Baile Ghib

Baile Ghib
Gibbstown
Town
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Meath
Population (2006)
  Total 1,144
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
  Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)

Baile Ghib (formerly Gibbstown) is a small Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) in County Meath, Ireland. It is one of two villages, the other being Ráth Cairn, which make up the Meath Gaeltacht. The Meath Gaeltacht has 1,591 inhabitants, representing 2% of the total population of Ireland's Gaeltachts. The Meath Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of 44 square kilometres (17 sq mi), representing 1% of the land area of the Gaeltacht. By contrast, the county town of Navan, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from Baile Ghib, has a population of over 20,000.

History

The Baile Ghib Gaeltacht was founded in 1937, when Irish-speaking families were moved from Gaeltachts on the west coast of Ireland under the Land Commission. Baile Ailin (formerly Allenstown) was established nearby at the same time as Baile Ghib, but proved less successful, with most of its inhabitants moving away. Each family received a house, 22 acres, farm animals and farm implements in exchange for land and property in their native county. Baile Ghib was eventually given official Gaeltacht status, along with Ráth Cairn, in 1967.

Today, Baile Ghib has a GAA club (Bhulf Tón CLG), a village hall, a shop, a church, and a gaelscoil (primary school).

Coordinates: 53°42′36″N 6°45′00″W / 53.71000°N 6.75000°W / 53.71000; -6.75000

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, January 30, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.