Names of the Irish state

The front cover of an Irish passport showing the name of the state in its two official languages.

There have been various names of the Irish state, some of which have been controversial. The constitutional name of the contemporary state is Ireland,^[1] the same as the island of Ireland, of which it comprises the major portion. However, in 1949 it formally declared itself a republic and was described in statute as the Republic of Ireland.^[2]

Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which had remained within the United Kingdom and constitutes one sixth of the territory of the island, objected to the political implications of the adoption of the name Ireland on the basis that it constituted an irredentist claim to sovereignty over the entire island of Ireland.^[3] However, that name was internationally recognised by the early 1960s and since the end of the 1990s has been accepted by the United Kingdom also.^[3]

Historically the island has been called Ireland, Éire in Irish, and Hibernia in Latin.

Constitutional name

Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that "[t]he name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland".^[4] Hence, the Irish state has two official names, Éire (in Irish) and Ireland (in English). de Valera originally intended that Éire would serve as an alternative name in English speech,^{[citation needed]} and the constitution itself includes the phrase "We the people of Éire", but this practice has long ceased in Ireland itself, though occasionally continuing outside. For official purposes, including in international treaties and other legal documents, and where the language of the documents is English, the Irish government uses the name Ireland. The same is true in respect of the name Éire for documents written in Irish. Similarly, the name of the state is reflected in its institutions and public offices. For example, there is a President of Ireland and a Constitution of Ireland. The name Ireland is also used in the state's diplomatic relations with foreign nations and at meetings of the United Nations.

Legal description

Main article: Republic of Ireland (term)

Since 1949 the Republic of Ireland Act has provided that the Republic of Ireland (or Poblacht na hÉireann in Irish) is the legal description for the state.^[5] However, Ireland remains the constitutional name of the state. This distinction between description and name was and remains important because the Act was not a constitutional amendment and did not change the name of the state. If it had purported to do so, it would have been unconstitutional. The distinction between a description and a name has sometimes caused confusion. The Taoiseach, John A. Costello introduced the legislation with an explanation of the difference in the following way:^[6]

"If I say that my name is Costello and that my description is that of senior counsel, I think that will be clear to anybody who wants to know...[Similarly, the state's] name in Irish is Éire and in the English language, Ireland. Its description in the English language is "the Republic of Ireland."

European Union

The state joined the European Economic Community (now the European Union) in 1973. Its accession treaty was drawn up in all of the EU's then official treaty languages (including English and Irish) and, as such, the Irish state joined under both of its names, Éire and Ireland. On 1 January 2007, Irish became an official working language of the EU.^[7] This did not change the name of the Irish state in EU law. However, it has meant for example that at official meetings of the EU Council of Ministers, nameplates for the Irish state now read as Éire – Ireland, whereas previously they would simply have read as Ireland.

The Inter Institutional Style Guide of The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities sets out how the names of the Member states of the European Union must always be written and abbreviated in EU publications. Concerning Ireland, it states that its official names are Éire and Ireland; its official name in English is Ireland; its country code is IE; and its former abbreviation was IRL. It also adds the following guidance: "NB: Do not use 'Republic of Ireland' nor 'Irish Republic'."^[8]

Historical names

Ancient

The Annals of the Four Masters describes how Ireland was referred to in ancient times^{[citation needed]}

• During the time of the Partholonians, Nemedians, Fomorians, and Firbolg, the island was given a number of names:^{[citation needed]}
  • Inis Ealga signifying the noble or excellent island. The Latin translation was Insula Nobilis
  • Fiodh-Inis signifying the Woody island. In Latin this was Insula nemorosa
  • Crioch Fuinidh signifying the Final or remote country. In Latin as Terra finalia.
• Inisfail meaning the Island of Destiny, and Inisfalia or Insula Fatalis in Latin. This was the name used by the Tuatha Dé Danann and from this 'Fál' became an ancient name for Ireland. In this respect, therefore, Lia Fáil, the Stone of Destiny, came to mean 'Stone of Ireland'. Inisfail appears as a synonym for Erin in some Irish romantic and nationalist poetry in English in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; Aubrey Thomas de Vere's 1863 poem Inisfail is an example.
• Ériu (from which derived Éire, Banba and Fódla where names given by the Dananns from three of their queens.
• Ierne refers to Ireland by various ancient Greek writers and many scholars have the opinion that in the poem when the Argonauts passes Neson Iernida, that is, the Island Iernis, they are referring to the island of Ireland, thus referring to Ireland longer ago than 1000BC.
• Insula Sacra or the "Sacred Isle" was how several Roman writers referred to the island on account of its being a celebrated seat of Druidism.
• Ogygia meaning the most ancient land is the name used by Plutarch in the first century to refer to Ireland.
• Hibernia is first used to refer to Ireland by Julius Caesar in his account of Britain, and became a common term used by the Romans. The also used a number of other terms, namely Juverna, Juvernia, Ouvernia, Ibernia, Ierna, Vernia. Ptolemy also refers to it as Iouernia or Ivernia.
• Scotia or the land of the Scots is a term used by various Roman and other Latin writers, who referred to Irish raiders as Scoti. Some of the earliest mentions are in the 5th century, St. Patrick calls the Irish "Scoti", and in the 6th century, St. Isidore bishop of Seville and Gildas the British historian both refer to Ireland as Scotia. It was a term that exclusively referred to Ireland up until the eleventh century when modern Scotland was first referred to as Scotia. But even up until the sixteenth century, many Latin writers continued to refer to Ireland as Scotia. From the twelfth to the sixteenth century, various scholars used to distinguish between Ireland and Scotland by using Scotia Vetus or Scotia Major meaning Old Scotia or the Greater Scotia for Ireland, and Scotia Minor or Lesser Scotia for Scotland.
• Insula Sanctorum or the Island of the Saints and Insula Docturum or the Island of the Learned are names used by various Latin writers; hence the modern-day quasi-poetic description of the island as the "Land of Saints and Scholars".

