The Development and Consolidation of the Gaeltacht Colony Rath Cairn, Co. Meath 1935-1948

In 1935 a Gaeltacht Colony was created in the townland of Rath Cairn, Co Meath, when twenty-seven Irish speaking families, comprising 182 individuals, arrived at their new homes on fully equipped farms. After Fianna Fail had achieved an overall majority in the wake of the 1933 election, they turned to resolving the overcrowding and poverty in the west of Ireland. In the immediate post independent period the newly formed Irish state was anxious to establish an identity separate from the previous colonial power and language was one way to do it. By combining the land and language question, Fianna Fail dealt with both of the significant political issues of the time. This new development in migration, established by Fianna Fail, recognised that a huge political credibility would be achieved if they were to alleviate the congestion on farms in the western counties and spread the Irish language. Within the context of the wider land reform policies they perceived that migration was the most effective method of approach and they implemented a suggestion made some four years previously in the Gaeltacht Commission Report of 1927. This was ground breaking social engineering and against some opposition, fertile grasslands of the midlands were acquired and the land divided into small farms which would become the first Gaeltacht colony. Despite the expense and attention to detail the project, as this thesis will show, was fundamentally flawed.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

National University of Ireland Maynooth

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Pegley, Suzanne

• History

Language dc:language

en