PLACE NAMES ISSUE HAS RESONANCE THROUGHOUT CELTIC WORLD

English place names will no longer be legally recognised and cannot

be used in future parliamentary Acts, on any road and street signs

or on Ordnance Survey Maps in the Gaeltacht following new legislation

which came into force on October 30th in Ireland.

More than 60 years after Irish was officially named the primary national

language, the Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon O Cuiv, has initiated

the move which gives Gaelic legal standing to Irish place names in

six counties.

Announcing the move the Minister highlighted the inconsistent translations

which certain names were given after being changed into English during

British rule.

He went on to say that it was "unacceptable" that although place names

in Irish were treated as if official, they had no actual recognition

in law.

The issue of place names and signage has a resonance throughout all

the Celtic countries. When the first stirring of the Manx language

revival occurred in the 1970s a small but significant step to ensuring

'visibility' for the Manx language was the initiation of a campaign

for Manx road signs and place names. Successful then the policy slipped

for a time but has shown a recent resurgence.

Similarly in Wales an extremely effective campaign for Welsh language

signs only was used as the springboard for more significant direct

action campaigns in a strategy the Welsh Language Movement continues

to this day with its programme to ensure businesses in Wales feature

the language more prominently.

Bernard Moffatt

Secretary General

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