A Gaelscoil (; plural: ) is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland; the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary and second levels on the island of Ireland. Additionally, more than 13,000 students are receiving their primary and second level education through Irish in the Gaeltacht. and Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht are supported and represented by Gaeloideachas and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & GaelscolaÃÂochta or COGG in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na GaelscolaÃÂochta in Northern Ireland. The largest patron body of in the Republic of Ireland is An Foras Pátrúnachta, although the vast majority of schools under their patronage are at primary level.
Students in the acquire the Irish language through language immersion, and study the standard curriculum through it. Gaelscoileanna, unlike English-medium schools, have the reputation of producing competent Irish speakers. English-medium schools, in contrast, produce relatively few fluent Irish speakers, despite the Irish language being an obligatory subject in the Republic of Ireland in both primary and secondary school. This has been attributed in part to the lack of Irish-language immersion programs.
Gaelscoileanna have undergone a striking expansion over the last few decades, although there are now concerns that rules limiting the founding of new schools are affecting the establishment of new Irish-medium education in areas where there is competition amongst educational patrons. 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.
In 1972, there were only 11 such schools at primary level and five at secondary level in the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2023, there were 188 at primary level, attended by over 40,000 students, and 32 and 17 (Irish language units) at secondary level, attended by over 12,000 students in non-Gaeltacht areas across Ireland. 35 of these primary schools, two of the postprimary schools and four of the postprimary units operated are in Northern Ireland. Additionally, some 4,000 children attend Irish-medium preschools or NaÃÂonrai outside the Gaeltacht with around 1,000 children attending NaÃÂonraÃÂ within the Gaeltacht. There is now at least one in every county in Ireland with over 50 in County Dublin; 30 in County Cork and 13 in County Antrim included.
have acquired a reputation for providing excellent academic results at a moderate cost. They have been described as a system of "positive social selection" giving better than average access to tertiary education and the social and employment opportunities which follow. An analysis of "feeder" schools which send students on to tertiary level institutions shows that 22% of Irish-medium schools send all their students on to tertiary level, compared to 7% of English-medium schools.
Supporters argue that the bilingualism resulting from early acquisition of another language is of general intellectual benefit and helps children to learn still other languages. Irish-language advocates of the immersion approach sometimes refer to studies showing that bilingual children have advantages over monoglot children in other subjects.
A secondary-level located in a non- area is commonly known as a . There are 32 and 17 second-level Irish language units () on the island of Ireland, attended by over 12,000 students. Close to 4,000 further students receive their second-level education through Irish in the .
Two new second-level opened in Ireland in 2014: in Balbriggan and in Rathfarnham (both in County Dublin). in 201: opened in Cork's Carrigaline and Gaelcholsáite Dhoire the North of Ireland's second opened in Dungiven Castle. in 2019: opened in Cork's Knocknaheeney. In September 2020: opened in Maynooth.
Gaelcholáistàare supported and represented on a practical day-to-day basis by Gaeloideachas (who also support Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht), by COGG - An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & GaelscolaÃÂochta (council for gaeltacht and gaelscoileanna education) in the Republic of Ireland and by Comhairle na GaelscolaÃÂochta in the North of Ireland.
In 2023 An Foras Pátrúnacha revealed that there is a demand for 7 new in the Republic of Ireland and in 2021 revealed that there is a demand for 3 new in Northern Ireland.
The function and future of Gaelscoileanna in the Republic of Ireland falls within the scope of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, published by the then-Irish government in December 2010. This report emphasises the importance of offering all children in primary schools in Ireland the opportunity to experience partial immersion in the formative years of primary education. It calls for primary teachers to have additional immersion classes to improve their competence in the language. This would involve teaching some subjects such as Mathematics and Science in Irish.