Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style/Ireland-related articles/Archive 10

Ireland Country Name
The official name of the country is Ireland, "Republic of Ireland" is not and has never been the name of the country. This need to be change as it is inflammatory in it's nature. Josyban (talk) 17:26, 4 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Tell that to the government of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Football Team. Canterbury Tail talk 02:05, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * The govt actively avoid its usage and the name used by FIFA is the name used by FIFA. Try the EU, IHO, IMO etc Fob.schools (talk) 08:07, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * They do now, no one denies that - and FIFA is not alone, but is in a minority, sure. To be clear, I don't think anyone is very happy at having to make a distinction.  Everyone involved is clear that the name of the country is simply Ireland - but so is the name of the island, the bigger and older topic, and we can only have one.  At least Republic of Ireland has a very clear official status as a "description of the state" for most of the country's modern life.  This debate is a little circular unless / until something external to Wikipedia changes, and hundreds of pages of sometimes civilised, sometimes heated discussion have not found a way to square that circle. SeoR (talk) 11:25, 4 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Its its official description and common name so is fine as natural disambiguation.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 17:28, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

IRE-IRL
With the 2nd item, the item for linking to the island the link should probably be "(e.g. "Ireland is a state in Europe occupying most of the island of Ireland")" rather than having "island" in lower case as part of the link per WP:NOPIPE similar to the fact we use President George Washington instead of President George Washington since "island" isn't part of the name.  Crouch, Swale  ( talk ) 17:19, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I don't agree myself. The point of WP:IRE-IRL is to ensure clarity (in the text) and avoid WP:EASTEREGGs (in the links). While this edit in 2019 changed the Republic of Ireland article lead (so that it no longer reflects the consensus wording agreed prior), the wording in WP:IRE-IRL still reflects the consensus. Consensus can, of course, change. But I still think that, where both the country and the island are under discussion in the same context/sentence the "keep it clear" principle of WP:IRE-IRL outweighs the "keep it simple" principle of WP:NOPIPE. (The hard-fought consensus view was that "island of Ireland" is not the type of "unnecessary piping [that] makes the wikitext harder to read" mentioned in NOPIPE. And, rather, is the very necessary device which helps avoid the confusion that prompted WP:IRE-IRL in the first place.) Guliolopez (talk) 17:54, 4 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Agreed with Guliolopez. The current piping solution allows for the entire concept of the island of Ireland to be nicely collected together for the link rather than just Ireland. I believe for an understanding, linking the entire term helps the user with the terminology and distinction. Canterbury Tail talk 17:58, 4 May 2021 (UTC)

Use of Irish publications to determine style
Following a comment from elsewhere, is it worth establishing a guideline, here or elsewhere, that in determining usage of Ireland-related terms, that Irish publications (be they RTÉ, Irish Times, Irish Independent, etc.) be consulted first, before checking BBC or the New York Times? Iveagh Gardens (talk) 10:04, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes, and can we start with the use of soccer in Ireland related articles. Fob.schools (talk) 10:31, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree with myself, so I also say yes. -- Brown HairedGirl  (talk) • (contribs) 10:59, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Agree - and the attempts at use of the odd "association football", never heard in Ireland, are a prime but not unique example. SeoR (talk) 15:10, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Association_football_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland Fob.schools (talk) 17:12, 29 June 2021 (UTC)
 * What about for Northern Ireland? Should BBC or the like not be more suited to that than publications from the republic? Canterbury Tail talk 15:17, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Absolutely, we should have a pool for all-island points, and smaller pools for more focused RoI / NI matters, with the North well-equipped with its own academic and news sources, starting with publications from UU / QUB, and the Belfast Telegraph, etc. SeoR (talk) 17:01, 28 June 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree with SeoR. There is no shortage of reliable sources in the island of Ireland. --  Brown HairedGirl  (talk) • (contribs) 10:18, 29 June 2021 (UTC)

