FROM THE ARCHIVES:Bray changed its name to the Irish form Bri Chualann after independence but the local urban council decided three years later to revert to Bray, leading to this compromise at Wicklow County Council. – JOE JOYCE
THE WICKLOW County Council, by 14 votes to 11, decided yesterday that in future the town of Bray should be known as Bri, which is a contraction of the Gaelic name of Bri Chualann. It was agreed the town should be officially known as Bri with Bray in brackets: thus-Bri (Bray). Mr. F. O Fathaigh, Secretary, Gaelic League, said that the Irish language was the official language of the country, and at the last election members of the Council had agreed to the Gaelic League programme. He hoped that they would not withdraw from the promises made.
As to the commercial point of view, this had been the best season “Bri Chualann” ever had. There was a suggestion that what should be done was what was being done on the Continent, where the same language question was being very much discussed – to give the native name and the former name in brackets; and this, he believed, would solve the commercial difficulty.
They should not consider purely business in this matter. The hard-headed Wizard of Wales, Mr. Lloyd George, recently declared that what was wrong with the world was that there was too much attention to business and materialism, and a nation could not prosper, even in trade, without vision. (Applause.) This reversion, at a time when there was dissension between the Irish Gaels, would be taken as a set-back to the nation by the enemies of the country: as a blow against what the Government stood for – the Gaelic revival.
Mr. C. M. Byrne said that he was in the peculiar position that when, three years ago, the proposed change was moved he had advocated adopting the name “Bri,” as “Chualann” referred to the Rathdown Union area. He favoured the alteration of names such as Kingstown that had been imposed by the invader, but not names like Arklow, which had existed hundreds of years. The only reason for calling it Bray was in imitation of a place in England famous for its vicar. He had been struck after the “Bri” Council meeting by “Bray again,” and got a copy of that paper that claimed to be constitutional, claimed to recognise the State, and took every opportunity of refusing to recognise the State, of changes in the State; and refused some years ago to recognise the change from Kingstown to Dun Laoghaire or the Cobh of Cork, and had done everything it could against Irish nationality – the Irish Times. He felt with those who stood always for Irish nationality, that they had to search their consciences, and he had consulted with representative men, and found that they were of the same opinion, and agreed with him that they could not go back to Bray.
However, he would propose an amendment that they should change the name to “Bri,” with Bray in brackets.
http://url.ie/d0ya