Gaelscoil Donncha Rua
Sionna · Roll number 19849U
- Catholic ethos
- DEIS
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- All subjects through Irish
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 68
- −4 on 2024/25
- Over 10 years
- +5%
- Up 3 from 65 in 2015/16
- 3 classes in 2015/16, 3 now; average class 21.7 → 18.7
- Over 20 years: +24% from 55 in 2005/06
- Girls and boys
- 35 / 33
- 51% girls
Pupils since 1993
Total enrolment each school year
Shaded: the last 10 years, 2015/16 to 2025/26.
Pupils by class
Published for each class from 2020/21.
This year, 2025/26
68 pupils across 8 classes
Every class, every year
Darker cells have more pupils. A group of pupils moves down one class and right one year.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | 2025/26 | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Infants | 7 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 17 | 9.8 |
| Senior Infants | 6 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 8.2 |
| 1st Class | 7 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7.5 |
| 2nd Class | 10 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 7.8 |
| 3rd Class | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8.2 |
| 4th Class | 5 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 7.2 |
| 5th Class | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6.5 |
| 6th Class | 10 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 7.3 |
JI and SI are Junior and Senior Infants.
Started Junior Infants in 2024/25
6 in Junior Infants (2024/25), 6 in Senior Infants (2025/26): no change.
- 6Junior Infants2024/25
- 6Senior Infants2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2023/24
8 in Junior Infants (2023/24), 7 in 1st Class (2025/26): 1 pupil fewer.
- 8Junior Infants2023/24
- 8Senior Infants2024/25
- 71st Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2022/23
10 in Junior Infants (2022/23), 6 in 2nd Class (2025/26): 4 pupils fewer.
- 10Junior Infants2022/23
- 9Senior Infants2023/24
- 71st Class2024/25
- 62nd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2021/22
11 in Junior Infants (2021/22), 12 in 3rd Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 11Junior Infants2021/22
- 11Senior Infants2022/23
- 121st Class2023/24
- 112nd Class2024/25
- 123rd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2020/21
7 in Junior Infants (2020/21), 8 in 4th Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 7Junior Infants2020/21
- 9Senior Infants2021/22
- 71st Class2022/23
- 82nd Class2023/24
- 73rd Class2024/25
- 84th Class2025/26
In Senior Infants in 2020/21
6 in Senior Infants (2020/21), 5 in 5th Class (2025/26): 1 pupil fewer.
- 6Senior Infants2020/21
- 51st Class2021/22
- 52nd Class2022/23
- 53rd Class2023/24
- 54th Class2024/25
- 55th Class2025/26
In 1st Class in 2020/21
7 in 1st Class (2020/21), 7 in 6th Class (2025/26): no change.
- 71st Class2020/21
- 72nd Class2021/22
- 73rd Class2022/23
- 74th Class2023/24
- 65th Class2024/25
- 76th Class2025/26
In 2nd Class in 2020/21
10 in 2nd Class (2020/21), 10 in 6th Class (2024/25): no change.
- 102nd Class2020/21
- 103rd Class2021/22
- 104th Class2022/23
- 105th Class2023/24
- 106th Class2024/25
In 3rd Class in 2020/21
8 in 3rd Class (2020/21), 6 in 6th Class (2023/24): 2 pupils fewer.
- 83rd Class2020/21
- 84th Class2021/22
- 75th Class2022/23
- 66th Class2023/24
In 4th Class in 2020/21
5 in 4th Class (2020/21), 5 in 6th Class (2022/23): no change.
- 54th Class2020/21
- 55th Class2021/22
- 56th Class2022/23
In 5th Class in 2020/21
6 in 5th Class (2020/21), 6 in 6th Class (2021/22): no change.
- 65th Class2020/21
- 66th Class2021/22
Biggest one-year changes in a class
- +11Junior Infants in 2025/26 (6 to 17)
- −51st Class in 2024/25 (12 to 7)
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups, 2006/07 to 2025/26.
Why these won't match pupils by class
Mainstream class groups only. The source does not identify which standard/year group each class group belongs to. So these figures won't match the pupils-by-class figures exactly.
In 2025/26. Choose a figure to chart it.
Class sizes over time
Average class size, 2006/07 to 2025/26
Teachers
Who teaches at Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, 2006/07 to 2025/26.
How we count teachers
Class teachers come from the Department of Education's class sizes: one for each mainstream class. Special education and special class teachers are the posts the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates. We add a principal who doesn't teach a class where the Department's rules give the school one. These are posts, not people: part of a post can be a teacher shared with another school. Up to 2015/16 the Department counted every teacher itself. Known data issues
In 2025/26
7.4teaching posts
Our estimate: about 7 teachers.
- Class teachersOne for each of the 3 mainstream classes 3
- PrincipalDoesn't teach a class: schools with two or more special classes have a full-time principal 1
- Special education teachers35 hours of support teaching a week 1.4
- Special class teachersFor an early intervention class and an autism class 2
4.66 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils. 12 pupils are in special classes, which the class sizes leave out.
