Staplestown National School
Donadea, Kildare
Key facts
- Mixed
- Pupils enrolled
- 105 smaller than the median Irish primary school (123 pupils)
- Girls and boys
- 60 girls, 45 boys
- Ethos
- Catholic
- Teaching through Irish
- No subjects through Irish
- Roll number
- 16777G the Department of Education reference for this school
School details
Location
About
Staplestown, near Donadea in Co. Kildare, is home to this Catholic primary school, known also as Scoil Naomh Mhuire. It is co-educational and teaches around 105 pupils, organised into Junior Infants, Senior Infants, a combined 1st and 2nd class, a combined 3rd and 4th class, and a combined 5th and 6th class. Pupil-led groups take in a student council and a gardening committee, the latter maintaining a school garden and sensory boxes made from natural materials collected locally. A library and sensory room are among the rooms in use, and after-school clubs cover science and board games. Kindness and friendship are the focus of a Bí Cineálta week, which includes Stay Safe lessons on building friendships and treating others with respect. Other fixtures in the calendar include Maths Week, Lá Glas, Active Week and a Grandparents' Day. Green Schools work has earned the school a Green flag. The stated vision sets out a learning environment underpinned by the Catholic ethos and by values of kindness, honesty, integrity, fairness and mutual respect, with inclusion and tolerance named as school values.
History
The school dates to 1833, when it was founded by Reverend Maurice Kearney, parish priest of Staplestown from 1824 to 1842 and also of Rathcoffey and Clane. Kearney had built up funds through cattle dealing and used some of that money to improve the schools and churches of his parishes. A two-storey school house was put up in the grounds of St Benignus Church, intended for the education of poor children in the parish; it survives as a community hall and retains the separate first-floor entrance typical of a period when boys and girls used different doors. Ordnance Survey mapping of 1829 to 1841 records the original building in the church grounds. Kilmurry aside, a two-room school followed in 1929, and stone plaques on the present buildings carry the dates 1927 and 2006. Two classrooms were added in 2006, allowing the wall between the older rooms to come down to form a general purpose hall.
Applying to Staplestown National School
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 Staplestown National School. 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 Staplestown National School
How many pupils attend Staplestown National School?
Staplestown National School has 105 pupils enrolled, 60 girls and 45 boys. That makes it smaller than the median Irish primary school, which has 123 pupils.
Is Staplestown National School a DEIS school?
No. Staplestown National School 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 Staplestown National School?
Staplestown National School has a Catholic ethos. It is a mixed primary school.