Fury over 'meaningless' name for Dingle housing estate
It is not the first time a heated row has erupted over a place name officially approved in Dingle.
A “meaningless” Irish name has been assigned to a new social housing development in Dingle in west Kerry, a region where the protection of the Irish language is a key objective of development plans.
Furious locals who have been seeking to have it removed say greater care should have been taken in a town where Irish is of such importance.
The newly opened 20-house development has been named “Pairceanna na Glas” — a name that is “gan bhrí” and “gan chiall” and incorrect in terms of grammar and spelling, according to locals and scholars who are urgently pressing Kerry County Council to correct the error.
The plancenames commissioner has described it as "truly shameful".
Pairceanna na Glas was put forward to Kerry County Council planners among a list of suggestions by architects for the original applicant in May 2018 as a letter from the council with the name was needed to facilitate connection with the ESB. It was chosen and approved by the council planners, documents show.
The development subsequently became an approved housing body (Clúid) turnkey development. As a social housing development, the tenants for Pairceanna na Glas have been allocated form the council housing list the council said.
It is not the first time a heated row has erupted over a place name officially approved in Dingle.
A 2004 placenames order by then-minister Éamon Ó Cuív removed the name Dingle as an official name, replacing it with An Daingean, which locals said was meaningless.
The move sparked fury and a lengthy campaign included a plebiscite in 2006 to reinstate Dingle alongside Daingean Uí Chúis. It was some time before the order was overturned and Dingle was officially replaced on road signs.
Locals, including the poet Simon Ó Faoláin, began warning the council about the meaningless name last October. However, to add insult to injury, the name stone has now been erected, and it lacks the requisite “fada”in “pairceanna”, they told the Irish language programme on Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Placenames commissioner Pádraig Ó Cearbhaill told the programme the name has meaning and is ungrammatical in a Gaeltacht town is “náireach i ndáiríre”, (truly shameful).
The tuiseal ginideach of Glas — if what is meant is a stream — would be glaise.
“It is vitally important to involve locals in housing and town planning. It unfortunate that a Gaeltacht town should have such an awkward misnomer, and the name needs to be changed as it doesn't reflect the active use of Irish in our community.
"I would call on [the council] to consult local residents and experts for better suggestions as a way to include the community and also draw on local knowledge of the area,” said Mr Ó Fionnáin, who is a representative of the Green Party in west Kerry.
The local name for the field was "Gort Mór".
“In relation to the naming of the estate, this formed part of the original planning application, as with all such applications,” a council spokesman said.
"The council acknowledges that local concerns have been raised in relation to the name currently in place and the council, in seeking to uphold its obligations under the relevant language requirements, has made contact with Clúid to ensure that this matter is addressed as soon as possible,” he said.
Clúid said it “will examine the issue further”.
“We are in contact with Kerry County Council and public representatives on this. We will be working in partnership with our residents and the local authority to examine the issue further," a spokesman for the housing agency said.
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