Editing Names of the Irish state

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[[File:Eirepas.JPG|thumb|right|The front cover of an [[Irish passport]] showing the name of the state in its two official languages.]]
According to the [[Constitution of Ireland]], the '''names of the Irish state''' are [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] (English) and [[Éire]] (Irish).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Constitution of Ireland|year=1937|publisher=Stationery Office|author=Government of Ireland|location=Dublin}}</ref> From 1922 to 1937, its legal names were the [[Irish Free State]] (English) and Saorstát Éireann (Irish). The [[sovereign state|state]] has [[jurisdiction]] over almost five-sixths of the [[Ireland|island of Ireland]]. The rest of the island is [[Northern Ireland]], a part of the [[United Kingdom]]. In 1948 Ireland adopted the terms Republic of Ireland (English) and Poblacht na hÉireann (Irish) as the official descriptions of the state, without changing the constitutional names.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Republic of Ireland|work=The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948|publisher=Government of Ireland |year=1948 |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1948/en/act/pub/0022/sec0002.html#zza22y1948s2|access-date=3 January 2010 |quote=It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland.}}</ref>

The terms ''Republic of Ireland'' (''ROI''), ''the Republic'', ''the 26 counties'' or ''the South'' are the alternative names most often encountered. The term "Southern Ireland", although only having [[Government of Ireland Act 1920|legal basis from 1921 to 1922]], is still seen occasionally, particularly in Britain.

Until the 1998 [[Good Friday Agreement]], British government and media declined to use the name Ireland, preferring Eire (without [[síneadh fada]] [[diacritic|accent]]) until 1949 and Republic of Ireland thereafter.

==Constitutional name==
Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland, adopted in 1937, provides that "[t]he name of the State is ''Éire'', or, in the English language, ''Ireland''".<ref>The wording of Article 4 has been criticised. Early criticisms are discussed [[#Éire (Irish language name since 1937)|elsewhere in this article]] More recently, in its report, the [http://www.constitution.ie/constitutional-reviews/crg.asp Constitution Review Group] ({{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721123405/http://www.constitution.ie/constitutional-reviews/crg.asp |date=21 July 2011 }}) in 1996 stated that Article 4 was unnecessarily complicated and should be amended to read ''"The name of the State is Ireland"'' with an equivalent change in the Irish text.</ref>
Hence, the Irish state has two official names, ''Éire'' (in [[Irish (language)|Irish]]) and ''Ireland'' (in [[English (language)|English]]). For official purposes, the Irish government uses the name ''Éire'' in documents written in Irish, while using ''Ireland'' where the language of the documents is English, including in international treaties and other legal documents. The name of the state is reflected in its institutions and public offices. For example, there is a ''[[President of Ireland]]'' and a ''Constitution of Ireland''. The name ''Ireland'' is also used in the state's diplomatic relations with foreign nations and at meetings of the [[United Nations]],<ref>United Nations Member States, http://www.un.org/en/members/</ref> [[European Union]],<ref>European Union Member States, http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/member-countries/index_en.htm</ref> [[Council of Europe]],<ref>Council of Europe Member States, http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/country-profiles</ref> [[International Monetary Fund]],<ref>IMF Countries, http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm#I</ref> and [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]].<ref>OECD Countries, http://www.oecd.org/#countriesList</ref>

The Constitution gives the Irish language formal precedence over English, and a reflection of this is that ''Éire'' is the only name of the Irish state to feature on a range of national symbols including the [[Seal of the President of Ireland|Seal of the President]], [[Postage stamps of Ireland|postage stamps]] and [[Irish euro coins]]. In 1981 the [[Department of Posts and Telegraphs]] recommended the inclusion of the word "Ireland" along with "Éire" on stamps but the [[Department of the Taoiseach]] vetoed the idea on the basis it could cause "constitutional and political repercussions" and that "the change could be unwelcome", as the name "Ireland" was considered by [[Unionism in Ireland|Unionists in Northern Ireland]] to refer to all 32 [[counties of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news |title=1982: 'Ireland', 'Éire' and why both aren't written on postage stamps |work=1982 State Papers |publisher=[[TheJournal.ie]] |date=30 December 2011 |url=http://jrnl.ie/734358 |access-date=18 February 2014 }}</ref>
The spelling "Eire", with an ''E'' rather than an ''É'', is not correct [[Irish orthography]] despite being preferred for many years by British government and media and others.

==Official description== <!-- article "Irish states since 1171" links to this header -->
[[File:Envelope from Irish Revenue Commissioners.jpeg|thumb|An [[envelope]] from the [[Office of the Revenue Commissioners]], stating "No Postage Stamp necessary if posted in Republic of Ireland".]]
Since 1949, the [[Republic of Ireland Act 1948]] has provided that the ''Republic of Ireland'' (or ''Poblacht na hÉireann'' in Irish) is the official ''description'' for the state.<ref>The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948 (Commencement) Order, 1949 (S.I. No. 27/1949) appointed 18 April 1949 (Easter Monday, the thirty third anniversary of the Irish [[Easter Rising]]) as the day the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 would come into force.</ref> However, ''Ireland'' remains the constitutional ''name'' of the state.

The constitutional name ''Ireland'' is normally used. However, the official description ''Republic of Ireland'' is sometimes used when disambiguation is desired between the state and the island of [[Ireland]]. In colloquial use this is often shortened to 'the Republic'.

This distinction between ''description'' and ''name'' was and remains important because the Act was not a constitutional amendment and did not change the name of the state. If it had purported to do so, it would have been unconstitutional. The distinction between a ''description'' and a ''name'' has sometimes caused confusion. The [[Taoiseach]], [[John A. Costello]] introduced the legislation with an explanation of the difference in the following way:<ref>Seanad Éireann – Volume 36–15 December 1948, The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Committee and Final Stages.</ref>
{{blockquote|If I say that my name is Costello and that my description is that of [[senior counsel]], I think that will be clear to anybody who wants to know...[Similarly, the state's] name in Irish is Éire and in the English language, Ireland. Its description in the English language is "the Republic of Ireland."}}

Many republics, including the [[France|French Republic]] and the [[Italy|Italian Republic]] reference the institutional form of the state in their long form names, but others, such as [[Hungary]] (since 2012) and [[Ukraine]] (since 1991) do not.

==European Union==
The state [[Accession of Ireland to the European Union|joined]] the [[European Economic Community]] (now the [[European Union]]) in 1973. Its accession treaty was drawn up in all of the EU's then-official treaty languages (including English and Irish) and, as such, the Irish state joined under both of its names, ''Éire'' and ''Ireland''.  On 1 January 2007, Irish became an official working language of the EU.<ref>See: [http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l_156/l_15620050618en00030004.pdf Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005]. Until then, Irish was a treaty language, official to the extent that the EU's founding treaties were (in addition to the other languages of the EU) drawn up in Irish and equally authentic in that language. Irish had not been an official EU working language.</ref> This did not change the name of the Irish state in EU law. However, it has meant for example that at official meetings of the EU Council of Ministers, nameplates for the Irish state now read as ''Éire – Ireland'', whereas previously they would simply have read as ''Ireland''.

The Inter Institutional Style Guide of The Office for Official Publications of the European Communities sets out how the names of the member states of the European Union must always be written and abbreviated in EU publications. Concerning Ireland, it states that its official names are ''Éire'' and ''Ireland''; its official name in English is ''Ireland''; its country code is ''IE''; and its former abbreviation was ''IRL''. It also adds the following guidance: "''NB: Do not use 'Republic of Ireland' nor 'Irish Republic'.''"<ref>Clause 7.1.1 of the Inter Institutional Style Guide [http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370100.htm].</ref>

