Scoil Mhuire gan Smál
Dundalk, Louth
Key facts
- Mixed
- Pupils enrolled
- 189 larger than the median Irish primary school (123 pupils)
- Girls and boys
- 87 girls, 102 boys
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Teaching through Irish
- No subjects through Irish
- Roll number
- 16749B the Department of Education reference for this school
School details
Location
About
Set in the village of Kilkerley, 5.6 km from Dundalk town and just off the Carrick Road, Scoil Mhuire gan Smál is a co-educational primary school of 189 pupils. It has eight single stream classes and three Special Educational Needs teachers. Pupils come from the wider Kilkerley area and from Lis na Dara, Willow Grove and Mount Avenue. The school states its core values as respect, knowledge and responsibility, and while it has a Catholic ethos it recognises other faiths and none. Accommodation includes 8 classrooms with interactive whiteboards, 3 resource rooms, an assembly hall, a garden sensory room, an outdoor classroom, a sandpit and a frog bog. Outdoor space covers a playground, 2 basketball courts, 2 tennis courts and 2 football pitches. Class sets of Chromebooks and iPads are used across subjects. Science work runs through the year and culminates in an annual science fair, and the school holds an award for excellence in STEM. Other activities include the Junior Entrepreneur Programme, the KiVa anti-bullying programme, Aistear, a vegetable garden and greenhouse, film making, a sports day, swimming, tennis, basketball and football, and pupil committees for Green Schools and the student council.
Applying to Scoil Mhuire gan Smál
For a September 2027 place, a school's formal admissions process cannot begin before 1 October 2026. The school sets its own opening and closing dates in its annual admission notice.
National term dates 2026/27
Irish schools follow a standardised school year, so these nationwide primary school dates apply broadly to Scoil Mhuire gan Smál. Individual schools set their own discretionary closure days, confirm exact dates with the school.
- October Mid-Term Break: Mon 26 Oct – Fri 30 Oct 2026
- Christmas Holidays: Wed 23 Dec 2026 – Tue 5 Jan 2027
- February Mid-Term Break: Thu 18 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027 (post-primary schools: Mon 15 Feb – Fri 19 Feb 2027)
- Easter Holidays: Mon 22 Mar – Sun 4 Apr 2027
Primary schools close for the last two days of the February mid-term week and may use discretionary days to take the full week, so their break can be shorter than post-primary schools'.
Frequently asked questions about Scoil Mhuire gan Smál
How many pupils attend Scoil Mhuire gan Smál?
Scoil Mhuire gan Smál has 189 pupils enrolled, 87 girls and 102 boys. That makes it larger than the median Irish primary school, which has 123 pupils.
Is Scoil Mhuire gan Smál a DEIS school?
No. Scoil Mhuire gan Smál is not part of DEIS, the Department of Education programme of additional supports for schools serving communities at risk of educational disadvantage. Not holding DEIS status says nothing about how good a school is, only about the profile of the community it serves.
What is the ethos of Scoil Mhuire gan Smál?
Scoil Mhuire gan Smál has a Catholic ethos. It is a mixed primary school.