What's the adjective for the Republic of Ireland (Eire)?


What's the adjective for the country of Ireland (Eire in Irish) that specifically excludes Northern Ireland? For example when referring to the accent of people from the the Republic of Ireland but not to Ulster.


Ireland is geographically the whole island and politically consists of two countries:



  • in the north is Northern Ireland, or Ulster

  • in the south is Ireland, or the Republic of Ireland, and Eire in Irish


Language Log lists only "Irish" as the adjective to refer to the Republic of Ireland. For Ulster, "Northern Irish" is sometimes used as the adjective but "Northern Ireland" is 10 times more common (plus "British" is sometimes used).


You could write "Southern Irish" but I think this is wrong because it suggests the name of the Republic is "Southern Ireland", which it is not.


I think "southern Irish" is better as it doesn't make this suggestion, although it leaves some ambiguity: it could instead refer to the south of the geographical island of Ireland (just the southern parts of the Republic of Ireland).


Is capitalised "Southern Irish" in any way offensive to Irish people? Is "southern Irish" any better? Or is this just a matter of style?


Of course, there may be no simple, unabiguously clear adjective; the whole subject of the overlapping political and geographical names of Ireland and Britain is complicated as is clear from Language Log and Wikipedia, as are distinctions between British and Irish/Scottish/Welsh/English.



Answer



The name of the island and its parts is subject to complex cultural and political questions, as you've surmised. Even the British Media cannot agree on what names to use.


If you're looking to identify distinct regional accents on the island of Ireland you might be better off referring to the counties, or at least to the historical provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster, Connacht. Those correspond to the broad areas of regional English accents.


If you do need an adjective to refer to the Republic of Ireland, avoid Southern Ireland (capitalized) since that was briefly the name of a UK political constituent and could be confusing. You should similarly avoid using the Gaelic name Eire in English. One possibility is to refer to the Republic of Ireland in contrast to Northern Ireland, as I have done here. Some people still won't like even that, I suppose.


If you insist on having an adjective instead of using "of"-consructions, your choices are limited even further. Consider referring to the counties/provinces if you can, it's more exact and much less subject to dispute.


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