Pre-1919

Following the Norman invasion, Ireland was known as Dominus Hiberniae, the Lordship of Ireland from 1171 to 1541, and the Kingdom of Ireland from 1541 to 1800. From 1801 to 1922 it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Irish Republic (1919–1922)

Main article: Irish Republic

The Easter Proclamation of 1916 declared the establishment of the Irish Republic. The rebel state retained this name until 1922.

In English, the revolutionary state proclaimed in 1916 and ratified in 1919^[9] was known as the Irish Republic or, occasionally, the Republic of Ireland. Two different Irish language names were used: Poblacht na hÉireann and Saorstát Éireann, based on two competing Irish translations of the word republic: Poblacht and Saorstát. Poblacht was a foreign loan word, a simple Gaelicisation of republic. Saorstát, on the other hand, was a compound word based on two already existing Irish words: saor (meaning "free") and stát ("state"). Its direct, literal translation was "free state".

In his memoires, Thomas Jones, Prime Minister Lloyd George's deputy cabinet secretary recalls an exchange on 14 July 1921 between the President of Dáil Éireann, de Valera and Prime Minister Lloyd George concerning the name of the Irish Republic in Irish:^[10]

"...Mr. de Valera...handed Mr. Lloyd George a document in Irish, and then a translation in English. The Irish document was headed 'Saorstat Eireann' and Mr. Lloyd George began by asking modestly for a literal translation, saying that 'Saorstat' did not strike his ear as Irish. Mr. De Valera replied 'Free State'. 'Yes, retorted Mr. Lloyd George, 'but what is the Irish word for Republic'. While Mr. De Valera and his colleague were pondering in English on what reply they should make Mr. Lloyd George conversed aloud in Welsh with one of his Secretaries (T.J.) to the discomfiture of the two Irishmen and as Mr. De Valera could get no further than Saorstat and Free State Mr. Lloyd George remarked 'Must we not admit that the Celts were never Republicans and have no native word for such an idea"

The term Poblacht na hÉireann is the one used in the Easter Proclamation of 1916. However the Declaration of Independence and other documents adopted in 1919 eschew this title in favour of Saorstát Éireann. A slight variant of this title, Saorstát na hÉireann, was also sometimes used in later days as was the Latin Respublica Hibernica.^{[citation needed]}

(For an explanation continuing usage of the term Irish Republic in the United Kingdom, see Name dispute with the UK (below). Some republicans also continue to use the term because they refuse to recognise the Anglo-Irish Treaty – see below).

Southern Ireland (1921–1922)

Main article: Southern Ireland

Southern Ireland (Irish: Deisceart Éireann) was the official name given to an autonomous Home Rule region (or constituent country) of the United Kingdom. It was established under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 on 3 May 1921.^[11] It covered the same territory as the present day Irish state.^[12]

However, political turmoil and the ongoing War of Independence meant that it never fully functioned as envisaged. Nevertheless, under the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, a Provisional Government for Southern Ireland was established.^[13] Southern Ireland was superseded in law on 6 December 1922 by the establishment of the Irish Free State.^[14] The term Southern Ireland does not have any official status today.^[15] However, it is sometimes used colloquially particularly in the United Kingdom.

Irish Free State (1922–1937)

Main article: Irish Free State

During the negotiations on secession leading to the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Irish politicians wanted the state to be a republic, and its name to be the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic. However the British government refused to contemplate a republic because this would have entailed the Irish state severing the link with the British crown and ceasing to be a part of the British Empire. Instead, the parties agreed the state would be a self-governing Dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Because the Irish Republic had been known in Irish as Saorstát Éireann it was from this name that the name of the new state was derived. Saorstát Éireann was made the official Irish title of the new state, but its English title was not Irish Republic but the most direct, literal translation of its Irish name: Irish Free State.^[16] After the establishment of the Free State the Irish government often used the name Saorstát Éireann in documents in English as well as Irish. Despite the official title of the state, stamps of the period used the name Éire,^[17] a practice that is continued today.

Because the Irish Free State was not a republic, since 1922 the word saorstát has fallen out of use in Irish as a translation of republic. When the legal description of the state was declared to be the Republic of Ireland in 1949, its official Irish description became not Saorstát Éireann but Poblacht na hÉireann. It appears that the "Irish Free State" name was not generally popular, The Times reporting on the Irish general election in 1932:

The official parties in Ireland - the Free State is not a popular designation over there, for the other is, after all, the older name...^[18]

Éire (Irish language name since 1937)

Main article: Éire

Éire, since 1937 the official name of the Irish state in the Irish language, appears on all Irish euro coins.

As mentioned above, Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland, gives the state its two official names, Éire in Irish and Ireland in English. Each name is a direct translation of the other. From 1937, the name Éire was often used even in the English language.

In May 1937, when the President of the Executive Council, Éamon de Valera presented the first draft of the Constitution to the parliamentary committee on the Constitution, Article 4 simply provided: "The name of the State is Éire". There was no reference to Ireland at all. Opposition politicians immediately proposed that the word Ireland be substituted for the word Éire throughout the English text. They argued that Ireland was the name known by every European country; that the name should not be surrendered; that the name Ireland might instead be adopted by Northern Ireland; and that the choice of Éire might damage the status of the state internationally by drawing a "distinction between the state...and what has been known for centuries as Ireland".^[19] Responding, de Valera stressed that the Irish text of the constitution was to be the foundation text. In light of this, he said the name Éire was more logical and that it would mean an Irish name would become accepted even in the English language.^[20] However, he said he had "no strong views" and he agreed "that in the English translation the name of the state [would be] Ireland".^[19]

When de Valera subsequently tabled an amendment to give effect to this concession, he proposed Article 4's current wording: "The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland." In doing so, he remarked that as "the Irish text is the fundamental text [it is as well] that Éire is used here and there." With almost no debate, the wording was agreed to and subsequently became the law of the land.^[21]

It is sometimes said that de Valera wished to reserve the names Republic of Ireland or Irish Republic for the day when a united Ireland might be achieved. These names were not discussed in the parliamentary debates on the Constitution. However, the reason which de Valera gave in the debates for omitting any reference to the word republic throughout the constitution was that he thought the constitution would gain broader support if it did not refer to a republic.^[22]

After the adoption of the Constitution, de Valera's government generally encouraged use of the name Éire (rather than Ireland) but not always. His government also appreciated the significance of the name Ireland. So for example, when the Irish ambassador in Berlin, Charles Bewley sought instructions concerning the new name of the State, he was advised by Joseph P. Walshe, for decades the top civil servant in the Irish Department of External Affairs that:^[23]

"When informing the German Government of the change of the name of the State, you should not emphasise the Irish form. The change of name would not, of course, have the same political or national significance if 'Éire' were to be used by foreigners. As you are aware, it is the hope of everybody in this country that the use of 'Ireland' to describe the Twenty-Six Counties will have a definite psychological effect in favour of the unity of this country on both Irish and foreign minds".

Ireland uses Éire as the country name on its current postage stamps.

Thus, while sometimes encouraging the use of the name Éire even in English, de Valera's government insisted at other times on the use of the name Ireland. This^{[citation needed]} had a damaging effect on Ireland's relationship with the United Kingdom (below). De Valera's decision to generally use the name Éire was sometimes severely criticised as a poor choice of name. Some argued that it was confusing.^[24] Others said the name Éire might strengthen the claim of the government of Northern Ireland to the ancient name of Ulster for their state.^[25] However, the name Éire (generally appearing as Eire in English) quickly became widely accepted in English. Nevertheless, this only fuelled more criticism of the name, as once free in the English language, it evolved – leading to what opposition politicians stated were "sneering titles such as Eirish".^[26] These criticisms were aired at length in the Oireachtas when the Republic of Ireland Act was being debated. De Valera's use of the name Éire as well as the wording of Article 4 were sharply criticised. The Taoiseach of the day, John A. Costello said "that tremendous confusion ha[d] been caused by the use of that word Éire in Article 4. By a misuse by malicious people of that word, Éire, they have identified it with the Twenty-Six Counties and not with the State that was set up under this Constitution of 1937."^[27] Despite these criticisms, de Valera initially called for the proposed Irish description of the state, Poblacht na h-Éireann to also be inserted into the English text of the Act in the same way both the Irish and English names of the state are used in Article 4.^[28] However, de Valera subsequently retreated from this position and in what may be seen as an implicit acceptance of the criticisms made of the wording of Article 4 itself, de Valera accepted that it was better not to also use the Irish description in the English text.^[29] Despite not changing the name, when the Republic of Ireland Act was passed, the name Éire quickly fell into disuse (except in the Irish language). However the name continues to linger on, particularly in the United Kingdom.

Éire is also the only name of the Irish state to feature on a range of national symbols including the Seal of the President of Ireland, Irish stamps and Irish euro coins. However, some Irish people disfavour or disapprove of the use of the name "Eire" in English texts or speech.

Historically, "Eire" was commonly used as a state-name by a variety of organisations. For example, in 1938, the "Irish Amateur Athletic Union" (IAAU) changed its name to "Amateur Athletic Union of Eire" (AAUE) and affiliated to the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) under the country name "Eire".^[30][31] In 1967, the AAUE merged with most of the rival NACA to form Bord Lúthchleas na hÉireann (BLÉ).^[30][31] BLÉ requested the IAAF to change the country's name to "Ireland". This finally happened in 1981.^[30]

Abbreviations

Under the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166 standard, the two-letter code for Ireland is "IE" while the three-letter code is "IRL". The "IE" code is the basis for the choice of ".ie" for Irish internet addresses.^[32] The IRL code features on Irish driving licences, passports and is most visible on contemporary Irish EU style vehicle registration plates.^[33] Under the Convention on International Civil Aviation Irish registered aircraft carry the nationality mark "EI"^[34]

Alternative names

A variety of alternative names are also used for the Irish state. Sometimes alternative names are chosen because the name "Ireland" could be confused with the name of the island the state shares with Northern Ireland. Other times alternative names are chosen for political reasons.

The official description Republic of Ireland is sometimes used as a name. Notably, the national soccer team plays as the "Republic of Ireland". This is because the Irish national football team was organized by the Irish Football Association, from 1882 to 1950. A new organization, the Football Association of the Irish Free State was formed after partition to organize a new team to represent the newly formed Irish Free State. Over time the Irish Football Association came to be the body for organising soccer in Northern Ireland only. However, both soccer federations continued to field a team called "Ireland". Despite protests from both organizations, in 1953 FIFA decreed that neither team could be referred to as Ireland in competitions which both teams were eligible to enter.^[35] The two teams now play under the names Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Irish Republic is commononly used as a name for the state in Britain but disliked in the Republic, where Irish Republic refers to the revolutionary state of the First Dáil in 1919. The initialism ROI (that is, Republic of Ireland) is also often used outside official circles. Shorter unofficial names include the Republic or the South.

Irish republicans, and other opponents of Partition, often refer to the state as the Twenty-Six Counties or 26 Counties (with Northern Ireland as the Six Counties or 6 Counties) and sometimes as the Free State (a reference to the pre-1937 state). Speaking in the Dáil on 13 April 2000, Sinn Féin's Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin explained it as follows:^[36]

"In the republican political tradition, to which I belong, the State is often referred to as the 26 County State. This is a conscious response to the partitionist view, prevalent for so long and still sadly widespread, that Ireland stops at the Border. The Constitution says that the name of the State is Ireland, and Éire in the Irish language. Quite against the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, this has led to an identification of Ireland with only 26 of our 32 counties in the minds of many people".

Name dispute with the UK

This section concerns a long-running dispute which existed between the Irish and British governments over the official names of their respective states: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Following the Belfast Agreement of 1998 the dispute ended and each government now accepts the official name of the other state.

"Eire" & "Éire" v Ireland

When the Irish constitution was enacted in 1937, Articles 2 to 4 expressed a claim to the "whole island of Ireland" and thus an irredentist claim to the territory of Northern Ireland. The statement in Article 4 "The name of the state is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland" giving the state the names of the island in both Irish and English was another anti-partitionist attempt to lay claim to the whole of the island.^[37] In response to the new constitution, the British government published a communiqué on 30 December 1937, the day after the constitution took effect. In the communiqué, the British government recognised that the new constitution gave the Irish state two names Ireland or Éire. It also implicitly recognised that the two names had an identical meaning,^[38] by declaring:^[38][39]

"His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom has considered the position created by the new Constitution ... of the Irish Free State, in future to be described under the Constitution as 'Eire' [sic] or 'Ireland' ... [and] cannot recognise that the adoption of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland', or any other provision of those articles [of the Irish constitution], involves any right to territory ... forming part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... They therefore regard the use of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland' in this connection as relating only to that area which has hitherto been known as the Irish Free State."

After this initial response, the British government quickly decided to refer to the state only as "Eire" and not Ireland. The British government finessed Article 4 and ignored Articles 2 and 3: if the Irish constitution said the name of the state in the national language was Éire, then that (written as "Eire") was what the British government would call it.^[40] By doing so, it avoided any need to call the Irish state, in the English language, Ireland.^[41] The change of name effected by the 1937 constitution (but not the other constitutional changes), was given effect in United Kingdom law in the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938. Under Section 1 of that Act, it was declared that (for the purposes of United Kingdom legislation) the territory "which was ... known as Irish Free State shall be styled as ... Eire".^[42]

The British approach of calling the state Eire, even in the English language, was greatly assisted by the general preference of de Valera, the leader of the Irish government at the time, that the state be known as Éire, even in English. This is seen in the English-language preamble of the Constitution. However, the Irish government, even when led by de Valera, also appreciated the significance of the name Ireland and insisted on that name in some fora. For example, in 1938 Irish representatives in the Commonwealth countries gave their official titles as High Commissioner for Ireland and the League of Nations was informed that Ireland was the correct English name for the country.^[38][43] A unique modus vivendi was adopted by the two States when they concluded a bilateral agreement on air services in 1946. That agreement was styled as an "Agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland (Eire)".^[44] A parliamentary question as to why the term "Ireland (Eire)" was used rather than simply "Eire" was put in the British House of Commons. A parliamentary secretary for the Government, Mr Ivor Thomas, explained the position as follows:

The designation in the Air Services Agreement was used in order to comply with the provisions of the law of the United Kingdom and of Eire respectively. In the English language, the country in question is properly described by one of the signatories as Eire and by the other as Ireland, and the designation adopted recognises this position without creating misunderstanding about the territory concerned.

The practice in other Commonwealth countries varied: At the outset at least, it appears South Africa and Canada used the name Ireland while New Zealand favoured Eire.^[45] In 1947, the United Kingdom Home Office went further by issuing instructions to United Kingdom government departments to use Eire.^[38] Nevertheless, over time the name Éire fell increasingly out of use by both the Irish government (except in the Irish language) and internationally, in particular after the passing of the Republic of Ireland Act.

Republic of Ireland v Ireland

When in 1949 the Republic of Ireland Act (discussed above) came into force, the British government considered how to respond. The following note of what Prime Minister Clement Attlee said at a British Cabinet meeting on 12 January 1949 illustrates some of the considerations involved:^[46]

'N.I. [Northern Ireland] Ministers accepted the name "N.I." eventually (the Northern Ireland Government would have preferred the name Ulster). They wanted us, however, to go on using "Eire" (for the Irish state). But other countries won't do so. Suggested therefore we sh[oul]d use "Republic of Ireland". N.I. prefer "Irish Republic". But let us not speak of "Ireland". Can we put Republic of Ireland on Bill: but use in official pp. [papers] etc. (:) Irish Republic or Southern Ireland. Agreed.'

Ultimately, the British responded by passing the Ireland Act 1949 which provided that:^[47][48]

The part of Ireland referred to in subsection (1) of this section is hereafter in this Act referred to, and may in any Act, enactment or instrument passed or made after the passing of this Act be referred to, by the name attributed thereto by the law thereof, that is to say, as the Republic of Ireland. (s 1.3)

It was the culmination of careful consideration by the Prime Minister Attlee. He put it that "a refusal to use the title "Republic of Ireland" in any circumstances would involve [the UK] in continuing friction with the Eire Government: it would perpetuate the inconveniences and indignities which we now experience as a result of our present policy of insisting on the title "Eire" as against Dublin's preference for "Ireland."^[49]

Hence, the Ireland Act formally provided the name Republic of Ireland for use instead of the name Eire in British law. Later the name Eire was abolished entirely in British law under the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1981.^[50] This has meant that the Republic of Ireland is the only name for the Irish state officially provided for in domestic UK law. Notwithstanding the Ireland Act, as suggested by Prime Minister Attlee, the British government would often continue to refer to the Irish state by other names such as the Irish Republic or Southern Ireland.^[51] The name Irish Republic has even sometimes been used in domestic UK legislation.^[52]

However, even with the Ireland Act and its definition of Republic of Ireland as a name, a dispute over the names of their respective states was to continue between the UK and Irish governments. For the Irish, Republic of Ireland was still not the name of the state, merely its description. For a period from the coming into effect of the Republic of Ireland Act until the second half of 1950 the Irish Government was inconsistent in the way it described itself and the state: At times it described itself internationally as the Government of the Republic of Ireland;^[53] At other times it continued to insist that the name of the Irish state was Ireland. A report in The Times on 8 August 1949 (just a few months after the Republic of Ireland Act took effect) illustrates the Irish government's insistence that the correct name was simply Ireland reporting that:^[54][55]

'Mr. MacBride, the Irish Minister for External Affairs, to-night sent an official request to the secretariat of the Council of Europe to refer to his country simply as Ireland and not as Eire or as the Republic of Ireland. This request is seen by observers here as part of a systematic campaign by the Government in Dublin to link the question of the partition of Ireland with every organization of which it is a member.'

From the second half of 1950, the Irish government reverted to consistently styling itself the Government of Ireland. The Irish state joined the United Nations in 1955 as Ireland over protests concerning its name by the United Kingdom.^[50] Similarly, the United Kingdom protested when the Irish state was admitted to the European Economic Community in 1973 as Ireland.^[50] Australia also for several years following the declaration of a republic refused to exchange ambassadors with Dublin on the basis of the name "Ireland" rather than "Republic of Ireland", on the basis that this would have involved recognition of a territorial claim to part of His/Her Majesty's dominions.^[56] A legacy of this dispute was the designation of the Irish legation in London as the "Irish Embassy", rather than the title "Embassy of Ireland" preferred by Dublin.^[57] A further Commonwealth anomaly was the title of the monarch in Canada. In 1950, following the declaration of a republic the Irish and Canadian High Commissioners were replaced by Ambassdors/Ministers Plenipotentiary, accredited on the basis of the sovereign's title in Canada still encompassing the whole of Ireland. Even in 1952, following the accesssion of Elizabeth II, and prior to the revised definition of the royal title in 1953, Canada's preferred format was: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas.^[58]

For its part, the Irish government also disputed the right of the British state to call itself the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.^[42] The Irish government objected to the words "and Northern Ireland" in the name of the British state.^[42] The name also ran against the Irish state's territorial claim to Northern Ireland. The dispute over the names of their respective states was most apparent when the two states concluded bilateral treaties. For example, when the Anglo-Irish Agreement was made in 1984 between the two states, the British text of the agreement gave it the formal title "Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland" whereas the Irish government's text of the very same agreement gave it the formal title "Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom".^[50][59][60]

Republic of Ireland v Irish Republic

Further information: Irish Republic

When the Republic of Ireland Act was enacted, the United Kingdom cabinet debated whether it should use the new name in preference to "Eire". Having said that it was minded to do so and invited comment, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (Sir Basil Brooke, Ulster Unionist) objected in the strongest possible terms, saying that the new description "was intended to repeat Eire’s claim to jurisdiction over the whole island."^[3] Attlee partly accepted this argument, saying that the [UK] bill should formally recognise the title 'Republic of Ireland' but that the description "The Irish Republic" would be employed in all official usage. Indeed, despite the Belfast Agreement, almost all British publications still follow this style (see below).

To Irish eyes, this was a strange turn of events. In Irish law, the Irish Republic had been the unilaterally declared all-Ireland Republic proclaimed in the Easter Rising (1916), which had terminated with the Anglo-Irish Treaty. But according to the anti-treaty Sinn Féin, the treaty had never been valid, the Irish Republic was still extant, and now the British Government appeared to be recognising it (albeit unconsciously).^{[citation needed]}

Judicial ruling over names

The dispute over names was also apparent in the judicial arena. In the 1989 Irish Supreme Court case of Ellis v O'Dea, the Supreme Court unanimously condemned what they regarded as the "conscious and deliberate practice" of British courts in referring to the Irish state in extradition warrants as the Republic of Ireland and not Ireland (when issuing warrants in English). The court elaborated that while foreign courts were at liberty to issue such warrants in a foreign language, if they used the English language they had to refer to the state as Ireland. The court indicated that not to do so was to refuse to recognise the Irish constitution and that by virtue of the duty of the courts and of the Gardaí to uphold the Constitution such warrants should be returned for rectification.^[61] The following is an extract from the judgement:^[62]

'In the English language the name of this State is "Ireland" and is so prescribed by Article 4 of the Constitution. Of course if the courts of the United Kingdom or of other States choose to issue warrants in the Irish language then they are at liberty to use the Irish language name of the State ... However, they are not at liberty to attribute to this State a name which is not its correct name ... If there is any confusion in the United Kingdom courts possibly it is due to the terms of the United Kingdom statute named the Ireland Act, 1949 ... That enactment purported to provide that this State should be "referred to ... by the name attributed to it by the law thereof, that is to say, as the Republic of Ireland" (emphasis supplied). That of course is an erroneous statement of the law of Ireland. Historically it is even more difficult to explain. There is only one State in the world named Ireland since it was so provided by Article 4 of the Constitution in 1937 and that name was recognised by a communiqué from No. 10 Downing Street, London in 1937.'

Belfast Agreement

The dispute between the British and Irish governments over the names of their respective states now appears to have been resolved. This resolution took place when the Belfast Agreement (or Good Friday Agreement) was concluded in 1998. That Agreement concerned a wide range of constitutional and other matters regarding Northern Ireland. Notably, as part of it, the Irish state dropped its legal claim to the territory of Northern Ireland. In the title of the Agreement, the two governments used their respective domestic law names, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland. Some Unionist members of the British parliament objected strenuously to the use of the term the Government of Ireland. They proposed that the practice of referring to the Irish government as the Government of the Republic of Ireland should be continued. Their objections were not accepted. Responding for the British government in the House of Lords, Lord Dubs explained that the new practice of referring to the Irish state by the name Ireland:^[63]

'actually represents the welcome disappearance of one small but significant difference in practice between the British and Irish Governments that the [Belfast Agreement] has made possible. Hitherto, the Irish Government have referred to themselves, and generally been referred to in international circles, as the "Government of Ireland". We, however, have called them "Government of the Republic of Ireland". Similarly, while the proper name of this state is the "Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", the Irish have used solely the name "Government of the United Kingdom". With the agreement we have aligned our practice. We will call them by the name they favour, and they will use the name for us that we favour. Since the constitutional status of Northern Ireland is no longer a matter of disagreement between us, we can put an end to the argument about names.'

The resolution has been respected by both governments since the Belfast Agreement.^[64] A House of Lords debate, ten years later in May 2008, on Regulations governing political donations by Irish citizens and bodies to political parties in Northern Ireland, is a good example of this. During the debate Lord Rooker, a Government minister, said that the Regulations would: "acknowledge the special place that the island of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland occupy in the political life of Northern Ireland". Responding, Lord Glentoran suggested that Lord Rooker in fact "meant to say that [the draft Regulations recognise] the special place that Ireland occupies in the political life of Northern Ireland." Agreeing with Lord Glentoran's observation, Lord Rooker responded:

'I still cannot get used to the fact that we do not refer to the Republic of Ireland. I stumbled over that part of my brief because I saw "Ireland". Yes, I did mean the special role that Ireland plays in the political life of Northern Ireland.'^[65]

So far there has been no domestic British legislation explicitly providing that Ireland may be used as a name for the Irish state for the purposes of domestic British law. While the UK's Ireland Act provides for use of the name Republic of Ireland in domestic British law, that legislation is permissive rather than mandatory so it does not mean Ireland cannot be used instead. However, some legal commentators have speculated that it may be necessary for the British government to introduce legislation to also explicitly provide for use of the name Ireland for the Irish state because under domestic British law the name Ireland might be interpreted as referring to the whole island of Ireland. There is no requirement to amend domestic Irish legislation.^[42]

Nevertheless, there are now a growing number of UK statutes and regulations that refer to the Irish state as simply Ireland and make no reference to the Republic of Ireland. One example is the Disqualifications Act 2000 which refers, inter alia, to the "legislature of Ireland", the "House of Representatives of Ireland" and the "Senate of Ireland".^[66] In contrast, the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990 referred to barristers and solicitors qualified "in Ireland" and made no reference to the "Republic of Ireland"^[67] but when these regulations were replaced by the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 2009,^[68] the Regulations were amended to refer to the Republic of Ireland and not Ireland.

British media usage

The names attributed to the state by the British media are sometimes the subject of discussion in the state. The style guides of British news sources adopt differing policies for referring to the state:

Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use

"Ireland" is the form in the Country Names list, whose introduction states "This list reflects current British usage. Countries are arranged alphabetically under their common names. The official state title, (ie. the form used in formal, legal or diplomatic contexts), where different, is shown underneath and reflects the name used by the State itself."^[69]

The Times

"Ireland: the two parts should be called the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic (avoid Eire except in direct quotes or historical context), and Northern Ireland or Ulster."^[70]

The Guardian

"Ireland, Irish Republic. not Eire or "Southern Ireland""^[71]

The Daily Telegraph

"Ireland includes Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Irish Government means the one in Dublin. Use Irish Republic or the Republic according to context, but not Eire."^[72]

The Economist

"Ireland is simply Ireland. Although it is a republic, it is not the Republic of Ireland. Neither is it, in English, Eire. "^[73]

BBC Radio

"Ireland is an island, comprising Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic."^[74]

See also

• History of the Republic of Ireland
• Politics of the Republic of Ireland
• Southern Ireland
• Alternative names for Northern Ireland
• Hibernia
• Ériu

References

1. ^ Government of Ireland (1937). Constitution of Ireland. Dublin: Stationary Office. 
2. ^ "The Republic of Ireland". The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948. Government of Ireland. 1948. http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1948/en/act/pub/0022/sec0002.html#zza22y1948s2. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Daly, Mary (January 2007). "'The Irish Free State/Éire/Republic of Ireland/Ireland: "A Country by Any Other Name"?". Journal of British Studies 46: 72–90. doi:10.1086/508399. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/508399. 
4. ^ The wording of Article 4 has been criticised. Early criticisms are discussed above More recently, in its report, the Constitution Review Group in 1996 stated that that Article 4 was unnecessarily complicated and should be amended to read "The name of the State is Ireland" with an equivalent change in the Irish text.
5. ^ The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 (Commencement) Order, 1949 (S.I. No. 27/1949) appointed 18 April 1949 (Easter Monday, the thirty third anniversary of the Irish Easter Rising) as the day the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 would come into force.
6. ^ Seanad Éireann - Volume 36–15 December 1948, The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Committee and Final Stages.
7. ^ See: Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005. Until then, Irish was a treaty language, official to the extent that the EU's founding treaties were (in addition to the other languages of the EU) drawn up in Irish and equally authentic in that language. Irish had not been an official EU working language.
8. ^ Clause 7.1.1 of the Inter Institutional Style Guide [1].
9. ^ Parliament in Ireland, the First Dáil – Oireachtas.ie
10. ^ Jones, Thomas, Whitehall Diary, Vol. 3, 1947, p89
11. ^ 3 May 1921 (SR&O 1921, No. 533).
12. ^ See: Government of Ireland Act 1920
13. ^ 12 & 13 Geo. 5. c.4
14. ^ Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922.
15. ^ John Furlong (2006). Ireland – the Name of the State. Legal Information Management, 6, pp 297-301. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/S1472669606000934
16. ^ Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922^{[dead link]}
17. ^ Arwel Parry. "The First Definitive Series of the Irish Free State". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2008-01-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20080105141408/www.cartref.demon.co.uk/eng/stamps/eire03.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
18. ^ The Times, February 8, 1932
19. ^ ^{a b} Dáil Éireann - Volume 67 - 25 May 1937, Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste
20. ^ On a later occasion de Valera was also to say that the name Éire would have helped to avoid confusion between the names of the island and the state. Although, clearly, where the Irish language was the medium of communication, the position would be the same (as Éire is both the name of the state and the island in the Irish language).
21. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 68 - 9 June 1937 Committee on Finance. – Recommittal. To the proposed wording, an opposition politician had responded that it was "rather a cumbersome name for the State". To this, de Valera replied, that "it was a very short name. There is the equivalent in the English language." There was no further debate. The name Ireland was substituted for Éire in a number of places throughout the English text of the Constitution although the name Éire remained in the highly rhetorical preamble but nowhere else in the English text. The latter reference was probably also motivated by de Valera's wish to emphasise the pre-eminence of the Irish text.
22. ^ Seanad Éireann - Volume 36–15 December 1948, The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Committee and Final Stages. It is highly likely that practical considerations such as the possible ramifications of automatic exclusion from the British Commonwealth were also among his considerations.
23. ^ Catriona Crowe; Ronan Fanning; Dermot Keogh; Eunan O'Halpin; and Michael Kennedy: Documents on Irish Foreign Policy: 1937-1939 Vol. 5
24. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 96 - 11 April 1945 - Ceisteanna—Questions Mr Cogan TD to the Taoiseach
25. ^ Seanad Éireann Debates- Volume 25 - 14 May 1941. Senator Michael Hayes:I wonder if the Taoiseach has given any consideration to the extraordinarily bad effect the insertion of the word “Éire” has had. It has created a new name, Éire, for the Twenty-Six Counties of Ireland, and it has fortified the claim of the people of the Six Counties to call themselves Ulster, to adopt for the Six Counties the ancient and historic name of Ulster and apply it to the Six Counties as if they were the whole of the province. Indeed shortly before the Second World War, the Northern Ireland government attempted to adopt the name Ulster but were rebutted by London.
26. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 96 - 11 April 1945 -Ceisteanna—Questions
27. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 113 - 24 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage. Costello also added that in "documents of a legal character, such as, for instance, policies of insurance, there is always difficulty in putting in what word one wants to describe the State referred to. [The new description of the State, the Republic of Ireland will provide] a solution for these difficulties, and those malicious newspapers who want to refer in derogatory tones to this country as Éire and who have coined these contemptuous adjectives about it, such as "Eireannish" and "Eirish", and all the rest of it." In a similar vein Costello also remarked that those "who may be disposed to jeer at our State, as they have done before in connection with the word "Éire", will look at this [Republic of Ireland Act] and see that in the English text—which is the only one they can understand—... the description of the State is "the Republic of Ireland"...I want to stop any further nonsense." Costello also criticised de Valera for using the term the "Éire Republic..., a term of decision and scorn".
28. ^ Dáil Éireann - Volume 113 - 26 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill (Resumed).
29. ^ In the same Dáil debate, de Valera explained that a reason to use the Irish language description in the English text "would be if one wanted to bring in the use of the name Poblacht na hÉireann into ordinary speech, as the words "Taoiseach", "Oireachtas", "Dáil Éireann" have been brought into ordinary speech. Although I would like to see as many Irish words as possible come into the institutions of our State, I came to the conclusion that the Taoiseach is taking a better view. I think it is better for us in this case not to bring the Irish word into the English text; it is better to keep the English appellation, the English description, in the English text for some of the reasons the Taoiseach has mentioned."
30. ^ ^{a b c} Griffin, Padraig (1990). The politics of Irish athletics, 1850-1990. Ballinamore: Marathon Publications. ISBN 0951344803. 
31. ^ ^{a b} "AAI: History". Athletics Ireland. 2009. http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=5990. Retrieved 2009-04-18. 
32. ^ Section 31 of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000
33. ^ Regulation 11 of the Vehicle Registration and Taxation (Amendment) Regulations, 1999 (S.I. 432 of 1999).
34. ^ Regulation 11 of the Irish Aviation Authority (Nationality and Registration of Aircraft) Order, 2005 (S.I. 634 of 2005).
35. ^ Byrne, Peter (1996). Football Association of Ireland: 75 years. Dublin: Sportsworld. p. 68. ISBN 1-900110-06-7. 
36. ^ "Parliamentary Debates: Volume 518 - 13 April 2000". Dáil Éireann. 13 April 2000. http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0518/D.0518.200004130005.html. Retrieved 24 August 2010. 
37. ^ Undoubtedly, the Irish government's desire to unite the territory of the island influenced its choice of the name Ireland for the state. A letter as early as 12 March 1932 from Joe Walshe to President de Valera is indicative of this. In it Walshe states: "I believe that you can achieve the Unity of this country within seven years and that we can have our complete independence without calling this country by any particular const[itutional] name. "Ireland" shall be our name, and our international position will let the world know that we are independent" in Ferriter, Diarmaid, Judging Dev, Royal Irish Academy 2007
38. ^ ^{a b c d} "Circular dated 1 April 1949 from the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs to Heads of Post Abroad (Circular Document No.B38, 836. DEA/7545‑B‑40)". Lac-bac.gc.ca. http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/webarchives/20061111070400/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=9449. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
39. ^ The Manchester Guardian, 30 December 1937 Britain accepts new name for the Free State. Full text of British Government's communiqué cited in Clifford, Angela, The Constitutional History of Eire/Ireland, Athol Books, Belfast, 1985, p153.
40. ^ Note: Under the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 the name Eire, without the correct síne fada (accent) over the first E, was used. This practice of omitting the síne fada over the E was consistently adopted by the UK government and some Commonwealth countries.
41. ^ Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, State of the Union: Unionism and the Alternatives in the United Kingdom, 2001: 173, 181.
42. ^ ^{a b c d} Oliver, JDB, What's in a Name, in Tiley, John, Studies in the History of Tax Law, The Chartered Institute of Taxation, 2003.
43. ^ On Thursday 2 December 1937, the Irish Free State Government sent a Note to the League of Nations stating that the Free State would be officially known as Ireland on and after December 29, 1937, when the new constitution became law reported "The Argus - Australia - "NAME OF FREE STATE TO BE CHANGED TO IRELAND" on 3 December 1937
44. ^ "Hansard, 1946". Hansard.millbanksystems.com. http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1946/may/15/air-services-agreement-ireland-eire. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
45. ^ A consideration given by the Canadians was "that any Canadian Government communication would normally be in English rather than in Gaelic, and that the use of the Gaelic word "Eire" in such a communication might therefore be inappropriate (just as it would scarcely be considered appropriate, in a communication written in English which mentioned the Government of Egypt, to speak of it as the Government of Misr, unless the Egyptian Government specially requested that the Egyptian form of the country's name should be used)": Circular dated 1 April 1949 from the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs to Heads of Post Abroad (Circular Document No.B38, 836. DEA/7545‑B‑40)
46. ^ C.M. 1(49) - Meeting held on 12 January 1949. C.M. 1(49).
47. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named irelandact1949; see Help:Cite errors/Cite error references no text
48. ^ "Ireland Act 1949". Uniset.ca. http://www.uniset.ca/naty/maternity/irelandact1949.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-05. 
49. ^ Memorandum by the Prime Minister, C.P. (49) 47, 4th March, 1949; Catalogue Reference:CAB/129/33
50. ^ ^{a b c d} Austen Morgan, The Belfast Agreement, 2000, p99.
51. ^ Immigration and Nationality Directorate, UK Government Website, EEA Nationals [2].
52. ^ For example: The Irish Republic (Termination of 1927 Agreement) Order 1987.
53. ^ Irish Treaty Series for 1949 and 1950
54. ^ The Times, August 8, 1949 - Statement by European Movement (made on 7 August 1949)
55. ^ John Davies, The Correct Name for Ireland [3]. Interestingly, the text of the 1949 treaty establishing the Council of Europe (registered by the British government with the UN) refers not to Ireland or the Republic of Ireland but to the Irish Republic. It is not known to the author whether the Irish government's text used the same terminology. [See Text of Treaty of London, 1949 at Wikisource; the UK government was the depository for the Treaty.]
56. ^ Patrick O'Farrell, Irish-Australian diplomatic relations, Quadrant, XXXIV (1980), p.12
57. ^ Donal Lowry, The captive dominion: imperial realities behind Irish diplomacy, 1922-49, Irish Historical Studies, XXXVI, 142 (2008),pp.220-21
58. ^ Rinfret, Thibaudeau (6 February 1952), Notice and Proclamations, in Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Documents on Canadian External Relations, 14-1, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada . Retrieved 8 October 2009.
59. ^ http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/uploads/documents/treaties/docs/198502.pdf
60. ^ It is standard practice in the titles of international agreements between two contracting states for each state to put itself first in its own version (held by the other contracting state)
61. ^ Ellis v. O'Dea 1989 IR 530 (per Walsh J.) and David Langwallner on Griffith College website
62. ^ Extract from the judgement of Mr Justice Walsh in Ellis v. O'Dea 1989 IR 530
63. ^ Hansard, House of Lords, 19 October 1998
64. ^ "The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use - List of Country Names showing "Ireland" as the official name of the Irish state.". Pcgn.org.uk. 2010-05-05. http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Country_names.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
65. ^ "House of Lords debates: Monday, 12 May 2008 on the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (Regulation of Loans etc.: Northern Ireland) Order 2008". Theyworkforyou.com. 2008-05-12. http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2008-05-12a.868.1. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
66. ^ "Disqualifications Act 2000". Opsi.gov.uk. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000042_en_1#l1g2. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
67. ^ Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990 (as amended).
68. ^ "Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 2009". Sra.org.uk. http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/change-tracker/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations.page. Retrieved 2010-12-23. 
69. ^ Country Names The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use
70. ^ "Times Online Style Guide - I". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986727.ece. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
71. ^ "Guardian Style Guide: I". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0,,184827,00.html. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
72. ^ "Telegraph Style Book: Places and peoples". The Daily Telegraph (London). 12 April 2008. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435302/Telegraph-Style-Book-Places-and-peoples.html. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
73. ^ "Economist Style Guide: Countries and Inhabitants". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=805709. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
74. ^ "Radio newsroom: Alphabetical checklist". BBC News. 19 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/radio_newsroom/1099593.stm#i. Retrieved 2008-07-06.