County names in Ireland
The Wikipedia guidelines for county names in Ireland does not address the Republic vs Northern Ireland issue specifially. The actual text is inconsistent. Some counties in the State of Ireland are described as in the Republic of Ireland, e.g. Louth and Leitrim, others just say Ireland. I gather all six of the Northern Counties are identified precisely as such, i.e. one of the six counties — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cuchulain9 (talk • contribs) 20:07, 2 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi. Please:
 * WP:TALK - Expand specifically on what problem you are referring to. Ideally with examples. As, speaking for myself, I don't understand what issue/concern is at hand. (For example, you have titled this section "county names of Ireland". Implying that there is an issue with the name of a county. Which is covered by IMOS COUNTIES. But then you seem to refer to the name of the country. Which is covered by IMOS IRE-IRL. Which is it?)
 * WP:TALK - Confirm what, if any, change you are proposing to this Wikipedia Manual of Style for Ireland-related articles.
 * WP:SIGHOW - Sign posts to talk pages.
 * Thanks. Guliolopez (talk) 20:46, 2 August 2021 (UTC)

Irish names of people
We need to have a conversation on this topic. It seems popular these days to take people's names, and perform a translation into Irish for them and then put it down as their Irish name. This seems completely wrong to me, you don't just translate someone's name into another language and call it their name. As we know, truth be told (for good or ill that's a discussion for another time) few people born in Ireland actually are given these Irish names, they usually have more anglicised names. While some news articles etc. may be written in Irish, and as a result translate their names into Irish, it doesn't make it their name it's purely a translation of their name (which is common when writing articles in another language worldwide.) We've skirted around this for some time but I think it's time for us to codify something around people's Irish names. Something along the lines of, Irish names must be sourced and there needs to be evidence it's used and isn't just a translation someone did one day. Thoughts? Canterbury Tail talk 19:41, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Fully agree. This nonsense used to be encouraged by schools and other bodies “forcing” and often half-inventing “translations” and has no place in an encyclopedia. SeoR (talk) 20:10, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure if we're proposing a change, but this manual of style for Ireland-related articles already has a specific section on whether and when Irish language names should be included. Including for people. This MOS guideline reflects the existing consensus against "inventing" Irish names. And only including Irish names in articles when it it represents a "well-known, commonly used name for that subject". Some users continue to "invent" Irish names. Including, I note and for example, adding a completely made-up name like "Cóilín Séamus Ó Fearghail" to the Colin Farrell article, when there is zero indication that such a form has ever been used by/about the subject. And precisely zero Google search results for such a form anywhere/ever. However, this type of thing can readily be addressed with a reference to the existing IMOS.
 * Anyway, I'm not sure if we're proposing a change to this aspect of IMOS, or suggesting a change to how this aspect of IMOS is applied or "enforced", but I think both are already covered. Including with a simple revert. And an ED-SUMM reference to WP:IMOS. And/or to MOS:IMOS NAMES. Guliolopez (talk) 20:25, 10 August 2021 (UTC)
 * Yeah not entirely sure, but wanted to start a conversation around the topic anyway. Maybe we should insist on a source as well for the Irish names? Place names are well covered, we all know where we can provide references for the Irish names, and they're nearly all valid to have an Irish name. People, there could be some ambiguity in the wording of the IMOS, I'm not sure. However I've noticed the Irish name addition for people is starting to get really out of hand. Someone today decided to add an Irish name for Michael Flatley for crying out loud. It's extremely prevalent in GAA related person articles, where there may be an Irish language news article that has decided to use an Irish version of their name, which is in the vast majority of cases just a case of them back translating. There are a lot of people out there who think that just because someone is Irish, they must obviously have an Irish name which is simply just not the case.
 * Oh and as a note, I'm going to continue removing every one I see that I cannot locate a source for (don't worry, I check first, but usually Wikipedia and mirrors is the only source of these names.) <b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b> <i style="color: Blue;">talk</i> 21:03, 10 August 2021 (UTC)

Citation of legal cases
Could we adopt a guideline at MOS:LAW, cross-referenced on this page, for the citation of legal cases? I'd propose adopting OSCOLA, which I know is used at least by the Dublin University Law Journal, as well as others in Ireland, but I'd be open to any any one used in Ireland that has a style guide published online. I'd commend the work of and their students in writing up on so many cases, but it would be good to have them in a consistent style. I'd also note and recommend the use of Template:Cite BAILII, which recently adapted so that Irish cases appear correctly. –Iveagh Gardens (talk) 08:59, 17 August 2021 (UTC)

