Old Parish
| An Sean Phobal | |
|---|---|
| Gaeltacht district | |
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 An Sean Phobal
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| Coordinates: 52°01′N 7°37′W / 52.02°N 7.62°WCoordinates: 52°01′N 7°37′W / 52.02°N 7.62°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Waterford |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 110 |
| • Rural | 600 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | X259930 |
An Sean Phobal (anglicised as Old Parish) is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is part of the parish that forms the Irish-speaking area of Gaeltacht na nDéise
An Sean Phobal, as it is known locally, is a large parish covering about 35 square kilometres with approximately 8 km of coastline along Muggort's Bay. It is the second largest parish in Waterford stretching West to East bordering the village of Ardmore and Grange to the other Gaeltacht na nDéise parish of An Rinn and North to South from slightly beyond the Cork-Waterford 25 to the coast. The closest centres of population to An Sean Phobal are Dungarvan and the County Cork town of Youghal.
There is a Primary school, a Pre-school/Child-Care centre, Pub, Roman Catholic Church, Parish Hall, Lighthouse, a GAA pitch and an all-weather pitch, a Gaeltacht Development office along with other businesses and cottage industries. For people working day to day within the parish Farming and agriculture-related industries are still the largest source of employment. Leisure wise there are two beaches with numerous coves and angling rocks along the cliffs, a fresh water lake and 2 large manmade lakes. The cliffs, deeply incised stream gullies and small bays of the area attract a wide variety of seabirds and make the area a paradise for bird-watchers.
The Irish language plays an important role in the area. Gaoluinn na nDéise the Waterford variant of the Munster Irish dialect is spoken. The local primary school, Scoil Náisiúnta Baile Mhic Airt, is an Irish Medium Gaeltacht Primary School. Drama Plays in Irish are produced annually by the local drama group, Aisteoirí An tSean Phobail, and the parishes GAA club competes in the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta an annual Gaelic football competition contested by clubs from the Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht areas of Ireland. The official name of the area is An Sean Phobal or An tSean Phobail in the Genetaive Case. Both An Sean Phobal and Old Parish were on the local road-signs until 2005, when the anglicized form ceased to have any official standing. Today, roadsigns show the Irish name, An Sean Phobal, only.
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Wikipedia