Not Eire. Ireland
Since it's Sunday, the day on which we permit ourselves to be just a little more, um, excursive, here's a correction I just received from Our Man in Dublin:
It's not terribly conventional to call Ireland “Eire” now. But this, like everything else, has a history. In short:
When we got independence, we thought it would be a good idea to be like the Americans and have a written Constitution.
A Constitution was adopted immediately post-Treaty in 1922. Then another was written to more fully express independence in 1937. In writing this document - the 1937 version - there were two things: first, it was written in Irish and English, with the Irish version officially the first language, the base for an English translation.
Second, of course, we had to name the country - without any reference to the UK or being a Dominion or any such thing.
So, in Irish, the country is Eire. Fair enough.
But in English?
The words in the English language version say, in Article 4,
The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.
Some fastidious people have occasionally remarked about the placements of the commas in this sentence, which could give a different result for what Eire should be called in English. But the convention is Ireland.
Now here's a another conundrum. In the very same document's English language version, the very start contains the following:
In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,
We, the people of Éire,
The people of Ireland or Eire?
Finally, it was only in 1949, by an Act, not by Consitutional amendment, that Ireland was declared a Republic.
With all that, no wonder people even in Irish newspapers refer to Ireland, the Republic, the State for various different reasons. But rarely 'Eire'! Except in Irish.
All the best
Rick O’Shea
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: Not Eire. Ireland
And how many bob have changed hands in Irish pubs over a little comma placement since?
May '10
Re: Not Eire. Ireland
Anyone care to guess the first officially recognized dual citizen of the United States and Ireland?
Aug '10
Re: Not Eire. Ireland
It's actually quite a minefield, mostly because of our urge to distinguish ourselves from the English.So references to the "British Isles" ( geographically correct,apparently) or the British Lions (a multinational touring rugby team) drive us mad. Then you have casual references to Britain as the "mainland" relative to Ireland, which are guaranteed to enrage. Or the British penchant for claiming our high-achievers as their own, unless they are also roaring alcoholics, in which case the margins are never blurred. At the sharper edges of republicanism ( Irish style), you have those who won't acknowledge the 26 County State as constituting Ireland.You could regard it all as very petty but there are similar tensions wherever there is inequality of power between close neighbours- in particular when one has occupied the other (ask the Dutch).As it happens these days any residual Irish animosity towards the English is mostly expended on rejoicing in their many failures on the sporting fields, especially soccer even though every Irishman, myself included, supports some English club.And if the truth be told, we in the "provinces" don't exactly mourn sporting losses by our friends in Dublin!
May '10
Re: Not Eire. Ireland
Maureen O'Hara. (Miracle on 34th Street, The Quiet Man, McClintock!)