What CEIST does

CEIST (Catholic Education An Irish Schools' Trust) is the designated patron and trustee body for approximately 107 voluntary Catholic secondary schools across the Republic of Ireland. Established in 2007 and headquartered at Summit House, Embassy Office Park, Kill, Co. Kildare, the trust was founded by five religious congregations — the Presentation Sisters, Congregation of Sisters of Mercy, Daughters of Charity, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and Christian Retreat — to preserve and manage their school networks under a unified Catholic ethos rooted in Gospel values, the Mercy charism, and contemporary inclusive practice. CEIST operates as a registered Irish charity (CHY17522, RCN 20065355) and is led by CEO Maeve Mahon with a lean central team of approximately 22 staff.

CEIST's service offering centres on four functional pillars: (1) governance and trustee support, including Board of Management compliance, admission policy templates, and legal frameworks; (2) financial assistance, channelled through the Nano Nagle Assistance Fund and the Primary School's Ministry Fund; (3) faith formation, delivered primarily through the proprietary Cothú reflective process, which supports spiritual, moral, emotional, intellectual, and social development in the Catholic tradition; and (4) professional development, including the Leadership in a CEIST School (LCS) programme, principal and deputy principal induction, RE Teacher Support Days, and the Holding Space retreat facilitation course developed with Dublin City University. The CEISTcloud.net portal serves as the centralised members-only platform distributing governance documents, finance templates, policies, and event resources to member schools.

The business model is non-commercial: CEIST is a charitable trust with no product pricing or per-school fee schedule disclosed. Revenue is derived from member school contributions, congregational grants, and event sponsorship. Distribution to schools occurs through a combination of the CEISTcloud.net portal, regional network meetings held at venues across all four provinces of Ireland (Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley, Newpark Hotel Kilkenny, Great Southern Killarney, Mullingar Park Hotel, Woodlands Hotel Adare), annual flagship events including the CEIST Annual Conference and Student Leadership Conference, and direct field engagement by the Faith Leadership team. Marketing reach is supplemented by a website (ceist.ie), newsletter, and social media presence on X and Instagram (@CeistTrust). The organisation's competitive position rests on its institutional designation as a patron body — a regulatory role that is not easily replicated.

Name

CEIST

Legal name

Catholic Education An Irish Schools' Trust

Website

https://ceist.ie

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEIST is the designated patron and trustee body for approximately 107 voluntary Catholic secondary schools in Ireland, providing governance support, faith formation (Cothú), professional development, and financial assistance under a unified Catholic ethos established by five founding religious congregations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Trust Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Governance Bodies & Board/Trustee Administration (EDADAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Charter School Authorizers & Oversight Boards (EDADABAB)

Keywords

• Catholic secondary education
• School trustee services
• Educational governance support
• Faith formation programs
• Teacher professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Naas (Kill)

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CEIST acts as the trustee and patron body for approximately 107 voluntary Catholic secondary schools in Ireland, providing school governance and Board of Management support, admission-policy frameworks, faith-formation processes (Cothú), financial assistance mechanisms (Nano Nagle Assistance Fund, Primary School's Ministry Fund), and a calendar of professional-development programmes and conferences for principals, deputy principals, RE teachers and student leaders across the network.