==Historical names==
===Ancient===
The [[Annals of the Four Masters]] describe how Ireland was referred to in ancient times:<ref>{{Cite web |date=31 August 2015 |title=Annals of the Four Masters |url=https://www.ria.ie/library/catalogues/special-collections/medieval-and-early-modern-manuscripts/annals-four-masters |access-date=19 October 2022 |website=Royal Irish Academy |language=en}}</ref>
* During the time of the [[Partholonians]], [[Nemedians]], [[Fomorians]], and [[Firbolg]], the island was given a number of names:{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}
** ''Inis Ealga'' signifying the ''noble'' or ''excellent island''. The Latin translation was ''Insula Nobilis''
** ''Fiodh-Inis'' signifying the ''Woody island''. In Latin this was ''Insula nemorosa''
** ''Crioch Fuinidh'' signifying the ''Final'' or ''remote country''. In Latin as ''Terra finalia''.
* ''Inisfáil'' meaning the ''Island of Destiny'', and ''Inisfalia'' or ''Insula Fatalis'' in Latin. This was the name used by the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and from this 'Fál' became an ancient name for Ireland. In this respect, therefore, ''[[Lia Fáil]]'', the Stone of Destiny, came to mean 'Stone of Ireland'. ''Inisfail'' appears as a synonym for ''[[Erin]]'' in some Irish romantic and nationalist poetry in English in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; [[Aubrey Thomas de Vere]]'s 1863 poem ''Inisfail'' is an example.
* ''[[Ériu]]'' (from which derived ''[[Éire]]''), ''[[Banba]]'' and ''[[Fódla]]'' were names given by the Dananns from three of their queens.{{clarify|reason="given by X from Y" is a strange grammatical construct whose meaning is unclear - please rephrase|date=January 2023}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
* ''Ierne'' refers to Ireland by various ancient Greek writers and many scholars{{who|date=January 2023}} have the opinion that in the poem when the [[Argonauts]] pass ''Neson Iernida'', that is, the ''Island Iernis'', they are referring to the island of Ireland, thus referring to Ireland longer ago than 1000 BC.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}
* ''[[Ogygia]]'' meaning ''the most ancient land'' is a name used by [[Plutarch]] in the first century which may{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} refer to Ireland.
* ''[[Hibernia]]'' is first used to refer to Ireland by [[Julius Caesar]] in his account of Britain, and became a common term used by the Romans. They also used a number of other terms, namely ''Juverna'', ''Juvernia'', ''Ouvernia'', ''Ibernia'', ''Ierna'', ''Vernia''. [[Ptolemy]] also refers to it as ''Iouernia'' or ''Ivernia''.
* ''[[Scotia]]'' or ''the land of the Scots'' is a term used by various Roman and other Latin writers, who referred to Irish raiders as [[Scoti]]. Some of the earliest mentions are in the 5th century, [[St. Patrick]] calls the Irish "Scoti", and in the 6th century, [[Isidore of Seville|St. Isidore]] bishop of Seville and [[Gildas]] the British historian both refer to Ireland as Scotia. It was a term that exclusively referred to Ireland up until the eleventh century{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} when modern Scotland was first referred to as Scotia. But even up until the sixteenth century, many{{who|date=January 2023}} Latin writers continued to refer to Ireland as Scotia.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} From the twelfth to the sixteenth century, various scholars{{who|date=January 2023}} used to distinguish between Ireland and Scotland by using ''Scotia Vetus'' or ''Scotia Major'' meaning ''Old Scotia'' or the ''Greater Scotia'' for Ireland, and ''Scotia Minor'' or ''Lesser Scotia'' for Scotland.{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}}. The name [[Scoti]] is used to describe the [[High King of Ireland]] in the 9th Century [[Book of Armagh]], where [[Brian Boru]] is declared [[Imperator Scottorum]], or ''Emperor of the Irish (Gaels)''<ref>{{citation|url=https://www.historyireland.com/brian-boru-imperator-scotorum|title=Brian Boru : Imperator Scottorum|date=4 March 2014 }}</ref>
* ''Insula Sanctorum'' or the ''Island of the Saints'' and ''Insula Doctorum'' or the ''Island of the Learned'' are names used by various Latin writers{{who|date=January 2023}}; hence the modern-day quasi-poetic description of the island as the "Island of Saints and Scholars".<ref>{{cite book |last=Healy |first=John |author-link=John Healy (bishop) |title=Insula sanctorum et doctorum : or, Ireland's ancient schools and scholars |publisher=Sealy, Bryers & Walker |date=1912 |location=Dublin |pages=vi, 631 |url=https://archive.org/stream/insulasanctorume00heal#page/n9/mode/1up/search/Doctorum }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cusack |first=Mary Francis |author-link=Margaret Anna Cusack |title=The life of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland |publisher=Longman, Green & Co |date=1871 |location=London |pages=9–11 |url=https://archive.org/stream/lifeofsaintpatri00cusa#page/9/mode/1up/search/Insula+Doctorum }}</ref>

===Pre-1919===
Following the Norman invasion, Ireland was known as ''Dominium Hiberniae'', the [[Lordship of Ireland]] from 1171 to 1541, and the [[Kingdom of Ireland]] from 1541 to 1800. From 1801 to 1922 it was part of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] as a [[country|constituent country]].

According to [[Roderick O'Flaherty]], [[Joseph Justus Scaliger]] "''reckons up eleven of twelve matricular languages yet remaining in Europe; viz. Latin, Greek, Teutonic, Sclavonian, Epirotic, Tartarian, Hungarian, Finnonian, Hibernian (which he by a barbarism calls '''Hirlandian'''), the Cantabrian, and the British.''".<ref>Ogygia vol II p.90 ed. 1793)</ref> This could be the first mention of the name of Ireland.

===Irish Republic (1919–22)===
{{Main|Irish Republic}}
[[File:Cropped Easter Proclamation.jpg|frame|right|The [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|Easter Proclamation]] of 1916 declared the establishment of the ''Irish Republic''. The rebel state retained this name until 1922.]]
In English, the revolutionary state [[Irish Declaration of Independence|proclaimed]] in 1916 and ratified in 1919<ref>[http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/about/history/parliamentinireland/ Parliament in Ireland], the [[First Dáil]]{{spaced ndash}}[[Oireachtas]].ie</ref> was known as the ''Irish Republic'' or, occasionally, the ''Republic of Ireland''. Two different Irish language names were used: ''Poblacht na hÉireann'' and ''Saorstát Éireann'', based on two competing Irish translations of the word ''[[republic]]'': ''Poblacht'' and ''Saorstát''. ''Poblacht'' was a direct translation coming from the Irish ''pobal'', cognate with the Latin ''populus''. ''Saorstát'', on the other hand, was a compound of the words: ''saor'' (meaning "free") and ''stát'' ("state").

The term ''Poblacht na hÉireann'' is the one used in the [[Proclamation of the Irish Republic|Easter Proclamation]] of 1916. However the [[Irish Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] and other documents adopted in 1919 eschew this title in favour of ''Saorstát Éireann''. A slight variant of this title, ''Saorstát na hÉireann'', was also sometimes used in later days as was the [[Latin]] ''Respublica Hibernica''.<ref>The Republic: The Fight For Irish Independence by Charles Townshend</ref><ref>Politics in the Republic of Ireland by John Coakley & Michael Gallagher</ref>

''(For an explanation continuing usage of the term ''Irish Republic'' in the United Kingdom, see [[#Name dispute with the UK|Name dispute with the UK]] (below).  Some [[Irish Republicanism|republicans]] also continue to use the term because they refuse to recognise the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]] – see below).''

===Southern Ireland (1921–22)===
{{Main|Southern Ireland (1921–22)}}
''Southern Ireland'' ({{langx|ga|Deisceart Éireann}}) was the official name given to an autonomous ''Home Rule'' region (or ''[[Countries of the United Kingdom|constituent country]]'') of the United Kingdom. It was established under the [[Government of Ireland Act 1920]] on 3 May 1921.<ref>3 May 1921 (SR&O 1921, No. 533).</ref> It covered the same territory as the present day Irish state.<ref>See: [http://www.bailii.org/nie/legis/num_act/1920/192000067.html#PROVISIONS_AS_TO_COURTS_OF_LAW_AND_JUDGES Government of Ireland Act 1920]</ref>

However, political turmoil and the ongoing [[Irish War of Independence|War of Independence]] meant that it never fully functioned as envisaged. [[Southern Ireland (1921–22)|Southern Ireland]] was superseded in law on 6 December 1922 by the establishment of the [[Irish Free State]].<ref>[[Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922]].</ref> The term ''Southern Ireland'' does not have any official status today.<ref name=Furlong>John Furlong (2006). Ireland – the Name of the State. Legal Information Management, 6, pp 297–301. Cambridge University Press. {{doi|10.1017/S1472669606000934}}</ref> However, it is sometimes still used colloquially, particularly by older people, in the United Kingdom.

===Irish Free State (1922–37)===
{{Main|Irish Free State}}
During the negotiations on secession leading to the [[Anglo-Irish Treaty]], Irish politicians wanted the state to be a republic, and its name to be the ''Republic of Ireland'' or the ''Irish Republic''. However the [[British government]] refused to contemplate a republic because this would have entailed the Irish state severing the link with the British crown and ceasing to be a part of the [[British Empire]]. Instead, the parties agreed the state would be a self-governing [[British Dominions|Dominion]] within the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth of Nations]].  The self-proclaimed [[Irish Republic]] had used ''Saorstát Éireann'' as its Irish name, and "Irish Free State" was derived by [[calque|literal translation]] of ''Saorstát Éireann'' back into English; a [[Orange Free State|South African province]] had a similar name.  Article One of the treaty stated:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://acts.oireachtas.ie/zza1y1922.1.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713181704/http://acts.oireachtas.ie/zza1y1922.1.html|url-status=dead|title=Constitution of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann) Act, 1922|archivedate=13 July 2007}}</ref>
{{blockquote|
Ireland shall have the same constitutional status ... as the Dominion of [[Canada]] ... and shall be styled and known as the Irish Free State.
}}

