British Isles naming dispute

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There is dispute and disagreement over the term British Isles. The term is defined in dictionaries as "Great Britain and Ireland and adjacent islands".^[1] However, the association of the term British with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,^[2] as well as its association with the island of Great Britain cause the term to be regarded as objectionable or inappropriate to many people in Ireland when it is used to include Ireland.^[3]

The dispute is partly semantic: to British readers the term is a value-free geographic one, to Irish readers the term is a value-laden political one.

The fact that the British Isles in general coincided with the geographic area of the former United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801—1922), from which most of Ireland seceded/became independent in 1922, is also highly relevant. The island of Ireland is currently occupied by two states; the Republic of Ireland occupies five sixths of the island and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, occupies the remaining sixth.

No branch of the government of the Republic of Ireland officially uses the term,^[4] and although it is on occasion used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates, it is often used in a way that excludes the Republic of Ireland. A spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London has said use of the term would be discouraged.^[5]

The term "British Isles" is sometimes used to refer to the United Kingdom in Irish official documents^[6] and by major media institutions.^[7]. This definition, thus excluding Ireland - or at least the Republic of Ireland - does not typically cause offence in Ireland but can be confusing as dictionary definitions have not yet recognised this usage.

Contents 1 Perspectives in Great Britain 2 Perspectives in Ireland 3 Alternative terms 4 Footnotes

[edit] Perspectives in Great Britain

In general, the use of the term British Isles to refer to the archipelago has been common and uncontroversial within Great Britain, at least since the concept of "Britishness" was gradually but widely accepted in Great Britain after the 1707 Act of Union. ^[8] It is commonly understood as being a politically neutral geographical term. ^[9] Despite this, many within Britain still misuse the term. ^[10] This can be explained by confusion between the many similar terms in use within the islands ^[11] People in the UK may consider the term "British" to be a neutral umbrella term for English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish while in Ireland it is seen as a word for someone from Great Britain or the United Kingdom, or England only.

In modern times it is more common to use "British" in relation to the United Kingdom or Great Britain and "Irish" in relation to the island of Ireland or to the Republic of Ireland, with the two terms of equal stature. Both "British" and "Irish" are used in Northern Ireland. (see below)

The problem with the term "British Isles" in relation to Ireland is increasingly recognised in books and other media in the UK and its use has been increasingly avoided. Many recent histories of Great Britain and Ireland, published by major British academic publishers like the Oxford and Cambridge University presses, have discussed how the term "British Isles" is no longer generally acceptable in Ireland, although some ^[12] continued to use the term "for convenience".

Recognition of the Irish problems with the term, as well as problems over definitions and terminology was also discussed by the columnist Marcel Berlins, writing in The Guardian in 2006. Starting by saying "At last, someone has had the sense to abolish the British Isles", he gives his opinion that "although purely a geographical definition, it is frequently mixed up with the political entities Great Britain, or the United Kingdom. Even when used geographically, its exact scope is widely misunderstood". He also acknowledges that some people view the term as representing Britain's colonial past, when it ruled the whole of Ireland. ^[11]

[edit] Perspectives in Ireland

The perspective in Ireland is often quite different to the view in Great Britain.

From that Irish perspective the term British had never applied to Ireland until the late 16th century and onwards, a period that coincided with the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the subsequent Cromwellian activities in Ireland, then the Williamite accession in Britain and the Williamite War in Ireland, all of which resulted in severe impact on Irish people, landowners and native aristocracy, e.g. the Flight of the Earls and the Flight of the Wild Geese. From that perspective the term "British Isles" is not a neutral geographical description but is an unavoidably political term.

Use of the name "British Isles" is often rejected in the Republic of Ireland and amongst Irish Nationalists in Northern Ireland because its use implies a primacy of British identity over all of the islands, including the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland as well as the United Kingdom and many feel that the term does not apply to Ireland since secession/independence from the United Kingdom in 1922.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Many bodies, including the Irish Government, avoid describing the Republic of Ireland as being part of the British Isles. The term "British Isles" is occasionally used at governmental level in Ireland, as when a cabinet minister, Síle de Valera, delivered a speech containing the term in 2002, although this was contrary to stated government policy.^[17] British Isles has been used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates, including by government ministers ^[18][19], although it is often used in a way that defines the British Isles as excluding the Republic of Ireland. ^{[20][21][22][23]}

In October 2006, Irish educational publisher Folens announced that it was removing the term British Isles from its popular school atlas from January 2007.^{[24] [25]}. This attracted some press attention, primarily in Great Britain and Ireland, during which a spokesman for the Irish Embassy in London said "The British Isles has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire" ^[26].

Different views on terminology are probably most clearly seen within Northern Ireland, where the political situation is difficult and national identity is contested. A survey in Northern Ireland found that unionists generally considered the British Isles to be a natural geographical entity, considering themselves primarily British with a supplementary Irish identity. Another survey highlighted the British and non-Irish identity of the Protestant community, showing that 51% of Protestants felt "Not at all Irish" and 41% only "weakly Irish"^{[27] [28]} In contrast, nationalists considered their community to be that of the Irish nation as a distinct political community extending across the whole of Ireland. Identities were diverse and multi-layered and Irishness was a highly contested identity, and nationalists expressed difficulty in understanding unionist descriptions of Britishness.^[29]

The overall opinions of people in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland about the term have never been formally gauged. Politicians from the Irish Unionist and Northern Ireland Unionist traditions do readily use the term "British Isles"^[30][31] The contrast between Unionist and Nationalist approaches to the term was shown in December 1999 at a meeting of the Irish cabinet and Northern Ireland executive in Armagh. The First Minister of Northern Ireland, David Trimble, told the meeting

