Comments on: The North or Northern Ireland. You say it best when you say nothing at all? Probably not.

By: Redking

Redking — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:03:46 +0000

“Would “The Republic of Southern Ireland” be equally unacceptable to all?”

Ah, but Donegal -the most northerly county is actually in the South, if you know what I mean…

By: skidmarx

skidmarx — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Hopefully there’s a future for cross-community collaboration over dodgy diesel deals.

Would “The Republic of Southern Ireland” be equally unacceptable to all?

In an early series of The Weakest Link Anne Robinson asked which country Ho Chi Minh had been president of. Offered “Vietnam” as the answer she said that the correct answer was “North Vietnam”. Onviously her researchers hadn’t read Chomsky on the American War on South Vietnam.

By: Renoir

Renoir — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:51:52 +0000

I take that point, Garibaldy.

By: garibaldy

garibaldy — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:32:23 +0000

I think that people referring to Ireland meaning the 26 counties is ingrained in the south, but not at all in NI, where it tends to drive people who want an end to partition mad.

By: Renoir

Renoir — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:57:26 +0000

I find it hard not to think that the country Ireland is divided into two states, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Therefore neither RofI nor NI are countries, contrary to Allister’s view. The very names suggest that it is accepted that they are in some fundamental sense components of the same entity, which I think can be meaningfully called a country. There is no reason to suppose that to hold to this country/state distinction necessarily means that I am pro- or anti-partition. It might, however, suggest that I think all states provisional, but that is a global not an Irish point. Partition, however, is so deeply engrained, particularly among those of broadly nationalist views, that Ireland is almost always used to refer the Republic. The irony, of course, is that these nationalists are often, but not always, anti-partitionist.

By: edifice

edifice — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:14:33 +0000

British Parliamentary activity in Ireland, now there’s a phrase that’s defining. A bit like democracy, some think its a vote whilst others think of it statistically. But British Parliamentary activity in Ireland doesn’t think of it at all. Amazing the irrelevancies we concentrate on.

By: garibaldy

garibaldy — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:17:37 +0000

And displaying an alarming absence of knowledge of Connolly.

By: Dunne and Crescendo

Dunne and Crescendo — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:27:58 +0000

All this stuff about language becomes more important politically because it papers over the cracks in both Sinn Fein and DUP explanations for their current positions. Its like people who refuse to say ‘Northern Ireland’ or the current Ogra SF campaign to paint post boxes green, which I initally thought was a joke. Rhetorical opposition to a state that they have endorsed.

By: Phil

Phil — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:36:34 +0000

ejh – ‘longer’, but not really.

YiU – I’ve seen irate objections to people not calling the language ‘Irish’.

By: Wednesday

Wednesday — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:16:42 +0000

Answer to Skidmarx’s question is yes.