Overview
Their success is due to effective (though limited) community support and an efficient administrative infrastructure. They are distinguished by being the product, not of state policy, but of a genuine community movement.
Gaelscoileanna have undergone a striking expansion over the last few decades, though there are now concerns that recent rules limiting the founding of new schools may affect Irish-medium education, especially when the demand is greater than the supply.
In 1972 there were only 11 such schools at primary level and five at secondary level in the Republic. Now there are 172 at primary level and 39 at secondary level. When similar schools from Northern Ireland are added, there are in total 298 gaelscoileanna at primary level and 72 schools at post-primary level (gaelcholáistí). These schools educate over 37,800 students, not counting around 4,000 children in Irish-medium preschools. Coláiste Feirste is the only second-level Irish-medium school in Northern Ireland. There is now at least one gaelscoil in each of the 32 counties of Ireland and several in some larger towns and cities. There are only nine counties nationally that do not have a secondary level Irish-medium school: Laois, Offaly, Leitrim, Roscommon, Cavan, Sligo, Longford, Fermanagh and Down.
Read more about this topic: Gaelscoil