Wikipedia

Éire

Éire(Irish:[ˈeːɾʲə]ⓘ) is theIrish Gaelicname for "Ireland". Like its English counterpart, the termÉireis used for both theisland of Irelandand theRepublic of Ireland,the sovereign state that governs 85% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinct fromNorthern Ireland,which covers the remainder of the northeast of the island. The same name is also sometimes used in English (English:/ˈɛərə/AIR-ə).

True-colour satellite image ofIreland,known in Irish asÉire.

Etymology

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Further information:Ériu,Erin,Hibernia,andIverni

The modern IrishÉireevolved from theOld IrishwordÉriu,which was the name of Ireland and of aGaelicgoddess.Ériuis generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land.Ériuhas been derived from reconstructedArchaic Irish*Īweriū,[1][2]and further from theProto-Celtic*Φīwerjon-(nominative singularΦīwerjū).[3]This suggests descent from theProto-Indo-European*piHwerjon-( "fertile land" or "abundant land" ),[1]from the adjective*piHwer-( "fat" ) – cognate withAncient GreekpíeiraandSanskritpīvarī,( "fat, full, abounding" ).[1]The Archaic Irish form was borrowed from Ancient Greek. During his exploration of northwest Europe (circa 320 BC),Pytheas of Massiliacalled the islandIerne(writtenἸέρνη). ThePseudo-AristoteliantextOn the Universe(393b) has:

Ἐν τούτῳ γε μὴν νῆσοι μέγισται τυγχάνουσιν οὖσαι δύο, Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι, Ἀλβίων καὶ Ἰέρνη.

Translation: There are two very large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne.[4](modern Great Britain and Ireland).

In his bookGeographia(circa 150 AD),Claudius Ptolemaeuscalled the islandIouernia(writtenἸουερνία;ourepresented /w/) and named a tribal group called the (Ἰούερνοι,IouernoiorIverniwho lived in the southwest.[1]This was borrowed intoLatinasHibernia.

The evolution of the word would follow as such:

An Old Irish by-form of this placename wasíriu,meaning "land, earth".[1]InIrish mythology,Íth is the first of theMilesians (Irish)to see Ireland fromIberia.Later, he is the first to step ashore and praises the island's abundance, saying to theTuatha Dé Danann:"You dwell in a good land. Abundant are its mast and honey and wheat and fish".[1]

A 19th-century proposal, which does not follow modern standards of etymology, derives the name fromScottish Gaelic:ì(island) +thiar(west) +fónn(land), which together giveì-iar-fhónn,or "westland isle".[5]The etymology fails in thattiar(the historical form) has no*téirforms which would allow the development of the*éofÉire;moreover, Old Irishí( "island" ) was a late loanword from Old Norseey( "island" ), and so did not exist in prehistoric Ireland.

Difference betweenÉireandErin

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WhileÉireis simply the name for the island of Ireland in the Irish language, and sometimes used inEnglish,Erinis a common poetic name for Ireland, as inErin go bragh.The distinction between the two is one of the difference betweencasesofnounsin Irish.Éireis thenominative case,the case that is used for nouns that are thesubjectof a sentence, i.e., the noun that isdoingsomething.Erinderives fromÉirinn,the Irishdative caseofÉire,which has replaced the nominative case inDéiseIrish and some non-standard sub-dialects elsewhere, inScottish Gaelic(where the usual word for Ireland isÈirinn) andManx(like Irish and Scottish Gaelic, a Goidelic Celtic language), where the word is spelled "Nerin," with the initialn-probably representing a fossilisation of the prepositionin/an"in" (cf. Irishin Éirinn,Scottishan Èirinn/ann an Èirinn"in Ireland" ). Thegenitive case,Éireann(e.g.stair na hÉireann"the history of Ireland, Ireland's history" ), is found in the Gaelic forms of the titles of companies and institutions in Ireland e.g.Iarnród Éireann(Irish Rail),Dáil Éireann(Irish Parliament),Poblacht na hÉireann(The Republic of Ireland) orTuaisceart Éireann(Northern Ireland).

As a state name

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Main article:Names of the Irish state
Ireland usesÉireas the country name on both itspostage stampsand coinage.

Article 4 of theIrish constitutionadopted in 1937 by the government underÉamon de Valerastates "Éireis the name of the state, or in the English language,Ireland".[6]The Constitution's English-languagepreamblealso describes the population as "We, the people of Éire". Despite the fact that Article 8 designated Irish as the "national" and "first official" language,Éirehas to some extent passed out of everyday conversation and literature, and the state is referred to asIrelandor its equivalent in all other languages. The name "Éire" has been used on Irishpostage stampssince 1922;[7]on allIrish coinage(includingIrish euro coins); and together with "Ireland" on passports and other official state documents issued since 1937. "Éire" is used on theseal of the president of Ireland.

Initially, after 1937 the United Kingdom insisted on using only the name "Eire" and refused to accept the name "Ireland". It adopted theEire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938putting in law that position. At the1948 Summer Olympicsin London the organisers insisted that the Irish team march under the banner "Eire" notwithstanding that every other team was marching according to what their name was in English.[8]The UK Government generally avoided all reference to "Ireland" in connection with the state and used what SenatorThomas O'Connelldescribed as "sneering titles such as Eirish".[9]However, the term "Eirish" was also used by some writers in the US, who referred to "the Eirish people".[10]Using the genitive formÉireannas an adjective, the UK media would refer to "Eireann Ministers"[11]and the "Eireann Army".[12]TheIreland Act 1949changed this to "Republic of Ireland". It was not until after the 1998Good Friday Agreementthat the UK government accepted the preferred name of simply "Ireland", at the same time as the Republic of Ireland dropped its territorial claim over Northern Ireland.[13]

Before the 1937 Constitution, "Saorstát Éireann" (the Irish name of theIrish Free State) was generally used.[14]

Duringthe Emergency(as theSecond World Warwas known), Irish ships had "EIRE" (and theIrish tricolour) painted large on their sides and deck, to identify them as neutrals.

In the 1947Sinn Féin Funds case,a co-defendant was cited as "the Attorney General of Eire" in the High and Supreme Court cases, and there were similar cases where "Eire" was used in the late 1940s as a descriptor of the state in English.[15]

Irish Oaktorpedoed mid-Atlantic, oil byKenneth King,showing "EIRE" prominently. (National Maritime Museum of Ireland)

In 1922–1938 theinternational plate on Irish carswas "SE". From 1938 to 1962 it was marked "EIR", short for Éire.Bernard Commons,aClann na TalmhanTD,suggested to theDáilin 1950 that the Government examine "the tourist identification plate bearing the letters EIR... with a view to the adoption of identification letters more readily associated with this country by foreigners".[16]"EIR" was indicated in the Road Traffic (Third Party Risks) (Visiting Motorists) Regulations 1952[17]and 1958.[18]The Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1961 specified EIR but also permitted IRL.[19]and by 1962 "IRL" had been adopted.

Under the1947 ConventionIrish-registered aircrafthave carried a registration mark starting "EI" for Éire.

From January 2007, theIrish Governmentnameplates at meetings of theEuropean Unionhave borne bothÉireandIreland,following the adoption of Irish as aworking language of the European Union.

SpellingEirerather thanÉire

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In 1938 the British government provided in theEire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938that British legislation would henceforth refer to theIrish Free Stateas "Eire" (but not as "Ireland" ). This was altered by theIreland Act 1949,where the English-law name of the state was changed to "Republic of Ireland".[20]The 1938 Act was repealed in 1981, and in 1996 a British journalist describedEireas "now an oddity rarely used, an out-of-date reference".[21]

Within Ireland however, the spelling "Eire" was incorrect. WhenIrish languagetexts were printed inGaelic type,both capital and lower-case letters were printed withdiacritics(written accents). From the later 1940s, in conjunction with other reforms, printing switched to the sameLatin Alpha betused in English. There was some uncertainty about whether thesíneadh fada(acute accent) should be written on upper-case letters. While it was preserved in all-Irish texts, it was often omitted when short fragments of Irish appeared alone or in English texts.Noel Davernasked in theDáilin 1974 why Irish stamps hadEIRErather thanÉIRE.The reply from theMinister for Posts and Telegraphswas:[22]

The accent has been omitted on most Irish stamps issued over the past ten years in the interests of artistic balance and in accordance with a common practice in the printing of Irish in Roman script for display purposes. This is a prevailing typographical convention and is common to several European languages, including French.

Davern consideredEIREto be worse than a misspelling, becauseeireis a word in its own right, meaning "a burden, load or encumbrance".[22][23]The minister stated, "The word on the stamp... does not mean 'eire' and it is not understood to mean 'eire' by anybody except Davern."[22]Stamps later used a Gaelic type with the accent preserved.

English rarely usesdiacritics for English words,and often omits them from writtenloanwordsfrom any source language; theacute accentis often omitted whenÉIREis written in English—in that context, the omission or expression is regarded by English speakers who do not speak Irish as a negligible variation, reflecting two accepted spellings without further implication, in the same way as Mexico and México are seen as being the same. But for an Irish-speaker the diacriticchanges the pronunciation.

Other uses

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Éirehas been incorporated into the names of Irish commercial and social entities, such asEir(formerly Eircom and Telecom Éireann) and its former mobile phone network,Eircell.[24]Ireland's postal code system is known asEircode.In 2006 the Irish electricity network was devolved toEirGrid.The company "BetEire Flow" (eFlow), named as apunon "better", is a French consortium running the electronic tolling system at theWest-Linkbridge west of Dublin.[25]According to the DublinCompanies Registration Officein 2008, over 500 company names incorporate the word Éire in some form.[26]

Footnotes

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  1. ^abcdefKoch, John T.(2005),Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia,ABC-CLIO, pp.709-710
  2. ^Mallory, J.P. and D.Q. Adams, ed.Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture.London: Fitzroy Dearborn Pub., 1997, p. 194
  3. ^"Celtic Lexicon".University of Wales.Archivedfrom the original on 6 September 2011.Retrieved26 July2011.
  4. ^AristotleorPseudo-Aristotle(1955)."On the Cosmos, 393b12".On Sophistical Refutations. On Coming-to-be and Passing Away. On the Cosmos.Translated by Forster, E. S.; Furley, D. J. William Heinemann, Harvard University Press. pp. 360–361.at theOpen LibraryProject.DjVu
  5. ^Forbes, John (1848),The Principles of Gaelic Grammar(2nd ed.), Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, p. 160,The Celtic words ì, inns, an island, will forma key to the etymology of the names of many insular and peninsular places in the world; as,Ile,Islay.JuraorIura,Jura. Uist,Uist,Inchkeith,isle of Keith.Eireinn,orEirionn,ì-iar-fhónn, wetland isle; Ireland.
  6. ^"Constitution of Ireland".Irish Statute Book.Archivedfrom the original on 23 April 2022.Retrieved6 May2023.
  7. ^Roy Hamilton-Bowen, ed. (2009).Hibernian Handbook and Catalogue of the Postage Stamps of Ireland(12 ed.). Rodgau, Germany: Rodgau Philatelic Service GmbH.
  8. ^O'Leary, Jennifer (9 March 2012)."Celebrating champions".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 6 May 2015.
  9. ^"The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Reading (Resumed). – Seanad Éireann (6th Seanad)".Houses of the Oireachtas.10 December 1948.Archivedfrom the original on 7 March 2023.Retrieved12 February2023.
  10. ^Literary Digest.Vol. 124. Funk and Wagnalls. 1938. pp. 8–9.Archivedfrom the original on 7 March 2023.Retrieved12 February2023.
  11. ^Chronology of International Events and Documents.Vol. 4. Royal Institute of International Affairs. 1947. p. 690.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2023.Retrieved12 February2023.
  12. ^Motor Cycling and Motoring.Vol. 78. Temple Press Limited. 1941. p. 213.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2023.Retrieved12 February2023.
  13. ^Citizensinformation.ie."The Good Friday Agreement".citizensinformation.ie.Retrieved24 January2024.
  14. ^Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) Act 1922, 1st Sch.: Constitution of The Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) (No. 1 of 1922, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 6 December 1922. Act of theDáil sitting as a Constituent Assembly in the Provisional Parliament.Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved fromIrish Statute Book.
  15. ^Buckley and others v. the Attorney General of Eire and Charles Stewart Power,1 Irish Reports [1950], 57.
  16. ^"Questions. Oral Answers. - Motor Identification Letters – Dáil Éireann (13th Dáil) – Vol. 119 No. 15".Oireachtas.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2019.Retrieved6 May2023.
  17. ^Road Traffic (Third Party Risks) (Visiting Motorists) Regulations 1952 (S.I. No. 383 of 1952). Signed on 31 December 1952. Statutory Instrument of theGovernment of Ireland.Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved fromIrish Statute Bookon 6 May 2023.
  18. ^Road Traffic (Third Party Risks) (Visiting Motorists) Regulations 1958 (S.I. No. 82 of 1958). Signed on 31 December 1959. Statutory Instrument of theGovernment of Ireland.Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved fromIrish Statute Bookon 6 May 2023.
  19. ^Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1961, 13.(4) (S.I. No. 269 of 1961), "On an international motor insurance card the letters EIR are used to indicate the name of the State but the letters IRL may be substituted therefor.". Statutory Instrument of theGovernment of Ireland.Retrieved fromIrish Statute Book.
  20. ^Ireland Act 1949(Act 1 (3), 41). UK Parliament. 1949.Archived3 January 2021 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Wilson, John (1996).Understanding journalism: a guide to issues.Routledge. p. 269.ISBN9780415115995.
  22. ^abc"Ceisteanna —Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Postage Stamps – Vol. 271 No. 8".Oireachtas.28 March 1974. pp. 38 cc.1140–1.
  23. ^"Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla (Ó Dónaill, 1977)".Archivedfrom the original on 25 August 2018.Retrieved25 August2018.
  24. ^"eir homepage".Eir.ie. 29 November 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 21 September 2015.Retrieved26 March2010.
  25. ^"National Roads Authority statement 2007".Nra.ie.Archivedfrom the original on 23 August 2010.Retrieved26 March2010.
  26. ^"CRO search page".Companies Registration Office.Archivedfrom the original on 29 December 2010.Retrieved26 March2010.

Bibliography

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Look upÉirein Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Noel Browne,Against the Tide
  • Constitution of Ireland (1937)
  • Stephen Collins,The Cosgrave Legacy
  • Tim Pat Coogan,De Valera(Hutchinson, 1993)
  • Brian Farrell,De Valera's Constitution and Ours
  • F.S.L. Lyons,Ireland since the Famine
  • David Gwynn Morgan,Constitutional Law of Ireland
  • Tim Murphy and Patrick Twomey (eds.)Ireland's Evolving Constitution: 1937–1997 Collected Essays(Hart, 1998)ISBN1-901362-17-5
  • Alan J. Ward,The Irish Constitutional Tradition: Responsible Government and Modern Ireland 1782–1992(Irish Academic Press, 1994)ISBN0-7165-2528-3
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