The May 1922 draft of the [[Constitution of the Irish Free State]] used only Irish forms of many names and titles, but on British insistence these were replaced with English equivalents; one exception was that references to "Saorstát Éireann" were amended to "the Irish Free State (Saorstát Éireann)".<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://researchrepository.ucd.ie/handle/10197/5344 |last=Mohr|first=Thomas|date=November 2008|title=British involvement in the creation of the constitution of the Irish Free State|journal=Dublin University Law Journal|volume=30|issue=1|pages=166–186}}</ref> After the establishment of the Free State the Irish government often used the name ''Saorstát Éireann'' in documents in English as well as Irish; an exception was that [[Stamps of the Irish Free State|postage stamps of the period]] used ''Éire''.<ref>{{cite web|first=Arwel |last=Parry |url=http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/eng/stamps/eire03.htm |title=The First Definitive Series of the Irish Free State |access-date=23 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105141408/http://www.cartref.demon.co.uk/eng/stamps/eire03.htm |archive-date=5 January 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Because the Irish Free State was not a republic, since 1922 the word ''saorstát'' has fallen out of use in Irish as a translation of ''republic''. When the official description of the state was declared to be the ''Republic of Ireland'' in 1949, its official Irish description became not ''Saorstát Éireann'' but ''Poblacht na hÉireann''. It appears that the "Irish Free State" name was not generally popular, ''The Times'' reporting on the [[1932 Irish general election|Irish general election in 1932]]:<ref>''The Times'', 8 February 1932</ref>
{{blockquote|The official parties in Ireland – the Free State is not a popular designation over there, for the other is, after all, the older name...}}

===Éire (Irish language name since 1937)===
{{Main|Éire}}
As mentioned [[#Official name|above]], Article 4 of the Constitution of Ireland, gives the state its two official names, ''Éire'' in Irish and ''Ireland'' in English. Each name is a direct translation of the other. From 1937, the name ''Éire'' was often used even in the English language.

In May 1937, when the [[President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State|President of the Executive Council]], [[Éamon de Valera]] presented the first draft of the Constitution to the parliamentary committee on the Constitution, Article 4 simply provided: "The name of the State is Éire". There was no reference to ''Ireland'' at all. Opposition politicians immediately proposed that the word ''Ireland'' be substituted for the word ''Éire'' throughout the English text. They argued that ''Ireland'' was the name known by every European country; that the name should not be surrendered; that the name ''Ireland'' might instead be adopted by [[Northern Ireland]]; and that the choice of ''Éire'' might damage the status of the state internationally by drawing a "distinction between the state...and what has been known for centuries as Ireland".<ref name="Bunreacht">[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 67 – 25 May 1937, Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112100/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html |date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> Responding, de Valera stressed that the Irish text of the constitution was to be the foundation text. In light of this, he said the name ''Éire'' was more logical and that it would mean an Irish name would become accepted even in the English language.<ref name="Bunreacht02">[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 67 – 25 May 1937, Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112100/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html |date=7 June 2011 }}: 'The President: ... I should prefer to keep the name as "Eire" because the whole thing is more logical but, if anybody wants to translate that in the English text as "Ireland," I have no objection.
I am anxious, however, that the Irish term should be used on the same basis as we use "Taoiseach." Elsewhere, it is suggested that that should be "Prime Minister." The term "Ceann Comhairle" has now come to be used instead of "Speaker." It has come gradually into our speech and the acceptance of Irish words for our own institutions is desirable. This is one of those matters in which I should have imagined I would come in for considerable criticism from the opposite benches if I put in the word "Ireland" instead of "Eire."
...
There are two things that can be said in favour of using the word Eire. The first is that it keeps the logic of the whole system much more clear and definite. The second is that we are doing something beyond what we have done before, that is, getting Irish names accepted even in English when we speak English here.'</ref><ref>On a later occasion de Valera was also to say that the name ''Éire'' would have helped to avoid confusion between the names of the island and the state. Although, clearly, where the Irish language was the medium of communication, the position would be the same (as ''Éire'' is both the name of the state and the island in the Irish language). He considered that issue in the Dáil ([http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 67 – 25 May 1937, Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112100/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html |date=7 June 2011 }}): 'The President: There is, for instance, the territorial area which is called Eire in Irish, and there is the State. It is easy to distinguish between the two territories if you say Stát na hEireann or Oileán na hEireann.' (Note: "Stát na hÉireann" is Irish for "State of Ireland" and "Oileán na hÉireann" is Irish for "Island of Ireland".)</ref> However, he said he had "no strong views" and he agreed "that in the English translation the name of the state [would be] Ireland".<ref name="Bunreacht"/>

When de Valera subsequently tabled an amendment to give effect to this concession, he proposed Article 4's current wording: "The name of the State is ''Éire'', or, in the English language, ''Ireland''." In doing so, he remarked that as "the Irish text is the fundamental text [it is as well] that ''Éire'' is used here and there." With almost no debate, the wording was agreed to and subsequently became the law of the land.<ref>[http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1937060900017?opendocument Dáil Éireann – Volume 68 – 9 June 1937 Committee on Finance. – Recommittal]. To the proposed wording, an opposition politician had responded that it was "rather a cumbersome name for the State". To this, de Valera replied, that "it was a very short name. There is the equivalent in the English language." There was no further debate. The name ''Ireland'' was substituted for ''Éire'' in a number of places throughout the English text of the Constitution although the name ''Éire'' remained in the highly rhetorical preamble but nowhere else in the English text. The latter reference was probably also motivated by de Valera's wish to emphasise the pre-eminence of the Irish text, as well as by his previously stated view that such use of Irish words in English was "desirable" ("[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 67 – 25 May 1937, Bunreacht na hÉireann (Dréacht)—Coiste]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112100/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0067/D.0067.193705250014.html |date=7 June 2011 }}).</ref>

It is sometimes said{{by whom|date=October 2014}} that de Valera wished to reserve the names ''Republic of Ireland'' or ''Irish Republic'' for the day when a [[united Ireland]] might be achieved. These names were not discussed in the parliamentary debates on the Constitution. However, the reason which de Valera gave in the debates for omitting any reference to the word ''republic'' throughout the constitution was that he thought the constitution would gain broader support if it did not refer to a ''republic''.<ref name="Bunreacht"/><ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0036/S.0036.194812150003.html Seanad Éireann – Volume 36–15 December 1948, The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Committee and Final Stages] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607102048/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0036/S.0036.194812150003.html |date=7 June 2011 }}. It is highly likely that practical considerations such as the possible ramifications of automatic exclusion from the [[British Commonwealth]] were also among his considerations.</ref>

After the adoption of the Constitution, de Valera's government generally encouraged use of the name ''Éire'' (rather than ''Ireland'') but not always. His government also appreciated the significance of the name ''Ireland''. So for example, when the Irish ambassador in Berlin, [[Charles Bewley]] sought instructions concerning the new name of the State, he was advised by [[Joe Walshe|Joseph P. Walshe]], for decades the top [[civil servant]] in the [[Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland)|Irish Department of External Affairs]] that:<ref>Catriona Crowe; Ronan Fanning; Dermot Keogh; Eunan O'Halpin; and Michael Kennedy: ''Documents on Irish Foreign Policy: 1937–1939'' Vol. 5</ref>

{{blockquote|When informing the German Government of the change of the name of the State, you should not emphasise the Irish form. The change of name would not, of course, have the same political or national significance if "Éire" were to be used by foreigners. As you are aware, it is the hope of everybody in this country that the use of "Ireland" to describe the Twenty-Six Counties will have a definite psychological effect in favour of the unity of this country on both Irish and foreign minds.}}

<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Ireland48cstamp.jpg|thumb|148px|Ireland uses ''Éire'' as the country name on its current [[postage stamp]]s.]] -->

Thus, while sometimes encouraging the use of the name ''Éire'' even in English, de Valera's government insisted at other times on the use of the name ''Ireland''. The [[#Name dispute with the UK|United Kingdom disputed Irish adoption of the name "Ireland"]] (below). De Valera's decision to generally use the name ''Éire'' was sometimes severely criticised as a poor choice of name. Some argued that it was confusing.<ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0096/D.0096.194504110002.html Dáil Éireann – Volume 96 – 11 April 1945 – Ceisteanna—Questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607141938/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0096/D.0096.194504110002.html |date=7 June 2011 }}  Mr Cogan TD to the Taoiseach</ref> Others said the name ''Éire'' might strengthen the claim of the government of [[Northern Ireland]] to the ancient name of Ulster for their state.<ref>[http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0025/S.0025.194105140002.html Seanad Éireann Debates- Volume 25 – 14 May 1941.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607142025/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0025/S.0025.194105140002.html |date=7 June 2011 }} [[Michael Hayes (politician)|Senator Michael Hayes]]:

{{blockquote|I wonder if the Taoiseach has given any consideration to the extraordinarily bad effect the insertion of the word "Éire" has had. It has created a new name, Éire, for the Twenty-Six Counties of Ireland, and it has fortified the claim of the people of the Six Counties to call themselves Ulster, to adopt for the Six Counties the ancient and historic name of Ulster and apply it to the Six Counties as if they were the whole of the province.}}

