Frustration over ongoing delays at national level to rename Anglesea Street

Frustrations have been expressed over ongoing delays at national level in the process to rename Anglesea St.

In April 2021, councillors unanimously agreed to change the name of the busy thoroughfare to MacSwiney St in honour of the former Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney, and the MacSwiney family as a whole.

However, since then the process to change the street name has hit a roadblock.

Earlier this month, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North-Central, Thomas Gould, sought an update on legislation committed to on the renaming of streets.

He was informed by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, that “provisions relating to placename changes in Part 18 of the amended Local Government Act 2001 were commenced in early 2019”.

“Previous provisions under local government legislation were repealed.

“In addition, provisions in the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011, amending Part 18 of the 2001 Act, were commenced.

“The commenced provisions under the amended Part 18 of the 2001 Act require updated Regulations to be made for the holding of plebiscites to change placenames.

“However, in advance of making those Regulations, my Department is engaging with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media regarding the interaction of the amended Part 18 of the Local Government Act 2001 and provisions contained in Official Languages legislation, under the aegis of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

“The two Departments are considering proposed amendments to the current placenames provisions to address the identified issues in the interaction between the two legislative codes,” the Minister continued.

Frustration

Commenting after receiving the response, Mr Gould expressed frustration, saying he has been receiving the same answer “for over two years”.

“We have been told multiple times that there is an issue, but nobody can tell us what this issue is.

“It is time for clarity on why this delay has been allowed to happen.

“The people of Cork want to see this happen and it is not good enough that it has taken over four years for Regulations to be signed that would allow it.

“I am sure Cork city is not the only area affected. It is really disappointing that, despite commitments, there has been no progress on these regulations,” he continued.

His party colleague, councillor Kenneth Collins, also voiced his dissatisfaction.

“It was 2019 when myself and former Sinn Féin councillor Henry Cremin first proposed the name change from Anglesea St to MacSwiney St.

“It was fully approved by council in April 2021, but they can’t do anything without action from the Minister,” he said, adding that the Government is “failing to act and allow this important name change to take place."