Jim Wells bizarrely claims no Irish version of 'Londonderry' or 'Northern Ireland'

DUP MLA Jim Wells has bizarrely claimed there are no Irish versions of the words 'Londonderry' and 'Northern Ireland'.

He also incorrectly suggested the 'United Kingdom' and 'Her Majesty The Queen' cannot be rendered into Irish.

Speaking in the Stormont Assembly he said: "We are all perfectly happy with a genuine expression of people's culture. That is fine. However, when the language is so cynically used by militant republicanism, unionism has difficulties.

"Why, for instance, is there no translation into Irish of the words, 'United Kingdom', 'Londonderry', 'Northern Ireland' or 'Her Majesty The Queen'? Why oh why, however, are there Irish translations of the 'occupied Six Counties', 'the North' and the 'British state'? It is because the language is being abused," he claimed.

The Irish language has now full official status in the European Union

Mr. Wells was corrected by the SDLP MLA for Mid Ulster and gaeilgeoir Patsy McGlone.

All of the words and phrases listed by Mr. Wells can, of course, be translated into Irish: United Kingdom (An Ríocht Aontaithe), Londonderry (Londaindoire), Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann) and Her Majesty The Queen (An Bhanríon Shasana).

One of the suggested etymologies for the name 'London' is, in fact, that it comes from the Brythonic Celtic - a relation of the Irish language.

An article in The Cambro Briton from 1821 suggested a compound of llong (ship) and din (fort). Compare the modern Irish for ship (long) and fort (dún).

If this is correct 'London' shares the same etymology as Dunnalong (Dún na Long), which is situated just outside Londaindoire in Tuaisceart Éireann.

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