Ráth Chairn (Ráth Chairn)

Ireland's youngest Gaeltacht, created in 1935 when Irish-speaking families were resettled from Connemara.

Ráth Chairn, in County Meath, is the youngest Gaeltacht in Ireland. In 1935, families from the crowded Connemara Gaeltacht were resettled here on more fertile land under a government scheme, bringing their Irish language with them.

Against the odds, the community held on to Irish far from the western heartlands, and Ráth Chairn, together with nearby Baile Ghib, was officially recognised as a Gaeltacht. It stands as a remarkable example of a transplanted, surviving Irish-speaking community.

At a glance

• Ireland's youngest Gaeltacht, in Co. Meath.
• Created in 1935 by resettling Irish-speaking families from Connemara.
• Kept Irish alive far from the western Gaeltachtaí.
• Officially recognised as a Gaeltacht, with nearby Baile Ghib.

In County Meath

Ráth Chairn is in County Meath, An Mhí in Irish, which means “the middle (the middle kingdom)”.

More in Meath

• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Hill of Tara (Teamhair na Rí): The ancient inauguration site of the High Kings of Ireland, rich in myth and archaeology.
• Trim Castle (Caisleán Bhaile Átha Troim): The largest Norman castle in Ireland, on the banks of the Boyne.

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.
• An Rinn (Ring) (An Rinn): A small but proud Gaeltacht on the southeast coast, and the main surviving Irish-speaking community in the region.
• Múscraí (Muskerry) (Gaeltacht Mhúscraí): The Cork Gaeltacht in the hills of Muskerry, a Munster-Irish community with a rich song tradition.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Ráth Chairn is Ráth Chairn. 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.