Dingle Dangle

Posted by maca on July 19, 2005 Leave a comment (6) Go to comments

It’s still in the news, the not very exciting Dingle-An Daingean debate. It’s the first story which caught my eye this morning via Back Seat Drivers via Irish Blogs.
The latest info is that Kerry County Council have decided yesterday that a poll should be held to see if the west Kerry town’s original placename should be restored. The Minister has basically said that locals can call it what they want, he even offered a few suggestions, Baile Fungi being one of the better ones. The only open issue now is who will get to vote, the townsfolk or all the people of Corca Dhuibhne.

Question, why did the Placenames Commission go for An Daingean rather than Daingean Uí Chúis which is the correct name?
Another question: should the decision affect the “gaeltacht” status of the region? If the locals decide to stick with Dingle should this have “
serious implications for funding under future reviews of Gaeltacht boundaries,” as the ‘not entirely bad looking’ Mayor of Kerry Toireasa Ni Fhearaoisa claims it might.

Gaeilge, Ireland
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6 Comments.

  1. Mick July 21, 2005 at 1:42 am

    I read an article in the Independent about this. One think no-one mentioned is what will happen to all the tourists who are looking for Dingle? The can name the town anything, but if they don’t Dingle on the road signs all those American tourists who go looking for Dingle will end up elsewhere.

  2. maca July 21, 2005 at 5:07 pm

    Aye, but as far as I know it will be in English on both signs & maps. Though I could be wrong, so long as the maps match the signs there shouldn’t be too much hassle.
    Anyway wouldn’t it gas to see a few yanks potter about the place lost? :P

  3. Antonio from Italy August 15, 2005 at 7:13 pm

    As far as I know, the signs around the area already read An Daingean instead of Dingle.
    And I met more than one American cursing for getting lost on those roads :-)
    And what about those red signs reading “GO MALL” instead of “SLOW DOWN”? Aren’t they telling you something more important than finding Dingle?
    :-) ))

  4. maca August 15, 2005 at 8:02 pm

    it’ll probably take some adjusting time but eventually maps should all match road signs … “should” is the important word there.

    I’d be very worried about safety signs, they should be either bilingual or in English only, definitly not in Irish only.

  5. warren courtney September 26, 2005 at 12:03 am

    The signs should read in both english and gaelic until such time as all the preparation work is finished ie.guide books and maps .These take several years to update This is a very resonable request and should be conceded

  6. maca September 26, 2005 at 1:27 am

    It certainly is the most sensible approach warren.