Inventing Irish place names

Sir, – Anne Lucey's report on the "meaningless" name for an estate in Dingle (News, March 12th) also revealed that Kerry County Council imposed a language condition on the development and, according to your correspondent, carried out an assessment on whether applicants had Irish through the medium of English!

Whether this a Kerry joke or the latest episode in a long-running saga whereby Kerry County Council shows contempt for the statutory obligation to protect its Irish-speaking communities, it clearly demonstrates the need for Government guidelines to be issued to all Gaeltacht planning authorities.

These should specify when and how language conditions should be used to protect the few surviving Irish speaking areas, for future generations.

– Is mise,

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DONNCHA Ó HEALLAITHE,

Cois Fharraige,

Co na Gaillimhe.