School planning area

Granard

11 primary schools and 820 pupils in 2025/26, in Counties Cavan, Longford and Westmeath.

Pupils in 2025/26
820
−9 on 2024/25
Since 2015/16
+2.0%
804 pupils in 2015/16
Schools
11
No change on 2024/25
Average class size
18.09
Average school size: 74.5

By county

This planning area crosses county lines. Select a county to see its part of the area.

Change over
Longford 7 522
+15.2%
+30.5%
Cavan 2 257
−8.5%
+17.4%
Westmeath 2 41
−41.4%
−59.0%

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 Counties Cavan, Longford and Westmeath, schools with no planning area had 0.0% of pupils in 2015/16, 2.6% in 2005/06 and 31.6% in 1975/76. Known data issues

Pupils

820

−9 on 2024/25

1975/762025/26

Schools

11

8 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average pupils per school

74.5

84.0 in 1975/76

1975/762025/26

Average class size

18.09

+0.18 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. 92 in 2025/26, No change 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

No school in this area teaches all subjects through Irish.

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

11 schools with figures for both years

5fell by 10% or more
2within 10%
4grew by 10% or more
Down 25% or more · 2Down 10 to 25% · 3Within 10% · 2Up 10 to 25% · 1Up 25% or more · 3

Average class size in these schools went from 22.3 in 2015/16 to 18.1 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.

Class sizes

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

Average class size
18.09
Mainstream classes
44
Classes of 30 or more
0
Schools with a class of 30+
0

Teachers

Teachers in the 11 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
44
Up 10 since 2006/07, while pupils rose 12%
Teaching posts in 2025/26
about 66
Estimate: 44 class teachers, 2 principals and deputies, 16 special education and 4 special class teachers
Teachers in 2015/16
51
The Department's last count of every teacher
Since 2024/25
0 / 1
0 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

0 special schools in the Granard planning area, and the special classes in the 11 mainstream schools. Special schools aren't counted in the pupils, class sizes or teachers above.

All special schools
Pupils in special schools
0
No special school here
Special classes in 2025/26
4
In 2 of 11 schools. 1 in 2021/22
Allocated for 2026/27
6
In 2 schools: 2 new classes
Autism classes
3
75% of special classes

Special classes since 2021/22

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

  • 2021/22 1
  • 2022/23 1
  • 2023/24 2
  • 2024/25 4
  • 2025/26 4
  • 2026/27 6

2026/27, dashed: allocated for next year.

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

What parents would prefer

372 households answered the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey for the Granard planning area: 237 with children at its schools and 135 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
372
60% of households asked
Prefer a multi-denominational patron
32% / 23%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer teaching through Irish
15% / 21%
Children at school / not yet at school
Prefer single-sex
2% / 1%
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

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 32%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 23%

Teaching through Irish

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 15%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 21%

Single-sex

No school here now

  • Pupils in such schools now: 0%
  • Parents: children at school: 2%
  • Parents: children not yet at school: 1%

Bars run from 0 to 50%.

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 Sacred Heart Primary NSGranard 250 67 of 160 ±9.9 42%9%6% –
Mullahoran Central N SKilcogy 164 50 of 97 ±11.3 20%14%0% –
St Patricks MXD N SLoch Gowna 93 36 of 62 ±13.2 39%17%0% –
Naomh Padraig N SCoolarty 57 21 of 29 ±16.9 19%29%5% –
St Columbas MXD N SDring 56 21 of 27 ±16.9 33%24%0% –
Scoil MhuireGranard 45 16 of 25 ±19 31%0%0% –
Naomh Guasachta N SBallinalee 44 Too few to publish – ––– –
Killasonna Mixed N SGranard 41 6 of 10 ±27.9 50%17%0% –
S N Naomh FiontanMullingar 29 17 of 23 ±18.5 12%18%0% –
St Bernards Mixed N SAbbeylara 29 11 of 18 ±22.2 36%9%0% –
Naomh Muire N SMullingar 12 5 of 7 ±29.6 60%0%20% –

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

11 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 Sacred Heart Primary NSGranard 20101R Longford 250
+54.3%
+204.9%
13 17.85 22 0
Mullahoran Central N SKilcogy 19363R Cavan 164
−3.0%
+20.6%
7 22.57 26 0
St Patricks MXD N SLoch Gowna 13203L Cavan 93
−17.0%
+12.0%
4 23.25 27 0
Naomh Padraig N SCoolarty 13752V Longford 57
+32.6%
+58.3%
3 19.00 26 0
St Columbas MXD N SDring 12813K Longford 56
+64.7%
+40.0%
3 18.67 27 0
Scoil MhuireGranard 17644P Longford 45
−49.4%
−35.7%
3 15.00 20 0
Naomh Guasachta N SBallinalee 12736S Longford 44
+10.0%
−27.9%
3 14.67 18 0
Killasonna Mixed N SGranard 14300O Longford 41
−19.6%
−6.8%
2 20.50 24 0
S N Naomh FiontanMullingar 18193N Westmeath 29
−49.1%
−60.3%
2 14.50 16 0
St Bernards Mixed N SAbbeylara 15122V Longford 29
−14.7%
−56.7%
2 14.50 17 0
Naomh Muire N SMullingar 17743R Westmeath 12
−7.7%
−55.6%
2 6.00 7 0