Indeed, shortly before the [[Second World War]], the Northern Ireland government attempted to [[Alternative names for Northern Ireland|adopt the name ''Ulster'']] but were rebutted by London.</ref> However, the name ''Éire'' (generally appearing as ''Eire'' in English) quickly became{{when|date=January 2023}}{{dubious|In a way it contradicts preceding paragraphs|date=January 2023}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2023}} widely accepted in English. Nevertheless, this only fuelled more criticism of the name, as once free in the English language, it evolved – leading to what opposition politicians stated were "sneering titles such as Eirish".<ref>Dáil Éireann – Volume 96 – 11 April 1945 -Ceisteanna—Questions</ref> These criticisms were aired at length in the [[Oireachtas]] when the Republic of Ireland Act was being debated. De Valera's use of the name ''Éire'' as well as the wording of Article 4 were sharply criticised. The [[Taoiseach]] of the day, [[John A. Costello]] said "that tremendous confusion ha[d] been caused by the use of that word ''Éire'' in Article 4. By a misuse by malicious people of that word, ''Éire'', they have identified it with the Twenty-Six Counties and not with the State that was set up under this Constitution of 1937."<ref>Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 24 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill, 1948—Second Stage. Costello also added that in "documents of a legal character, such as, for instance, policies of insurance, there is always difficulty in putting in what word one wants to describe the State referred to. [The new description of the State, the Republic of Ireland will provide] a solution for these difficulties, and those malicious newspapers who want to refer in derogatory tones to this country as ''Éire'' and who have coined these contemptuous adjectives about it, such as "Eireannish" and "Eirish", and all the rest of it." In a similar vein Costello also remarked that those "who may be disposed to jeer at our State, as they have done before in connection with the word "Éire", will look at this [Republic of Ireland Act] and see that in the English text—which is the only one they can understand—... the description of the State is "the Republic of Ireland"...I want to stop any further nonsense." Costello also criticised de Valera for using the term the "Éire Republic..., a term of decision and scorn".</ref>

Despite these criticisms, de Valera initially called for the proposed Irish description of the state, ''Poblacht na h-Éireann'' to also be inserted into the English text of the Act in the same way both the Irish and English names of the state are used in Article 4.<ref>Dáil Éireann – Volume 113 – 26 November 1948 The Republic of Ireland Bill (Resumed).</ref> However, de Valera subsequently retreated from this position and in what may be seen as an implicit acceptance of the criticisms made of the wording of Article 4 itself, de Valera accepted that it was better not to also use the Irish description in the English text.<ref>In the same Dáil debate, de Valera explained that a reason to use the Irish language description in the English text "would be if one wanted to bring in the use of the name Poblacht na hÉireann into ordinary speech, as the words "Taoiseach", "Oireachtas", "Dáil Éireann" have been brought into ordinary speech. Although I would like to see as many Irish words as possible come into the institutions of our State, I came to the conclusion that the Taoiseach is taking a better view. I think it is better for us in this case not to bring the Irish word into the English text; it is better to keep the English appellation, the English description, in the English text for some of the reasons the Taoiseach has mentioned."</ref>
Despite not changing the ''name'', when the Republic of Ireland Act was passed, the name ''Éire'' quickly fell into disuse (except in the Irish language). However the name continues to linger on, particularly in the United Kingdom. The Constitution review group's 1967 report discusses Article 4:<ref>{{cite book |url=http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL005495.pdf#page=12 |title=Report |author=Committee on the Constitution |date=December 1967 |series=Official publications |volume=Pr.9817 |publisher=Stationery Office |page=6 |access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref>
{{blockquote|Throughout the years since 1937 the term "Éire" has been widely misused in English as the name of the State. Those who so use it can point to the Article itself as their justification, arguing that the word "or" in the English text of the Article indicates that "Ireland" is merely an alternative English form of the name. There is, perhaps, at least an ambiguity in the Article that provides a colourable pretext for this misuse. In the light of past experience we feel that the opportunity might now be taken to remove this difficulty by declaring in the Irish text "Éire is ainm don Stát" and in the English text "The name of the State is Ireland". There would seem to be no objection to this simplification since both texts are of equal validity (except in a case of conflict), and the word "Ireland" is the English equivalent of the Irish word "Éire".}}

Historically, "Eire" was commonly used as a state-name by a variety of organisations. For example, in 1938, the "Irish Amateur Athletic Union" (IAAU) changed its name to "Amateur Athletic Union of Eire" (AAUE) and affiliated to the [[International Association of Athletics Federations|International Amateur Athletic Federation]] (IAAF) under the country name "Eire".<ref name="Griffin">
{{Cite book|last=Griffin |first=Padraig |title=The politics of Irish athletics, 1850–1990 |publisher=Marathon Publications |location=[[Ballinamore]] |year=1990 |isbn=0-9513448-0-3 }}
</ref><ref name="aai">
{{cite web|url=http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=5990 |title=AAI: History |year=2009 |publisher=[[Athletics Ireland]] |access-date=18 April 2009 }}
</ref> In 1967, the AAUE merged with most of the rival NACA to form Bord Lúthchleas na hÉireann (BLÉ).<ref name="Griffin"/><ref name="aai"/> BLÉ requested the IAAF to change the country's name to "Ireland". This finally happened in 1981.<ref name="Griffin"/>

==Abbreviations==
Under the [[International Organization for Standardization]]'s [[ISO 3166]] standard, the [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2|two-letter]] code for Ireland is ''"IE"'' while the [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-3|three-letter]] code is ''"IRL"''. The ''"IE"'' code is the basis for the choice of "[[.ie]]" for Irish [[ccTLD|internet addresses]].<ref>Section 31 of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000</ref> The ''IRL'' code features on Irish driving licences, passports and is most visible on contemporary Irish [[Vehicle registration plates of Europe|''EU style'' vehicle registration plates]].<ref>Regulation 11 of the Vehicle Registration and Taxation (Amendment) Regulations, 1999 (S.I. 432 of 1999).</ref> Under the [[Convention on International Civil Aviation]] Irish registered aircraft carry the nationality mark ''"EI"'',<ref>Regulation 11 of the Irish Aviation Authority (Nationality and Registration of Aircraft) Order, 2005 (S.I. 634 of 2005)</ref> although this abbreviation has nothing to do with the state's name. For example, the ICAO gives ''"EG"'' and ''"EH"'' as the abbreviations for Belgium and the Netherlands.

==Alternative names==
A variety of alternative names are also used for the Irish state. Sometimes alternative names are chosen because the name "Ireland" could be confused with the name of the [[Ireland|island the state shares with Northern Ireland]]. Other times alternative names are chosen for political reasons.

"Republic of Ireland", the "description" of the state according to the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, is often used. In sport, the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|national football team]] plays as the "Republic of Ireland". This is because the [[Ireland national football team (1882–1950)|Ireland national team]] was organised by the [[Irish Football Association]], from 1882 to 1950.  A new organisation, the [[Football Association of the Irish Free State]] was formed after partition to organize a new team to represent the newly formed [[Irish Free State]]. Over time the Irish Football Association came to be the body for organising association football in Northern Ireland only. However, both association football federations continued to field a team called "Ireland". Despite protests from both organisations, in 1953 [[FIFA]] decreed that neither team could be referred to as ''Ireland'' in competitions which both teams were eligible to enter.<ref>{{Cite book| title=Football Association of Ireland: 75 years | first=Peter | last=Byrne | year=1996 | location=[[Dublin]] | publisher=Sportsworld | isbn = 1-900110-06-7 | page=68}}</ref> The two teams now play under the names "Republic of Ireland" and "Northern Ireland".

"Irish Republic" is commonly used as a name for the state in Britain but disliked in the Republic, where "[[Irish Republic]]" refers to the revolutionary state of the [[First Dáil]] in 1919. The [[initialism]] "ROI", for "Republic of Ireland", is also often used outside official circles. Shorter colloquial names include "the Republic" or "the South".

[[Irish republicanism|Irish republicans]], and other opponents of [[Partition of Ireland|Partition]], often refer to the state as the "Twenty-Six Counties" or "26 Counties" (with Northern Ireland as the "Six Counties" or "6 Counties") and sometimes as the "Free State" (a reference to the pre-1937 state). Speaking in the Dáil on 13 April 2000, [[Sinn Féin]]'s [[Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin]] explained it as follows:
{{blockquote|"In the republican political tradition, to which I belong, the State is often referred to as the 26-County State. This is a conscious response to the [[Partitionism|partitionist]] view, prevalent for so long and still sadly widespread, that Ireland stops at the Border. The Constitution says that the name of the State is ''Ireland'', and ''Éire'' in the Irish language. Quite against the intentions of the framers of the Constitution, this has led to an identification of Ireland with only 26 of our 32 [[Counties of Ireland|counties]] in the minds of many people".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0518/D.0518.200004130005.html |title=Parliamentary Debates: Volume 518 – 13 April 2000 |date=13 April 2000 |publisher=[[Dáil Éireann]] |access-date=24 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920235241/http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0518/D.0518.200004130005.html |archive-date=20 September 2012 }}</ref>}}
"Southern Irish Commonwealth" and "Southern Irish Republic" were names suggested by the British publication, ''[[The Spectator]]'', in 1921.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=hg0iAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Southern+Irish+Commonwealth%22 ''The Spectator''], Volume 127, F.C. Westley, 1922, pages 224-225</ref> These suggestions never became widely used but are noteworthy for showing how fluid names for the territory were at the time.