Product overview

CEIST (Catholic Education An Irish Schools' Trust) is an educational trust and trustee body for 107 Voluntary Catholic Secondary Schools in Ireland. Rather than a technology product company, CEIST provides educational support services including the CEIST School Portal (ceistcloud.net), Cothú faith-rooted formation programme, and various professional development offerings including the Leadership in a CEIST School (LCS) programme. The organization hosts annual events including the Student Leadership Conference, CEIST Annual Conference, and Ceiliúradh CEIST celebration day, as well as RE Teacher Support Days and Holding Space retreat facilitation training in partnership with DCU. CEIST's mission is to provide holistic education in the Catholic tradition, guided by values of dignity, care, justice, community, and excellence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CEISTcloud.net School Portal Cloud-based members-only portal providing CEIST schools with central access to governance documentation, financial tools and administrative resources supporting trusteeship across the school network.
• Cothú Faith-Rooted Formation Programme CEIST's proprietary reflective faith-formation process fostering the holistic growth of every person across CEIST school communities, supporting spiritual, moral, emotional, intellectual and social development in the Catholic tradition.
• Leadership in a CEIST School (LCS) Programme Multi-Saturday Spring leadership development programme for school leaders, equipping current and aspiring leaders to lead within the Catholic school context across the CEIST network.
• Holding Space — Practical Retreat Facilitation Course for Teachers Practical retreat facilitation training programme co-developed with Dublin City University, building capacity among teachers in CEIST schools to lead retreats for students and staff.
• Religious Education (RE) Teacher Support Days CPD and networking programme providing Religious Education teachers across CEIST schools with opportunities to connect, share resources and reinforce the characteristic spirit of Catholic education.
• School Governance and Board of Management Support Services Trustee/governance services provided to CEIST schools covering Board of Management support, admission-policy review, financial calendars, school accounts templates, capital expenditure processes and compliance frameworks.
• Nano Nagle Assistance Fund & Primary School's Ministry Fund Financial assistance funds administered by CEIST to provide monetary support to schools in its network, sourced from congregational contributions including the Presentation Sisters.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DCU (Dublin City University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEIST announced a partnership with DCU to provide a training course for teachers — the Holding Space programme, a Practical Retreat Facilitation Course for Teachers. This is an educational programme developed in collaboration with DCU to build capacity among teachers in CEIST schools for retreat facilitation.
• Hodson Bay Hotel, AthloneminorOthersCEIST holds its annual conference at the Hodson Bay Hotel in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The venue also hosts other CEIST training events and network meetings.
• Catholic Education Partnership (CEP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEIST works with the Catholic Education Partnership for Catholic Schools Week resources and initiatives. CEP provides resources and a coordinated approach to Catholic school identity across Ireland. CEIST schools participate in CEP-organised events including Catholic Schools Week.
• Presentation SisterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Presentation Sisters are one of the five founding congregations of CEIST. They have provided funding through the Primary School's Ministry Fund and are integral to CEIST's Catholic ethos and charism. Christmas Eve 2025 marked the beginning of a 12-month celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Presentation Congregation.
• Congregation of Sisters of MercycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five founding congregations of CEIST. The Sisters of Mercy charism — mercy, justice, hospitality, service, compassion, and respect for the dignity of each person — underpins CEIST's core values and school communities.
• Daughters of CharitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five founding congregations of CEIST, contributing to the Catholic identity and charism of CEIST schools.
• Missionaries of the Sacred HeartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five founding congregations of CEIST, contributing to the Catholic identity and charism of CEIST schools.
• Christian RetreatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the five founding congregations of CEIST, contributing to the Catholic identity and charism of CEIST schools.
• Nano Nagle Assistance FundcoreOthersA financial assistance fund administered by CEIST to support schools in its network, named after Nano Nagle, founder of the Presentation Sisters.
• OdlumsminorOthersOdlums sponsored the CEIST Bake Off competition, providing prizes and support for the inaugural event. Well-known baker Catherine Leyden (Odlums/TV3) judged the competition.
• Folens PublishersminorOthersFolens Publishers awarded the School Choir of the Year 2026 prize (€3000 award and trophy in the RDS Dublin) to St. Joseph's Castlebar Gospel Choir, following their Feis Ceoil Youth Choir Competition first-place win.
• The EDUCENA FoundationminorOthersReferenced as a foundation affiliated with CEIST, providing additional support to the CEIST network of schools.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Educate Together: Ireland's multi-denominational patron body operating primary and secondary schools. Directly comparable to CEIST as an alternative schools' patron/trustee model, serving as a secular counterpart in the same regulatory ecosystem.
• Le Chéile Schools Trust: Catholic multi-congregational schools trust in Ireland that serves as patron body for voluntary secondary schools. Closely comparable to CEIST in mission, governance role, and member school profile, making it the most direct Irish peer.
• Loreto Education Trust: Trust body supporting Loreto schools in Ireland with a faith-based charism. Comparable to CEIST as a congregation-linked patron and governance body for Catholic secondary schools.
• Mercy Education Ireland: An Irish Catholic education body rooted in the Sisters of Mercy congregation — one of CEIST's founding congregations. Comparable as a faith-rooted educational trust supporting Catholic schools with similar formation programmes.
• The Edmund Rice Schools Trust: Irish Catholic schools trust linked to the Christian Brothers, serving as patron for voluntary secondary schools. Directly comparable to CEIST in trustee role, charism-based identity, and membership model.

Broad incumbents

• Diocesan Catholic Education Offices (Ireland): Diocesan offices that act as patrons for Catholic primary schools in Ireland. Broader incumbents in the same patron/governance ecosystem as CEIST, though typically focused on primary rather than post-primary.
• Catholic Education Service (England & Wales): National education office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Comparable as a higher-order Catholic education governance body but operates at jurisdictional scale rather than as a single trust.
• Catholic Education Partnership (CEP): Umbrella partnership of Irish Catholic education bodies (including CEIST) coordinating Catholic school identity, Catholic Schools Week, and shared resources. Broader and more federated than CEIST's single-trust model.

Regional players

• Catholic Schools NSW: Regional Catholic schools system in New South Wales, Australia that operates as a governance/trustee body for Catholic schools. Comparable in patron role and faith-formation remit but in a different geographic market.
• National Catholic Education Association (NCEA): US professional association and advocacy organisation for Catholic schools. Comparable in mission to support and represent Catholic school communities, but operating as an association rather than a direct patron body.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ceisttrust
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/ceist

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CEIST