Ireland's primary schools in numbers
There are 3,217 primary schools in Ireland, teaching 545,705 pupils.
- 3,217 schools
- 545,705 pupils
- 252 Irish-medium
- 954 DEIS
- 150 special schools
- 12 island schools
The headlines
- There are 3,217 primary schools in Ireland, teaching 545,705 pupils.
- 87% have a Catholic ethos. 252 teach through Irish, and 954 are in the DEIS programme.
- The average mainstream school has about 178 pupils. 565 have fewer than 50, and 119 have 500 or more.
- 3,012 schools take boys and girls, 81 are girls only and 123 are boys only.
The 10 biggest
- St Brigid's Kildare Town Primary School Kildare Town, Co. Kildare · 1,025 pupils
- St Marys Parish Primary School Drogheda, Co. Louth · 967 pupils
- St Aidans Parish School Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford · 869 pupils
- St Patricks NS Dublin 15, Co. Dublin · 867 pupils
- Castlebar Primary School Castlebar, Co. Mayo · 864 pupils
- Scoil Moin A Lin Castletroy, Co. Limerick · 847 pupils
- St Oliver Plunkett Malahide, Co. Dublin · 838 pupils
- St Brigids Mixed NS Dublin 15, Co. Dublin · 834 pupils
- SN Naomh Mochta Dublin 15, Co. Dublin · 805 pupils
- St Stephens NS Navan, Co. Meath · 805 pupils
The 10 smallest
- Leaffoney NS Kilglass, Co. Sligo · 1 pupils
- SN Naomh Antoine Clifden, Co. Galway · 2 pupils
- SN Cleire An Sciobairín, Co. Cork · 3 pupils
- St Columbas NS Inishturk, Co. Mayo · 3 pupils
- Drung No 2 NS Drung, Co. Cavan · 4 pupils
- Killusty NS Fethard, Co. Tipperary · 4 pupils
- SN Duchoraidh Duchoraidh, Co. Donegal · 4 pupils
- Cluain Draigneach Inis, Co. Clare · 5 pupils
- SN Chill Coinnigh Glenties, Co. Donegal · 5 pupils
- SN Fhionntra Killybegs, Co. Donegal · 5 pupils
Mainstream schools only.
By ethos
| Ethos | Schools | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 2,806 | 87% |
| Multi-denominational | 195 | 6% |
| Church of Ireland | 168 | 5% |
| Inter-denominational | 17 | 1% |
| Presbyterian | 17 | 1% |
| Not known | 9 | 0% |
| Muslim | 2 | 0% |
| Methodist | 1 | 0% |
| Jewish | 1 | 0% |
| Quaker | 1 | 0% |
What school ethos means · Multi-denominational schools by county
County by county
| County | Schools | Pupils | Average size | Irish-medium | Multi-denominational | DEIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 44 | 7,418 | 172 | 1 | 2 | 16 (36%) |
| Cavan | 76 | 9,893 | 129 | 1 | 3 | 17 (22%) |
| Clare | 111 | 13,164 | 118 | 4 | 3 | 28 (25%) |
| Cork | 354 | 61,147 | 179 | 28 | 19 | 53 (15%) |
| Donegal | 173 | 19,150 | 110 | 39 | 4 | 128 (74%) |
| Dublin | 514 | 136,043 | 290 | 41 | 90 | 175 (34%) |
| Galway | 225 | 29,816 | 136 | 42 | 10 | 61 (27%) |
| Kerry | 133 | 15,865 | 120 | 18 | 5 | 36 (27%) |
| Kildare | 107 | 29,387 | 287 | 8 | 16 | 15 (14%) |
| Kilkenny | 73 | 10,756 | 154 | 1 | 3 | 11 (15%) |
| Laois | 65 | 10,986 | 172 | 3 | 2 | 15 (23%) |
| Leitrim | 37 | 3,908 | 106 | 2 | 0 | 16 (43%) |
| Limerick | 142 | 22,626 | 165 | 6 | 6 | 37 (26%) |
| Longford | 38 | 5,250 | 141 | 1 | 0 | 17 (45%) |
| Louth | 73 | 17,251 | 243 | 2 | 5 | 19 (26%) |
| Mayo | 155 | 14,945 | 98 | 13 | 3 | 79 (51%) |
| Meath | 116 | 25,898 | 227 | 9 | 10 | 12 (10%) |
| Monaghan | 63 | 7,976 | 128 | 4 | 2 | 16 (25%) |
| Offaly | 68 | 9,337 | 139 | 3 | 2 | 25 (37%) |
| Roscommon | 88 | 8,040 | 91 | 1 | 1 | 28 (32%) |
| Sligo | 64 | 7,664 | 121 | 1 | 1 | 21 (33%) |
| Tipperary | 156 | 18,607 | 120 | 5 | 2 | 45 (29%) |
| Waterford | 76 | 13,860 | 186 | 7 | 2 | 19 (25%) |
| Westmeath | 77 | 11,348 | 152 | 3 | 4 | 19 (25%) |
| Wexford | 103 | 18,133 | 178 | 3 | 6 | 32 (31%) |
| Wicklow | 86 | 17,237 | 207 | 6 | 11 | 14 (16%) |
Figures from the Department of Education's published list of primary schools and enrolments (2025). Free to reuse with a link to this page.
Lists: Gaelscoileanna · Special schools · Multi-denominational schools · DEIS schools · Gaeltacht schools · Girls' schools · Boys' schools