Wikipedia:Peer review/Northern Ireland naming dispute/archive1

Northern Ireland naming dispute

This article hasn't had any recent edits which indicates it is in a rather stable state, yet it isn't very long. What do people suggest is added to the article to make it more comprehensive? Talrias (t | e | c) 21:30, 4 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I performed a rather strict Google test. I searched the World Wide Web for the exact phrase "Northern Ireland naming dispute", excluded the word Wikipedia and there was only one result: www.copywriteireland.co.uk/agency-airline-recruitment.aspx, which I suspect is a mirror site.

In light of this I would like to ask the editors a few questions.

Are you sure that a Northern Ireland Naming dispute exists?
If yes, can you prove it?
As the phrase "Northern Ireland naming dispute" is literally not used outside Wikipedia, can you think of a name that more accurately reflects the situation (assuming that one exists)?

Personally, I think that the content of the article is great. I don't know much about Northern Ireland, but I have heard everything mentioned in the article before. It seems to be NPOV as it doesn't take sides by supporting only one POV. The only recommendation I can make is that you consider changing its title to something else. I don't think that what the article is describing is a dispute. It seems to be merely variations in naming. Perhaps it could be moved to Naming variations of Northern Ireland or something like that, not that Google would find many results for that. Is there an official name or another widely used name for this naming anomaly? Izehar 23:12, 4 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

You can see that the naming dispute exists by looking at the websites of the various political parties which organise in Northern Ireland. For example, the DUP call it "Northern Ireland" and occasionally "Ulster" on their website, while Sinn Fein call it the "Six Counties" on their website.

I don't believe there is a official governmental name for the dispute as by law the area is named Northern Ireland, and I'm not familiar with any discussion on what to call the name in the UK Parliament, the Irish Oireachtas or a governmental body. It's pretty much accepted that N.I. is the official name, but other names are used colloquially. I would argue that it is a dispute (taking dispute to mean that there are different 'factions' which disagree about something). It's probably not the best name, so any suggestions on alternate names are welcome!

Thanks for your comments, Talrias (t | e | c) 08:54, 5 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Another solution to the problem would be to add the entire article contents onto a section in Northern Ireland. --bodnotbod 15:08, 5 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I thought of that at first, but this article is too large to merge it into the Northern Ireland article. Izehar 15:14, 5 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with Izehar - this article could theoretically be slimmed down and merged into Northern Ireland, however I think slimming it down would mean omitting some interesting information. Talrias (t | e | c) 16:00, 5 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

An interesting topic. Here are some things that might be added: what naming conventions are used by different publications, for example, local newspapers of varying political stripes? Have there been any atlas rows, as with the Persian Gulf naming dispute? Schoolbooks are another potential source of controversy. I imagine there have probably been some polls published of locals as to their preferred name. And let's not just look regionally; these issues might well also come up in the Irish diaspora in the U.S., Canada or Australia. I could also see some non-Irish politically sympathetic to Irish nationalism, like some Basque nationalists, expressing an opinion on the issue. Also, what specific efforts have been made to promote alternate names- how are groups organized to specifically foster an identity other than "Northern Ireland"? And, what exactly is the origin of "Northern Ireland" as an official name?--Pharos 23:12, 14 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

As an idle thought, related to the last comment, it might be worth referencing the unofficial(?) "renaming" of Scotland to North Britain in the 1700s as a comparison. I have no idea how well they compare, but it does strike me as a potentially interesting paragraph or two. Shimgray | talk | 23:31, 15 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]