Coláiste Mhuirlinne/Merlin College

The facts

What DEIS means here

DEIS Post-primary. This is extra staffing, a Home School Community Liaison coordinator, School Completion Programme access, enhanced capitation, free State exam fees, and eligibility for the HEAR Scheme for reduced-points college entry.

Post-primary DEIS benefits: Free State examination fees for Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate, Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinator, School Completion Programme, and eligibility for the HEAR Scheme (Higher Education Access Route) offering reserved university places at reduced CAO points across Irish universities.

Worth knowing: several things people associate with DEIS are now available in every school. Schoolbooks are free at primary and post-primary regardless of DEIS status, and since 2025 all primary schools are eligible for the hot school meals programme. What remains specific to DEIS is the staffing — reduced class sizes in Urban Band 1, the Home School Community Liaison coordinator, School Completion Programme access and enhanced capitation.

Band as published in the Department's DEIS list, last revised 2022-10-12.

What DEIS is, band by band, HEAR college entry, and whether it says anything about how good a school is →

Special classes

3 special classes sanctioned for 26/27:

• 2 × Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders
• 1 × Moderate General Learning Disability

Source: National Council for Special Education. Children in a special class travel under a separate transport scheme with its own rules.

The area around this school

School planning area: Galway City. This is how the Department plans where to build capacity. It is not a catchment.

Local house prices: the median residential sale price in Eircode district H91 (Galway) was €404,999 in 2025. That is up 47.3% since 2020. CSO figures for the whole district, not the streets beside the school.

Area profile: the Pobal HP Deprivation Index rates Ballybaan at 1.23 (Marginally Above Average), where 0 is the national average. 47% of adults there hold a third-level qualification.

Contact

Other schools in Galway City

• Bushy Park N S Primary school, Galway
• Claregalway Educate Together Ns Primary school, Galway
• Coláiste Bhaile Chláir Secondary school, Galway
• Coláiste Einde Secondary school, Galway
• Coláiste Iognáid S.J. Secondary school, Galway
• Coláiste Muire Máthair Secondary school, Galway
• Coláiste Na Coiribe Secondary school, Galway
• Cuan Na Gaillimhe Community National School Primary school, Galway
• Dominican College Secondary school, Galway
• Gaelscoil Dara Primary school, Galway
• Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh Primary school, Galway
• Galway City & Oranmore Educate Together Secondary School Secondary school, Galway