Kilkenny College is Ireland’s largest boarding school. The boarding fees at Kilkenny College were €13,150 for the 2025-2026 academic year, compared with €11,000 for the 2021/2022 year. About a third of boarding students avail of means-tested grants for Protestant families who want to attend a school of their own religious ethos. Larkin says Covid was an extremely traumatic period for the boarding school sector. There are table tennis and table football games alongside large couches in the boys’ boarding houses.

Source: The Irish Times February 24, 2026 07:32 UTC