While it is great to see the physical fabric of Rathaspeck Church restored and saved from ruin, the growing use of the name “The RATH” online to promote the landmark is a disappointing trend.
Using “The RATH” as a modern logo reduces centuries of local identity to a shallow marketing label. In Irish history, a rath (ráth) is simply a generic earthen ringfort, a common feature scattered all over the countryside. The name Rathaspeck comes from the Irish Ráth Easpaig, meaning “the ringfort of the bishop.” By chopping the name in half and turning it into a trendy uppercase brand, those promoting the venue online are wiping out the very word that gives the place its unique historical meaning. On top of that, spoken aloud, the shortened word sounds identical to “wrath”—a harsh and jarring association for a historic sanctuary meant to bring people together in peace.
Given that this restoration has been heavily backed by public money—including over €100,000 from the state’s Historic Structures Fund alongside local community fundraising—the wider parish should rightly have been asked before any move is made to rebrand the building, even informally. Public money comes with a clear duty to be open and to include the local community. A shift touching on shared local heritage and public funds should never happen quietly behind closed doors or through social media branding alone.
This issue goes beyond a single building in Wexford. Across rural Ireland, there is a growing habit of flattening centuries-old parish names into clipped, corporate logos to fit modern marketing flyers or tick boxes for arts grants. In a rush to look trendy or appeal to outside funding bodies, local committees can sometimes treat ancient names as awkward relics that need to be tidied away. Yet our townland names are not obstacles to progress; they are the living threads that bind a community together.
When people walk through an old churchyard where generations of local families rest, they are stepping onto ground shaped by centuries of shared memory, faith, and history. A historic church is not a blank commercial unit waiting for a fresh coat of paint and a new trading name. Its identity is already written into the landscape and carried in the stories of the people whose ancestors built and cared for it. Preserving the full name of a landmark is just as important as repairing its stonework.
The volunteers and organizers involved deserve real credit for their hard work in bringing the walls, roof, and structure back to their former glory. Saving the physical building is a wonderful achievement for the area. However, a landmark is more than just bricks and mortar; it is anchored by memory, language, and family roots. To those of us who know, love, and have deep ties to the parish, the church, its grounds, and the surrounding townland will always be known simply as Rathaspeck.
Maurice Furlong
Maurice Furlong is a writer, artist, and retired NHS analytical psychotherapist living in Walshestown, Killinick, Wexford.
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