“

This represents the Irish government coming back into a relationship with the rest of the British Isles. We are ending the cold war that has divided not just Ireland but the British Isles. That division is now going to be transformed into a situation where all parts work together again in a way that respects each other.[32]

”

In contrast, the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, did not use the term in his address to the meeting.^[33]

At a gathering of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body (15th plenary session, in 1998), the sensitivity about the term became an issue. Referring to a plan for a "Council of the Isles" which was being supported by both Nationalists and Unionists, British MP for Falkirk West Dennis Canavan was paraphrased by official note takers as having said in a caveat:

“

He understood that the concept of a Council of the Isles had been put forward by the Ulster Unionists and was referred to as a "Council for the British Isles" by David Trimble. This would cause offence to Irish colleagues; he suggested as an acronym IONA-Islands of the North Atlantic.[34]

”

In a series of documents issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, from the Downing Street Declaration to the Belfast Agreement, relations in the British Isles were referred to as the East-West strand of the tripartite relationships defined.^[35]

[edit] Alternative terms

There are several terms that are used as alternatives for the term British Isles.

Sometimes, an ambiguous phrase such as "these Isles" or "the Isles" is used, thus utilising the same logic used when referring to the Persian Gulf as "the Gulf". "These Islands" was used in Strand Three of the Belfast Agreement to establish the British-Irish Council, and has been described as the favoured term of Irish politicians.^[36]

Probably the most common alternative term in modern usage is "Great Britain and Ireland", or more simply, "Britain and Ireland". This is very common and almost entirely uncontroversial, although it may be felt to neglect smaller islands in the archipelago and is ambiguous concerning the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.

Although considerably less common another term that is sometimes used is British Isles and Ireland. Similar to "Great Britain and Ireland", this has been used in a variety of areas; among others religion,^[37] nursing,^[38] zoological publications,^[39] academia,^[40] and other sources. This form of title is also used in some book titles^[41] and in various legal publications.^[42] This usage, however, implies that Northern Ireland is not part of the British Isles, which causes problems in itself.

Some live UK television shows such as the X Factor allow voting from the Republic of Ireland and hold auditions in Dublin, and use terminology such as "UK and Ireland" on voting lines. This is also common for copyright notices on DVDs and CDs. UK TV weather forecasts continue to show the British Isles area opposed to cutting the Republic of Ireland out, although the weather for the Republic is rarely mentioned explicitly. In the Republic of Ireland, weather forecasts typically show the island of Ireland.

In the context of the Northern Ireland peace process the term Islands of the North Atlantic (IONA), a term initially created by then Conservative Party MP Sir John Biggs-Davison,^[43] has been used as a neutral term to describe the "British Isles", but in a wider context the term might be misunderstood as including Iceland, Greenland, the Azores and other islands.

IONA has been used by among others the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.

“

The Government are, of course, conscious of the emphasis that is laid on the East-West dimension by Unionists, and we are, ourselves, very mindful of the unique relationships that exist within these islands — islands of the North Atlantic or IONA as some have termed them.[44]

”

It has also been adopted by the British National Party, in their 'Project-IONA', ^[45] an attempt to make a collection of the cultural artefacts of the islands. ^[46] The party does, however, use the term British Isles elsewhere; for example in their declared wish for a return of "Eire as well as Ulster as equal partners in[to] a federation of the nations of the British Isles" ^[47]

Others have interpreted the term more narrowly to mean the Council of the Isles or British-Irish Council. Peter Luff MP told the British House of Commons in 1998 that

“

In the same context, there will be a council of the isles. I think that some people are calling it IONA — the islands of the north Atlantic, from which England, by definition, will be excluded.[48]

”

His interpretation, as Ahern's comment earlier shows, is not widely held, particularly in Ireland, where IONA is seen as a parallel to either the British Islands or the British Isles. In 1997 the leader of the Green Party, Trevor Sargent, discussing the Strand Three (or East-West) talks between the Republic and the United Kingdom, commented in Dáil Éireann:

“

I noted with interest the naming of the islands of the north Atlantic under the acronym IONA which the Green Party felt was extremely appropriate.[49]

”

His comments were echoed by Proinsias De Rossa, then leader of Democratic Left and later President of the Irish Labour Party when both parties merged, who told the Dáil "The acronym IONA is a useful way of addressing the coming together of these two islands."^[50]

Anglo-Celtic Isles has been used in academia for the isles.^[51][52] This reflects the supposed ethnic make up of the islands of the 'Celtic' peoples — the Irish, Manx, Scottish, Cornish and Welsh — and the 'Anglo-Saxon' peoples, the English.

The British government currently uses British Islands (as defined in the Interpretation Act, 1978) to refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, together with the Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwicks of Jersey and of Guernsey (which in turn includes the smaller islands of Alderney, Herm and Sark) in the Channel Islands; and the Isle of Man.

Some academics in the 1990s and early 2000s also used the term northwest European archipelago.^[53] Usage however appears sporadic in historiography and rarely repeated outside it, to date.

The name the West European Isles is one translation of the islands' name in Irish^[54] and Manx Gaelic.^[55]—but explicit "British Isle" terms also exist in Irish^[56] and Manx^[57]. A somewhat similar usage exists in Iceland. "Westman" is the Icelandic name for a person from Ireland and Great Britain and "Western Lands" is the translation of the name for these islands in Icelandic.^[58]

A return to Pytheas's original term, Pretanic Isles (or Pretannic Isles) has been suggested sporadically and has seen some usage in academic contexts, particularly in reference to the islands in a pre-Roman context. ^[59]

[edit] Footnotes