School planning area

Dunlaoghaire

14 primary schools and 4,394 pupils in 2025/26, in County Dublin.

Pupils in 2025/26
4,394
−81 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+0.2%
4,385 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
14
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
23.08
Average school size: 313.9

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

4,394

−81 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

14

10 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

313.9

373.1 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

23.08

−0.44 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. 502 in 2025/26, −17 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). 485 pupils in 2025/26, 11.0% of the area's pupils, against 11.1% 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

13 schools with figures for both years

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

6fell by 10% or more
5within 10%
2grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 0Down 10 to 25% · 6Within 10% · 5Up 10 to 25% · 0Up 25% or more · 2

Average class size in these schools went from 26.1 in 2015/16 to 23.1 in 2025/26. 4 of the 6 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 177 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
23.08
Mainstream classes
188
Classes of 30 or more
14
Schools with a class of 30+
5

Teachers

Teachers in the 14 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
188
Up 41 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 14%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 274
Estimate: 188 class teachers, 12 principals and deputies, 65 special education and 9 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
242
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
2 / 2
2 schools gained a class teacher, 2 lost one

Class teachers since 2006/07

One for each mainstream class, every school year

Special schools and special classes

5 special schools in the Dunlaoghaire planning area, and the special classes in its 14 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
354
In 5 schools, up from 342 in 2015/16
Special classes in 2025/26
9
In 6 of 14 schools. 6 in 2021/22
Allocated for 2026/27
13
In 7 schools: 4 new classes, 1 school with its first
Autism classes
8
89% of special classes

Special classes since 2021/22

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

  • 2021/22 6
  • 2022/23 6
  • 2023/24 6
  • 2024/25 9
  • 2025/26 9
  • 2026/27 13

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

Special schools in the Dunlaoghaire planning area
Special school Pupils Since 2015/16 Teaching posts SNAs
St Augustines SchoolBlackrock · Mild general learning disability 157
−9.8%
22 32
Setanta Special SchoolStillorgan · Autism 68
+17.2%
12 35
St Oliver Plunkett SP SCBlackrock · Specific learning disability 63
0.0%
9 5
Carmona Special National SchoolDun Laoghaire · Severe or profound general learning disability 37
+5.7%
9.6 24
Red Door Special SchoolMonkstown · Autism 29 – 6 24.5

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

What parents would prefer

1,597 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Dunlaoghaire planning area: 970 with children at its schools and 627 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
1,597
44% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
63% / 64%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
20% / 25%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
7% / 12%
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

177 pupils (4%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 4%
  • Parents: children at school: 63%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 64%

Teaching through Irish

485 pupils (11%) in 1 school

  • Pupils in such schools now: 11%
  • Parents: children at school: 20%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 25%

Single-sex

1,397 pupils (32%) in 4 schools

  • Pupils in such schools now: 32%
  • Parents: children at school: 7%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 12%

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
The Harold SchoolGlasthule 642 156 of 462 ±6.5 68%19%1% 109 answered
Scoil Padraig Naofa BBlackrock 499 192 of 409 ±5.9 55%11%17% 49 answered
Scoil LorcáinBaile na Manach 485 107 of 331 ±7.9 58%92%1% 56 answered
St Patricks GNSDublin 18 478 181 of 404 ±6.1 50%14%19% 44 answered
Oatlands Primary School, An Edmund Rice SchoolBlackrock 428 91 of 321 ±8.5 51%8%11% –
Scoil na nAingealBlackrock 410 137 of 319 ±7 54%16%1% 48 answered
St JosephsDun Laoghaire 370 100 of 281 ±8.1 65%12%3% 31 answered
Loreto National SchoolDalkey 314 92 of 245 ±8.5 51%17%15% 44 answered
Clochar San DominicDun Laoghaire 184 30 of 131 ±14.4 50%3%0% –
Dun Laoghaire ETNSMonkstown 177 61 of 137 ±10.3 98%8%0% –
Holy Family SchoolGlenageary 149 25 of 104 ±15.6 56%16%4% –
Harold Boys N SDalkey 106 30 of 91 ±14.4 53%10%20% –
Dalkey N S (2)Dalkey 101 19 of 63 ±17.7 63%26%0% –
All Saints N SBlackrock 51 21 of 36 ±16.9 71%19%5% –

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

14 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
The Harold SchoolGlasthule 20141G 642
−5.6%
+30.8%
27 23.56 28 0
Scoil Padraig Naofa BBlackrock 19258U 499
−22.9%
−16.8%
21 23.48 30 1
Scoil LorcáinBaile na Manach 18451J 485
−0.6%
+11.2%
19 25.53 31 9
St Patricks GNSDublin 18 19259W 478
−15.2%
+1.3%
20 23.90 35 2
Oatlands Primary School, An Edmund Rice SchoolBlackrock 17954H 428
−0.7%
+44.6%
17 25.18 30 1
Scoil na nAingealBlackrock 19335M 410
−11.4%
−7.2%
17 24.12 28 0
St JosephsDun Laoghaire 19938T 370
+174.1%
+176.1%
17 21.35 27 0
Loreto National SchoolDalkey 19066L 314
−16.9%
+1.6%
12 25.17 29 0
Clochar San DominicDun Laoghaire 05600C 184
−6.6%
−7.1%
10 17.20 21 0
Dun Laoghaire ETNSMonkstown 20503O 177 – – 8 22.12 32 1
Holy Family SchoolGlenageary 19840C 149
+26.3%
+24.2%
8 17.12 22 0
Harold Boys N SDalkey 15132B 106
−12.4%
+34.2%
5 21.20 25 0
Dalkey N S (2)Dalkey 14647G 101
+1.0%
+4.1%
4 25.25 27 0
All Saints N SBlackrock 10494K 51
−19.0%
−8.9%
3 17.00 20 0