The Irish town of Dingle is changing its name to its historic Gaelic Irish version, An Daingean. Which is making Gaelic supporters in Dubliin’s government very happy, but kind of torquing off the folks who actually, oh, live there.
“It was thrown upon us with the stroke of a pen,” said Fergus O Flaithbheartaigh, working at his popular pub in the town. His name is often seen in its Anglicized form, O’Flaherty, and the Gaelic version – many letters longer – is pronounced much the same way.
Liam O’Neill, a painter who grew up outside Dingle, did not learn to speak English until he was 14. Commenting on the name change, he invoked the hated history of the British imposition of English on Ireland. “It was like the way Cromwell did it,” he said. “People have taken to the trenches about it now.”
Local business owners say that they have worked for decades to build up the impression of a place that mixes quirkiness with tradition in a beautiful natural setting, an impression that they say will be damaged by the switch to An Daingean, which does not have quite the same ring as Dingle.
“It absolutely is a brand,” said Susan Callery, owner of the Green Lane art gallery. “I’ve spent 15 years working on it.”
As someone of Irish lineage, I appreciate efforts by the Irish and their government to keep their heritage alive, especially after the way they were mistreated by the Brits. But pushing that too far — such that language becomes a barrier to trade and tourism — seems counter-productive, especially when it’s something being imposed by bureaucrats from the capitol rather than taken on voluntarily by the folks who actually have to live with it.
(via Kottke)