Sinnsreachd culture is a tribal and agrarian-based way of life, and as such has always centered around the tribal identity in the heart and mind, and the farming and ranching community physically. While our ancestors did on occasion build settlements large enough to be called cities when viewed in the context of their day, never did we aspire to create the abominations that were the cities of the so-called “civilized” nations. We have always been a people who prefer small farming communities surrounding an only slightly larger trade center such as Emain Macha, Cruachan, and others. Even today, with the Anglicization and Americanization of Ireland, large cities are still a rarity as they are alien to our traditional way of life. As those of us who seek to preserve and restore our native way of life live throughout the world in Diaspora, more often than not we have become scattered, a people without their traditional communities, bereft of the comfort and support of one another and often living in the cities of the Host Nations in which we dwell. It is in an effort to reverse this Diaspora that An Cónaidhm na dTuath Gaelach has established a program to develop physical communities for our tuatha.

The ACTG seeks to bring together as many of our people as possible into a modern incarnation of the tribal communities of our ancestors. Through these communities, we will be able to create a stronger base through which to preserve and restore our culture. By allowing for a greater self-reliance for our people by helping each tuath develop the resources to provide for a large part of it’s own power, food production, security, emergency response, education, and even employment through these communities, we will be able to halt and reverse the slow degeneration of our culture caused by the Diaspora and rebuild our way of life.

The basic prototype for such intentional tribal communities, Ráth Ciarraí, is a planned agricultural and residential community under development in southeast Texas by Tuath na Ciarraide. A combination of cattle ranch, subsistence farm, residential community, and social and religious center, Ráth Ciarraí is being used as a test-bed for new technologies, agricultural models, and construction designs. The entire process is being recorded and documented, from the initial planning to the final coat of paint, with as much detail as possible to provide data for the Community Development Program. This data will be analyzed, condensed, and repackaged into a multi-media resource packet that will be available to all Sinnsreachd tuatha to help them build their own communities.

The concept of these communities will vary depending on the local circumstances, but there are certain key principle components that are universal. The first is the Halla, or feast hall. This central building is the gathering point for the tuath for the four major fire festivals- Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasadh- and acts as a sort of tuath-oriented “town hall”. It is in this Halla that gatherings will be held for communal feasting, religious ceremonies, and any gathering to celebrate the bonds of kinship within the tuath. In addition to the Halla are the service buildings that handle mundane community needs ranging from laundry to medical care. These buildings are the core of the functionality of the community, encompassing everything needed to maintain the grounds of this inner core and the residential areas that surround it, as well as see to the needs of the tuath. Depending on the nature of the community, there may be small gardens or large agricultural and livestock fields.

A secondary aspect to the communities will be the development, as desired, of tuath-based schools. Operating under the laws and guidelines of homeschools, a variation of a community home-school is being developed as a part of the Community Development Program to educate Sinsearaithe children. Using a combination of conventional curriculum and that of an Irish Gaeilscoil, these tuath schools will incorporate the most advanced education of general subjects with Gaelic language and cultural education. As time progresses and the communities grow, these schools may well grow into institutes of higher learning comparable to community colleges.