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Ireland and/or Eire

My grandfather, my father, and I were all born in the same city, but the name of the state each of us was born in was different.

My grandfather was born in Dublin when it within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. My father was born in Dublin when it was in the Irish Free State. And I was born in Dublin when it was in Ireland, which probably sounds a bit funny - but that’s the stuff people die for, humour.

With the addition of the Irish language as the 21st official EU language, the Irish government has agreed that name plates representing the state will now say ‘Eire Ireland’ instead of just ‘Ireland’, but a slightly confusing article from the AP appears in today’s Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle, regarding the name of the state you may know as ‘Ireland’ or the ‘Republic of Ireland’.

Simply put, according to the Constitution of Ireland, which was adopted in 1937, the name of the state (what you possibly refer to as the ‘26 counties’) when speaking in English is ‘Ireland’, and when speaking in the Irish language is ‘Éire’.

Ireland became a republic in 1949, with the passing of the Republic of Ireland Act. This introduced the term ‘Republic of Ireland’ as the description of the state, not the name, because a Constitutional referendum would be necessary to change the name enshrined in the constitution.

If you are speaking in English you should not use the term ‘Éire’. The British media do this all the time. Worse the media in Britain frequently refers to the Irish state as the ‘Irish Republic’, ignoring both the constitutional name ‘Ireland’ and the legal description ‘Republic of Ireland’. It would be akin to the Irish media calling the UK, the ‘British Kingdom’.

It is the last paragraph in the AP article that is misleading when it says that in 1949 the state ‘became universally known as the Republic of Ireland’. It didn’t in Ireland itself, or indeed in Britain, but as an alternative English language term for the state it came into formal existence.

So for example in football terms (soccer) when discussing internationally you speak of the Republic of Ireland and of Northern Ireland, two distinct teams. But when you actually go to the game to watch, say, the Republic play France, it is ”C’mon Ireland” that you shout, or “Ireland (clap-clap-clap) Ireland (clap-clap-clap)” etc. - there is no need to qualify with a Republic reference, and it’s not done. Or Allez Les Verdes works if you’re a trouble-maker.

To sum up in practical terms then - and I know you’re loving this - in any context where it’s necessary to distinguish between the state and the island as a whole, use ‘Republic of Ireland’ otherwise carry on using ‘Ireland’. And if you speak Irish, then, and only then, should you use Éire. Puns in English using the word ‘Éire’ grate on Irish people. Same language puns, please.

And for good measure:
  • You can just use the term ‘the Republic’ for short instead of the longer ‘Republic of Ireland’, if you’re chatting with friends.
  • You can drop the fada in ‘Éire’ to make ‘Eire’ (you’re allowed to with capital letters)
  • There aren’t 26 counties in the Republic anymore. Dublin has been carved up for one thing; the 26 refers to the historic counties that aren’t really that historic anyway - borders only cemented a hundred years or so ago with the growth of Gaelic Games.
  • Counties do not have official flags, despite whatever we wave at Croke Park.
  • The term ‘Irish Republic’ was actually the historical name of the state from 1919 to 1922 before it was recognized as a state i.e., when the state was fighting for and winning (partially) independence.

See Also:
    • Dead Irish People in the Midwest
    • Irish Government says US conduct ‘Unacceptable’
    • Bobby Sands

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 28th, 2006 at 8:52 am and is filed under History, Ireland. You can follow responses via my RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


2 Responses to “Ireland and/or Eire”

  1. bill responds: August 31st, 2008 at 9:45 am

    i dont believe you were born in ireland

    official or not, and i live in fingal, there is one dublin. ie one county - despite the official stance

    ireland is one and can and should be used to refer to ireland.
    éire also can be used. republic, the republic , the republic of ireland , eire, eireann, 26 counties or whatever the hell anyone wants to call it

    whatever is natural or normal for you

    ask any irish person if they give a crap if their officially is no ”official” flags for the counties or if there is technically 28 counties in the republic or how officially the counties of the north are not counties - and thats nothing to do with what they are called either.

  2. eolai responds: August 31st, 2008 at 11:20 am

    i dont believe you were born in ireland
    Excellent point, Bill.

    there is one dublin. ie one county - despite the official stance
    Perhaps you don’t know what counties are? They are units of local government. You don’t get to ignore official boundaries.

    You can choose to recognise the traditional counties only if you like, but it’s not like they themselves are something that was there forever; they didn’t exist until the British gave them to us. And some of their boundaries didn’t make sense if you considered historical territories in Ireland.

    We refer to the traditional counties because we’re used to them. But they’ve continually evolved and will continue to. I don’t like that I live in a county now called South Dublin but that’s who collects my rubbish no matter how much I support a team in Gaelic games called Dublin.

    I would hate for the Dublin GAA to be split up to match the newer counties, not least because living in the north and west of the new county I feel more affinity for some areas in Fingal than most of South Dublin. But I wouldn’t be surprised if those born in Fingal, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire & Rathdown in the last 15 years don’t feel as attached to what you and I know as Dublin.

    ireland is one and can and should be used to refer to ireland.
    There are rather a lot of people in the north of the country who don’t agree with this.

    éire also can be used. republic, the republic , the republic of ireland , eire, eireann, 26 counties or whatever the hell anyone wants to call it
    The Constitution doesn’t agree with you. And anyway, call it “26 counties”? I thought you said Ireland was one?

    whatever is natural or normal for you
    What if you normally call it by a name the Consititution of Ireland doesn’t recognise?

    ask any irish person if they give a crap if…
    I have asked an Irish person. I’ve asked myself.

    And you’re right, the non-existence of official county flags, the number of administrative counties in the Republic, and the creation of administrative districts in Northern Ireland, aren’t hugely important. But that doesn’t make them untrue.

    Cheers.

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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