Merlin Woods Primary School
Galway · Roll number 20350P
- Catholic ethos
- Not DEIS
- Ordinary with Special Classes
- Pupils in 2025/26
- 383
- No change on 2024/25
- Over 10 years
- +24%
- Up 75 from 308 in 2015/16. Opened in 2010/11, so it was still adding classes
- Girls and boys
- 185 / 198
- 48% girls
Pupils since 2010
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
383 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 | 51 | 48 | 49 | 46 | 49 | 37 | 46.7 |
| Senior Infants | 58 | 47 | 48 | 44 | 41 | 49 | 47.8 |
| 1st Class | 56 | 52 | 46 | 43 | 48 | 46 | 48.5 |
| 2nd Class | 48 | 56 | 49 | 48 | 48 | 50 | 49.8 |
| 3rd Class | 53 | 47 | 52 | 46 | 48 | 48 | 49.0 |
| 4th Class | 54 | 52 | 41 | 51 | 45 | 50 | 48.8 |
| 5th Class | 53 | 49 | 50 | 47 | 53 | 50 | 50.3 |
| 6th Class | 51 | 52 | 46 | 50 | 46 | 53 | 49.7 |
JI and SI are Junior and Senior Infants.
Started Junior Infants in 2024/25
49 in Junior Infants (2024/25), 49 in Senior Infants (2025/26): no change.
- 49Junior Infants2024/25
- 49Senior Infants2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2023/24
46 in Junior Infants (2023/24), 46 in 1st Class (2025/26): no change.
- 46Junior Infants2023/24
- 41Senior Infants2024/25
- 461st Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2022/23
49 in Junior Infants (2022/23), 50 in 2nd Class (2025/26): 1 pupil more.
- 49Junior Infants2022/23
- 44Senior Infants2023/24
- 481st Class2024/25
- 502nd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2021/22
48 in Junior Infants (2021/22), 48 in 3rd Class (2025/26): no change.
- 48Junior Infants2021/22
- 48Senior Infants2022/23
- 431st Class2023/24
- 482nd Class2024/25
- 483rd Class2025/26
Started Junior Infants in 2020/21
51 in Junior Infants (2020/21), 50 in 4th Class (2025/26): 1 pupil fewer.
- 51Junior Infants2020/21
- 47Senior Infants2021/22
- 461st Class2022/23
- 482nd Class2023/24
- 483rd Class2024/25
- 504th Class2025/26
In Senior Infants in 2020/21
58 in Senior Infants (2020/21), 50 in 5th Class (2025/26): 8 pupils fewer.
- 58Senior Infants2020/21
- 521st Class2021/22
- 492nd Class2022/23
- 463rd Class2023/24
- 454th Class2024/25
- 505th Class2025/26
In 1st Class in 2020/21
56 in 1st Class (2020/21), 53 in 6th Class (2025/26): 3 pupils fewer.
- 561st Class2020/21
- 562nd Class2021/22
- 523rd Class2022/23
- 514th Class2023/24
- 535th Class2024/25
- 536th Class2025/26
In 2nd Class in 2020/21
48 in 2nd Class (2020/21), 46 in 6th Class (2024/25): 2 pupils fewer.
- 482nd Class2020/21
- 473rd Class2021/22
- 414th Class2022/23
- 475th Class2023/24
- 466th Class2024/25
In 3rd Class in 2020/21
53 in 3rd Class (2020/21), 50 in 6th Class (2023/24): 3 pupils fewer.
- 533rd Class2020/21
- 524th Class2021/22
- 505th Class2022/23
- 506th Class2023/24
In 4th Class in 2020/21
54 in 4th Class (2020/21), 46 in 6th Class (2022/23): 8 pupils fewer.
- 544th Class2020/21
- 495th Class2021/22
- 466th Class2022/23
In 5th Class in 2020/21
53 in 5th Class (2020/21), 52 in 6th Class (2021/22): 1 pupil fewer.
- 535th Class2020/21
- 526th Class2021/22
Biggest one-year changes in a class
- +104th Class in 2023/24 (41 to 51)
- −12Junior Infants in 2025/26 (49 to 37)
Class sizes
Mainstream class groups, 2010/11 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, 2010/11 to 2025/26
Teachers
Who teaches at Merlin Woods Primary School, 2010/11 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
25.5teaching posts
Our estimate: about 26 teachers.
- Class teachersOne for each of the 16 mainstream classes 16
- PrincipalRuns the school and doesn't teach a class 1
- Special education teachers162.5 hours of support teaching a week 6.5
- Special class teachersFor 2 autism classes 2
9.66 special needs assistants (SNAs) also work with pupils. 12 pupils are in special classes, which the class sizes leave out.
The NCSE has allocated 6.5 special education teachers, 2 special class teachers and 9.66 SNAs for next year.
Teachers since 2010/11
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 Merlin Woods Primary School, measured in a straight line. Pupil numbers are for 2025/26.
| Number on map | School | Distance | Pupils | Since 2015/16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merlin Woods Primary SchoolThis school | – | 383 |
+24.4%
|
|
| 1 | Scoil Mhuire1.3 km · Castlegar | 1.3 km | 223 |
−6.7%
|
| 2 | Radharc na Mara National School2.0 km · Mervue · DEIS | 2.0 km | 353 | – |
| 3 | Gaelscoil Dara2.0 km · Gaillimh · Gaelscoil | 2.0 km | 419 |
−3.0%
|
| 4 | S N Caitriona Sois2.4 km · Renmore · DEIS | 2.4 km | 350 |
−19.5%
|
| 5 | SN Caitriona Sinsear2.4 km · Renmore · DEIS | 2.4 km | 365 |
−3.9%
|
| 6 | SN Colmcille3.1 km · Castlegar · DEIS · Gaeltacht | 3.1 km | 70 |
−34.0%
|
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
- Paula O'Connor
- Phone
- 091761676
- [email protected]
- Address
- Doughiska Road, Doughiska, Galway, H91 D7VH
School
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Patron
- Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh & Kilfenora
- 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
- Galway City Council
- Planning area
- Galway City
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
16 school years from 2010/11 to 2025/26. Class figures start in 2020/21.
| Year | Total | Girls | Boys | JI | SI | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 383 | 185 | 198 | 37 | 49 | 46 | 50 | 48 | 50 | 50 | 53 |
| 2024/25 | 383 | 191 | 192 | 49 | 41 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 45 | 53 | 46 |
| 2023/24 | 381 | 192 | 189 | 46 | 44 | 43 | 48 | 46 | 51 | 47 | 50 |
| 2022/23 | 384 | 185 | 199 | 49 | 48 | 46 | 49 | 52 | 41 | 50 | 46 |
| 2021/22 | 409 | 185 | 224 | 48 | 47 | 52 | 56 | 47 | 52 | 49 | 52 |
| 2020/21 | 430 | 195 | 235 | 51 | 58 | 56 | 48 | 53 | 54 | 53 | 51 |
| 2019/20 | 451 | 213 | 238 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018/19 | 415 | 200 | 215 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2017/18 | 400 | 189 | 211 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2016/17 | 367 | 175 | 192 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2015/16 | 308 | 147 | 161 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2014/15 | 250 | 117 | 133 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2013/14 | 187 | 89 | 98 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2012/13 | 116 | 54 | 62 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2011/12 | 58 | 24 | 34 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2010/11 | 27 | 11 | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |