An Rinn (Ring) (An Rinn)

A small but proud Gaeltacht on the southeast coast, and the main surviving Irish-speaking community in the region.

An Rinn (Ring), on the coast of County Waterford near Dungarvan, is a small Gaeltacht known as Gaeltacht na nDéise. Though geographically cut off from the larger western Gaeltachtaí, this proud community has kept Irish alive on the southeast coast.

It is well known for its Irish-language college, Coláiste na Rinne, which for over a century has brought students to the Gaeltacht to learn and live through Irish.

At a glance

• A Gaeltacht community on the Waterford coast (Gaeltacht na nDéise).
• The main surviving Irish-speaking area in the southeast.
• Home to the long-established Irish college, Coláiste na Rinne.
• Isolated from the western Gaeltachtaí but proudly enduring.

In County Waterford

An Rinn (Ring) is in County Waterford, Port Láirge in Irish, which means “Lárag's port / landing place”.

More in Waterford

• The Comeragh Mountains (Na Comaraigh): A plateau of dark cliffs and hidden corrie lakes above the Waterford coast.
• Reginald's Tower (Túr Raghnaill): A Viking-founded tower guarding Ireland's oldest city.

Other places of this kind

• Connemara Gaeltacht (Conamara): The largest and best-known Irish-speaking region, a wild landscape of bog, mountain and Atlantic coastline.
• Gweedore Gaeltacht (Gaoth Dobhair): The largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland, in northwest Donegal, and a stronghold of Ulster Irish and traditional music.
• Corca Dhuibhne (Dingle Peninsula) (Corca Dhuibhne): The Dingle Peninsula Gaeltacht, a Munster-Irish heartland rich in early Christian sites and Ogham stones.
• Múscraí (Muskerry) (Gaeltacht Mhúscraí): The Cork Gaeltacht in the hills of Muskerry, a Munster-Irish community with a rich song tradition.
• Ráth Chairn (Ráth Chairn): Ireland's youngest Gaeltacht, created in 1935 when Irish-speaking families were resettled from Connemara.

The Irish name

The Irish form of An Rinn (Ring) is An Rinn. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.