Where the BBC lives

[etherealfionna]

Has anybody but me noticed that the BBC news site not only always spells Kimi Räikkönen's name wrong (as Raikkonen), but also insists on calling Ireland "the Irish Republic

Comments

[hano]

Fair point, but. As far as the English are concerned, while it became an independant state in 1922, it was still technically a member of the Commonwealth until formally renouncing membership in 1949. Hey, it sucks knowing this kinda stuff...

[natural20]

Well, ish. The Republic was formally declared by the Government of the Irish Free State in 1949. The 1916 stuff was a bit aspirational really.

But actually, according to Article 4 of the constitution:

The name of the State is Éire, or, in the English language, Ireland.

So Republic of Ireland is a made up name too, it's just a handy differentiator from Northern Ireland. So the BBC wouldn't actually be any more right if they used Republic of Ireland, unless they're talking about the soccer team.

[etherealfionna]

Well, no. The Irish Republic was declared in 1916, Ireland the country becoming a republic was a different matter. There is no such country as the Irish Republic any more, and using it as a description of Ireland is instead of the *official* description Republic of Ireland is ... I don't get it.

Wikipedia has a whole article about the different names and when they were used.

[natural20]

Well, I'm not suggesting the Irish Republic is right in any way. That's a very interesting article, thanks for the link. However I agree on the not getting it, it's a strange and unusual point of view in lots of ways.

[anonymous]

We're not the Judean People's Front. We're the People's Front of Judea!

Hey, wasn't "We shall not submit to blackmail" one of the Anti-Nice
Treaty slogans?

Maybe "Always look on the Bright Side of Life" could replace Da
Souljer's Sang ...
:)