Ring (, its official name) or Ringagonagh ( ) is a parish within the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht na nDéise area in

County Waterford County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...

, Ireland. It lies on a peninsula about south of Dungarvan. The main settlement is the village of Ring or Ringville, which is within the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Ballynagaul. It is a growing area that has three schools – two primary (including , an Irish language boarding school) and one secondary school, . There are also restaurants, pubs, and other businesses. There are two fishing piers/harbours (Ballynagaul and Helvick), two beaches (The Cunnigar and Ballynagaul) and a cove at Helvick. It is the only

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

in Waterford, and the only one in the south-east of Ireland.

Name

'Ring' is an

anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of the Irish name , meaning

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

, point or

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

. In 2005, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív announced that by way of Placenames Orders under the

Official Languages Act 2003 The Official Languages Act 2003 () is an Act of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The Act sets out rules regarding use of the Irish language by public bodies; established the office of to monitor and enforce compliance by public bodies with the pro ...

, anglicised place names of Gaeltacht towns and villages would no longer feature on official signposts, and only the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

names would appear.

Irish language

, the Waterford variant of the Munster Irish language dialect, is spoken by local native speakers. The strongest age group of Irish speakers is the 10-14 age category, of which 50.8% use the language on a daily basis outside of educational institutions. A large number of people have moved to the area over recent decades (primarily from other parts of Ireland), and as a result, there is a group of people living in Ring for whom Irish is not their first language. The ''Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht'', published in 2007 and updated in 2014, gave information in relation to the number of Irish speakers in Gaeltacht na nDéise and the three electoral divisions it comprises: Ring, Ballymacart and Ardmore. The results for Ring were as follows: 43.07% in 2007 and 48.14% in 2014. According to the 2016 census 33% of the population in the electoral division claimed they spoke Irish on a daily basis outside the education system, while over 75% said they could speak Irish Áine Ní Fhoghludha, an Irish language writer, was born here.

Education

All education in Ring is taught in Irish. There is a pre-school, , in the local community centre, . There is one primary school, , located at . There is one secondary school, , which services Ring, , and there are also some students from Dungarvan.

(Ring College) is an Irish-language primary school in Ring. It also operates as an Irish-language summer college. During term time it accommodates fifth and sixth class students. As it is a primary boarding school, many students go on to secondary-level boarding schools from here. Many of the visiting students are accommodated by local families, many of whom speak only Irish at home. The college also provides Irish language training courses for various public sector bodies and trainee teachers.

Sport

Rinn Ó gCuanach CLG is a

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) club based in Ring. The club enters teams for both Gaelic football and hurling each year.

Community development

Community development in Ring is primarily carried out by two bodies that co-operate with each other. runs the local community hall and hosts facilities and activities such as , the local doctors' clinic, the Raidió na Gaeltachta radio studio, , and – a parent and toddler group – as well as organising a variety of community events. have a which involves activities taking place in the hall to include the Irish language, and most activities are carried out in Irish only. , which represents , also has an office in Ring and works to develop various projects. It was established in May 2005, and is a registered company and charity that has representatives from as well as (the other community-based development committee in the Waterford Gaeltacht), on its board of directors. has developed and implemented several development plans for the Waterford Gaeltacht which have resulted in new facilities for Ring, such as a playground. won recognition for their activities in the competition in 2006.

References