Rossaveel
Ciarán Seoighe
July 20, 2023
HM 234. Rossaveel, Rossaveal or Ros an Mhíl - a Gaeltacht region in Connemara, Co Galway.
Ciarán Seoighe spoke Gaelic, although not to me! Speaking the language was a prerequisite for his job as HM in this special part of Ireland. The Gaeltacht comprises pockets of land where Irish is the mother tongue. To protect and foster the Irish language, the government officially recognised the Gaeltacht regions in 1926 and as Ciarán explained they are still carefully nurtured, with all business emails written in, and meetings held in Gaelic.
The second of the six government owned fishing ports I knew what to expect this time (after my experience in Killybegs). The 30m euro investment in the harbour is very evident with a brand new 200m quayside under construction for wind farm traffic and the third phase of a new marina nearly finished. Everything about the harbour was high grade, including the quality of the catch being unloaded from the prawn trawler Nausicaa. The crew explained to me how they graded, froze and boxed all the catch at sea in order to obtain top prices. It was no surprise to learn their catch was already sold.
Ciarán had returned to Rossaveel after a career on deep sea BP supply ships, ending up as Chief Mate. He told me that while he was away he had appreciated his Irish language and was keen to get a job in a Gaeltacht. The majority of the local fishing fleet were currently away catching tuna off France, before returning home in October to fish the vast Porcupine Bank 120 miles west of Ireland. I was to hear mention of the Porcupine Bank fishing area many times.
As well as the fishing and windfarm boats, the HM was responsible for the safe operations of the Aran Island ferries. 300,000 passengers a year depart from here to the Islands. More important than the tourists were the 1,500 inhabitants of the islands, all of whom depended on the ferry as their life line, in and out of Rossaveel Harbour. I sensed that Ciarán felt this strongly.
Thank you for a very interesting visit Ciarán and by now (April 2024) there should some very smart marina facilities open.
Ciarán Seoighe spoke Gaelic, although not to me! Speaking the language was a prerequisite for his job as HM in this special part of Ireland. The Gaeltacht comprises pockets of land where Irish is the mother tongue. To protect and foster the Irish language, the government officially recognised the Gaeltacht regions in 1926 and as Ciarán explained they are still carefully nurtured, with all business emails written in, and meetings held in Gaelic.
The second of the six government owned fishing ports I knew what to expect this time (after my experience in Killybegs). The 30m euro investment in the harbour is very evident with a brand new 200m quayside under construction for wind farm traffic and the third phase of a new marina nearly finished. Everything about the harbour was high grade, including the quality of the catch being unloaded from the prawn trawler Nausicaa. The crew explained to me how they graded, froze and boxed all the catch at sea in order to obtain top prices. It was no surprise to learn their catch was already sold.
Ciarán had returned to Rossaveel after a career on deep sea BP supply ships, ending up as Chief Mate. He told me that while he was away he had appreciated his Irish language and was keen to get a job in a Gaeltacht. The majority of the local fishing fleet were currently away catching tuna off France, before returning home in October to fish the vast Porcupine Bank 120 miles west of Ireland. I was to hear mention of the Porcupine Bank fishing area many times.
As well as the fishing and windfarm boats, the HM was responsible for the safe operations of the Aran Island ferries. 300,000 passengers a year depart from here to the Islands. More important than the tourists were the 1,500 inhabitants of the islands, all of whom depended on the ferry as their life line, in and out of Rossaveel Harbour. I sensed that Ciarán felt this strongly.
Thank you for a very interesting visit Ciarán and by now (April 2024) there should some very smart marina facilities open.