Baile Ghib () is a small Gaeltacht (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-speaking area) in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the so ...

, Ireland. It and one other village,

Ráth Chairn Ráth Chairn (anglicised as Rathcairn) is a small village and Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area) in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 55 km northwest of Dublin. Ráth Chairn Gaeltacht was founded in 1935 when 41 families from Connemara wer ...

, make up the Meath Gaeltacht. The Meath Gaeltacht has 1,591 inhabitants, representing 2% of the total population of Ireland's Gaeltachtaí ''(plural of Gaeltacht).''16% of people living in Baile Ghib and

speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system according to the 2016 census. The Meath Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of , representing 1% of the land area of the Gaeltacht. By contrast, the county town of

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nbs ...

, from Baile Ghib, has a population of over 30,173.

History

Giving way to Irish in the Baile Ghib Gaeltacht - geograph

The Baile Ghib Gaeltacht was founded in 1937, when Irish-speaking families were moved from Gaeltachts on the west coast of Ireland under the

Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

. Baile Ailin (English: Allenstown) was established nearby at the same time as Baile Ghib, but proved less successful, with most of its inhabitants moving away. Each family received a house, 22 acres, farm animals and

farm implement Agricultural equipment is any kind of machinery used on a farm to help with farming. The best-known example of this kind is the tractor. Tractor and power *Tractor / Two-wheel tractor *Tracked tractor / Caterpillar tractor Soil cultivat ...

s in exchange for land and property in their native county. Baile Ghib was eventually given official Gaeltacht status, along with

, in 1967. Today, Baile Ghib has a GAA club (Bhulf Tón CLG), a village hall, a shop, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

, and a

gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary an ...

( primary school).

References

Gaeltacht places in County Meath Towns and villages in County Meath {{Meath-geo-stub