Interesting piece in this week’s Irish-language weekly, Foinse, about the on-going row caused by Aer Lingus dropping their traditional greeting in Irish from their Belfast flights in case they might offend some northern Irish passengers. The decision was criticised in the Republic’s Senate last week and the leader of the Senate, Donie Cassidy, is to speak with Aer Lingus’ chief executive, Dermot Mannion, about the matter.
Foinse have some interviews with three people about the issue: director of the Belfast-based cross-community language group, ULTACH Trust, Aodán Mac Póilin; journalist and unionist, Ian Malcolm and director of The Ulster Society, Gordon Lucy. Mac Póilin and Malcolm are of the opinion that hostility towards Irish is not as great as it was amongst unionists though Lucy believes that Aer Lingus showed “understanding” by doing what they did. Mac Póilin thinks Aer Lingus’ decision is a very good example of “cultural cringe” while Malcolm, from a Protestant background, believes that people in his own area no longer assume an interest in Irish equates with republican inclinations.
Not being a regular flyer, it is not something that is going to affect me much. I would rather that Aer Lingus kept the greeting in Irish as dropping it is senseless. There is little enough Irish in the public domain as it is. Of more interest by far is Regional Development minister Conor Murphy’s intention to put up a limited number of bilingual road signs. That has already brought about some negative comment from some unionist politicians.
I wonder though if there is an even better litmus test for linguistic tolerance and a more practical way of defusing the whole issue and promoting the language – rather than putting up bilingual road signs, would it not be better to put up some bilingual railway signs? As a regular rail traveller – my grandfather was a train driver for GNR – I would love to see the station names rendered into Irish with an English translation.
The ones on the Newry-Belfast line are fascinating, to mention but a few: Scarva/Scarbhach/Place of the Shallow Ford; Moira/Maigh Rath/The Plain of the Wheels (how fitting!); Derryaghy/Doire Achaidh/Oak Wood of the Field; Finaghy/An Fionnachadh/The White Field* and, em, Hilden. (Certainly, new signs would add a little colour and culture and freshen up the network. It should give those holiday makers and day trippers from Dublin something extra to talk about on their trips and give the North a more distinctive tourist brand.)
Given that many stops are in areas that are predominately unionist, it would be interesting to see what reception they got. I wonder if ordinary people from a unionist background would be as hostile to them as some of their politicians seem to think? Many rail users might be fascinated to find out that their rather hum-drum halt had, in fact, a story of its own to tell. (I have noticed too that many councils are now restoring townland names on their road signs – and people of all political persuasions are happy to see them back. It is nice to see but not enough; the original Irish-language version should accompany them, again with a literal translation in English.)
Are Irish-language train signs a pipe-dream? I hope not. It is time to get ‘rail’ about Irish!
* The translations are taken from Patrick McKay’s masterful, A Dictionary of Ulster-Place Names (Institute of Irish Studies). If you do not have a copy, go out and buy one now!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Time to get ‘rail’ about Irish
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5 comments:
I think the decision to take the greetings away is absurd and a capitulation to those most opposed to the acceptance of the Irish language as stipulated in the Accord.
I think all but the most diehard Unionists would probably have some interest in their place names. When tourists visit (the island of) Ireland, most of them don't look on N.I. as some kind separate entity. They come to see Ireland and to experience it. Using bilingual signs would probably enhance tourism and the tourist experience. It would tend to dull the perception of N.I. that has been held over the last 30 years. It might even help some of the Ulster-Scots to accept and come to know more of their Irishness. Ditto for Aer Lingus, bilingualism. If Gaelic is offensive, fly with another airline.
I think Aer Lingus made far more trouble for themselves with their decision than they avoided. They brought into the political arena a subject which would have most likely remained outside it. Like all of us, most unionists wouldn't have thought twice about the Irish national airline using the Irish language on their flights as long the service was decent and the prices low! The idea about dual language signs at NIR stations would be a nice touch. It would brighten up those horrid little holes in the hedge (Hilden being the epitome of horridness).
However, I would be of the opinion that of much more importance would be the expansion of our rail network. And we could start by telling Conor Murphy to get off his arse and set up that rail link to the international airport. Anyone up for a campaign?
I have even bigger ambitions, Johnny G. I would prefer to expand from Portadown - Armagh - Enniskillen - Sligo. Now there's a rail project. Imagine being able to get on a train in Central and end up in Yeats' country - how's about that for tourist potential, opening up the west and also making the Belfast-Larne line a real alternative to air to travelling to Scotland?
"If Gaelic is offensive, fly with another airline."
Please tell me you don't work in marketing...
I thought I'd already commented on this blog post, but apparently not. I think the idea is interesting, by having a literal translation of the Gaelic maybe it gives its presence a real purpose for the rest of us. I'm sure some will still see it as territory-marking, but I'd imagine the number doing so would be reduced. I'm not sure that railway halts or stations are necessarily the best place for this kind of 'education', but I don't think there's any harm in it and it's certainly not as bad as having it on road signs.
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