January 2005

<<back

print>>

GAELTACHT PLACENAMES WILL BE IN IRISH IN MARCH

January 2005 – The Irish Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, signed the “Placenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004” on 20 December 2004, which will come into operation on 28 March 2005. It will be implemented on road and street signage in 2,319 towns in Gaeltacht districts.

This Order has been enacted in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003 (Part 5), which sets forth that the Minister may by order declare the Irish language version of placenames, both in the Gaeltacht or outside of the Gaeltacht. In the case of Gaeltacht placenames, once the order takes effect the English version of the names ceases to have any legal force and effect, so that it cannot be used any more on road and street signs, in Acts of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament) or Statutory Instruments, or on Ordnance Survey Maps. While in the case of placenames outside of the Gaeltacht the effect of the new legislation is that the Irish and the English versions of the placename have the same status and the same legal force and effect. Therefore, as regards the Gaeltacht the Irish version has a priority.

Up to date, the Minister has made seven Orders under the Official Languages Act 2003 on the advice of the Placenames Commission. These orders declare the official Irish version of placenames for several counties.

In the near future, once the necessary regulations are issued, only the Irish versions of Gaeltacht placenames will be used in the definitive large-scale series of maps of the country used by Ordnance Survey and the Land Registry. Over time, the Minister will be requesting Ordnance Survey Ireland and other bodies providing maps for tourists to follow the same procedure.

The Department's plan is to have the remaining research and the necessary orders in respect of the remaining counties completed within 7 to 10 years.