Background Motor skills are the basis for any bodily movement. They allow children to read, write, walk, talk and play sports. These skills play a central role in children's lives and specifically allow them to be physically active and healthy. However there is currently a lack of knowledge in relation to the level of fine motor skills in children both in Ireland and internationally. Fine motor skills are an essential component of numerous activities of daily life such as dressing and feeding and in addition to academic practices such as handwriting. Methods This cross-sectional study used the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency, Second Edition (BOT-2) to evaluate the fine motor skill proficiency of Irish primary school children (N=139) between the age of 6-12 years. A second measure involving a handheld pendulum was also used to determine children's sensory motor coordination levels with visual stimuli, auditory stimuli and a combination of both (multisensory). Results In terms of fine motor skill proficiency, only 1st class children were found to be meeting the expected levels, while 3rd and 5th class children were found to score below the normative values for age and gender. There was a significant effect for gender, with boys being found to demonstrate higher levels of motor skill proficiency compared to girls. In addition, the investigation into sensory motor coordination levels of children also demonstrated an effect for age. The oldest children were found to demonstrate the best levels of coordination across visual, auditory and multisensory conditions. Discussion These low levels of fine motor skill proficiency might impede performance of everyday life activities as well as children's willingness to participate in physical activity (Bouffard, 1996; Cairney et al 2005, 2006). This lower level of fine motor skill proficiency for older Irish children in addition to the observed gender differences could be as a result of different societal, cultural and environment influences.