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St. Joseph's N.S.

St. Joseph's N.S. is a primary school in Offaly. 360 pupils, Catholic ethos, 3 special classes, DEIS Urban Band 1.

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The facts

TypePrimary school
GenderMixed
EthosCatholic
PatronBishop of Meath
FeesFree
Enrolment360 (194 boys, 166 girls) 2025/26
Language of instructionEnglish Medium School
DEISYes — Urban Band 1
Roll number18797W
EircodeR35PH94
AddressArdan View, Tullamore, Co. Offaly

Getting in

Not oversubscribed last year. The notice carries no previous-year breakdown, which is only required of a school that had more applicants than places.

Places in the coming year100
Applications open20 October 2025
Applications close18 February 2026

notice gives places only, no previous-year breakdown.

Read the school's Annual Admission Notice ↗ (2026/27)

Ireland has no catchment areas. A place depends on the school's own oversubscription criteria — siblings, feeder school, parish, distance, date of application — not on where you live. Read the admissions policy for those.

What DEIS means here

DEIS Urban Band 1. This is the most intensively supported band. Junior classes are capped at 17:1, vertical schools at 19:1 and senior schools at 21:1 — smaller than almost any non-DEIS school in the country.

17:1 junior class size cap. Urban Band 1 primary schools have the lowest pupil-teacher ratio in Ireland: 17:1 in junior classes (infants to 2nd), 19:1 in vertical schools, and 21:1 in senior schools. That is smaller than almost any fee-paying school in the State.

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:

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: Tullamore / Killina. 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 R35 (Tullamore) was €286,833 in 2025. That is up 57.6% since 2020. CSO figures for the whole district, not the streets beside the school.

Area profile: the Pobal HP Deprivation Index rates Tullamore Urban at -6.74 (Marginally Below Average), where 0 is the national average. 34% of adults there hold a third-level qualification.

Contact

PrincipalBridget Clear
Phone0579341121
Emailinfo@stjosephstullamore.ie
Local authorityOffaly County Council

Other schools in Tullamore / Killina

How we know

DoE Schools GIS 2026 (CC BY 4.0) — checked 2026-08-27.