About Setanta School - Roll No: 20028K
Principal's Welcome,
The School was originally founded in 1965 by the HSE and was called St Loman’s Special School. It was located next to St Loman’s Hospital as, at the time, most of the students were resident there. In this incarnation, the School was intended to cater for all forms of special needs clients and was not autism specific. In 1990 the school was moved to Blanchardstown and became known as James Connolly Special School. It was at this point that the primary function of the school was to cater for those on the ASD spectrum aged between 12 and 18 years. There were only two teachers working in the school at that stage and this was the case up until 1995 when it moved to its current location and adopted the name Setanta School. Our sister school, Ballyowen Meadows (which caters for pre teens on the ASD spectrum) had moved to a nearby building the previous year and the move had proved a success. Initially Setanta shared the school with Mary Immaculate School for the Deaf but this arrangement only lasted for one year after which Setanta had full use of the building.
Since this time, the number of students which Setanta has been able to accommodate has grown substantially and staff numbers have increased accordingly. We currently have 14 teachers and 40 Special Needs Assistants as well as myself the Principal, Loman Ó Loingsigh and we cater for 68 students as of the school year 2025-2026. We make use of the buildings formerly occupied by Ballyowen Meadows as this school has temporarily moved to a facility in Loughlinstown. This has allowed us to further expand our facilities and to develop a gym, a games room and variety of other useful areas including our Fetac kitchen.
As of September 2025, we are thrilled to announce that Setanta School has moved into our brand-new, purpose-built school in Beechwood Court, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin. This marks an exciting new chapter for our school community, and we look forward to all the opportunities this modern, specially designed space will bring for our students and staff.
Sincerely,
Loman Ó Loingsigh
School Principal
Our Mission
Our school is a centre where empathy, justice, compassion and joy find expression.
Each child is an individual and will be treated with respect, dignity and kindness throughout his/her stay in the school.
Our History
The school originated from a small school (St Loman’s) that was once attached to James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, County Dublin. On moving to Beechpark it was renamed Setanta.