==Distinguishing the state from the island==

Goods [[country of origin|originating]] in Northern Ireland can be sold in the Republic as "Irish" or "made in Ireland", which some consumers find confusing or misleading.<ref name="rte357761">{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/news/money/consumer/2012/1210/357761-spotting-irish-own-brand-products-this-christmas/|title=Spotting Irish own-brand products|date=6 January 2013|work=RTÉ News|publisher=[[RTÉ]]|access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref><ref name="it955396">{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/milking-the-tricolour-to-boost-sales-in-supermarkets-1.955396|title=Milking the Tricolour to boost sales in supermarkets|last=Pope|first=Conor|date=7 January 2013|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref> The private National Dairy Council introduced a "Farmed in the Republic of Ireland" logo in 2009,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndc.ie/news/NDC-Launches-Nationwide-Campaign.asp|title=NDC Launches Nationwide Campaign to Support Local Jobs & National Dairy Week|date=5 November 2009|publisher=National Dairy Council|access-date=6 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308073939/http://www.ndc.ie/news/NDC-Launches-Nationwide-Campaign.asp|archive-date=8 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-One-in-every-four-litres-of-drinking-milk-now-imported-13336.html|title=One in every four litres of drinking milk now imported|last=O'Keeffe|first=Pat|date=2 July 2011|work=[[Irish Farmers Journal]]|access-date=6 July 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918211857/http://www.farmersjournal.ie/site/farming-One-in-every-four-litres-of-drinking-milk-now-imported-13336.html|archive-date=18 September 2012}}</ref> whereas [[Bord Bia]], the statutory [[food labelling]] authority, has distinct "Ireland", "Northern Ireland", and "Ireland & Northern Ireland" logos; the "Ireland" logos incorporate an [[Flag of Ireland|Irish tricolour]] as well as text.<ref group="n">There is a separate debate about whether the flag relates only to the 26-county state or also to the entire island.</ref><ref name="bordbia">{{cite web|url=https://qas.bordbia.ie/Retail/Public/Logo%20Use%20PolicyV11.pdf|title=Logo Use Policy|work=Bord Bia Quality Assurance|publisher=Bord Bia|pages=1–3, 12|access-date=6 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110093406/https://qas.bordbia.ie/Retail/Public/Logo%20Use%20PolicyV11.pdf|archive-date=10 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The private [[Guaranteed Irish]] logo is mostly used by firms in the Republic, but there is one in Northern Ireland.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/tv/theconsumershow/buyingirish.html|title=Buying Irish Bible|date=6 September 2010|work=The Consumer Show|publisher=RTÉ Television|access-date=6 July 2013}}</ref>

==Name dispute with the UK==
This section concerns a protracted dispute which existed between the Irish and British governments over the official names of their respective states: ''Ireland'' and the ''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''. Although following the [[Good Friday Agreement]] in 1998 the dispute was supposed to end as each government now accepts the official name of the other state, the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs still refers to the UK as "Great Britain".<ref name="dfa.ie">{{cite web|url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/ |title=Ireland Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |publisher=MFA |date= |access-date=}}</ref>

==="Eire" and "Éire" versus Ireland===
<!-- Note: Under the [[Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938]] the name ''Eire'', without the correct síne fada (accent) over the first ''E'', was used in the United Kingdom. This practice of omitting the síne fada over the ''E'' was consistently adopted by the UK government and some Commonwealth countries. Appropriate use of Eire and Éire in each context is critical to this section of the article.-->

In 1937, the Irish Free State Government arranged for a plebiscite to approve a new Irish Constitution. [[Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland|Articles 2 and 3]] of the new Constitution expressed a territorial claim to the "whole island of Ireland" and thus an [[irredentist]] claim to the territory of [[Northern Ireland]]. In addition, Article 4 provided that "the name of the state is Éire, or, in the English language, ''Ireland''". This too was seen by the British Government as another anti-partitionist attempt to lay claim to the whole of the island.<ref>Undoubtedly, the Irish government's desire to unite the territory of the island influenced its choice of the name ''Ireland'' for the state. A letter as early as 12 March 1932 from [[Joe Walshe]] to President de Valera is indicative of this. In it Walshe states: "I believe that you can achieve the Unity of this country within seven years and that we can have our complete independence without calling this country by any particular const[itutional] name. "Ireland" shall be our name, and our international position will let the world know that we are independent" in Ferriter, Diarmaid, ''Judging Dev'', Royal Irish Academy 2007</ref>

In the run up to the adoption of the new Irish Constitution which took effect on 29 December 1937, the British Cabinet considered how to respond as regards the new name. A report to Cabinet by the [[Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs]] reported that<ref name="ReferenceA">I.S.C. (32) 129;CABINET. Irish Situation Committee. RELATIONS WITH THE IRISH FREE STATE. GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL POSITION. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs</ref> "[De Valera] feels strongly that the title ''Irish Free State'' was one of the things imposed on the Irish by the British in 1921". The same report recommended that the UK Government use "always the Irish term 'Eire' when referring to the State, and ourselves avoiding the use of the term 'Ireland,' except to describe the whole island as a geographical entity".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It so happened that the Constitution would come into force when the Westminster Parliament was adjourned over the Christmas. Accordingly, the preferred course of the Prime Minister making a statement on the matter in Parliament was ruled out.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Ultimately, in response to the new constitution and in consultation with all the governments of the British Commonwealth except the Irish Government, the British government published a communiqué on 30 December 1937, the day after the constitution took effect. In the communiqué, the British government recognised that the new constitution gave the Irish state two names ''Ireland'' or ''Éire''. It also implicitly recognised that the two names had an identical meaning,<ref name="circular">{{cite web|url=http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/webarchives/20061111070400/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=9449 |title=Circular dated 1 April 1949 from the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs to Heads of Post Abroad (Circular Document No.B38, 836. DEA/7545‑B‑40) |publisher=Lac-bac.gc.ca |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref> by declaring:<ref name="circular"/><ref>[http://century.guardian.co.uk/1930-1939/Story/0,,127133,00.html The Manchester Guardian, 30 December 1937 ''Britain accepts new name for the Free State'']. Full text of British Government's communiqué cited in Clifford, Angela, ''The Constitutional History of Eire/Ireland'', Athol Books, Belfast, 1985, p153.</ref>

{{quote frame|His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom has considered the position created by the new Constitution ... of the Irish Free State, in future to be described under the Constitution as 'Eire' or 'Ireland' ... [and] cannot recognise that the adoption of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland', or any other provision of those articles [of the Irish constitution], involves any right to territory ... forming part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... They therefore regard the use of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland' in this connection as relating only to that area which has hitherto been known as the Irish Free State.}}

The British government finessed article 4 and ignored articles 2 and 3: if the Irish constitution said the name of the state in the national language was ''Éire'', then that (written as "Eire") was what the British government would call it.<ref>Note: Under the [[Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938]] the name ''Eire'', without the correct [[Irish language#Orthography|síne fada]] (accent) over the first ''E'', was used. This practice of omitting the síne fada over the ''E'' was consistently adopted by the UK government and some Commonwealth countries.</ref> By doing so, it avoided any need to call the Irish state, in the English language, ''Ireland''.<ref>Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan, State of the Union: Unionism and the Alternatives in the United Kingdom, 2001: 173, 181.</ref> The change of name effected by the 1937 constitution (but not the other constitutional changes), was given effect in United Kingdom law in the [[Eire (Confirmation of Agreements) Act 1938]] which covered the [[Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement]] between "The Government of Éire and the Government of the United Kingdom".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Documents on Irish Foreign Policy - Volume 5 |url=https://www.difp.ie/volume-5/1938/british-irish-tripartite-agreement-on-trade-finance-and-defence/2321/#section-documentpage |access-date=24 August 2023 |website=Documents on Irish Foreign Policy |language=en-GB}}</ref> Under Section 1 of that Act, it was declared that (for the purposes of United Kingdom legislation) the territory "which was ... known as Irish Free State shall be styled as ... Eire".<ref name=Tiley>[https://books.google.com/books?id=f9FGwkXiIS0C&dq=oliver+jdb+whats+in+a+name+in+tiley+john+studies+in+the+history+of+tax+law&pg=PR8 Oliver, JDB, ''What's in a Name''], in Tiley, John, ''Studies in the History of Tax Law'', The Chartered Institute of Taxation, 2003.</ref>

