School planning area

Carrigaline

6 primary schools and 2,506 pupils in 2025/26, in County Cork.

Pupils in 2025/26
2,506
−10 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+64.7%
1,522 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
6
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
23.63
Average school size: 417.7

Each year counts the schools in this planning area today, plus any that closed from 2023/24. Dotted lines bridge 1983/84 to 1992/93. 1974/75 is left out because that year's source file is missing five counties.

Earlier years are incomplete

The Department's files only record planning areas from 2023/24, so schools that closed or amalgamated before then aren't counted in any area. The further back you go, the more pupils are missing, and an amalgamation can look like a sudden rise. Across County Cork, schools with no planning area had 3.2% of pupils in 2015/16, 8.7% in 2005/06 and 29.9% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

2,506

−10 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

6

2 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

417.7

63.5 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

23.63

−0.16 on 2024/25

2006/072025/26

Pupils in these schools

Junior infants, girls and boys, and Irish-medium schools over time, for the same schools as the trends above.

Junior infants

Pupils starting school each year. Class-by-class figures start in 2020/21. 302 in 2025/26, +26 on 2024/25.

Girls and boys

From 1976/77: earlier files don't split every school's pupils into girls and boys.

Irish-medium schools

Pupils in schools that teach all subjects through Irish (1 school today). 591 pupils in 2025/26, 23.6% of the area's pupils, against 37.8% in 2015/16. Each school counts under its current classification for every year.

Growing and falling since 2015/16

Each school's change in pupils over 10 years, from 2015/16 to 2025/26. A change of 10% or more either way counts as growing or falling.

Every school's change

4 schools with figures for both years

Schools still filling their classes in 2015/16, and schools opened since, are listed separately.

0fell by 10% or more
3within 10%
1grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 0Down 10 to 25% · 0Within 10% · 3Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 0

Average class size in these schools went from 26.8 in 2015/16 to 24.1 in 2025/26. A fall in pupils can mean smaller classes rather than fewer children wanting places. Smaller classes

Sort the table below by the change column to see which schools grew or fell most.

Newer schools

2 schools still filling their classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 921 pupils between them. They aren’t in the figures above.

Class sizes

Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to.

Average class size
23.63
Mainstream classes
103
Classes of 30 or more
0
Schools with a class of 30+
0

Teachers

Teachers in the 6 mainstream primary schools here, 2006/07 to 2025/26. Class teachers are counted every year; all teaching posts where they're known.

How we count teachers
Class teachers in 2025/26
103
Up 73 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 198%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 163
Estimate: 103 class teachers, 8 principals and deputies, 40 special education and 12 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
80
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
1 / 1
1 school gained a class teacher, 1 lost one

Class teachers since 2006/07

One for each mainstream class, every school year

Special schools and special classes

2 special schools in the Carrigaline planning area, and the special classes in its 6 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
95
In 2 schools, up from 42 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
12
In 6 of 6 schools. 8 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
13
In 6 schools: 1 new class
Autism classes
12
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

In the Carrigaline planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists

  • 2020/21 8
  • 2021/22 9
  • 2022/23 11
  • 2023/24 11
  • 2024/25 11
  • 2025/26 12
  • 2026/27 13

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Carrigaline planning area
Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
Sonas Special Primary Junior SchoolArdnacloghy · Autism 48
+14.3%
8 23.15
Carrigaline Community Special SchoolCarrigaline · Community special school 47 – 9 23

Sources: Department of Education enrolment lists; NCSE special class lists and special school allocations (CC BY 4.0).

What parents would prefer

1,318 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Carrigaline planning area: 903 with children at its schools and 415 with children not yet at school. Each said whether they would prefer co-educational or single-sex schooling, a denominational or multi-denominational patron, and teaching through Irish or English.

Compare with other areas
Households that answered
1,318
47% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
50% / 57%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
22% / 25%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
5% / 6%
Children at school / not yet at school

Preferences beside what the schools offer now

Share of pupils in schools of each kind in the area, and share of parents who would prefer it

  • Pupils in such schools now
  • Parents: children at school
  • Parents: children not yet at school

Multi-denominational patron

542 pupils (22%) in 2 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 22%
  • Parents: children at school: 50%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 57%

Teaching through Irish

591 pupils (24%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 24%
  • Parents: children at school: 22%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 25%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 5%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 6%

Bars run from 0 to 100%.

Each school's parents

Parents of children at each school. Bold marks the school's set-up now.

Share of parents at each school who would prefer each
Holy Well National School (Scoil Tobair Naofa)Carrigaline 803 267 of 584 ±5 37%5%4% 112 answered
Gaelscoil Charraig Ui LeighinCarraig Uí Leighin 591 161 of 383 ±6.4 39%92%0% 82 answered
Carrigaline Educate Together NSCarrigaline 424 139 of 295 ±6.9 88%6%3% 39 answered
Ballygarvan N SBallygarvan 366 75 of 218 ±9.3 40%9%3% 37 answered
St Mary's Church of Ireland N.SCarrigaline 204 39 of 146 ±12.7 54%8%5% –
Owenabue ETNSCarrigaline 118 46 of 90 ±11.8 91%11%0% –

Grey margins of error are 15 points or more: so few parents answered that the figures could be well off. “Too few to publish”: the Department held back the school's results, but its parents' answers still count in the area figures. Not yet at school: how many parents of children not yet at school chose the school, shown where 30 or more did. Special schools in the area are counted in the area figures above.

Source: Department of Education and Youth, Primary School Survey results, published 23 June 2026. The area figures count each household once, including parents at schools too small for their own results, so they aren't the school figures added up. About these figures

Schools

6 schools, largest first. A dash in the change column means the school had no pupils recorded in that year, usually because it opened later or took a new roll number after an amalgamation.

Change over

Select a column heading to sort

Roll number
Holy Well National School (Scoil Tobair Naofa)Carrigaline 20550A 803 – – 34 23.09 29 0
Gaelscoil Charraig Ui LeighinCarraig Uí Leighin 19881Q 591
+2.6%
+53.1%
24 24.38 27 0
Carrigaline Educate Together NSCarrigaline 20310D 424
+20.5%
– 16 25.38 28 0
Ballygarvan N SBallygarvan 16746S 366
−5.9%
+100.0%
16 22.50 29 0
St Mary's Church of Ireland N.SCarrigaline 18279A 204
−0.5%
−8.5%
8 24.00 26 0
Owenabue ETNSCarrigaline 20534C 118 – – 5 21.20 28 0