A Gaelscoil (; plural: ) is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland; the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary and second levels on the island of Ireland. Additionally, more than 13,000 students are receiving their primary and second level education through Irish in the Gaeltacht. and Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht are supported and represented by Gaeloideachas and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta or COGG in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta in Northern Ireland. The largest patron body of in the Republic of Ireland is An Foras Pátrúnachta, although the vast majority of schools under their patronage are at primary level.
Students in the acquire the Irish language through language immersion, and study the standard curriculum through it. Gaelscoileanna, unlike English-medium schools, have the reputation of producing competent Irish speakers. English-medium schools, in contrast, produce relatively few fluent Irish speakers, despite the Irish language being an obligatory subject in the Republic of Ireland in both primary and secondary school. This has been attributed in part to the lack of Irish-language immersion programs.http://www.comhairle.org/uploads/publications/Immersion%20Education%20Policy%20SGIP.pdf
Gaelscoileanna have undergone a striking expansion over the last few decades, although there are now concerns that rules limiting the founding of new schools are affecting the establishment of new Irish-medium education in areas where there is competition amongst educational patrons. Their success is due to effective (though limited) community support and an efficient administrative infrastructure. They are distinguished by being the product, not of state policy, but of a genuine community movement.
In 1972, there were only 11 such schools at primary level and five at secondary level in the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2023, there were 188 at primary level, attended by over 40,000 students, and 32 and 17 (Irish language units) at secondary level, attended by over 12,000 students in non-Gaeltacht areas across Ireland. 35 of these primary schools, two of the postprimary schools and four of the postprimary units operated are in Northern Ireland. Additionally, some 4,000 children attend Irish-medium preschools or Naíonraí outside the Gaeltacht with around 1,000 children attending Naíonraí within the Gaeltacht. There is now at least one in every county in Ireland with over 50 in County Dublin; 30 in County Cork and 13 in County Antrim included.
Social status and function have acquired a reputation for providing excellent academic results at a moderate cost. They have been described as a system of "positive social selection" giving better than average access to tertiary education and the social and employment opportunities which follow. An analysis of "feeder" schools which send students on to tertiary level institutions shows that 22% of Irish-medium schools send all their students on to tertiary level, compared to 7% of English-medium schools.
Supporters argue that the bilingualism resulting from early acquisition of another language is of general intellectual benefit and helps children to learn still other languages. Irish-language advocates of the immersion approach sometimes refer to studies showing that bilingual children have advantages over monoglot children in other subjects.
Statistics
Primary level Republic of Ireland (2024-25) North of Ireland (2025) Total no. of schools 3,064 775 No. of Gaelscoileanna (non-Gaeltacht) 150 28 No of Gaelscoileanna (in Gaeltacht) 102 - Total no. of pupils 535,476 174,778 No. Gaelscoil pupils (%) (non-Gaeltacht) 36,136 (6.8%) 4,269 (2.4%) No. Gaelscoil pupils (%) (in Gaeltacht) 7,013 (1.3%) - Sources:
By province (primary level)
Leinster – 19,331 primary students attend 71 . Ulster – 6,801 primary students attend 45 . Munster – 11,332 primary students attend 44 . Connacht – 3,509 primary students attend 18 .
Post-primary education through Irish / Gaelcholásite
A secondary-level located in a non- area is known as a . There are 32 and 17 second-level Irish language units () on the island of Ireland, attended by over 12,000 students. Close to 4,000 further students receive their second-level education through Irish in the .
Two new second-level opened in Ireland in 2014: in Balbriggan and in Rathfarnham (both in County Dublin). opened in Cork's Carrigaline and Gaelcholáiste Dhoire the North of Ireland's second opened in Dungiven Castle in 2015. opened in Cork's Knocknaheeney in 2019. opened in Maynooth in 2020.
Gaelcholáistí are supported and represented on a practical day-to-day basis by Gaeloideachas (who also support Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht), by COGG - An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta (council for gaeltacht and gaelscoileanna education) in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta in the North of Ireland.
In 2023 An Foras Pátrúnacha revealed that there is a demand for 7 new in the Republic of Ireland and in 2021 revealed that there is a demand for 3 new in Northern Ireland.
List of Gaelcholáistí
School nameLocationCountyRegionRef.Coláiste AilighLetterkennyDonegalRepublic of IrelandColáiste ChilliainClondalkinDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste Cois LifeLucanDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste EoinBooterstownDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste FeirsteBelfastAntrimNorthern IrelandColáiste Ghlór na MaraBalbrigganDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste MhuireCabraDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste Ráithín BrayWicklowRepublic of IrelandColáiste an EachréidhAthenryGalwayRepublic of IrelandColáiste an PhiarsaighCorkCorkRepublic of IrelandColáiste de hÍde TallaghtDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste na CoiribeGalwayGalwayRepublic of IrelandColáiste na TulchannClonsillaDublinRepublic of IrelandColáiste ÍosagáinBooterstownDublinRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Charraig Uí LeighinCorkCorkRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste CheatharlachCarlowCarlowRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Chiarraí TraleeKerryRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Chill DaraNaasKildareRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Chéitinn CTI ClonmelTipperaryRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste ChoilmCork CorkRepublic of Ireland Gaelcholáiste DhoireDungivenLondonderryNorthern IrelandGaelcholáiste LuimnighLimerickLimerickRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Mhaigh NuadMaynoothKildareRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Mhic ShuibhneKnocknaheenyCorkRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste Mhuire (A.G.)CorkCorkRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste ReachrannDonaghmedeDublinRepublic of IrelandGaelcholáiste na Mara ArklowWicklowRepublic of IrelandGaelcoláiste an PhiarsaighRathfarnhamDublinRepublic of IrelandMeanscoil GharmanEnniscorthyWexfordRepublic of IrelandScoil ChaitríonaGlasnevinDublinRepublic of Ireland
Strategy proposals The function and future of Gaelscoileanna in the Republic of Ireland falls within the scope of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, published by the then-Irish government in December 2010. This report emphasises the importance of offering all children in primary schools in Ireland the opportunity to experience partial immersion in the formative years of primary education. It calls for primary teachers to have additional immersion classes to improve their competence in the language. This would involve teaching some subjects such as Mathematics and Science in Irish.
See also An Foras Pátrúnachta Calandreta, bilingual French-Occitan school in Occitania, France Diwan (school) – Breton medium education in Brittany Education in the Republic of Ireland Education in Northern Ireland French immersion in Canada Gaelic medium education in Scotland – Scottish Gaelic equivalent in Scotland Ikastola, similar education centre in Basque language Kōhanga reo and Kura Kaupapa M%C4%81ori, Māori language immersion schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand La Bressola, a bilingual French-Catalan school network in Northern Catalonia, France List of Irish medium primary schools in Northern Ireland Medium of instruction Official Languages Act 2003 Welsh medium education
References
External links List of Gaelscoileanna in Ireland (Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland) Gaelscoileanna.ie (website of Gaelscoileanna Teo) Stats on Gaeltacht schools 2004 Gaeltacht Comprehensive Language Study 2007 Gaelscoil stats 2010–2011 Republic of Ireland Census 2006 – daily speakers outside education system