Our school is a mainstream, coed primary school. It is located in the picturesque village of Rathvilly, situated in the north of Co. Carlow on the N81 between the towns of Baltinglass, to the north, and Tullow, to the south.  It currently has 200 students, an administrative principal, 8 mainstream class teachers, 2 Special Ed teachers 2 Special Needs Assistants, secretary, caretaker and two cleaning staff.  

We are fortunate to be close to the Rathvilly GAA grounds, our local tennis club, soccer club and the lovely River Slaney.

While Scoil Phádraig Naofa, Rathvilly  is a Catholic school, we welcome children of all faiths and none. The school operates under the patronage of the Kildare and Leighlin Diocese in the parish of Rathvilly.

We encourage the involvement of parents through home/school contacts and through their involvement in the Parents’ Association. Our school endeavours to enhance the self-esteem of everyone in the school community, to imbue in the pupils respect for people and property and to encourage in them the idea of being responsible.

This school building was opened in 1956.  Prior to that the local children went to school in the building now known as the Phoenix Centre in our village.
The site for the new school was kindly donated by the Kearns family and the school was moved up the end of Phelan Street. The original building was divided into two sections, one for the girls and one for the boys.  The school building was much smaller than it is today, in fact there were only four classrooms.

Later as the number of children attending the school grew, the school had to be extended.  At first, a pre-fabricated unit containing two classrooms was erected in what is now the carpark area.  Later in the early 1980's five new classrooms were built, four to the rear of the existing building and one at the front.  Extensive renovations were also carried out to the original building at that time.  

In 2011, further development was necessary.  An upstairs section which included two new classrooms and a GP room was added to the rear section of the school.  The school which was originally built in 1956 was by now completely transformed into a much larger and more modern educational establishment.

In recent years the school has been refurbished and many upgrades have taken place. Currently we are in the process of adding on to our existing building. A new building development is underway, and we hope to see the benefits of this project in the near future.