The British approach of calling the state Eire was greatly assisted by the general preference of [[Éamon de Valera]], the leader of the Irish government at the time, that the state be known as ''Éire'', even in English. This is seen in the English-language [[Irish Constitution#Preamble (full text)|preamble]] of the Constitution. However, the Irish government, even when led by de Valera, also appreciated the significance of the name ''Ireland'' and insisted on that name in some fora. For example, in 1938 Irish representatives in the Commonwealth countries gave their official titles as ''[[High Commissioner for Ireland]]'' and the [[League of Nations]] was informed that ''Ireland'' was the correct English name for the country.<ref name="circular"/><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11129580?searchTerm=%22Irish+Free+State%22+AND+%28Constitution%29 On Thursday 2 December 1937, the Irish Free State Government sent a Note to the League of Nations stating that the Free State would be officially known as Ireland on and after 29 December 1937, when the new constitution became law reported ''The Argus'' – Australia – "NAME OF FREE STATE TO BE CHANGED TO IRELAND" on 3 December 1937]</ref> A unique modus vivendi was adopted by the two states when they concluded a bilateral agreement on air services in 1946. That agreement was styled as an "Agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland (Eire)".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1946/may/15/air-services-agreement-ireland-eire |title=Hansard, 1946 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=15 May 1946 |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref> A parliamentary question as to why the term "Ireland (Eire)" was used rather than simply "Eire" was put in the British House of Commons. A parliamentary secretary for the Government, [[Ivor Bulmer-Thomas|Ivor Thomas]], explained the position as follows:

{{quote frame|The designation in the Air Services Agreement was used in order to comply with the provisions of the law of the United Kingdom and of Eire respectively. In the English language, the country in question is properly described by one of the signatories as Eire and by the other as Ireland, and the designation adopted recognises this position without creating misunderstanding about the territory concerned.}}

The practice in other Commonwealth countries varied: At the outset at least, it appears the [[Union of South Africa]] and Canada used the name ''Ireland'' while New Zealand favoured ''Eire''.<ref>A consideration given by the Canadians was "that any Canadian Government communication would normally be in English rather than in Gaelic, and that the use of the Gaelic word "Eire" in such a communication might therefore be inappropriate (just as it would scarcely be considered appropriate, in a communication written in English which mentioned the Government of Egypt, to speak of it as the Government of Misr, unless the Egyptian Government specially requested that the Egyptian form of the country's name should be used)": [http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/webarchives/20061111070400/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=9449 Circular dated 1 April 1949 from the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs to Heads of Post Abroad (Circular Document No.B38, 836. DEA/7545‑B‑40)]</ref> In 1947, the United Kingdom [[Home Office]] went further by issuing instructions to United Kingdom government departments to use ''Eire''.<ref name="circular"/> Nevertheless, over time the name ''Éire'' fell increasingly out of use by both the Irish government (except in the Irish language) and internationally, in particular after the passing of the Republic of Ireland Act.

===Republic of Ireland v Ireland===
On 18 April 1949, the [[Republic of Ireland Act]], 1948 (No. 22 of 1948), came into operation, removing the last functions of the King (King [[George VI]]). Section two of the Act states, "It is hereby declared that the description of the State shall be the Republic of Ireland."

The following note of what Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]] said at a British Cabinet meeting on 12 January 1949 illustrates some of the considerations the British government had to consider following this declaration:<ref>C.M. 1(49) – Meeting held on 12 January 1949. C.M. 1(49).</ref>

{{quote frame|N.I. [Northern Ireland] Ministers accepted the name "N.I." eventually (the Northern Ireland Government would have preferred the name [[Alternative names for Northern Ireland|Ulster]]). They wanted us, however, to go on using "Eire" (for the Irish state). But other countries won't do so. Suggested therefore we sh[oul]d use "Republic of Ireland". N.I. prefer "Irish Republic". But let us not speak of "Ireland". Can we put Republic of Ireland on Bill: but use in official pp. [papers] etc. (:) Irish Republic or Southern Ireland.  Agreed.}}

Ultimately, the British responded by passing the Ireland Act 1949 which provided that:<ref name="irelandact1949">{{cite web|url=http://www.uniset.ca/naty/maternity/irelandact1949.htm |title=Ireland Act 1949 |publisher=Uniset.ca |access-date=5 October 2011}}</ref>

{{quote frame|The part of Ireland referred to in subsection (1) of this section is hereafter in this Act referred to, and may in any Act, enactment or instrument passed or made after the passing of this Act be referred to, by the name attributed thereto by the law thereof, that is to say, as the Republic of Ireland. (s 1.3)}}

It was the culmination of careful consideration by the Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee|Attlee]]. He put it that "a refusal to use the title 'Republic of Ireland' in any circumstances would involve [the UK] in continuing friction with the Eire Government: it would perpetuate the "inconveniences and indignities" which we now experience as a result of our present policy of insisting on the title 'Eire' as against Dublin's preference for 'Ireland.'"<ref>Memorandum by the Prime Minister, C.P. (49) 47, 4 March 1949; Catalogue Reference:CAB/129/33</ref>

Hence, the Ireland Act formally provided the name ''Republic of Ireland'' for use instead of the name ''Eire'' in British law. Later the name ''Eire'' was abolished entirely in British law under the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1981.<ref name=Morgan>Austen Morgan, The Belfast Agreement, 2000, p99.</ref> This has meant that the ''Republic of Ireland'' is the only name for the Irish state officially provided for in domestic UK law.

Notwithstanding the [[Ireland Act 1949]], the British government would often continue to refer to the Irish state by other names such as the ''Irish Republic'' or ''Southern Ireland''.<ref>Immigration and Nationality Directorate, UK Government Website, EEA Nationals {{cite web |url=http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/eeaeunationals |title=Immigration and Nationality Directorate &#124; EEA/EU Nationals |access-date=3 July 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705080312/http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/applying/eeaeunationals |archive-date=5 July 2006}}.</ref> A good example of this was in the [[Statute of the Council of Europe|Treaty of London, 1949]].<ref>Another example is some domestic UK legislation including "The Irish Republic (Termination of 1927 Agreement) Order 1987."</ref> The UK government had been centrally involved in preparing the treaty which was signed in London and established the [[Council of Europe]]. The treaty consistently describes the Irish state as the ''Irish Republic''. Opposition leader, [[Éamon de Valera]], queried this. The [[Minister for External Affairs]], [[Seán MacBride]], responded that he agreed "that the description is not possibly as accurate as we would have liked it to be".<ref>[http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1949071300042?opendocument Council of Europe—Motion Resumed.Wednesday, 13 July 1949].</ref> Yet he also said that the term ''Irish Republic'' was used in the treaty "in a general sense in the way the country is described; French Republic, Irish Republic, Italian Republic, Kingdom of the Netherlands and so on."<ref name="oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie">{{Cite web|url=http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1949072100005?opendocument|title=Committee on Finance. – Vote 3—Department of the Taoiseach (Resumed). Thursday, 21 July 1949.}}</ref> However, leading opposition politician, [[Frank Aiken]], was not satisfied with this response. Speaking in the [[Dáil]], Aiken cited article 26 of the treaty where "the names of the countries are given as "Belgium", "Denmark" and "France", not "Republic of France" or "French Republic"" noting that "one would expect that the next thing one would find would be "Ireland", but instead we have "Belgium, Denmark, France, Irish Republic, Italy, Luxembourg" and so on.<ref name="oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie"/> Aiken remarked that some British MPs wanted "to popularise the name ''Irish Republic''". He asked the [[Taoiseach]], [[John A. Costello|John Costello]] to clear up "what exactly is the name of this State going to be in international documents, international agreements and matters of that kind."<ref name="oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie"/> Aiken expressed the view that "We want to keep up the name given in the Constitution, "Ireland", in order to show that our claim is to the whole island of Ireland and in international documents, in my opinion, the State should be alluded to as "Ireland" or the "Republic of Ireland"."

The following month the Minister for External Affairs clarified at the [[Council of Europe]] that ''Ireland'' was how the state should be described. This was reported on in ''The Times'' on 8 August 1949 in the following terms:<ref>The Times, 8 August 1949 – ''Statement by European Movement'' (made on 7 August 1949)</ref><ref>John Davies, The Correct Name for Ireland [http://alt-usage-english.org/ireland.html]. [See [[s:Treaty of London, 1949|Text of Treaty of London, 1949]] at Wikisource; the UK government was the depository for the Treaty.]</ref>

{{quote frame|Mr. [[Seán MacBride|MacBride]], the Irish Minister for External Affairs, to-night sent an official request to the secretariat of the [[Council of Europe]] to refer to his country simply as Ireland and not as Eire or as the Republic of Ireland. This request is seen by observers here as part of a systematic campaign by the Government in Dublin to link the question of the partition of Ireland with every organisation of which it is a member.}}

Therefore, even with the UK's Ireland Act and its provision of ''Republic of Ireland'' as a UK "name" for the Irish state, a dispute over the names of their respective states was to continue between the UK and Irish governments. For the Irish, ''Republic of Ireland'' was still not the name of the state, merely its description. For a brief period from the coming into effect of the Republic of Ireland Act until the second half of 1950 the Irish Government was inconsistent in the way it described itself and the state: At times it described itself internationally as the ''Government of the Republic of Ireland'';<ref>Irish Treaty Series for [http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/home/index.aspx?id=42915&yr=1949 1949] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153709/http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/home/index.aspx?id=42915&yr=1949 |date=16 July 2011 }} and [http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/home/index.aspx?id=42915&yr=1950 1950] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153716/http://foreignaffairs.gov.ie/home/index.aspx?id=42915&yr=1950 |date=16 July 2011 }}</ref> At other times it continued to insist that the name of the Irish state was ''Ireland''.