Frank Kelly
There has been some discussion at Talk:Frank Kelly. Would it be sensible to add this to the advice for MOS:IMOS BIOPLACE: "Pipelinking Ireland can never be used"? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:42, 3 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Surely this is covered by For people anywhere else in Ireland at any time, "Ireland" should be used. Should pipelinking be considered necessary, Ireland can be used after 1922? I don't see how anyone could think that means "or Ireland between 1922 and 1937". FDW777 (talk) 18:09, 3 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Perhaps User:Spleodrach would like to comment? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:08, 6 July 2021 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure it needs to change but perhaps something like For people anywhere else in Ireland at any time, "Ireland" should be used. Should pipelinking be considered necessary, Ireland can be used after 1922, but do not pipelink the Irish Free State. Spleodrach (talk) 12:35, 6 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Agree with . The manual as it stands does the job just fine. It's preferable to avoid continually adding "do not", and in particular to avoid adding "never". Scolaire (talk) 11:30, 10 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Definitely agree on avoiding "never". We don't want the manual of style to sound like an Ian Paisley speech. FDW777 (talk) 20:02, 10 July 2021 (UTC)

There is possibly a place for flexibility on using the names of older states in Ireland in infoboxes; it seems to be peculiarly people from these islands that we don't list the state that existed at the time of date or birth (see e.g., Giuseppe Garibaldi, Otto von Bismarck, Lajos Kossuth). It might provide context to certain historical figures to include it, rather than simply Ireland. But Frank Kelly, someone born after the adoption of the Constitution of Ireland is certainly not the test case to consider this! —Iveagh Gardens (talk) 08:50, 17 August 2021 (UTC)
 * It should be linked as Irish Free State. This constant ignoring of older Irish entities that have links to Britain and its monarchy simply because of that is just silly and petty PoV. History denying even. Mabuska (talk) 10:30, 29 August 2021 (UTC)

Derry again
Is Derry, then known as Londonderry acceptable when referring to the city? FDW777 (talk) 07:57, 28 February 2022 (UTC)


 * No. It is simply a way of trying to get around established convention. Derry has always been, and still is, known as Londonderry to a lot of people, just as it has always been known as Derry to a lot of others. The guidance in IMOS is clear and unambiguous. Allowing workarounds would lead to disruption. Can you provide a diff, or diffs, to where this has been attempted? Scolaire (talk) 12:46, 28 February 2022 (UTC)


 * See William Wolseley (English Army officer) and the discussion on the talk page. FDW777 (talk) 13:09, 28 February 2022 (UTC)
 * No we draw a clear line, Derry for city and Londonderry for county. This prevents arguments and edit wars. <b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b> <i style="color: Blue;">talk</i> 13:16, 28 February 2022 (UTC)


 * That's essentially my view as well. To grant one historical use (without a very good reason) simply opens the door to people saying historical uses on other articles should use it too, for the sake of consistency (which is the whole purpose of the MOS after all). That's effectively changing the guideline by the back door. FDW777 (talk) 17:22, 1 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Ironic that the dispute should arise on that article, since the content relates to the Siege of Derry, which is never referred to as the Siege of Londonderry. Scolaire (talk) 15:54, 28 February 2022 (UTC)


 * The main Williamite War in Ireland article uses Derry throughout as well. FDW777 (talk) 17:22, 1 March 2022 (UTC)

Change the naming standard to Derry/Londonderry
Below is an argument made to change the naming standard to Derry/Londonderry. The article can be found here WP:DERRY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:DERRY

1. "Keep a neutral point of view". Renaming Londonderry to Derry/Londonderry is a neutral point of view as it respects both sides of the conflict without taking a side. Currently sides are taken because County Londonderry is being used on many pages, see Francis Hughes page for example.

2. "Promote consistency in the encyclopedia". With this new naming convention all terms can now be made uniform across Wikipedia.

3. "Avoid Stroke City-style terms perplexing to those unfamiliar with the dispute". It is proposed to use a "/". Also this name change will not be "perplexing" to anyone. It is not a complete name change nor is it misdirecting or difficult to understand.

