Ráth Chairn () is a small village and
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 ...
(
Irish-speaking area) in
County Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It is about 55 km northwest of
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. Ráth Chairn Gaeltacht was founded in 1935 when 27 families from
Connemara
Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
, mostly from
Ceantar na nOileán, were settled on land previously acquired by the
Irish 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 ...
, followed by a further 11 families in 1937. In all 443 people moved to the area.
In 1967 Ráth Chairn received official recognition as a Gaeltacht, following a local campaign.
Today, it and the nearby village of
Baile Ghib
Baile Ghib () is a small village and Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area) in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 70km northwest of Dublin.
The Baile Ghib Gaeltacht was founded in 1937 when 52 families were settled on land previously acquired by the ...
make up the Meath Gaeltacht. According to the 2016 census 16% of the population of Ráth Chairn and
Baile Ghib
Baile Ghib () is a small village and Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area) in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 70km northwest of Dublin.
The Baile Ghib Gaeltacht was founded in 1937 when 52 families were settled on land previously acquired by the ...
speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system.
Ráth Chairn has since grown into a village with a Catholic church, community hall for dramas and
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the inter ...
(also used by
Coláiste na bhFiann during the summer months), sports facilities, an all-Irish primary and secondary school, a library and a pub (An Bradán Feasa). Several facilities in Ráth Chairn host children and adults wishing to learn Irish, and residential Irish language courses,
Coláiste na bhFiann, are run for teenagers in the summer months. A
cooperative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
, the Ráth Chairn Cooperation Society (generally known by its Irish-language name, ), was formed in 1973.
Public transport
Local Link route 188 provides a twice-daily bus service linking the village to
Athboy
Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of Dublin. T ...
,
Navan
Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...
and
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
.
History
Establishment of the Meath Gaeltacht
The Meath Gaeltacht was formed when the
Irish 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 ...
redistributed the large estates of absentee landlords and farmers from the Gaeltacht areas of the western seaboard were resettled in Meath in the 1930s. The migrants were from Cork, Kerry, Connemara, Mayo and Donegal. The government's goals were to relieve overcrowding and poverty in the western counties and to spread the Irish language. This "colony" was also a social experiment to redress the 17th-century ethnic cleansing of Ireland by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
’s draconian action ‘
To hell or Connaught’. However, due to the limited size of the Gaeltacht, the difficulty of providing a wide range of services through Irish led to bilingualism becoming necessary.
Foundation of Ráth Chairn
Ráth Chairn was founded in 1935 when 27 families from Connemara moved east to live on land acquired by the Land Commission. The initiative promised potential migrants a higher quality of life, greater crop yields than Connemara and newly built homes. The proposal also aimed to stop the decline of the Irish language by creating an Irish-speaking community in a new location. Each family was provided with a Land Commission house and a farm of approximately 8.9
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s (22
acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
s), a sow, piglets and basic implements. A further 11 families joined the original settlers in 1937.
For the most part, when the migrants arrived, they were welcomed into a county where the ethos of the romantic Gaelic revival was in full swing. However, resentment manifested itself in local newspapers, that the migrants were given the land in preference to the local farmers. The Meath Chronicle reported on 27 April 1935 that a local Meath resident was arrested for threatening the life of a Land Commission employee but was released without charge and secondhand accounts report that a migrant woman was harassed by gangs and told "to quit talking that gibberish here".
Notable people
*
Liam Mac Cóil, novelist, critic and essayist
*
Sibéal Ní Chasaide,
sean-nós singer
*
Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, television personality
*
Darach Ó Catháin,
sean-nós singer
*
Ciarán Ó Cofaigh
Ciarán Ó Cofaigh is an Irish people, Irish film director and film producer, producer.
Biography
A native of Ráth Cairn, County Meath, but resident in Indreabhán, County Galway, Ó Cofaigh has worked in the Irish film and broadcast industry ...
, director and producer
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath Cairn
Gaeltacht towns and villages
Gaeltacht places in County Meath
Intentional communities in Ireland
Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland
Towns and villages in County Meath