From the second half of 1950, the Irish government reverted to consistently styling itself the ''Government of Ireland''. The Irish state joined the United Nations in 1955 as ''Ireland'' over protests concerning its name by the United Kingdom.<ref name=Morgan/> Similarly, the United Kingdom protested when the Irish state was admitted to the European Economic Community in 1973 as ''Ireland''.<ref name=Morgan/> Australia also for several years following the declaration of a republic refused to exchange ambassadors with Dublin on the basis of the name "Ireland" rather than "Republic of Ireland", on the basis that this would have involved recognition of a territorial claim to part of His/Her Majesty's dominions.<ref>Patrick O'Farrell, ''Irish-Australian diplomatic relations'', Quadrant, XXXIV (1980), p. 12</ref> A legacy of this dispute was the designation of the Irish legation in London as the "Irish Embassy", rather than the title "Embassy of Ireland" preferred by Dublin.<ref>Donal Lowry, ''The captive dominion: imperial realities behind Irish diplomacy, 1922–49'', Irish Historical Studies, XXXVI, 142 (2008), pp. 220–21</ref> A further Commonwealth anomaly was the title of the monarch in Canada. In 1950, following the declaration of a republic the Irish and Canadian High Commissioners were replaced by [[Ambassador]]s / [[Ministers Plenipotentiary]], accredited on the basis of the sovereign's title in Canada still encompassing the whole of Ireland. Even in 1952, following the accession of Queen Elizabeth II, and prior to the revised definition of the royal title in 1953, Canada's preferred format was: ''Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas.''<ref>Rinfret, Thibaudeau (6 February 1952), [http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefId=3497 ''Notice and Proclamations''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515023246/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefId=3497 |date=15 May 2013 }}, in Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Documents on Canadian External Relations, 14-1, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 8 October 2009.</ref>

For its part, the Irish government also disputed the right of the British state to call itself the ''United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland''.<ref name="Tiley"/> The Irish government objected to the words "and Northern Ireland" in the name of the British state.<ref name="Tiley"/> The name also ran against the Irish state's territorial claim to [[Northern Ireland]]. The dispute over the names of their respective states was most apparent when the two states concluded bilateral treaties. For example, when the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]] was made in 1985 between the two states, the British text of the agreement gave it the formal title "Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland" whereas the Irish government's text of the very same agreement gave it the formal title "Agreement between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom".<ref name="Morgan"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/alldfawebsitemedia/treatyseries/uploads/documents/treaties/docs/198502.pdf |title=Agreement Between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs |location=Dublin |series=Irish Treaty Series |volume=1985 |date=15 November 1985 |issue=2 |access-date=7 February 2018 }};
{{cite web |url=http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1985/TS0062.pdf |title=Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland |publisher=Foreign and Commonwealth Office |location=London |series=UK Treaty Series |volume=1985 |date=15 November 1985 |issue=62 |access-date=7 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709152929/http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1985/TS0062.pdf |archive-date=9 July 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>It is standard practice in the titles of international agreements between two contracting states for each state to put itself first in its own version (held by the other contracting state).</ref>

The Government Information Bureau in 1953 issued a directive, noting that Article 4 of the 1937 Constitution gave the name as "Éire" or, in the English language, "Ireland"; they noted that whenever the name of the state was mentioned in an English language document, Ireland should be used and that "Care should be taken", the directive stated, "to avoid the use of the expression Republic of Ireland or Irish Republic in such a context or in such a manner as might suggest that it is a geographical term applicable to the area of the Twenty‐Six counties." According to Mary Daly, this directive remained in use for a number of years. A copy was sent to Bord Fáilte (the Irish tourist board) in 1959, reminding them not to use the title "the Republic of Ireland" on their promotional literature.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Irish Free State/Éire/Republic of Ireland/Ireland: "A Country by Any Other Name"? |volume=46 |issue=1 |publisher=Journals.uchicago.edu |date= Jan 2007 |doi=10.1086/508399 |journal=The Journal of British Studies |pages=72–90 | last1 = Daly | first1 = Mary E.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 1963, under the auspices of the [[Council of Europe]], to revise geography textbooks, the Irish Department of Education issued guidelines to delegates on politically correct geographic terminology: "British Isles" and "United Kingdom" were deemed objectionable and that delegates insist on "Ireland" and "Great Britain." The term "Republic of Ireland" should be avoided but that delegates were no longer to insist on "the Six Counties" in place of "Northern Ireland" in an attempt to improve relations with Northern Ireland.<ref name="uchicago2007">{{cite journal|title=''A Country by any other Name'', Mary Daly, Journal of British Studies, Jan 2007 volume 46 number 1 |publisher=Journals.uchicago.edu |doi=10.1086/508399 |volume=46 |journal=The Journal of British Studies |pages=72–90 | last1 = Daly | first1 = Mary E.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In February 1964, the Irish government indicated its wish to appoint an ambassador to [[Canberra]]. The one issue, however, that blocked the exchange of ambassadors had been the insistence of Australia that the letters carried by the Irish ambassador should have the royal title as "Elizabeth the Second, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Australia and Her Other Realms and Territories, Queen." This was, according to Daly, despite the fact that the [[Australian Royal Style and Titles Act]] did not mention Northern Ireland, referring only to "the United Kingdom, Australia" etc. However, that November when Eoin MacWhite presented his credentials as [[Irish Ambassador to Australia]], a circular was issued to all Australian government departments indicating to them to use the word "Ireland" rather than "the Irish Republic". The UK was by the mid-1960s the only country not to refer to the state as Ireland.<ref name="uchicago2007"/>

In 1985 the British command papers described the [[Anglo-Irish Agreement]] as an "Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland",<ref>{{Cite web|title=CAIN: HMSO: Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985|url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/hmso/aia.htm|access-date=14 October 2020|website=cain.ulster.ac.uk}}</ref> with the Irish official papers described it as an "Agreement Between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom".<ref>{{cite book|title=Agreement Between the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom|url=http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/treaties/docs/198502.pdf|page=1 |series=Irish Trearty Series|volume=2 of 1985|publisher=Government of Ireland|location=Dublin}}</ref> The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office referred to Ireland as the "Republic of Ireland" – however since 2000 it has referred to the State as "Ireland." The credentials presented by the British ambassador, Stewart Eldon, in 2003, were addressed to the President of Ireland.<ref name="uchicago2007"/>

===Republic of Ireland versus Irish Republic===
{{Further|Irish Republic}}
When the Republic of Ireland Act was enacted, the United Kingdom cabinet debated whether it should use the new name in preference to "Eire". Having said that it was minded to do so and invited comment, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland ([[Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough|Sir Basil Brooke]], Ulster Unionist) objected in the strongest possible terms, saying that the new description "was intended to repeat Eire's claim to jurisdiction over the whole island."<ref name="daly">{{Cite journal|journal=Journal of British Studies|volume=46|date=January 2007|title='The Irish Free State/Éire/Republic of Ireland/Ireland: "A Country by Any Other Name"?|first=Mary|last=Daly|pages=72–90|doi=10.1086/508399|doi-access=free}}</ref> Attlee partly accepted this argument, saying that the [UK] bill should formally recognise the title 'Republic of Ireland' but that the description "The Irish Republic" would be employed in all official usage.  Indeed, despite the Belfast Agreement, almost all British publications [[#British media usage|still follow this style]] (see below).

===In the Irish courts===
The name of the state — both in English and in Irish — was considered in one case in the Irish courts. In the 1989 [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] case of ''Ellis v O'Dea'', the court objected to the issuing of extradition warrants (in English) by the United Kingdom's courts naming the state as ''Éire'' and not ''Ireland''. Judge [[Brian Walsh (judge)|Brian Walsh]] said that while the courts of other countries were at liberty to issue such warrants in the Irish language, if they used the English language they had to refer to the state as ''Ireland''. Walsh and Judge [[Niall McCarthy (judge)|Niall McCarthy]] expressed the view that where extradition warrants did not use the correct name of the state it was the duty of the courts and of the [[Gardaí]] to return such warrants for rectification. Both judges also noted that the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 did not change the name of the state as prescribed in the Constitution.<ref>Casey, James, ''Constitutional Law in Ireland'', {{ISBN|978-1-899738-63-2}}, pp. 30–31</ref> The following is an extract from Walsh's judgement:

