Síneadh Fada is now legally protected in Irish names when dealing with public bodies

Under the 2003 and 2021 Acht Teanga Oifigiúla  (Official languages act), the Síneadh fada will now be legally protected in people names when dealing with public bodies such as the HSE, county councils, universities and schools.

Titles like Mr and Ms before a person’s name will also become optional when dealing with public bodies, and “local names” or nicknames that “distinguishes them from other individuals bearing the same name in the locality” will be allowed.

The announcement comes as a long overdue but very welcome amendment to the legislation.

There is a world of difference between names with and without the síneadh fada in Irish. For example, between ‘Sean’ and Seán’, where one means 'old' and one means 'John'.

“This was the issue on which my Office received the most complaints in its history,” Órla de Burca of the complaints department said.

Previously, there was no provision in the Official Languages Act in respect of the right to use one’s name in Irish.

The news was welcomed by many including the Union of Students Ireland who posted on Instagram: 'Spelling someone's name right matters!'.

 

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However, some cohorts feel that the new legislation didn't go far enough.

Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Gaeilge Aengus Ó Snodaigh TD said it is “unfortunate” that the party’s proposal to extend the provision to private companies, such as banks and airlines, was rejected.

Sinn Féin said it’s “only taken 101 years” for the change to come into effect.

“The right to your name is a fundamental one, enshrined in Article 7 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Irish state should not allow the colonial practice of Irish names being anglicised and declared invalid to continue,” he said.

“Respecting a person’s síneadh fada is a core element of that.”