- This is a rolling update on Lucan schools first published in July 2023 -
Shortcut to Second level schools
Introduction - The wider context
Residents living a while in Lucan will know I've a long record of raising schools issues locally, with some successes in pushing projects through the "Lucan Schools Crisis" and "Lucan Schools Crisis II" campaigns and amendments to the original Adamstown SDZ plan to meet demand for schools in line with new housing developments. Equally there has been much frustration. Nationally I've been recognised by the three largest teaching unions for my work in protecting education funding at a time of massive cutbacks, especially as a TD in 2008/2010, and also through the launch of "50 Steps to a Better Education System" in 2006, which emphasised among other things that there can be a seven-fold benefit from investment at the early years in particular. But years have passed and education does not appear to be getting recognition and funding it deserves.
The local situation continues to evolve and pressure needs to be applied constantly. We are at a stage now in Lucan, where there is again huge pressure on school places. Residents in newer estates are finding that they are not being put in category 1 catchment areas by existing primary schools which claim they cannot cope with existing demand. This is why currently-planned schools need to open earlier than anticipated originally.
Common enrolment
At second level there is a panic every year to get a place, which is not helped by people feeling the need to put names down on multiple school lists - which then need to clear - meaning that some parents don't know until the final few weeks whether their child has got a place. I've made suggestions in this regard vis a vis a common enrolment system for Lucan, which would at least improve transparency and speed, but so far it has not got any traction. It would need major national legislative change to be implemented legally and so for now could only be voluntary. There are challenges but also many positives, however so far there has been no real enthusiasm from most Lucan schools, the exception being four out of the five Educate Together primary schools in our area who devised and implemented their own system in 2014. See photo images below for more information or click here to skip past.



Pressure needed
At the end of the day, the vast majority of applicants still get a place in a Lucan school, but the wait is very anxious for those living in particular geographic areas, or whose primary schools aren't in the catchment, or who have recently moved in. The overall number of those having to look outside Lucan is relatively small, but growing, and Lucan children attending Confey and Luttrelstown among others attest to the fact that supply is not meeting demand. So we need to keep the pressure up on school places.
I have less direct input on this as a Councillor (except on land use and zoning) but I have been chasing up as and when I can, directly with the Minister for Education and with officials via Council meetings and motions. Areas I've been chasing up this year include seeking a timeline on the primary school at Kishoge, the tender and construction process for Griffeen Community College's permanent building and most recently the urgent need to get the 32-classroom school at Tandy's Lane, Adamstown (already planning approved) to open earlier than 2026, due to major pressures locally. And, having been actively involved in getting an additional two school sites put into the Adamstown plan back in the day, I also support flexibility being added for the fourth primary site, which may need to be a second level school given the demographics.
Politicians can't get your child a place in a specific school
Elected reps, TDs especially, are encouraged to pressure the Minister for Education to invest in alleviating the shortage of places. However in looking at this wider context, it's also important for parents and guardians to note that TDs or Councillors can't influence specific schools to get places for their children. All we can do is provide information and lobby on overall school places. The annual admissions policy is a board of management decision based on assessment of need and available places overall. I'm not a fan of every policy I've seen but this is the sole remit of the school and patron, as long as national equality legislation is followed.
Even when a Councillor is on a particular BOM (and many of us are), they never get to see the names or circumstances of individual applicants, so the process is totally fair and transparent. They can only influence this admissions policy being amended in the context of population changes locally and national guidelines as mentioned above.
School contact details
Below are details of local primary and secondary schools with links to websites so parents can look up where these schools are and their enrolment policies. I've also included on the primary school map the location of two sites where new primary schools are due to be built. I didn't do this on the second level map because as of now, the only change is for Griffeen Community College to move from its temporary building on the site of Kishoge Community College to land off Griffeen Avenue, which will increase its capacity going forward. I will update on completion dates for this school as and when new information becomes available.
Primary Schools in Lucan (map high res - zoom in)

