Gaelscoil Phort Laoise
Portlaoise · Roll number 20081O
- Catholic ethos
- Not DEIS
- All subjects through Irish
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 369
- −7 on 2024/25
- Over 10 years
- +24%
- Up 72 from 297 in 2015/16
- Girls and boys
- 187 / 182
- 51% girls
Pupils since 1998
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
369 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 | 45 | 47 | 49 | 44 | 46 | 44 | 45.8 |
| Senior Infants | 58 | 44 | 48 | 47 | 44 | 49 | 48.3 |
| 1st Class | 41 | 54 | 47 | 51 | 45 | 46 | 47.3 |
| 2nd Class | 47 | 41 | 57 | 48 | 52 | 45 | 48.3 |
| 3rd Class | 40 | 48 | 41 | 54 | 47 | 48 | 46.3 |
| 4th Class | 53 | 41 | 50 | 41 | 55 | 46 | 47.7 |
| 5th Class | 27 | 53 | 40 | 50 | 39 | 52 | 43.5 |
| 6th Class | 58 | 27 | 54 | 39 | 48 | 39 | 44.2 |
JI and SI are Junior and Senior Infants.
Started Junior Infants in 2024/25
46 in Junior Infants (2024/25), 49 in Senior Infants (2025/26): 3 pupils more.
- 46Junior Infants2024/25
- 49Senior Infants2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2023/24
44 in Junior Infants (2023/24), 46 in 1st Class (2025/26): 2 pupils more.
- 44Junior Infants2023/24
- 44Senior Infants2024/25
- 461st Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2022/23
49 in Junior Infants (2022/23), 45 in 2nd Class (2025/26): 4 pupils fewer.
- 49Junior Infants2022/23
- 47Senior Infants2023/24
- 451st Class2024/25
- 452nd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2021/22
47 in Junior Infants (2021/22), 48 in 3rd Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 47Junior Infants2021/22
- 48Senior Infants2022/23
- 511st Class2023/24
- 522nd Class2024/25
- 483rd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2020/21
45 in Junior Infants (2020/21), 46 in 4th Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 45Junior Infants2020/21
- 44Senior Infants2021/22
- 471st Class2022/23
- 482nd Class2023/24
- 473rd Class2024/25
- 464th Class2025/26
In Senior Infants in 2020/21
58 in Senior Infants (2020/21), 52 in 5th Class (2025/26): 6 pupils fewer.
- 58Senior Infants2020/21
- 541st Class2021/22
- 572nd Class2022/23
- 543rd Class2023/24
- 554th Class2024/25
- 525th Class2025/26
In 1st Class in 2020/21
41 in 1st Class (2020/21), 39 in 6th Class (2025/26): 2 pupils fewer.
- 411st Class2020/21
- 412nd Class2021/22
- 413rd Class2022/23
- 414th Class2023/24
- 395th Class2024/25
- 396th Class2025/26
In 2nd Class in 2020/21
47 in 2nd Class (2020/21), 48 in 6th Class (2024/25): 1 pupil more.
- 472nd Class2020/21
- 483rd Class2021/22
- 504th Class2022/23
- 505th Class2023/24
- 486th Class2024/25
In 3rd Class in 2020/21
40 in 3rd Class (2020/21), 39 in 6th Class (2023/24): 1 pupil fewer.
- 403rd Class2020/21
- 414th Class2021/22
- 405th Class2022/23
- 396th Class2023/24
In 4th Class in 2020/21
53 in 4th Class (2020/21), 54 in 6th Class (2022/23): 1 pupil more.
- 534th Class2020/21
- 535th Class2021/22
- 546th Class2022/23
In 5th Class in 2020/21
27 in 5th Class (2020/21), 27 in 6th Class (2021/22): no change.
- 275th Class2020/21
- 276th Class2021/22
Biggest one-year changes in a class
- +276th Class in 2022/23 (27 to 54)
- −316th Class in 2021/22 (58 to 27)
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 Phort Laoise, 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
24teaching posts
Our estimate: about 24 teachers.
- Class teachersOne for each of the 16 mainstream classes 16
- PrincipalRuns the school and doesn't teach a class 1
- Special education teachers150 hours of support teaching a week 6
- Special class teachersFor an autism class 1
5 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils. 6 pupils are in special classes, which the class sizes leave out.
The NCSE has allocated 6 special education teachers, 2 special class teachers and 6.83 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 Phort Laoise, measured in a straight line. Pupil numbers are for 2025/26.
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaelscoil Phort LaoiseThis school | – | 369 |
+24.2%
|
|
| 1 | Portlaoise Educate Together NS0.1 km · Portlaoise · Multi-denominational | 0.1 km | 457 |
+29.1%
|
| 2 | Maryboro N S0.1 km · Portlaoise · Church of Ireland | 0.1 km | 96 |
−1.0%
|
| 3 | Holy Family Junior School0.5 km · Portlaoise | 0.5 km | 599 | – |
| 4 | Holy Family Senior School0.6 km · Portlaoise | 0.6 km | 644 | – |
| 5 | Scoil Bhride NS2.2 km · Portlaoise · DEIS | 2.2 km | 727 |
−3.8%
|
| 6 | Fraoch Mor N S5.0 km · Laois | 5.0 km | 212 |
−6.6%
|
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
- Dominic Ó Braonáin
- Phone
- 0578688293
- [email protected]
- Address
- Cnoc an tSamhraidh, Portlaoise, Co. Laoise, R32 YA66
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Patron
- An Foras Pátrúnachta
- School type
- Ordinary
- School level
- All Through
- DEIS
- Not DEIS
Language and area
- Irish classification
- All subjects through Irish
- Gaeltacht
- Non-Gaeltacht
- Island
- Not on an island
- Local authority
- Laois County Council
- Planning area
- Portlaoise
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
28 school years from 1998/99 to 2025/26. Class figures start in 2020/21.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys | JI | SI | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 369 | 187 | 182 | 44 | 49 | 46 | 45 | 48 | 46 | 52 | 39 |
| 2024/25 | 376 | 198 | 178 | 46 | 44 | 45 | 52 | 47 | 55 | 39 | 48 |
| 2023/24 | 374 | 199 | 175 | 44 | 47 | 51 | 48 | 54 | 41 | 50 | 39 |
| 2022/23 | 386 | 206 | 180 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 57 | 41 | 50 | 40 | 54 |
| 2021/22 | 355 | 196 | 159 | 47 | 44 | 54 | 41 | 48 | 41 | 53 | 27 |
| 2020/21 | 369 | 196 | 173 | 45 | 58 | 41 | 47 | 40 | 53 | 27 | 58 |
| 2019/20 | 356 | 193 | 163 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018/19 | 328 | 177 | 151 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 321 | 178 | 143 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2016/17 | 307 | 159 | 148 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 297 | 152 | 145 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 258 | 137 | 121 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 249 | 132 | 117 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012/13 | 216 | 122 | 94 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2011/12 | 209 | 113 | 96 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010/11 | 205 | 109 | 96 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009/10 | 209 | 106 | 103 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008/09 | 207 | 112 | 95 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2007/08 | 182 | 96 | 86 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2006/07 | 172 | 85 | 87 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2005/06 | 154 | 81 | 73 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2004/05 | 134 | 68 | 66 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2003/04 | 135 | 67 | 68 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2002/03 | 123 | 63 | 60 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2001/02 | 89 | 45 | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2000/01 | 56 | 29 | 27 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1999/00 | 34 | 17 | 17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998/99 | 14 | 8 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |