Monday, May 21, 2007
The power of words
Official documents for SF minister Conor Murphy are not to refer to Northern Ireland. An internal memo has told staff of a range of alternative phraseology to be used. Conor Murphy has denied it was his instruction saying he was asked for his preferences.
Fair Deal @ 10:10 AM
The 2nd Unionist leak/spy in less than a week. When do the PSNI raids start?
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 10:19 AMhardly surprising to see Greg stirring it, he was never really up for it in the first place.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 10:22 AMHmm, this story was leaked by the Newsletter? I can see the heading now- “Ulsters’s new Rural Development Minister gets pedantic over name.... of Ulster. Also fight breaks out in Belfast as pot calls kettle black. Pages 3-6”
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 10:26 AMI shouldn’t think this is either the first or the last time a leak like this will happen. Tough to call it whistle blowing since the subject is hardly case of misconduct, but if it adds to our knowledge of what weighty issues our politician are grappling with, I can’t see what there is to object to.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 10:48 AMBut Mr Murphy says his aides asked him what language he would prefer
Presumably Irish?
If so, he can use whatever terminology he wants then.Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 10:53 AMQuite right too.
The province is northern Ireland.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 11:21 AMI like the suggestion of simply using the term “here"…
“We comit ourselves to furthering the economic development here. We plan to boost the level of international investment in start-up businesses all over this place, from the East of here, to the West of the region”.
Nice…
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:09 PMAn internal memo has told staff of a range of alternative phraseology to be used.
Presumably, if that ‘range of alternative phraseology’ had included Ulster and the Province, Gregory may have judged this less infantile?
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:22 PMJG - “The Province is Northern Ireland”
Not quite: The country is Northern Ireland, the province is Ulster and despite big Ian’s insistance they are not interchangeable or one and the same. Ulster is a nine county province of Ireland; Northern Ireland is a six county country in the North East of Ireland.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:31 PMI agree with all of that DO with a caveat.
Technically, NI is a province in the sense that it is a division of a country.
A division of what country exactly is up for debate :-)
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:40 PMIt’s a public holiday here. I think I’ll go back to bed. Yawn.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:43 PM“The Region” is a nonsectarian way of describing this part of the world.
We pass this way but once.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:46 PMIt’s a public holiday here.
It seems that every day is a public holiday for Conor!
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 12:51 PMmy vote is for “the occupied six counties of Ireland”
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 01:15 PMUnfortunately for you, your vote is just one of many, and in ‘The Region’ most don’t vote the same way…
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 01:32 PM“Sunny Belfast by the Sea”
“Top Right-Hand Corner”
“Where the Other Tayto Crisps Come From”
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 01:47 PMIt should be called ““the Irish invaded six counties of Ulster”
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 01:56 PMHow about just northern (i.e. lowercase n) Ireland then everyone would be happy!
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:05 PMCan Slugger carry a story about “the power of words” without mentioning that David Vance has banned me from ATW for arguing with him after his appearance on BBC Radio Ulster?
I thought blogging was about “freedom of speech” Seeing as you, Mick, have defended DV’s right to speak here on Slugger, have you nothing to say on this?
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:18 PMdelta omega,
Much to long a name. N.Ireland should be officially called Ulster and the 3 counties, Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan should rejoin Connaught and Leinster respectively. Ulster’s history was never set in stone with 9 counties. Ulster according to Jim Carney, Senior Professor at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, always meant the people.
He continues:
“The ulster people expanded and contracted over the centuries, sometimes over the old the whole northern part of Ireland, sometimes over only the north-east corner, Antrim and Down - like a bellows [that, I remember was the word he chose]. But Ulster was essentially a people. Far from claiming too much with the title Ulster, you could well be selling yourself short! In that sense I look on Ulster as embracing all her sons and daughters, all her friends and sympathisers, wherever they may be living and working. It was always so to my mind.’’
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:28 PMI wonder, its important to just keep on asking “awkward questions”, and don’t let the buggers get you down :)
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:36 PMAh! Curtain’s up on the Muppet Show..
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:39 PMPhilip - The border of Ulster is generally accepted as Black Pig’s Dyke, built around 100 BC by the Ulaid and the Cruithin, and incorporating most of Monaghan, Cavan and parts of Leitrim
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:47 PMIn the last Assembly Bairbre De Bruin had her Departments officially circulated memos and documents headed in both English and Irish. That directive actually continued after the Assembly collapsed as the subsequent incoming direct rule ministers saw no fit reason to change it.
To the best of my knowledge nobody has died, nor did the world stop in the many intervening years since the decision was made…
Its amazing how easily ‘offended’ Unionists can be these days…
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:53 PMHow about not being so bloody pedantic and calling the country by it’s actual name - Northern Ireland. It’s been around for 85 years - get over it.
Use of the ‘North’, ‘6 Counties’, whatever, just smacks of pettiness. All the name changing is just designed to cause annoyance by way of cheap political point-scoring.
Well aren’t Sinn Fein true Republicans - I mean you must be so proud to have voted them in, because insisting that NI is called ‘the North’ really makes up for the catalogue of shortcomings in their quest for a 32 county scoialist Republic.
P.S. It’s actually quite hilarious to see Nationalists on this site defend the use of ‘Ulster’ in terms of it’s 9-county origin only. They consistently refer to Northern Ireland as ‘The North’ as they couldn’t possibly adhere to any phrase/terminology, which was coined by the nasty Brits.
Who came up with the name ‘Ulster’ again? Oh yeah it was the English - when they divided Ireland up into 4 convenient provinces so they could manage the land better. As for your beloved GAA county names - where do they come from?
Wise Up.
Posted by on May 21, 2007 @ 02:58 PM
