Ranafast

Rann na Feirste
Ranafast / Rinnafarset
Village

A view of Ranafast.
Rann na Feirste

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 55°03′03″N 8°14′08″W / 55.050941°N 8.235626°W / 55.050941; -8.235626Coordinates: 55°03′03″N 8°14′08″W / 55.050941°N 8.235626°W / 55.050941; -8.235626
Country Ireland
Province Ulster
County County Donegal
Government
  Dáil Éireann Donegal South–West
Population
  Rural 167
Irish Grid Reference B847228
Rann na Feirste is the only official name. The anglicized spellings Rannafast and Rinnafarset have no official status.

Ranafast or Rinnafarset (officially only known by its Irish name Rann na Feirste Irish pronunciation: [ɾˠan̪ˠ nˠə ˈfˠaɾˠʃ.tʲə ])[1][2] is a Gaeltacht village and townland in the Rosses region of northwest County Donegal, Ireland.

Name

Ranafast, or sometimes Rannafast or Rinnafarset, is the anglicised version of the area’s original and official name Rann na Feirste.

Language

Ranafast is a Gaeltacht area, therefore the Irish language is the predominantly spoken language, although English can be understood by most. Rann na Feirste is a Gaeltacht area and every summer it is filled with hundreds of students from other parts of Ireland who come to the area, stay with local families and improve their Irish language skills. The Irish college in the area is called Coláiste Bhríde (St. Brigid's College in English). The Gaeltacht courses take place within the college every summer.

Arts and culture

Music

The area has a rich history of song-writing and singing, Ranafast has produced an extensive catalogue of old Gaelic songs which have been performed by many world-famous singers. Local band Skara Brae are seen as one of the pioneers of contemporary traditional Irish music. Ranafast is also known for its marching band tradition. Founded in 1976, the band went on to win many titles at local provincial and national level. The band won at Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann on 3 occasions. Also first Donegal band to become world Champions and first Donegal band to lead a St Patrick's Day parade in the USA.

Literature

Local writers, brothers Séamus Ó Grianna and Seosamh Mac Grianna are two important writers in the Irish language. Séamus’s Caisleáin Óir and Seosamh's Mo Bhealach Féin are regarded as literary staples in the Irish language today.

References

  1. Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. Placenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004. The townland's name is also sometimes spelt in Irish as Rinn na Feirste.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.