Renaming Dingle - An Daingean will confuse visitors

The attitude of Minister for the Gaeltacht, Eamon Ó Cuiv, to the use of the English version of Dingle on signposts outside the Gaeltacht area, is not just difficult to understand but could be considered to be overbearing and intimidatory.

The use of Dingle, rather than An Daingean as the minister insists, is not simply a matter of semantics. The local economy could suffer because tourists, who are the lifeblood of the area, cannot find it because of the minister’s intransigence.

As has been pointed out locally, Dingle is an internationally recognised tourist brand name, whereas An Daingean is an obscure name on a signpost which only serves to confuse visitors who want to go to Dingle. It defies logic why both versions cannot be used.