. Each school’s own admission policy decides who gets a place.
Questions about Gaelcholáiste na Mara
Is Gaelcholáiste na Mara 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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara have?
279 pupils in 2025/26. That is +2% since 2019/20.
Does Gaelcholáiste na Mara teach through Irish?
Yes: every subject at Gaelcholáiste na Mara is taught through Irish.
Who runs Gaelcholáiste na Mara?
Gaelcholáiste na Mara has a multi-denominational ethos. Its patron is Kildare & Wicklow ETB.
How do pupils get a place at Gaelcholáiste na Mara?
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 Gaelcholáiste na Mara?
The nearest are Arklow CBS (0.4 km), Glenart College (0.8 km) and St Marys College (0.8 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 Arklow; 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).