Link to web pages only click here
Community National Schools
Lucan Community National School
Co-Educational, multidenominational
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Four Educate Together Schools with Common Enrolment System
Co-Educational, multidenominational
Adamstown Castle ETNS
Esker ETNS
Griffeen Valley ETNS
Lucan East ETNS
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Lucan Educate Together
School currently outside common enrolment and with different management structure
Co-educational, multidenominational
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Catholic ethos - Lucan South Parish Catchment
Divine Mercy Junior National School (JNS) - Lucan South Parish
Junior Infants to 2nd Class
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos
https://divinemercyjns.weebly.com/
Divine Mercy Senior National School (SNS) - Lucan South Parish
3rd to 6th
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos
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Catholic ethos - Esker Parish catchment
St Thomas JNS - Esker Parish except Adamstown (some areas covered, see enrolment policy)
Junior Infants to 2nd
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos
Scoil Aine Naofa SNS - Esker Parish except Adamstown (some areas covered, see enrolment policy)
3rd to 6th
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos
St John The Evangelist NS - Adamstown area
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos, Esker Parish, Adamstown
https://stjohntheevangelistnationalschool.com/
Scoil Mhuire NS, Airlie Heights - West of Esker Parish, some north Adamstown, see enrolment policy)
Co-Educational, Catholic ethos
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Catholic Ethos - Lucan village area catchment
St Mary's BNS
Single sex boys
https://www.stmarysbnslucan.com/
Scoil Mhuire GNS
Single sex girls
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Church of Ireland ethos
St Andrew's NS - Lucan, Leixlip and surrounds catchment
Co-educational
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Gaelscoileanna
Gaelscoil Naomh Padraig
Catholic, co-educational - Lucan and Palmerstown
Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada - Lucan and Palmerstown
Catholic, co-educational
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Special Educational Needs
NB for parents of children with special educational needs (SEN) -- Check individual primary and second school websites in terms of SEN policy and special units as these are subject to change and the provision of additional resources
There is one specific SEN school:
Stewarts School, Rosse Court
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Second-level schools (map is high res so you can zoom in)
Link to second level web pages only without other info, click here

NB - Most second level schools will prioritise the children of siblings, before looking at local feeder schools. Some have complex policies and need to be looked at carefully. Parents should remember that if they have a preference for a particular second level school, their choice of primary school may minimise their chances of getting a place. Places in Lucan are unfortunately oversubscribed at present, so depending on where you live, your choice of primary or secondary school may be limited and you may end up having to look further afield. This is something I continue to raise but relates to forward planning by the Department of Education and successive Ministers
Catholic ethos
Coláiste Phádraig - Lucan village area
Single sex boys
https://www.colaistephadraiglucan.ie/
St Joseph's College - Lucan village area
Single sex girls
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Schools under patronage of DDLETB
All multidenominational and co-educational
https://www.facebook.com/ddletb/
Adamstown Community College - priority Adamstown area
Colaiste Cois Life - Gaelscoil mainly serving local primary Irish-speaking schools
Griffeen Community College - Currently all Lucan catchment area
In partnership with Scoil Sinead
Kishoge Community College - Priority primary schools in Balgaddy area and some Educate Together
In partnership with Educate Together
Lucan Community College - Esker area and some other categories (full details on website)
St Kevin's Community College - Mainly Balgaddy, Quarryvale/North Clondalkin and some east Lucan
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Fee-paying schools nearby
The Kings Hospital, Palmerstown
Co-educational, Church of Ireland ethos
Castleknock College
Boys, Catholic
https://www.castleknockcollege.ie/
Mount Sackville, Chapelizod
Girls, Catholic
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Other schools with growing Lucan cohort
Confey College, Leixlip
Multidenominational, co-educational - Kildare and Wicklow ETB
Luttlrelstown College
Multidenominational, co-educational under DDLETB
https://www.luttrellstowncc.ie/
Pobalscoil Iosolde, Palmerstown
Multidenominational, co-educational under DDLETB
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Quick links to local primary schools: https://lucancns.ie/ https://lucaneastet.ie/ https://acetns.ie/ https://www.eskeretns.ie/ https://gvet.ie/ https://lucaneastet.ie/ http://www.letns.org/ https://divinemercyjns.weebly.com/ https://www.dmbalgaddysns.ie/ https://stthomasjns.com/ http://scoilaine.com/ https://stjohntheevangelistnationalschool.com/ https://www.scoilmhuire.ie/
https://www.stmarysbnslucan.com/ https://www.smgnslucan.com/ https://standrewsnslucan.ie/
https://www.gsnp.ie// https://gser.ie/
Quick links to local secondary schools: https://www.colaistephadraiglucan.ie/ https://stjosephslucan.com/
www.adamstowncc.ie/ https://colaistecoislife.ie/ https://griffeencc.ie/ https://www.kishogecc.ie/ https://lucancc.ie/ http://stkevinscc.ie/ https://kingshospital.ie/ http://www.confeycollege.org/ https://www.luttrellstowncc.ie/ http://www.palmerstowncs.ie
If you've got this far, thank you for your time. I will continue to push for more resources and also encourage all schools in the absence of a national legislative framework to consider entering a common enrolment system so that people know the spaces available earlier in the year and parents/guardians can make informed choices.