Eire 34 - Scotland 13!

[Corkonian]

There's no such country as "Eire", mate. It's "Ireland". Look it up on the map, in the UN, in the EU, any international organisation or treaty you care to mention. Ireland - not "Eire", not "the Republic of Ireland", not "the Irish Republic", not "The Republic". Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland. One word. In English. Got it?

We particularly resent being referred to as Eire - only the British do it, mostly the well-meaning but basically ignorant ones. Eire is only used on our stamps and coinage - and that is only because the redneck Gaeilgeoir culture hegemonists who staff our Civil Service thought it would be a good idea to pretend, yes pretend, that we live in a Celtic paradise where everyone speaks Irish/Gaelic. In reality, fewer than 5% choose to speak it.

Ok, rant over. Sorry. It was a pretty good game for us, scoring two tries off so little possession in the 1st half. But guys, you gifted us our 1st and 5th tries, with silly pre-schoolboy errors, and although our 3rd try was really well executed with the cross-field kick, it was also made rather easy for us - where was the defence? If Horan hadn't been there to score it, Bowe was right behind him and would have scored it instead (and got a hat-trick in the process). That's a 2-on-zero attacking formation!

So I hardly rate any of those three tries in terms of an Irish return to form; only the 2nd and 4th tries, which came from brilliant movement and handling, made me feel that this Irish team are maybe getting their act together again.

Strokosch was the only Scottish player to really impress me - he has fantastic power as a ball carrier. Patterson was an improvement on Parks. And I think you need Cussiter back again in place of Blair. More than anything else, you need 5 backs who can cut through defences at least some of the time, with all that possession. Don't be downhearted; it can come good for Scotland yet; you're no worse now than we were in the World Cup 6 months back. But it requires bringing in some of your "A" talent and a change of tactics. Oh yeah, and a re-learning of the utter basics...like sticking to your wing, and expecting the inside move off the scrum!

[McClef]

Been on the SA again chief??

What on earth could make you think that? I only drink any Brains' brew occasionally!

There's no such country as "Eire", mate. It's "Ireland". Look it up on the map, in the UN, in the EU, any international organisation or treaty you care to mention. Ireland - not "Eire", not "the Republic of Ireland", not "the Irish Republic", not "The Republic". Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland. One word. In English. Got it?

We particularly resent being referred to as Eire - only the British do it, mostly the well-meaning but basically ignorant ones. Eire is only used on our stamps and coinage - and that is only because the redneck Gaeilgeoir culture hegemonists who staff our Civil Service thought it would be a good idea to pretend, yes pretend, that we live in a Celtic paradise where everyone speaks Irish/Gaelic. In reality, fewer than 5% choose to speak it.

It's a more complex situation than that as all Irish stuff can be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ire

True you won't hear it spoken much in Cork, just as you won't hear much Welsh spoken where I live, but when there are two official languages, irrespective of proportionality, there will be usage that spills from the minority language into the majority one. Not just banknotes and stamps but place names, and in Ireland car registration plates, etc etc.

And on the latter, where the name of the county is shown, it's always in Gaelic - the English clue is only given in the letters of the registration.

Our Canadian brethren can testify to how much French they see, even if they don't use it and don't live in Quebec.

Not everyone is an expert on subtle nuances of meaning and difference between what Gaelic usage and English usage represents. And it's not "only the British" - we would tend to use "Republic of Ireland" or "Irish Republic" these days just as we use "Northern Ireland" rather than "Ulster" or "The Six Counties."

The fact remains that the island of Ireland is still divided between two nations so differentiations between the two in how they are described are inevitable.

[Phil]

And it's not "only the British" - we would tend to use "Republic of Ireland" or "Irish Republic" these days just as we use "Northern Ireland" rather than "Ulster" or "The Six Counties."

When I was growing up it was always called the "Free State" or "The South". You only saw Eire on the stamps and the money. Ireland is confusing (at least while Northern Ireland remains partitioned) and in any case the team has players from both sides of the border.

[Ayin McFye]

There's no such country as "Eire", mate. It's "Ireland". Look it up on the map, in the UN, in the EU, any international organisation or treaty you care to mention. Ireland - not "Eire", not "the Republic of Ireland", not "the Irish Republic", not "The Republic". Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland. One word. In English. Got it?

We particularly resent being referred to as Eire - only the British do it, mostly the well-meaning but basically ignorant ones. Eire is only used on our stamps and coinage - and that is only because the redneck Gaeilgeoir culture hegemonists who staff our Civil Service thought it would be a good idea to pretend, yes pretend, that we live in a Celtic paradise where everyone speaks Irish/Gaelic. In reality, fewer than 5% choose to speak it.

Wow, thanks for joining XMarksthescot. It's truly a pleasure to meet you.

[Nervous Jock]

There's no such country as "Eire", mate.

not taking the P what does the front of the passport say??

[davecolorado72]

I find it kind of humourous how offended everyone gets on this site. I wrote Eire as a quicker way of writing it. Everyone knew what country I was referreing to. No offense intended. I am not British and would never, knowingly, do anything to offend.

I get closer to closing my account as each day passes so as to not offend anyone else with anything.

[davecolorado72]

Ok, after my venting post I have to say first AMAZING PHOTOS of Croker. Unless saying "Croker" offends anyone, then I shall just call is Croke Park.

And, I thought the england/France match was a good one. Although I would've preferred england lose. It's always good to see england lose, don't care much to whom, just as long as they lose. They're quite the dirty bunch when they're losing or in a close match, aren't they. Kinda pathetic.

[Highland Logan]

There's no such country as "Eire", mate. It's "Ireland". Look it up on the map, in the UN, in the EU, any international organisation or treaty you care to mention. Ireland - not "Eire", not "the Republic of Ireland", not "the Irish Republic", not "The Republic". Ireland, Ireland, Ireland, Ireland. One word. In English. Got it?

We particularly resent being referred to as Eire - only the British do it, mostly the well-meaning but basically ignorant ones. Eire is only used on our stamps and coinage - and that is only because the redneck Gaeilgeoir culture hegemonists who staff our Civil Service thought it would be a good idea to pretend, yes pretend, that we live in a Celtic paradise where everyone speaks Irish/Gaelic. In reality, fewer than 5% choose to speak it.

Ok, rant over. Sorry.

Higgins critical of plan for 'Éire Ireland' plates



A dispute has broken out between Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins, arising from a Government decision to request that the wording on official nameplates at European Union meetings be changed from 'Ireland' to 'Éire Ireland'.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Higgins said: 'Considerable confusion has been created by the Minister for Foreign Affairs' statement this morning that he was changing his website and press releases so as to delete 'Ireland' and replace it with 'Éire Ireland'.


'Some members of the public have contacted their public representatives asking whether the name of the State was being changed. They gathered such an impression from the Minister for Foreign Affairs' interview on the RTÉ programme Morning Ireland earlier today.' A spokesman for Mr Ahern responded: "All that has happened is that, because Irish will enjoy official language status at EU level from January 1st, 2007, the nameplates in front of Irish representatives at EU meetings will be bilingual.

'The Minister is somewhat surprised at Deputy Higgins' attitude. Would he prefer that, from January 1st, we ignore the Irish language and leave the nameplate solely in English?" He said there were no plans to make the name of the State bilingual on the departmental website or in press releases.

The English-language version of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Constitution of Ireland, lays down that: 'The name of the State is Éire or, in the English language, Ireland.' Éire is also a traditional name for the whole island in the Irish language and is derived from the name of the goddess Eriu who, according to the 11th-century Book of Invasions, helped the Gaels to conquer Ireland.

The State is also sometimes referred to as the "Republic of Ireland", for example in the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, but this is technically a description rather than the official name, which continues to be 'Éire' in the Irish language and 'Ireland' in the English language, in all treaties and legal documents.

Ten years ago, the Constitution Review Group suggested that Article 4 of Bunreacht na hÉireann was unnecessarily complicated and recommended instead a simple declaration that, 'The name of the State is Ireland.'

From The Irish Times

[Ayin McFye]

Higgins critical of plan for 'Éire Ireland' plates



A dispute has broken out between Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and Labour's foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins, arising from a Government decision to request that the wording on official nameplates at European Union meetings be changed from 'Ireland' to 'Éire Ireland'.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Higgins said: 'Considerable confusion has been created by the Minister for Foreign Affairs' statement this morning that he was changing his website and press releases so as to delete 'Ireland' and replace it with 'Éire Ireland'.


'Some members of the public have contacted their public representatives asking whether the name of the State was being changed. They gathered such an impression from the Minister for Foreign Affairs' interview on the RTÉ programme Morning Ireland earlier today.' A spokesman for Mr Ahern responded: "All that has happened is that, because Irish will enjoy official language status at EU level from January 1st, 2007, the nameplates in front of Irish representatives at EU meetings will be bilingual.

'The Minister is somewhat surprised at Deputy Higgins' attitude. Would he prefer that, from January 1st, we ignore the Irish language and leave the nameplate solely in English?" He said there were no plans to make the name of the State bilingual on the departmental website or in press releases.

The English-language version of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the Constitution of Ireland, lays down that: 'The name of the State is Éire or, in the English language, Ireland.' Éire is also a traditional name for the whole island in the Irish language and is derived from the name of the goddess Eriu who, according to the 11th-century Book of Invasions, helped the Gaels to conquer Ireland.

The State is also sometimes referred to as the "Republic of Ireland", for example in the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, but this is technically a description rather than the official name, which continues to be 'Éire' in the Irish language and 'Ireland' in the English language, in all treaties and legal documents.

Ten years ago, the Constitution Review Group suggested that Article 4 of Bunreacht na hÉireann was unnecessarily complicated and recommended instead a simple declaration that, 'The name of the State is Ireland.'

From The Irish Times

I love it! It makes me smile when someone yells at someone for something, and then one of our educated members fires back with documentation. Remind me to buy you a pint if I ever meet you.

[Highland Logan]

Remind me to buy you a pint if I ever meet you.

Well do...lol