Wikipedia:WikiProject Ireland Collaboration/statementbyBrownHairedGirl (Problem 2.1)

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Statement by BrownHairedGirl (Problem 2.1)[edit]

The word "Ireland" is both the name of the island and the name of the modern state whose jurisdiction extends to only 26 of the 32 counties of that Ireland. As a result the word is ambiguous in its modern usage, both in terms of geography and of legal jurisdiction.

Luckily, there is a widely-used and understood term which resolves any ambiguity relating to the state. "Republic of Ireland" is defined in the Republic of Ireland Act as the description of the state, and this is widely used both in general usage and by the state itself: that official usage in Ireland includes Acts of the Oireachtas, Statutory instruments, and current usage by government departments.

This usage is important not just in the naming of the main article on the Republic of Ireland, but also in the naming of hundreds of related articles on issues relating the government of Ireland. No alternative formulation has been offered which removes the ambiguity inherent in phrases such as "taxation in Ireland", "roads in Ireland", or "social welfare in Ireland": all of those subjects differ on opposite sides of the border, but the ambiguity can be resolved easily by using a simple formulation:

  • X in Ireland" for articles relating to all 32 counties
  • X in the Republic of Ireland" for articles relating to the 26 counties
  • X in Northern Ireland" for articles relating to 6 counties

The problem is not solely that there is no alternative naming system on offer, but that some of those opposing the use of the term "Republic of Ireland" deny that any ambiguity exists. As one example, see this discussion on my talk page with an editor who insisted that the phrase "Elections in Ireland" ambiguously refers to post-1922 elections in the 26-county state, ignoring the elections to the pre-1801 Parliament of Ireland, elections from 1801-1922 (when Ireland was United under British rule) and elections in Northern Ireland. From that example, it is clear that failure to retain the phrase "Republic of Ireland" to the refer to the 26-county state will have widespread consequences for our ability to retain unambiguous names for such articles in the face of editors who claim (as in that discussion) that pointing to the distinctions is, as I was told, "attempting to introduce ambiguity to a subject where none exists".

This issue affects not only articles. There are also thousands of categories, which are currently organised under Category:Ireland (for 32-county issues), Category:Northern Ireland (for 6-county issues since 1921), and Category:Republic of Ireland (for 26-county issues since 1922). This naming structure is clear and simple, and it works, but if the head article Republic of Ireland is renamed, the category system will become an anomaly.

For these reasons, retaining the name "Republic of Ireland" for the modern 26-county state is the least-worst option available.

Users that endorse this summary[edit]

  1. BrownHairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 00:01, 1 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Kittybrewster ☎ 22:45, 4 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  3. ras52 (talk) 21:45, 5 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  4. SarekOfVulcan (talk) 15:02, 3 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Users that oppose this summary[edit]

  1. Redking7 (talk) 21:16, 1 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  2. HighKing (talk) 10:54, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  3. MusicInTheHouse (talk) 21:35, 2 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  4. Robertbyrne (talk) 22:36, 12 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]
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