School planning area

Dublin–8

16 primary schools and 3,422 pupils in 2025/26, in County Dublin.

Pupils in 2025/26
3,422
+2 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+7.1%
3,196 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
16
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
20.35
Average school size: 213.9

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 Dublin, schools with no planning area had 1.5% of pupils in 2015/16, 5.3% in 2005/06 and 36.8% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

3,422

+2 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

16

9 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

213.9

395.6 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

20.35

−0.10 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. 442 in 2025/26, +20 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). 209 pupils in 2025/26, 6.1% of the area's pupils, against 7.5% 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

15 schools with figures for both years

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

5fell by 10% or more
6within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 1Down 10 to 25% · 4Within 10% · 6Up 10 to 25% · 2Up 25% or more · 2

Average class size in these schools went from 21.1 in 2015/16 to 19.9 in 2025/26. 2 of the 5 schools that fell by 10% or more kept or added classes. 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

1 school still filling its classes in 2015/16 or opened since, with 391 pupils. It isn’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
20.35
Mainstream classes
165
Classes of 30 or more
1
Schools with a class of 30+
1

Teachers

Teachers in the 16 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
165
Up 47 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 39%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 265
Estimate: 165 class teachers, 14 principals and deputies, 75 special education and 11 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
246
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
2 / 1
2 schools 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

1 special school in the Dublin–8 planning area, and the special classes in its 16 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
86
In 1 school, the same as 86 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
11
In 6 of 16 schools. 7 in 2020/21
Allocated for 2026/27
13
In 6 schools: 2 new classes
Autism classes
11
100% of special classes

Special classes since 2020/21

In the Dublin–8 planning area's mainstream schools, from the NCSE's yearly lists

  • 2020/21 7
  • 2021/22 9
  • 2022/23 10
  • 2023/24 11
  • 2024/25 11
  • 2025/26 11
  • 2026/27 13

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Dublin–8 planning area
Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St John of God SP SCHDublin 8 · Moderate general learning disability 86
0.0%
13 37

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

What parents would prefer

1,198 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Dublin–8 planning area: 730 with children at its schools and 468 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
1,198
48% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
58% / 59%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
22% / 36%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
7% / 8%
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

942 pupils (28%) in 3 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 28%
  • Parents: children at school: 58%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 59%

Teaching through Irish

209 pupils (6%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 6%
  • Parents: children at school: 22%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 36%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 7%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 8%

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
Griffith Barracks Multi D SchoolDublin 8 403 171 of 292 ±6.2 97%18%1% 70 answered
Canal Way Educate Together National SchoolDublin 8 391 133 of 306 ±7.1 93%14%1% 48 answered
S N Muire gan Smal BDublin 8 331 95 of 241 ±8.3 32%19%2% –
St. James's Primary SchoolDublin 8 278 46 of 166 ±11.8 35%13%17% 32 answered
St Brigids Primary SchoolDublin 8 229 22 of 147 ±16.5 32%9%27% 53 answered
Presentation Primary SchoolDublin 8 223 34 of 159 ±13.6 41%9%24% –
Gaelscoil Inse ChorBaile Átha Cliath 8 209 68 of 146 ±9.8 68%96%1% 95 answered
Inchicore NSDublin 10 201 55 of 145 ±10.8 55%16%4% –
St Catherines West N SDublin 8 193 84 of 154 ±8.8 63%11%0% 59 answered
Goldenbridge ConventDublin 8 188 35 of 138 ±13.4 34%3%17% –
Scoil Treasa NaofaDublin 8 175 29 of 123 ±14.6 21%24%10% –
St Audoens NSDublin 8 171 42 of 134 ±12.3 26%17%0% –
Scoil na mBratharDublin 8 155 32 of 125 ±14 19%12%6% –
South City CNSDublin 8 148 20 of 101 ±17.3 60%10%0% –
Sancta Maria C B SDublin 8 103 32 of 82 ±14 56%75%6% –
St PatricksDublin 8 24 9 of 22 ±24 33%11%0% 44 answered

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

16 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
Griffith Barracks Multi D SchoolDublin 8 20012S 403
+60.6%
+85.7%
16 25.19 27 0
Canal Way Educate Together National SchoolDublin 8 20430N 391 – – 16 24.44 29 0
S N Muire gan Smal BDublin 8 17083B 331
+2.5%
+25.4%
16 20.69 24 0
St. James's Primary SchoolDublin 8 20429F 278
+11.6%
– 16 16.62 24 0
St Brigids Primary SchoolDublin 8 16786H 229
−11.6%
+6.5%
12 19.08 27 0
Presentation Primary SchoolDublin 8 13611D 223
−18.9%
−30.1%
13 16.23 24 0
Gaelscoil Inse ChorBaile Átha Cliath 8 19589U 209
−13.3%
−1.4%
8 26.12 30 1
Inchicore NSDublin 10 20139T 201
−9.0%
−6.1%
10 20.10 26 0
St Catherines West N SDublin 8 15625B 193
−9.0%
+109.8%
8 24.12 28 0
Goldenbridge ConventDublin 8 07546J 188
−34.0%
−13.0%
10 17.60 23 0
Scoil Treasa NaofaDublin 8 19933J 175
−3.8%
+36.7%
8 21.88 25 0
St Audoens NSDublin 8 20104A 171
−9.0%
+34.6%
8 20.00 22 0
Scoil na mBratharDublin 8 18477E 155
+24.0%
+29.2%
8 17.88 23 0
South City CNSDublin 8 14556D 148
+8.8%
−3.3%
8 18.50 23 0
Sancta Maria C B SDublin 8 17893N 103
+58.5%
−14.9%
6 16.17 21 0
St PatricksDublin 8 19480V 24
−22.6%
−4.0%
2 12.00 13 0