Amanda: What's in a name?

This past weekend many of us traveled to a small town of about 1,500 people called Dingle in County Kerry. Not only does it have an enticing name, but its name also carries a rich history. It was interesting to talk to people in the pubs who preferred the life of Western Ireland to the city of Dublin. Dingle is just a small town along the coast with one traffic light where the Blasket Islands and Fungie, the Dingle Dolphin, has helped to make tourism just as important as the fishing and farming industries.

Dingle, or An Daingean in Gaelic, has had a battle about its official name dating back to the late 1960s. It’s hard to believe that a cute little town with such personality would have to fight the government just to keep its name officially as ‘Dingle.’ However, I did notice signs posted about Dingle being ‘a town denied democracy’ while wandering around town. This puzzled me slightly, but I never put much though into exactly why these were seen so frequently throughout the town. I also took notice that all town signs were written in Gaelic.

As it turns out some Irish Language Activists used tar to cover English names on signposts in Gaeltacht areas where Gaelic is still spoken. Following this, the Minister for the Environment, Bobby Molloy, made an Order in 1970 to remove English from all signposts throughout the Gaeltacht region much to the town’s opposition. This was unsuccessfully enforced.

Dingle was not given democratic protections of Local Government Acts as more than 50 percent of the county council in addition to more than 50 percent of the area people must agree to the name change while the government then has the final say. This process was never followed. In March 2005, Minister Eamon O’ Cuiv used the more powerful Placenames Order to make the English version of the town name impermissible on any signposts, maps or anywhere else while the same Order made the two versions equal outside the Gaeltacht region. On November 28, 2005, a public meeting was held where a committee of townspeople formed to reinstate the name of 'Dingle Daingean Ui Chuis' meaning ‘fortress of Hussey’ was the family that arrived there during the 13th century.

Apparently, this struggle is still continuing, but a resolution may be near. According to the June 21 Irish Times, an Independent Teachta Dala (the equivalent to an U.S. Congressman) stated that the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Bertie Ahern signed the name change agreement in favor of the town although the truth of his statement has been questioned as nothing has been officially released.

I was already intrigued with this pleasant town, but now I am even more so from learning about the history of its name on top of experiencing its charm firsthand.