The NCSE has allocated 1.4 special education teachers, 2 special class teachers and 4.66 SNAs for next year.
Teachers since 2006/07
Teachers each school year, by role
To 2015/16: the Department of Education's count of every teacher. From 2019/20: our estimate, from class sizes and the NCSE's allocations. Dashed boxes: no special education figures were published for those years, so only class teachers and the principal are shown. Where there's no principal bar, the principal also taught a class. Known data issues
Sources: Department of Education class sizes and teacher counts; NCSE school allocations and special classes (CC BY 4.0).
Nearby schools
The 6 primary schools closest to Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, measured in a straight line. Pupil numbers are for 2025/26.
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil Donncha RuaThis school | – | 68 |
+4.6%
|
|
| 1 | St Conaires NS0.4 km · Shannon | 0.4 km | 338 |
−32.1%
|
| 2 | Naomh Tola0.7 km · Shannon | 0.7 km | 218 |
−3.5%
|
| 3 | St Aidans NS1.0 km · Shannon | 1.0 km | 260 |
−2.6%
|
| 4 | Shannon Airport 1 N S1.2 km · Shannon · DEIS | 1.2 km | 113 |
−10.3%
|
| 5 | Shannon Airport No 2 NS1.4 km · Shannon · Church of Ireland | 1.4 km | 51 |
+410.0%
|
| 6 | S N Cluain Muinge3.0 km · Newmarket-on-Fergus | 3.0 km | 205 |
+36.7%
|
What parents would prefer
In the Department of Education and Youth's Primary School Survey (November–December 2025), parents said whether they would prefer this school to be co-educational or single-sex, to have a denominational or multi-denominational patron, and to teach through Irish or English. These are preferences, not applications or enrolments.
Children at this school
Their parents: 13 of 52 households answered (25%). The true figures are likely within 20.8 points either way.
Patron
Teaching language
Boys and girls
Children not yet at school
Fewer than 30 parents of children not yet at school chose this school, so the Department didn't publish their answers.
The bracket shows the margin of error the Department published for this school: 20.8 points either way.
| Parents of | Multi-denominational | Through Irish | Single-sex |
|---|---|---|---|
| This school · children at school | 54% | 77% | 0% |
| Shannon planning area · children at school | 43% | 14% | 2% |
| Shannon planning area · children not yet at school | 50% | 22% | 3% |
| Ireland · children at school | 44% | 20% | 5% |
| Ireland · children not yet at school | 47% | 26% | 6% |
Source: Department of Education and Youth, Primary School Survey results, published 23 June 2026. Planning-area and Ireland figures also count parents at schools where too few answered for the school to get its own results. About these figures
About this school
Inspection reports open on gov.ie, under the name the school had when it was inspected. They describe specific areas of the school's work rather than giving an overall grade. Newer schools may not have one yet.
Contact
- Principal
- Aisling Ní Áirtnéada
- Phone
- 061363165
- [email protected]
- Address
- Bóthar Linne, Sionna, Co An Chláir, V14 AY84
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Patron
- Bishop of Killaloe
- School type
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- School level
- All Through
- DEIS
- DEIS
Language and area
- Irish classification
- All subjects through Irish
- Gaeltacht
- Non-Gaeltacht
- Island
- Not on an island
- Local authority
- Clare County Council
- Planning area
- Shannon
Each detail is the latest one the Department of Education has recorded for this school. If a detail was left blank in 2025/26, we show it from an earlier year, so some details may be older than the pupil numbers. Known data issues
Data by year
33 school years from 1993/94 to 2025/26. Class figures start in 2020/21.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys | JI | SI | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 68 | 35 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| 2024/25 | 72 | 39 | 33 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 2023/24 | 76 | 38 | 38 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 6 |
| 2022/23 | 73 | 37 | 36 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 5 |
| 2021/22 | 72 | 38 | 34 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 |
| 2020/21 | 70 | 35 | 35 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 10 |
| 2019/20 | 66 | 31 | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018/19 | 77 | 32 | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 76 | 31 | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2016/17 | 76 | 32 | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 65 | 33 | 32 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 67 | 36 | 31 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 78 | 41 | 37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012/13 | 79 | 40 | 39 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2011/12 | 83 | 46 | 37 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010/11 | 75 | 46 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009/10 | 70 | 46 | 24 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008/09 | 60 | 40 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2007/08 | 58 | 35 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2006/07 | 54 | 32 | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2005/06 | 55 | 32 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2004/05 | 56 | 30 | 26 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2003/04 | 52 | 29 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002/03 | 52 | 29 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2001/02 | 58 | 29 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2000/01 | 53 | 24 | 29 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1999/00 | 57 | 27 | 30 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998/99 | 62 | 27 | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1997/98 | 61 | 26 | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1996/97 | 58 | 23 | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1995/96 | 68 | 26 | 42 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1994/95 | 89 | 40 | 49 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1993/94 | 108 | 46 | 62 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |