Béal an Mhuirthead becomes Belmullet – Anglophone vandalism in effect
From the Mayo News yet more depressing evidence of how no one hates the Irish as much as the Irish themselves:
“Gaeltacht communities who call for bilingual road signs ‘should be careful what they wish for’, as it could mean they lose their Gaeltacht status, according to a senior council official.
Irish-language-only road signs were erected in Gaeltacht areas in 2005. Since then, a number of local representatives have called for the introduction of bilingual signs, claiming that the Irish-only signs were confusing tourists. Signs pointing to Gaeltacht areas such as Belmullet now only have Béal an Mhuirthead written on them. In some cases they have been vandalised, with the English spray-painted onto them.”
Incredible. For centuries under foreign colonial rule the Irish language and Irish speakers were subjugated, persecuted and driven to the point of extermination. The names of communities like Béal an Mhuirthead were anglicised or replaced with new English versions and the original Irish ones forbidden for official use by our former colonial masters. Our entire nation was violently transformed from Éire to Ireland: from an Irish Ireland to an English Ireland.
Now, after decades of restored independence and self-rule for three quarters of our nation and our people, some of us are still acting like a craven bunch of former slaves and lackeys pathetically aping the ways and manners of our now departed masters.
And over what? The rightful restoration of the genuine names of our towns and villages, our regions and localities? How is Béal an Mhuirthead not acceptable but Belmullet is? One is derived from the other, for God’s sake! Belmullet is just a crude bastardised version of Béal an Mhuirthead in a foreign language imposed centuries ago by foreign invaders!
Do the people of Germany need to change the name of München to Munich in order to keep the tourists happy? Does Roma need to become Rome? København to become Copenhagen?
What is wrong with these people? What post-colonial neuroses so corrupts their minds that they would rather play at lets-pretend-Englishness than get-real-Irishness?
“In a letter to Mr Beirne dated September 2009, Máire Killoran, a Director with the Coimisinéir Teanga, said that the vandalism of signs may indicate that people may not want these areas to retain their Gaeltacht status.
“The conclusion one might be forced to reach is that such action [vandalism of signs] could only be undertaken by individuals who believe that those particular places do not warrant recognition as Gaeltacht areas.”
As in Daingean Uí Chúis, the town in a Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking area where a violent anglophone minority intimidated and blackmailed the local community, politicians and government into reimposing the English language name of the area in a mongrel mishmash title (Dingle – Daingean Uí Chúis, the English name, but of course, first), yet again we see the ready resort to criminality by a small band of bigots from the English-speaking communities. Theses zealots won’t be content until the Irish language, and those who speak the Irish language, are gone from the face of the earth. What the English couldn’t achieve for eight centuries they will achieve for them.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
From the Mayo News yet more depressing evidence of how no one hates the Irish as much as the Irish themselves:
Incredible. For centuries under foreign colonial rule the Irish language and Irish speakers were subjugated, persecuted and driven to the point of extermination. The names of communities like Béal an Mhuirthead were anglicised or replaced with new English versions and the original Irish ones forbidden for official use by our former colonial masters. Our entire nation was violently transformed from Éire to Ireland: from an Irish Ireland to an English Ireland.
Now, after decades of restored independence and self-rule for three quarters of our nation and our people, some of us are still acting like a craven bunch of former slaves and lackeys pathetically aping the ways and manners of our now departed masters.
And over what? The rightful restoration of the genuine names of our towns and villages, our regions and localities? How is Béal an Mhuirthead not acceptable but Belmullet is? One is derived from the other, for God’s sake! Belmullet is just a crude bastardised version of Béal an Mhuirthead in a foreign language imposed centuries ago by foreign invaders!
Do the people of Germany need to change the name of München to Munich in order to keep the tourists happy? Does Roma need to become Rome? København to become Copenhagen?
What is wrong with these people? What post-colonial neuroses so corrupts their minds that they would rather play at lets-pretend-Englishness than get-real-Irishness?
As in Daingean Uí Chúis, the town in a Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking area where a violent anglophone minority intimidated and blackmailed the local community, politicians and government into reimposing the English language name of the area in a mongrel mishmash title (Dingle – Daingean Uí Chúis, the English name, but of course, first), yet again we see the ready resort to criminality by a small band of bigots from the English-speaking communities. Theses zealots won’t be content until the Irish language, and those who speak the Irish language, are gone from the face of the earth. What the English couldn’t achieve for eight centuries they will achieve for them.
And that is the biggest Irish joke of them all.
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