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Do you get annoyed when people say 'Eire'?

[Deleted User]

...when they're speaking English? I've never heard an Irish person do it, but it seems to be common in the UK. I'm always being asked if I'm 'heading back to Eire' for a weekend and things like that. It sounds weird to me and comes off as really pretentious. Nobody would say 'I had a great week in Deutschland', would they? I've even been corrected when I've said I'm going to Ireland - 'which bit of Ireland? Do you mean Eire?' No, I mean Ireland.

What do you think?

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Latchy

Mr.Fred wrote: »

I do get annoyed when people spell it Eire. It's Éire :pac::cool:

Fada love of jazus :pac:

Solair

Legs.Eleven wrote: »

I understand your frustration but you end up looking like a dimwit then. Kind of backfires a bit.

It didn't she was deliberately being a complete knob about it. I actually explained it to her and she said "oh well that would depend on your political outlook!"

Legs.Eleven

Solair wrote: »

It didn't she was deliberately being a complete knob about it.

Ah well then fire ahead!

Fox_In_Socks

orestes wrote: »

In years of travelling and working in tourism with thousands of people from all over the world I have never once heard a single person use the word Eire.

So that's a "no" then?:pac:

I wouldn't say it's pretentious, I would think that they are trying to be polite or at least non-offensive. Ireland, Southern Ireland, Republic of Ireland...it's a minefield, and some Irish has think skins.

Steve O

What a ridiculous thing to get annoyed over.

Arcsin

It's one of the official names of the state. I don't see the problem.

It's more specific than Ireland, which can be either the island or the state. Éire is always the state.

The British use it more to make that distinction. When we say Ireland we almost always mean the Republic. When they say it, they are often referring to the North.

Sergeant

I finish my pint, bang the empty glass down on the counter, curse the men, woman and children of Perfidious Albion, and head home to listen to maudlin songs about the Motherland.

FoxT

The only people I have heard call Ireland 'Eire' , were British. To be fair to them, anytime I heard them use that word I felt it was meant with no disrespect - I always interpreted it as their way of recognising the Irish republic without getting tangled up in the Norn Iron question.

Every time I hear it, it surprises me!

A work colleague used to work in the North, and at times his colleagues referred to the UK as 'the Homeland' ! Anybody ever come across that? weird!

lachin

Do you get annoyed when people say 'Eire'?

Eire no, not really

syntax1

Almaviva wrote: »

Not comparable to your 'Deutchland' comparison at all which is just a translation. 'Eire' is a clarification.

Certainly not pretentious. Its a reasonable clarification, when we Eire-ans were a bit cheeky to hijack the name of this island to use as the name of our country - when there are two different nations on the island - and expect that every one else would play ball.

At work I deal with a lot of UK companies - their more usual clarification is asking 'Southern or Northern', though some would ask 'is that Eire' when I give the address.

Well I am sorry, but if you ask the EU, the name of this state is 'Éire' in Irish and 'Ireland' in English. The state across the border is the UK. Where's the confusion?

April O Neill

srsly78 wrote: »

English has a long tradition of borrowing Irish other languages' words, is this not ok anymore?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_English_words_of_international_origin

FYP, it's hardly just Irish words.

garbanzo

Once hilariously heard us referred to being "Southern Éire"

elfy4eva

An american/canadian Man once. Some aul lad and his missus outside trinity college in proper tourist gear (Olive drab shorts Sun-Hat on him and pink baseball cap on her), I'd say he'd Googled the name the night before in an effort to appear cultural.

CRINGY!

green_dub_girl

I have never heard this but it would definately not offend me, presumably it's the brits being somewhat PC. Southern Ireland... now that gets on my wick!

Aineoil

Just an aside
eire means a load
Éire is Ireland

It seems at sometime in the past a postage stamp had the word "eire" written on it - don't know if this is an urban story or truth?

green_dub_girl

Aineoil wrote: »

It seems at sometime in the past a postage stamp had the word "eire" written on it - don't know if this is an urban story or truth?

Still the case today, same with our coins

syntax1

green_dub_girl wrote: »

Still the case today, same with our coins

S/he meant without the síneadh fada.

kerry4sam

IzzyWizzy wrote: »

...when they're speaking English? I've never heard an Irish person do it, but it seems to be common in the UK. I'm always being asked if I'm 'heading back to Eire' for a weekend and things like that. It sounds weird to me and comes off as really pretentious. Nobody would say 'I had a great week in Deutschland', would they? I've even been corrected when I've said I'm going to Ireland - 'which bit of Ireland? Do you mean Eire?' No, I mean Ireland.

What do you think?

I don't mind Ireland being referred to as Éire. I have taken issue in the past with people/tourists assuming the Republic of Ireland is still part of the United Kingdom as they inform me what business is like over in 'The Mainland UK' :mad:

Duckworth_Luas

In the 1937 constitution the country is named as "Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland."

Article 2 of this constitution says "The national territory consists of the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas."

The British government didn't want to refer to the internationally recognised state as Ireland as that was also the name of the 32 county island and so might be seen as recognition of Article 2. Instead they used the Irish language version, Éire.

Fighting Irish

nope, couldn't care less tbh

Ruudi_Mentari

Èire was my name; Debbie was hers and let me tell you, she was quite the debonéire

Absoluvely

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

The British government didn't want to refer to the internationally recognised state as Ireland as that was also the name of the 32 county island and so might be seen as recognition of Article 2. Instead they used the Irish language version, Éire.

They actually officially used Eire. Not Éire.

In 1938 the British government provided in the Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938 that British legislation could henceforth refer to the Irish Free State as "Eire".

syntax1

Once on ERASMUS, a Spanish student asked me: 'Do you come from E I R E?'. Never been asked by a person from Britain but I have seen it on plenty of .co.uk websites, on British TV etc: 'Mainland UK only. Excludes Northern Ireland and EIRE.' 'Offer not valid in Eire'.

syntax1

Arcsin wrote: »

It's one of the official names of the state. I don't see the problem.

It's more specific than Ireland, which can be either the island or the state. Éire is always the state.

You mean 'Eire' in English refers to the state south of the border, the Republic.

'Éire' in Irish can either refer to the state or to the island as a whole, just as the word Ireland does in English.

MadsL

Is dat Suvvern Eye-Ur-land?

Meangadh

Chucken wrote: »

John Lennon airport in Liverpool has an arrivals area for "Eire and Channel Islands"...which is hilarious really because without the fada, "eire" means - a burden, load or encumbrance....;)

At least that's only missing a fada, in Dublin Airport there's a sign for the stairs that says "stira". Not the proper spelling of Staighre, but the phonetic spelling that a well known folding attic stairs company use. I'm more offended by that than Eire to be honest. People are paid to do signage and there are spelling mistakes all over the place, grrr!

Ruudi_Mentari

I always, state èire because in english to suggest a land of ire is not good

Galwayguy35

No but it pissed me off when someone mentioned to me that we are part of the "British Isles".

And before someone comes on here saying that it's true maybe it is but it gets on my tits to hear it.

mathepac

IzzyWizzy wrote: »

... What do you think?

What we think doesn't matter. The official constitutional name of our country is Eire (or Ireland in English)

mathepac

syntax1 wrote: »

... 'Mainland UK only. Excludes Northern Ireland and EIRE.' 'Offer not valid in Eire'.

Their big mistake of course being that there is no such thing as "mainland" UK; the UK is a collection of islands and part of ours.