St. Francis National School
Dundalk · Roll number 20259G
- Catholic ethos
- Not DEIS
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 441
- +8 on 2024/25
- Over 10 years
- +125%
- Up 245 from 196 in 2015/16
- Girls and boys
- 201 / 240
- 46% girls
Pupils since 2007
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
441 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 | 59 | 55 | 54 | 49 | 51 | 52 | 53.3 |
| Senior Infants | 59 | 58 | 56 | 50 | 51 | 53 | 54.5 |
| 1st Class | 52 | 58 | 60 | 54 | 52 | 52 | 54.7 |
| 2nd Class | 36 | 52 | 62 | 57 | 51 | 55 | 52.2 |
| 3rd Class | 33 | 44 | 60 | 61 | 57 | 57 | 52.0 |
| 4th Class | 35 | 35 | 43 | 59 | 58 | 58 | 48.0 |
| 5th Class | 33 | 34 | 44 | 45 | 57 | 57 | 45.0 |
| 6th Class | 29 | 32 | 33 | 42 | 44 | 57 | 39.5 |
JI and SI are Junior and Senior Infants.
Started Junior Infants in 2024/25
51 in Junior Infants (2024/25), 53 in Senior Infants (2025/26): 2 pupils more.
- 51Junior Infants2024/25
- 53Senior Infants2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2023/24
49 in Junior Infants (2023/24), 52 in 1st Class (2025/26): 3 pupils more.
- 49Junior Infants2023/24
- 51Senior Infants2024/25
- 521st Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2022/23
54 in Junior Infants (2022/23), 55 in 2nd Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 54Junior Infants2022/23
- 50Senior Infants2023/24
- 521st Class2024/25
- 552nd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2021/22
55 in Junior Infants (2021/22), 57 in 3rd Class (2025/26): 2 pupils more.
- 55Junior Infants2021/22
- 56Senior Infants2022/23
- 541st Class2023/24
- 512nd Class2024/25
- 573rd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2020/21
59 in Junior Infants (2020/21), 58 in 4th Class (2025/26): 1 pupil fewer.
- 59Junior Infants2020/21
- 58Senior Infants2021/22
- 601st Class2022/23
- 572nd Class2023/24
- 573rd Class2024/25
- 584th Class2025/26
In Senior Infants in 2020/21
59 in Senior Infants (2020/21), 57 in 5th Class (2025/26): 2 pupils fewer.
- 59Senior Infants2020/21
- 581st Class2021/22
- 622nd Class2022/23
- 613rd Class2023/24
- 584th Class2024/25
- 575th Class2025/26
In 1st Class in 2020/21
52 in 1st Class (2020/21), 57 in 6th Class (2025/26): 5 pupils more.
- 521st Class2020/21
- 522nd Class2021/22
- 603rd Class2022/23
- 594th Class2023/24
- 575th Class2024/25
- 576th Class2025/26
In 2nd Class in 2020/21
36 in 2nd Class (2020/21), 44 in 6th Class (2024/25): 8 pupils more.
- 362nd Class2020/21
- 443rd Class2021/22
- 434th Class2022/23
- 455th Class2023/24
- 446th Class2024/25
In 3rd Class in 2020/21
33 in 3rd Class (2020/21), 42 in 6th Class (2023/24): 9 pupils more.
- 333rd Class2020/21
- 354th Class2021/22
- 445th Class2022/23
- 426th Class2023/24
In 4th Class in 2020/21
35 in 4th Class (2020/21), 33 in 6th Class (2022/23): 2 pupils fewer.
- 354th Class2020/21
- 345th Class2021/22
- 336th Class2022/23
In 5th Class in 2020/21
33 in 5th Class (2020/21), 32 in 6th Class (2021/22): 1 pupil fewer.
- 335th Class2020/21
- 326th Class2021/22
Biggest one-year changes in a class
- +162nd Class in 2021/22 (36 to 52)
- −6Senior Infants in 2023/24 (56 to 50)
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups, 2007/08 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, 2007/08 to 2025/26
Teachers
Who teaches at St. Francis National School, 2007/08 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
23.6teaching 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 teachers115 hours of support teaching a week 4.6
- Special class teachersFor 2 autism classes 2
8.58 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils. 12 pupils are in special classes, which the class sizes leave out.
The NCSE has allocated 4.7 special education teachers, 2 special class teachers and 8.58 SNAs for next year.
Teachers since 2007/08
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 St. Francis National School, measured in a straight line. Pupil numbers are for 2025/26.
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis National SchoolThis school | – | 441 |
+125.0%
|
|
| 1 | Scoil na gCreagacha Dubha0.7 km · Blackrock | 0.7 km | 503 |
+19.5%
|
| 2 | Scoil Fhursa1.7 km · Dundalk | 1.7 km | 229 |
+20.5%
|
| 3 | Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan2.6 km · Dún Dealgan · Gaelscoil · DEIS | 2.6 km | 214 |
0.0%
|
| 4 | St Josephs N S3.1 km · Dundalk · DEIS | 3.1 km | 574 |
+10.4%
|
| 5 | Scoil Mhuire na nGael3.4 km · Dundalk | 3.4 km | 624 |
−9.6%
|
| 6 | S N N Maolmhaodhagh B4.5 km · Dundalk · Boys | 4.5 km | 246 |
+22.4%
|
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
- Oreena Lawless
- Phone
- 0429366993
- [email protected]
- Address
- Rock Road, Blackrock, Dundalk, A91 NH0V
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Patron
- Archbishop of Armagh
- School type
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- School level
- All Through
- DEIS
- Not DEIS
Language and area
- Irish classification
- No subjects through Irish
- Gaeltacht
- Non-Gaeltacht
- Island
- Not on an island
- Local authority
- Louth County Council
- Planning area
- Dundalk
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
19 school years from 2007/08 to 2025/26. Class figures start in 2020/21.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys | JI | SI | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 441 | 201 | 240 | 52 | 53 | 52 | 55 | 57 | 58 | 57 | 57 |
| 2024/25 | 433 | 191 | 242 | 51 | 51 | 52 | 51 | 57 | 58 | 57 | 44 |
| 2023/24 | 429 | 196 | 233 | 49 | 50 | 54 | 57 | 61 | 59 | 45 | 42 |
| 2022/23 | 424 | 190 | 234 | 54 | 56 | 60 | 62 | 60 | 43 | 44 | 33 |
| 2021/22 | 374 | 175 | 199 | 55 | 58 | 58 | 52 | 44 | 35 | 34 | 32 |
| 2020/21 | 336 | 159 | 177 | 59 | 59 | 52 | 36 | 33 | 35 | 33 | 29 |
| 2019/20 | 289 | 129 | 160 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018/19 | 257 | 125 | 132 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 234 | 117 | 117 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2016/17 | 223 | 103 | 120 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 196 | 89 | 107 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 172 | 84 | 88 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 137 | 66 | 71 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012/13 | 109 | 58 | 51 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2011/12 | 88 | 46 | 42 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010/11 | 65 | 34 | 31 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2009/10 | 43 | 20 | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2008/09 | 35 | 18 | 17 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2007/08 | 20 | 9 | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |