Síneadh fada in Irish names now legally protected when dealing with public bodies

“Hopefully now people will understand that not to put the fada in is insulting".

As of yesterday (1st November), state bodies must use the fada in a person’s name. As reported by the Journal, if you have a fada in your name it is now legally protected under the 2003 and 2021 Acht Teanga Oifigiúla (Official languages act), and must not be omitted by public bodies such as the HSE, county councils, universities and Uisce Éireann. If the Síneadh fada in your name is not used correctly by a public body, it will now be considered a GDPR breach. An article by Newstalk highlighted the implications of omitting a fada from an Irish name - for example, the name Seán is often misspelt as 'Sean', which is the Irish for 'old', and if the name Órla is spelt without the fada, it translates into English as 'vomit'.

 

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Speaking on Newstalk, Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh said his party had fought “long and hard” for the change to be brought in. “Even the amendment I had which has come into law today, that was accepted after a fight with the Minister,” the TD said. “Hopefully now, with it being more widely used, people will understand that not to put the fada in is insulting to us who (have fadas in our names).” “The right to your name is a fundamental one.. Respecting a person’s síneadh fada is a core element of that," Ó Snodaigh observed in a statement shared by The Journal. Header image via Getty  READ NEXT:  - Heineken Ireland has reportedly discontinued Island’s Edge stout - Italian region offering people €30k to move there - if they're the right age - 12 Christmas experiences in Ireland to check out over the 2023 festive season