A Gaeltacht 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 Gaeltacht districts were first officially recognised during the 1920s in the early years of the Irish Free State, following the Gaelic revival, as part of a government policy aimed at restoring the Irish language.
County Meath is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the southwest, Westmeath to the west, Cavan to the northwest, and Monaghan to the north. To the east, Meath also borders the Irish Sea along a narrow strip between the rivers Boyne and Delvin, giving it the second shortest coastline of any county. Meath County Council is the local authority for the county.
The vast majority of placenames in Ireland are anglicisations of Irish language names; that is, adaptations of the Irish names to English phonology and spelling. However, some names come directly from the English language, and a handful come from Old Norse and Scots. The study of placenames in Ireland unveils features of the country's history and geography and the development of the Irish language. The name of Ireland itself comes from the Irish name Éire, added to the Germanic word land. In mythology, Éire was an Irish goddess of the land and of sovereignty.
The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its highest mountain, is also the highest peak in Ireland.
Údarás na Gaeltachta, abbreviated UnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland. Its stated purpose is to strengthen the Gaeltacht communities, to increase the quality of life of its community members and facilitate the preservation and extension of the Irish language as the principal language of the region. It gives funding to small local businesses that have to compete with foreign companies.
Máirtín Ó Cadhain was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel Cré na Cille, Ó Cadhain played a key role in reintroducing literary modernism into modern literature in Irish, where it had been dormant since the 1916 execution of Patrick Pearse. Politically, Ó Cadhain was an Irish republican and anti-clerical Marxist, who promoted the Athghabháil na hÉireann, . Ó Cadhain was also a member of the post-Civil War Irish Republican Army and was interned by the Irish Army in the Curragh Camp with Brendan Behan and many other IRA members during the Emergency.
Ráth Chairn is a small village and Gaeltacht in County Meath, Ireland. It is about 55 km northwest of Dublin. Ráth Chairn Gaeltacht was founded in 1935 when 27 families from Connemara, mostly from Ceantar na nOileán, were settled on land previously acquired by the Irish Land Commission, followed by a further 11 families in 1937. In all 443 people moved to the area.
A regional road in the Republic of Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route, but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three-digit route numbers, prefixed by "R". The equivalent road category in Northern Ireland are B roads.
Ballyvourney is a Gaeltacht village in southwest County Cork, Ireland. Ballyvourney is also a civil parish in the barony of Muskerry West, and an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne. The village is part of the Cork North-West Dáil Constituency.
The South-West is a strategic planning area within the Southern Region in Ireland. It is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. It includes the city of Cork and the counties of Cork and Kerry. The South-West region spans 12,120 km2 (4,680 sq mi), roughly 16% of the total area of the state and according to the 2022 census has a population of 736,489.
Ring or Ringagonagh is a parish within the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht na nDéise area in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on a peninsula about eleven kilometres (7 mi) south of Dungarvan. The main settlement is the village of Ring or Ringville, which is within the townland of Ballynagaul.
Coláiste na bhFiann (CnabhF) is an Irish language summer course for students aged 10–18 years. The company was founded by Domhnall Ó Lubhlaí and the first course was in Rosmuc, County Galway, Ireland in 1968. Since then, fifty thousand students have studied on their summer courses.
Old Parish is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is part of the Gaeltacht in Waterford Gaeltacht na nDéise.
Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta is an annual All Ireland Gaelic football competition contested by clubs from the Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht areas of Ireland. Clubs compete on a county-basis at first, in order to qualify for the tournament that is hosted by a different club from the Gaeltacht each year. The first competition was held in Gweedore, County Donegal in 1969 and was won by the local club CLG Ghaoth Dobhair. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta provides radio coverage of both the regional qualifiers and the national finals, held over the June Bank Holiday. TG4 provides live television coverage of the men's semi-finals and finals on the June Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday, and these are also broadcast online.
The Mid-East Region is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. It consists of the territory of the counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow. The Mid-East spans 6,891 km2, 9.8% of the total area of the state and, according to the 2022 census, had a population of 764,154, roughly 14.84% of the national population.
Conamara Theas is a predominantly Irish-speaking district in the West of County Galway. There are around 7,000 people living in the area. Between 60% and 80% of residents are native Irish speakers. It is the part of the Gaeltacht that is west of Cois Fharraige. The Conamara Theas variety of Connacht Irish is different from that of Cois Fharraige.
The Gaeltacht Corca Dhuibhne is located on the western end of the Dingle peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. It's a predominantly Irish-speaking area. It stretches from Abhainn an Scáil to Dún Chaoin and An Clochán to An Daingean. The villages in the area are Abhainn an Scáil, Lios Póil, Daingean Uí Chúis, Ceann Trá, Dún Chaoin, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Baile na nGall and An Clochán. There are between 6,000–7,000 people living in the region and over 3,000 are Irish speaking.
Gaeltacht na nDéise is a Gaeltacht area in County Waterford consisting of the areas of Ring and Old Parish. It is located 10 km from the town of Dungarvan. Gaeltacht na nDéise has a population of 1,816 people and encompasses a geographical area of 62 km2. This represents 1% of total Gaeltacht area.
Muintir na Gaeltachta was a lobby-group representing Irish-speaking inhabitants of the Gaeltacht. It was founded in the winter of 1933–34, with Seán Ó Coisdeala, a national school teacher from Tully in Connemara, as President and Pádraig Seoige as secretary. Other founders included Peadar Duignan, Seán Tubridy, and Máirtín Ó Cadhain. In 1935, in conjunction with the Land Commission, it helped to establish the Meath Gaeltacht by transplanting Irish-speaking families from Connacht. Its office was in Kells, County Meath. It was a registered nominating body for the Cultural and Educational Panel of Seanad Éireann through the 1997 election.
A Gaeltacht service town is an area designated under the Gaeltacht Act 2012, situated in or adjacent to Gaeltacht areas in Ireland, that have a population of over 1,000 people, and which play a significant role in providing public services, recreational and commercial facilities for Gaeltacht residents.
