Schools
Part of Religion in Ireland. See also the Primary School Survey 2026, census and marriages and the charities landscape.
The patronage landscape in Ireland
All primary schools in Ireland are funded by the State, but each one has a patron, and the patron sets the school’s ethos. Almost nine in ten have a Catholic patron.
2,705 schools · 472,651 pupils (88.2% of pupils)
Presbyterian, Methodist, Jewish, Muslim, Quaker and inter-denominational · 206 schools · 3.9% of pupils
156 schools · 42,001 pupils (7.8% of pupils)
Figure 1. Mainstream primary schools by patronage. Left: denominational schools, Catholic (blue) and Church of Ireland and other faiths (orange). Right: multi-denominational schools. Hover over or tap a school for its name and county. Inter-denominational schools, run jointly by more than one church, count as denominational. Pupil numbers are each school’s enrolment in the same list. Data: Department of Education, data on individual schools, using the latest list published. Code: make_maps.py. Open full screen.
Denominational ethos
- Faith formation in the patron’s religion during the school day
- Sacramental preparation in class time (Catholic schools)
- Ethos integrated across the school day; parents may opt children out of religious instruction
Multi-denominational ethos
- Ethics and values curriculum (for example Learn Together, or Goodness Me, Goodness You!)
- Learning about religions and beliefs, not formation in one
- Faith formation, where offered, outside school hours or by belief groups
Every school by ethos
Figure 2. Every mainstream primary school by its ethos as the Department records it. Click a group in the legend to show or hide it. Data: Department of Education, data on individual schools, using the latest list published. Code: make_maps.py. Open full screen.
What parents say they want is on the Primary School Survey 2026 page.