4. "A compromise solution was proposed and agreed in 2004, Use Derry for the city and County Londonderry for the county". This clearly goes against the above guidelines, "Avoid Stroke City-style terms perplexing to those unfamiliar with the dispute". This is far more confusing/"perplexing" than the proposed and simple Derry/Londonderry naming convention. Also this current agreement is very hurtful towards the Irish people in certain circumstances, for example on the Francis Hughes page it states " Born - 28 February 1956, Bellaghy, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland". It is a great form of disrespect to Francis, his family and the Irish people to say he was from Londonderry. Where as with the new proposed naming convention provisions will be made for both sides and it will also be respectful to Francis and his family.
 * I'll respond to your points individually.
 * 1) The county being called Londonderry is in fact the neutral point of view. The county was created, mostly from County Coleraine, as County Londonderry. Unlike the city, there wasn't a County Derry prior to County Londonderry. There was a brief parliamentary constituency of County Derry, but it was not the same thing. So calling the county something that has never been its name would be POV, whereas calling it by the only name it's officially had and was created as is the neutral name.
 * 2) It is consistent. A long standing agreement is to use Derry for the city and Londonderry for the county. This is consistently used.
 * 3) You are only looking at things from the perspective of people familiar with the county and the names. We write Wikipedia as a global encyclopaedia for everyone, and using stroke names would indeed be confusing to people not familiar with the issues. As mentioned already anyway, using a / is actually fuelling a POV, not making things neutral.
 * 4) I don't see how this is hurtful and disrespectful for people to use something's name. It would be in fact be disrespectful to call someone or something by something other than its name and identity. Also we are not a memorial. Wikipedia articles are not here out of respect to people, they're fact based encyclopaedia articles. We're not here to pay homage to, or respect, the memory of this person that is not in any way a goal of an encyclopaedia. The fact is, he was born in County Londonderry and it's as true as the fact that he was born in the United Kingdom, not the country of Ireland. People wanting and wishing it to be different doesn't change the facts of things. If it did the world would be a much different place. We are here only to report on verifiable facts, not to tailor or alter those to fit a point of view or to be respectful. We will treat things with as much respect as possible obviously, but we won't go against the reality of the situation. <b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b> <i style="color: Blue;">talk</i> 14:02, 24 September 2021 (UTC)

1. No it is not a neutral point of view as the Irish call it county Derry. It has two names by two different groups, irrelevant of its formation. The fact is that it is called county Derry. Just as it is fact that it is called county Londonderry.

2. "It is consistent". See above point. It is NOT consistent with reality (two naming conventions by two different groups) or logic. Using Derry for the city is not correct or fair to the British perspective as they call that city Londonderry.

3. Nobody has to be familiar with the names to see that Derry and Londonderry are the same place. Google maps uses this terminology. Using the naming consensus of Derry/Londonderry is simply not a POV. It is completely making the city neutral. The way it is now the city is not neutral and is named from the Irish point of view.

4. I personally believe this is a slight dig at me and the Irish people. The POV of the Irish is that it is called Derry, the man in question, Francis Hughes, called it Derry. Yet this is nowhere to be seen on his page. This is totally false to say he was from county Londonderry because he wasn't from his POV. From the British perspective he was. So clearly the best and neutral thing to do is call it Derry/Londonderry. "The fact is, he was born in County Londonderry and it's as true as the fact that he was born in the United Kingdom" again this is totally false and totally one sided POV. I am clearly arguing for both sides while you only argue for one side and this statement of yours proves it. "but we won't go against the reality of the situation", again the reality of the situation is that the Irish call it Derry and the British call it Londonderry. Your argument is one sided, even google maps and google earth, apple maps, OSI and many more use the Derry/Londonderry naming convention.


 * The legal documents classify the place as LondonDerry so I think that should be the term used. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Haris920 (talk • contribs) 09:18, 3 May 2022 (UTC)

Place of birth, death etc
Who on earth has written this rubbish. People born in the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Ireland should have that as the place in which they are born. If they were born after 1922 then either Eire or the Irish Republic shoud be used. This clearly indicates to the reader the context in which they came into the world and is plain and factual. 90.225.7.89 (talk) 19:11, 19 July 2022 (UTC)


 * It also provides a neutrual point of view. 78.70.161.206 (talk) 12:44, 20 July 2022 (UTC)

Something to differ each part
My idea is that for stuff that happens in Northern Ireland, we say "Northern Ireland", for stuff that happens in the Republic of Ireland, we say "Republic of Ireland and for stuff that happens in both, we say "Ireland". LeicesterToNottingham123 (talk) 20:19, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
 * That is not how the MOS is written. (Republic of) Ireland and Northern Ireland are two completely separate countries and deserve to be mentioned as different countries like any other countries. If you have a specific change to the IMOS please state specifically what you want to change and what you want to change it to along with a rationale. You have given no argument above. Just remember the actual name of the country that occupies approx 5/6 of the island of Ireland is Ireland. <b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b> <i style="color: Blue;">talk</i> 20:22, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
 * All that I mean is we should have 1 that is called "Northern Ireland" and one that is called "Republic of Ireland". When you say "Ireland", I think of the whole island. LeicesterToNottingham123 (talk) 20:37, 17 August 2022 (UTC)
 * There is one article that is called Northern Ireland and one that is called Republic of Ireland, and Ireland covers the whole island. The question of when to use "Ireland" and when to use "Republic of Ireland" within articles is covered on this page at Manual of Style/Ireland-related articles. If you want to make a specific change to that section you can propose that change here, in the form "change x to y". Scolaire (talk) 10:36, 18 August 2022 (UTC)

Style guide for Irish case law
I had suggested this lasy year, but with the coverage of a certain recent study, I thought it worth resurrecting this thread. may have been busy writing up the study when I last approached this! With so many good articles from the project, which will hopefully encourage more, it would be good to have a consistent style for Irish case law on MOS:IRELAND/MOS:LAW. I had mentioned OSCOLA on the last occasion, in part because it's used for at least one publisher in Ireland and other jurisdiction on MOS:LAW, but I'm by no means wedded to that one. The Irish Reports, the highest authority reports, use punctuation a bit more, such as after the v. in case names, so could be worth adopting if students and other editors are using that as a resource. But there should be one consistent one, with a guide both for naming articles and the text. — Iveagh Gardens (talk) 09:06, 19 August 2022 (UTC)

Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown
The Place names section currently says "[when] the Irish name is official and has gained favour in English, use the official Irish name (Muine Bheag, not Bagenalstown)", but has now been moved to Bagenalstown. I've crossed out the part in brackets, but we need to come up with an alternative place name. The best I can think of is Dún Laoghaire/Dunleary, but does anybody actually write "Dunleary" any more? Does anybody have a better alternative? If we can't come up with a reasonable and realistic example, then we ought to scrap that sentence. Scolaire (talk) 11:25, 26 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Hi. How about Cúil Aodha (not Coolea)? Or Cill Ghallagáin (not Kilgalligan)? Or Casla (not Costelloe)? Or Loch an Iúir (not Loughanure)? To my mind, Cúil Aodha is a fairly solid example to act as replacement... Guliolopez (talk) 13:13, 26 August 2022 (UTC)
 * I'll go with Cúil Aodha then. Scolaire (talk) 14:05, 26 August 2022 (UTC)
 * I have spotted a problem with the use of Cúil Aodha as an example. On its talk page it has been argued that the anglicisation is more common in English than its Irish language name. Before I read this, I ran a Google Trends comparison and found that there appears to be much more searches searches for "Coolea" than "Cúil Aodha" from within Ireland over the past five years and the suggestions dropbox seems to recognise "Coolea" as the name of the village. My comparisons for Casla vs Costello and Costelloe and Loch an Lúir vs Loughanure yielded similar results but I could not get a result for Cill Ghallagáin vs Kilgalligan. I would also like to point out that Dún Laoghaire was known as Kingstown from 1821 to 1920 and I have seen "Kingstown" used in a historical context in a leaflet about its harbour describing the sinking of a ship (most likely the RMS Leinster in 1918). Therefore, I would like to suggest using "Dún Laoghaire (not Kingstown or Dunleary)" as it is a better known example and it is in a predominantly English-speaking area. I have thought about "Cobh (not Queenstown or Cove)" considering it would be recognisable to those familiar with the voyage of the RMS Titanic but its modern Irish language name is An Cóbh according to the bilingual nameboards at its railway station. Tk420 (talk) 21:54, 27 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Hiya. In terms of:
 * Google Trends. I'm sure whether, if or how Google Trends does so (or can), but I would suggest that many of those searches are for the cheese rather than the village/area. Certainly a regular Google search drops from 89,000 results to 41,000 results when we exclude the cheese. (Otherwise a regular search for the term is heavily cheese-skewed.)
 * MOS. The guideline reads simply "[Where] the Irish name is official and has gained favour in English, use the official Irish name". And there is plenty of evidence that the Irish name has "gained favour" in English-language sources. Like in news sources for example.
 * Cobh. Appreciate that you're just offering it as an example (one you've yourself discounted), but Cobh should absolutely not be used as an example in this case. As discussed (and supported) in Cobh, An Cóbh has no history. It's a backformation. If others feel strongly that Cúil Aodha (or others that I proposed) are imperfect examples to use, then that's fine. But Cobh is a non-starter. It's an "irregular" :) By some way....
 * Casla is otherwise perhaps a less controversial choice... Cheers. Guliolopez (talk) 22:48, 27 August 2022 (UTC)
 * I have spotted a problem with Casla in which the anglicised "Costello" and "Costelloe" are ambiguous so it could be said that the use of "Casla" is to avoid the need for disambiguation if the anglicisations are common. The same could be said for Cúil Aodha to avoid the need for disambiguation from the cheese but the artcile about the cheese is titled "Coolea cheese" suggesting the village is the primary topic associated with the name "Coolea". It is also worth noting that the name "Kingstown" is also ambiguous as it is also the name of the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which is the primary topic associated with the name although the use of Dún Laoghaire in the article's title appears to be based on commonality over the other spellings for the accepted Irish name. I could also be said that "Cúil Aodha" is used in response to English usage being indecisive as per Naming conventions (geographic names). This does still make me wonder if it would be more desirable to use a name that is based on commonality rather than indecisive English usage or to avoid the need for disambiguation as an example of an official Irish language name that has gained favour in English. Tk420 (talk) 21:35, 28 August 2022 (UTC)

The more this discussion goes on, the more I lean towards the view that official names should be taken out of the MOS altogether. WP:COMMONNAME, which is part of WP:Article titles, a policy, has this to say: "Wikipedia does not necessarily use the subject's 'official' name as an article title; it generally prefers the name that is most commonly used (as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable English-language sources) as such names will usually best fit the five criteria listed above [recognisability, naturalness, precision, concision and consistency]. When there is no single, obvious name that is demonstrably the most frequently used for the topic by these sources, editors should reach a consensus as to which title is best by considering these criteria directly." The at Muine Bheag followed this to the letter, whereas if IMOS had been followed it would have been closed as "speedy keep per IMOS". A manual of style shouldn't directly go against policy. Scolaire (talk) 10:54, 29 August 2022 (UTC)


 * Personally I think that the MOS entry ("(1) use English name if it's the commonname, (2) don't use Irish name unless its the commonname, (3) use the official Irish name if its the common name in English") aligns with WP:COMMONNAME. Rather than conflicting with it. Effectively clarifying that the commonname in English is the yard-stick. But, if there is consensus that the clarification is redundant (or potentially confusing), then that's OK with me. Otherwise I think the current guideline/clarification is perfectly OK as it is. And the examples are also grand as they are. And we may be in danger of flogging this TBH. Certainly the focus on finding an "uncomplicated" Google Trends example (a placename whose Irish and English versions cannot be used in any other context) seems an unnecessary rabbit hole to be descending :) To my mind the original problem (finding an "OK" replacement for Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown) is solved. And we're now we've moved on to some other problem (that I'm personally losing interest in defining :) ) Guliolopez (talk) 11:25, 29 August 2022 (UTC)
 * But that's not what it says. (1) is "and the English name predominates in English", while (3) is "and the Irish name is official and has gained favour in English". The first does come down in favour of the common name in English, but the last says to use the official name if it is common-ish, and disregards whether there is consensus that the English name is more common. If an Irish name is the common name, like Dún Laoghaire, then the fact that it is the official name is irrelevant, and if an RM decides in favour of the English name, like Bagenalstown, then the fact that Muine Bheag is the official name is irrelevant. Scolaire (talk) 12:11, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

I feel the current guideline here is already very much in line with WP:COMMONNAME and Naming conventions (geographic names) and it helps to explain the issue in the context of place names in Ireland. Starting roughly six years ago, I was involved in disputes over place names in Wales and I wished there was a similar guide for places in Wales. The closest thing to such a guide is Naming conventions (geographic names) but it does not answer my problem. Back to Ireland, my suggestions here are over which example to use rather than whether there should be such a guide and I still think "Dún Laoghaire (not Kingstown or Dunleary)" is a better example of an Irish language place name common in English than Cúil Aodha although it is common-ish. Tk420 (talk) 20:58, 25 September 2022 (UTC)


 * I'm removing "Kingstown", as that hasn't been the name of the town for over 100 years. The article is no more likely to be named "Kingstown" than Oslo is likely to be named.
 * The point I was making above is that the current guideline is not in line with COMMONNAME, which says that article titles should not be decided by what is official, but by what is commonly used in English. The paragraph should be simplified to "Where the English- and Irish-language names are different, use the name that is most commonly used in English, e.g. Wicklow, not Cill Mhantáin; Dún Laoghaire, not Dunleary". Scolaire (talk) 11:22, 1 October 2022 (UTC)

linking to Ireland
I see somebody changing link to Republic of Ireland to Ireland claiming to do this based on this manual of style. Perhaps I overlook something, but I cannot find that as such. Where can I find that? The Banner <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 17:00, 27 July 2022 (UTC)


 * That is standard practice unless there is a specific need to distinguish NI from RoI. It was a compromise reached over a decade ago in an epic dispute regarding the proper name for the country officially known as Ireland - but called "Republic of Ireland" on Wikipedia. Best not to rehash all that - it brings back painful memories. Sarah777 (talk) 19:26, 27 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Hi. I had noted the same (lots of edits following a similar pattern/EDSUM). The relevant guideline is WP:IRE-IRL. Personally I'm not sure that every one of the editor's changes are strictly necessary or entirely consistent with WP:IRE-IRL. This change by, for example, changes something that is clear (and otherwise consistent with WP:IRE-IRL) to something that is arguably less clear (that Corrib is the largest lake in Ireland - when Lough Neagh is the largest on the island). Personally, in that case, I would argue that the previous wording was better, clearer, more accurate and not inconsistent with the guideline. Blanket changes of this type (without perhaps full consideration to why each article/sentence was worded as it was) isn't entirely consistent with the spirit (or meaning) of the hard-fought compromise/CON. IMHO anyway. Guliolopez (talk) 21:17, 27 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Okay, I have found it now. The edits looks rather useless to me but I will shut up. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 00:00, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I assure you that each edit is considered and they are not blanket edits across the board, where using the description "Republic Of Ireland" is more appropriate I have left them unchanged. Cashew.wheel (talk) 12:29, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Those are the changes I made based on WP:IRE-IRL: "Use 'Ireland' for the state except where the island of Ireland or Northern Ireland is being discussed in the same context. In such circumstances use Republic of Ireland".
 * If there are objections to any of my edits I'm happy to discuss here or on my talk page. Cashew.wheel (talk) 08:40, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I see that you now have changed for WP:IMOS to WP:IRE-IRL. That does not matter to my opinion that it are useless edits, as you are in fact changing something that is correct to something that is correct. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 10:06, 28 July 2022 (UTC)
 * The sad thing that he still goes on with his campaign. To put it politely, not always in the best interest of our readers or the encyclopedia. Instead of searching consensus beforehand he (I assume) only start discussion with everybody who dares to revert.  The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 09:24, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * The consensus for the use of Ireland has already been agreed in WP:IRE-IRL as the other editors have mentioned. As I said in my last comment, I'm open to discussing any concerns here. No one wants to engage in an edit war, hence why I reached out to understand why you reverted my edit, politely attempt to justify the rational for the change and for us to agree a consensus. For example the specific edit you reverted on Shannon Airport was changing "in County Clare in the Republic Of Ireland" to "in County Clare, Ireland", which would have been consistent with the opening paragraph of Dublin, Cork & Knock airports. Cashew.wheel (talk) 10:21, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * There is consensus about the form, not about the rigid implementation of it. And as mentioned earlier in this discussion by Guliolopez: Personally, in that case, I would argue that the previous wording was better, clearer, more accurate and not inconsistent with the guideline. Blanket changes of this type (without perhaps full consideration to why each article/sentence was worded as it was) isn't entirely consistent with the spirit (or meaning) of the hard-fought compromise/CON. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 11:09, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * It seems to have something to do with this discussion: Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ireland Collaboration. Worrisome. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 12:36, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * I've seen that post too and find it neither polite nor constructive. In case you think I am behind the post, it's not me. Cashew.wheel (talk) 12:51, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Then why have you signed it? The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 18:01, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * Apologies, yes that was a topic I started. I incorrectly assumed you were linking to a new discussion on Wikipedia Talk:WikiProject Ireland Collaboration on the same topic, however with an aggressive tone, which was posted around the same time as your comment here. Cashew.wheel (talk) 19:17, 29 July 2022 (UTC)
 * You should not assume but read. You also assumed something here while the given source says something different. In fact, is does not state Ireland, it does not state Republic of Ireland. It states... nothing. Just Office of the Attorney General. Did you check the source before editing? To my humble opinion, it starts to get disruptive what you are doing. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 23:38, 30 July 2022 (UTC)