{{quote frame|In the English language the name of this State is "Ireland" and is so prescribed by Article 4 of the Constitution.  Of course if the courts of the United Kingdom or of other States choose to issue warrants in the Irish language then they are at liberty to use the Irish language name of the State ... However, they are not at liberty to attribute to this State a name which is not its correct name ... If there is any confusion in the United Kingdom courts possibly it is due to the terms of the United Kingdom statute named the [[Ireland Act, 1949]] ... That enactment purported to provide that this State should be "referred to ... ''by the name'' attributed to it by the law thereof, that is to say, as the Republic of Ireland" (emphasis supplied). That of course is an erroneous statement of the law of Ireland. Historically it is even more difficult to explain. There is only one State in the world named Ireland since it was so provided by Article 4 of the Constitution in 1937 and that name was recognised by a communiqué from No. 10 Downing Street, London in 1937.<ref>''Ellis v. O'Dea'' [1989] IR 530</ref>}}

===Good Friday Agreement===
The dispute between the UK and Irish governments over the names of their respective states has not yet been finally resolved. The Ireland Act 1949 has not been formally repealed by the UK but has been in effect overridden. This resolution took place when the [[Good Friday Agreement]] (or Belfast Agreement) was concluded in 1998. That Agreement concerned a wide range of constitutional and other matters regarding Northern Ireland. Notably, as part of it, the Irish state dropped its legal claim to the territory of Northern Ireland. In the title of the Agreement, the two governments used their respective domestic law names, the ''Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland'' and the ''Government of Ireland''. However, the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs still refers to the UK as "Great Britain".<ref name="dfa.ie"/> Some Unionist members of the British parliament objected strenuously to the use of the term the ''Government of Ireland''. They proposed that the practice of referring to the Irish government as the ''Government of the Republic of Ireland'' should be continued. Their objections were not accepted. Responding for the British government in the [[House of Lords]], [[Lord Dubs]] explained that the new practice of referring to the Irish state by the name ''Ireland'':<ref>[[Hansard]], House of Lords, 19 October 1998</ref>

{{quote frame|actually represents the welcome disappearance of one small but significant difference in practice between the British and Irish Governments that the [Belfast Agreement] has made possible. Hitherto, the Irish Government have referred to themselves, and generally been referred to in international circles, as the "Government of Ireland". We, however, have called them "Government of the Republic of Ireland". Similarly, while the proper name of this state is the "Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", the Irish have used solely the name "Government of the United Kingdom". With the agreement we have aligned our practice. We will call them by the name they favour, and they will use the name for us that we favour. Since the constitutional status of Northern Ireland is no longer a matter of disagreement between us, we can put an end to the argument about names.}}

This policy has been respected by both governments since the [[Belfast Agreement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Country_names.htm |title=The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use – List of Country Names showing "Ireland" as the official name of the Irish state. |publisher=Pcgn.org.uk |date=5 May 2010 |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref> A [[House of Lords]] debate, ten years later in May 2008, on Regulations governing political donations by Irish citizens and bodies to political parties in [[Northern Ireland]], is a good example of this. During the debate [[Lord Rooker]], a Government minister, said that the Regulations would: "acknowledge the special place that the island of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland occupy in the political life of Northern Ireland". Responding, [[Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran|Lord Glentoran]] suggested that Lord Rooker in fact "meant to say that [the draft Regulations recognise] the special place that Ireland occupies in the political life of Northern Ireland." Agreeing with Lord Glentoran's observation, [[Lord Rooker]] responded:
{{quote frame|I still cannot get used to the fact that we do not refer to the Republic of Ireland. I stumbled over that part of my brief because I saw "Ireland". Yes, I did mean the special role that Ireland plays in the political life of Northern Ireland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?gid=2008-05-12a.868.1 |title=House of Lords debates: Monday, 12 May 2008 on the Electoral Administration Act 2006 (Regulation of Loans etc.: Northern Ireland) Order 2008 |publisher=Theyworkforyou.com |date=12 May 2008 |access-date=2010-12-23}}</ref>}}

So far there has been no domestic British legislation explicitly providing that ''Ireland'' may be used as a name for the Irish state for the purposes of domestic British law. While the UK's Ireland Act 1949 provides for use of the name ''Republic of Ireland'' in domestic British law, that legislation is permissive rather than mandatory so it does not mean ''Ireland'' cannot be used instead.

There are now a growing number of UK statutes and regulations that refer to the Irish state as simply ''Ireland'' and make no reference to the ''Republic of Ireland''. One example is the [[Disqualifications Act 2000]] which refers, ''inter alia'', to the "legislature of Ireland", the "House of Representatives of Ireland" and the "Senate of Ireland".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000042_en_1#l1g2 |title=Disqualifications Act 2000 |publisher=Opsi.gov.uk |access-date=23 December 2010}}</ref> The [[Loans to Ireland Act 2010]] refers to the state as simply "Ireland", as does the British Nationality (Irish Citizens) Act 2024. The [[Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use]] uses simply ''Ireland'' for the country name.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 January 2023 |title=Country names |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/country-names |access-date=24 August 2023 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pcgn.org.uk/Country_names.htm#I Country Names]  The Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use</ref>
Similarly, the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office]] do not use the term Republic of Ireland but rather apply the term Ireland when advising potential British Nationals choosing to live in Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 August 2023 |title=Living in Ireland |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-ireland |access-date=24 August 2023 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> In contrast, the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990 referred to barristers and solicitors qualified "in Ireland" and made no reference to the "Republic of Ireland"<ref>[http://www.onewstudies.com/Files/QLTTRegulations1990.pdf Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 1990 (as amended)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229182546/http://www.onewstudies.com/Files/QLTTRegulations1990.pdf |date=29 December 2009 }}.</ref> but when these regulations were replaced by the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 2009,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/change-tracker/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations.page |title=Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations 2009 |publisher=Sra.org.uk |access-date=23 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227102751/http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/change-tracker/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations/qualified-lawyers-transfer-regulations.page |archive-date=27 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Regulations were amended to refer to the ''Republic of Ireland'' and not ''Ireland''.

===British media usage===
The names attributed to the state by the British media are sometimes the subject of discussion in the state. The [[style guide]]s of British news sources adopt differing policies for referring to the state (though notably all deprecate 'Eire' even though it was often used even in the late 20th century):
;''[[The Times]]'': "'''Ireland''': the two parts should be called the Republic of Ireland or the Irish Republic (avoid Eire except in direct quotes or historical context), and Northern Ireland."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986727.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724045302/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986727.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 July 2008 |title=Times Online Style Guide – I |access-date=5 July 2008 | work=The Times | location=London}}</ref>
;''[[The Guardian]]'': "'''Ireland, Irish Republic''', not Éire or "Southern Ireland""<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184827,00.html |title=Guardian Style Guide: I |access-date=5 July 2008 | work=The Guardian | location=London}}</ref>
;''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'': "'''Ireland''' includes Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Irish Government means the one in Dublin. Use Irish Republic or the Republic according to context, but not Eire."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435302/Telegraph-Style-Book-Places-and-peoples.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505064705/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1435302/Telegraph-Style-Book-Places-and-peoples.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2013 |title=Telegraph Style Book: Places and peoples |access-date=5 July 2008 | work=The Daily Telegraph | location=London | date=12 April 2008}}</ref>
;''[[The Economist]]'': "'''Ireland''' is simply '''Ireland'''. Although it is a republic, it is not the Republic of Ireland. Neither is it, in English, Eire."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/style-guide/spellings |title=Economist Style Guide: Countries and Inhabitants |access-date=9 October 2013 | newspaper=The Economist|date=28 October 2011}}</ref>
;[[BBC Radio]]: "''Ireland'' is an island, comprising Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/radio_newsroom/1099593.stm#i |title=Radio newsroom: Alphabetical checklist |access-date=6 July 2008  | work=BBC News | date=19 August 2002}}</ref>
;[[BBC News]] style guide: Using '''Ireland''' is acceptable but it may be helpful to make clear early on we are talking about the country rather than the island. '''Republic of Ireland''' or the '''Irish Republic''' are also fine. However, when writing stories that cover both parts (eg: The numbers of songbirds are declining throughout Ireland), we should try to make clear that we are talking about the island as a whole.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsstyleguide/i|title=Style Guide – I; sv "Ireland" |work=BBC Academy – Journalism|publisher=[[BBC Online]]|access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref>: Do not use either '''Eire''' or '''Southern Ireland'''. Say '''Ireland''', the '''Republic of Ireland''' or the '''Irish Republic'''. Its people (and the adjective) are '''Irish''' - some people living in '''Northern Ireland''' may also describe themselves as '''Irish''' or '''Northern Irish'''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsstyleguide/e|title=Style Guide – E; sv "Eire" |work=BBC Academy – Journalism|publisher=[[BBC Online]]|access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[History of the Republic of Ireland]]
* [[Politics of the Republic of Ireland]]
* [[Alternative names for Northern Ireland]]
* [[Hibernia]]
* [[Ériu]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group="n"}}

==References==
{{primary sources|date=May 2016}}
{{reflist}}
{{Europe topic|Name of|title=Names of European states and territories}}

[[Category:History of the British Empire]]
[[Category:History of the Commonwealth of Nations]]
[[Category:Politics of the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:History of the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations]]
[[Category:Country name etymology|Ireland]]
[[Category:Terminology of the British Isles]]
[[Category:Geographical naming disputes|Irish state]]
[[Category:Names for Ireland]]