Vol. 511 No. 2
4 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands if she will instruct Coimisiún na Logainmneacha that, for purposes of placenames and road signs, Knock, County Mayo, be referred to in Irish as Cnoc Mhuire in view of this translation and meaning being accepted as part of local tradition for many years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23960/99]
An Cnoc is the official Irish form of Knock, County Mayo, as established by order in Statutory Instrument No. 133 of 1975, An tOrdú Logainmneacha (Foirmeacha Gaeilge) (Uimhir 1)(Postbhailte), 1975.
The official Irish form, An Cnoc, was proposed by the Placenames Commission on the basis of collected evidence for the name in 1958. This form was published provisionally in Ainmneacha Gaeilge na mBailte Poist i gCúige Chonnacht, Liosta Sealadach (Oifig an tSoláthair, 1960) and comment was invited. It was ratified by the Commission and published in Ainmneacha Gaeilge na mBailte Poist (Oifig an tSoláthair, 1969).
The Commission is composed of recognised scholars in the fields of Irish toponomy and related disciplines representing various areas of the country. When the Irish form of Knock was examined in 1958, the Commission included several scholars who were well acquainted with the history and placenames of Connacht. In deciding on An Cnoc as the official form of the name, it is likely that the Commission was influenced by the fact that this was the traditional form used by native Irish speakers in east Mayo at the beginning of this century and saw no reason to change it.
I thank the Minister of State for clarifying this matter. The remit of Coimisiún na Logainmneacha is to investigate the proper Irish names and to list and have them for signposting and so on. I thank the Minister of State for saying he will discuss this further with Coimisiún na Logainmneacha. There is not a person in County Mayo who does not associate Knock, in English, with the name Cnoc Mhuire, in Irish. It may well be that when the provisional list was published in 1959, and followed subsequently by official publication, that people did not read as much then and were not aware, because of the lack of local radio and the media, of the importance of this. I think I can dispense with this and say on behalf of County Mayo and the province that the traditional understanding of the name of Knock in 1999 is the Irish version, Cnoc Mhuire. Will he instruct Coimisiún na Logainmneacha, despite the official literary correctness, that that is the title we want?
It would appear from the considerable historical evidence available, which goes back to 1625, that Cnoc was the version used in Irish. However, we have to accept that times change. Because of the apparition at Knock and the religious significance in the last century I accept that the present modern usage of the Irish form of Knock, is now Cnoc Mhuire. I would also accept if you said to somebody in Connemara "Tá mé ag dul go dtí an Cnoc" they would assume you were going to Cnoc na hAille in Inverin in County Galway. If you said "Tá mé ag dul go Cnoc Mhuire", they would presume you were going on a pilgrimage to Knock in County Mayo. Therefore, modern usage associates Cnoc Mhuire with Knock and it is on the basis that I will ask the Commission to give its views again. On the other hand, historical evidence would say they were correct, traditionally, and in the last and previous centuries that An Cnoc, or Knock, was the version in common use by the people but obviously times change.
I thank the Minster of State for this information. The correct traditional usage prior to the apparition would have been An Cnoc. Following the Minister of State's intervention and understanding of modern day usage I might arrange with the administrator, Monsignor Greely, to give him a plenary indulgence because the people will be happy when they hear about it.
There is another element of this about which we must be careful. It is important that a body such as An Coimisiún Logainmneacha would provide authorised versions and that we would not change them willy nilly. We have had a major difficulty with local authorities putting up totally incorrect versions of names. It is essential, therefore, to have a standard authorised version. For that reason the proper procedures should be followed. I say that in the context of this case where current usage, especially among Irish speakers, is Cnoc Mhuire, which relates to Knock, County Mayo.
However, that is not to say I would like anybody to think that local authorities can have carte blanche to put up any version of names they want because we have been bedevilled with that happening. The official forms and procedures will not only be maintained but strengthened to ensure there is a common, authorised version of all place names in Irish.