Apparently, there are "lots of edits", but none of them are linked here. With regard to this, WP:IRE-IRL specifically says Use "Ireland" for the state except where the island of Ireland or Northern Ireland is being discussed in the same context. The paragraph in Shannon airport refers to both the state and the island. With regard to this, WP:IRE-IRL specifically says Per the Linking guideline of the Manual of Style, the names of major geographic features and locations should not be linked. It then states, If it is thought necessary to link, in order to establish context or for any other reason, the name of the state should be pipelinked as Ireland]. |undefined In other words, "Ireland" should not be linked or pipelinked unless it is demonstrably necessary, i.e. in the great majority of articles, including the Burren College of Art article. The edit summary "per WP:IRE-IRL" is therefore wrong in both cases. [[User:Scolaire|Scolaire (talk) 12:29, 30 July 2022 (UTC)


 * The "same context" guidance of WP:IRE-IRL is subjective, it could be sentence, paragraph, sub-heading or page.
 * With regards the WP:OVERLINK on Burren College of Art, I felt it was necessary at the time to link as there was a bug in Infobox school. That issue has since been resolved and I've reverted any linking I'd added to articles on schools in Ireland. Cashew.wheel (talk) 15:48, 30 July 2022 (UTC)


 * Yes, it could be sentence, paragraph, sub-heading or page. Manuals of style don't go into that sort of detail, because otherwise they would get bogged down in detail. But if it's likely that it's being used in the same context – and both state and island being referred to in a 40-word intro is a dead giveaway – then we assume that it is. Scolaire (talk) 16:35, 30 July 2022 (UTC)

Is the changing of links from Republic of Ireland to Ireland mandatory? Despite earlier discussions, Cashew.wheel is continuing his campaign. To my opinion, it should be used sensible, as in improving clarity for our readers, not the opposite. The Banner <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 09:32, 24 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, Cashew.wheel is still keeping up with his campaign. With the same arguments as before and acting as if MOS:IRELAND and WP:IRE-IRL are policies that have to be enforced. Even when it diminishing the clarity. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 12:53, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * It's obvious that @The Banner disagrees with the consensus on WP:IRE-IRL and has changed numerous references from "Ireland" to "Republic Of Ireland", primarily for articles of state agencies where no disambiguation from the island or Northern Ireland needs to be considered.
 * Some were my edits such as Garda Siochana, NSAI and Irish Water, while other were from other editors i.e. Marine Institute Ireland and ESB Group. Cashew.wheel (talk) 14:00, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * It is sad to see that Cashew.wheel is misrepresenting my view. I am not against the MOS. I just want it applied in a smart way, i.e. there where it improves clarity. But Cashew.wheel is enforcing it as if it is a policy, instead of a guideline/advice. Beside that, many of his (I assume) edits are completely superfluous, diminish clarity and/or are plain editwarring, like here. It was Cashew.wheel himself who advised me to come here where there were already some older discussions about the same issue. Discussions that were ignored by him. A third party named him on his talk page already a SPA due to the way he is operating around this issue. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 14:12, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * And please note that the examples used by Cashew.wheel are from July last. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 14:17, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

I can't see why you are both coming here with your dispute. This talk page is for discussion of the content of IMOS, not for discussion of how it is being interpreted or applied. It seems to me The Banner acknowledges that Cashew.wheel's edit are in line with IMOS (and for clarity, IRE-IRL is a short cut to a section of IMOS; nobody is citing two different pages), but doesn't want it followed in certain places because it is not a policy. That makes this a content dispute, which doesn't belong here. The dispute obviously covers too many articles to discuss it on article talk pages, so the next step, I would suggest, is to go to the Dispute resolution noticeboard. Another possibility is to open an RfC at WikiProject Ireland. Alternatively, you can carry on edit-warring till you both end up at AN/I. Scolaire (talk) 15:07, 15 October 2022 (UTC)
 * As suggested, I have opened an RFC on the suggested page. See: Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Ireland. The Banner  <i style="color:maroon">talk</i> 16:45, 15 October 2022 (UTC)

Bad example in "Article titles" section
The first example under Manual of Style/Ireland-related articles has gone bad, because what we're saying is the real article title is now itself a redirect. Needs to be replaced with something else. — SMcCandlish ☏ ¢ 😼  03:31, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
 * You're right, thanks for pointing it out. I've updated it to the new names. <b style="color: Blue;">Canterbury Tail</b> <i style="color: Blue;">talk</i> 02:48, 8 March 2023 (UTC)