Irish language hurdles

Even though I don't speak Irish I recently decided to start using the Irish form of my name. To that end I started looking into ways of changing my official identification information to reflect the Irish form of my Identity. My birth certificate, driver's licence, bank account and passport were the first documents that I tried to change. Imagine my surprise when I found the weight of officialdom weighed in against me.

The first hurdle I encountered was my birth certificate. It seems that unless you were registered in Irish at birth, it is impossible to get a copy of your birth certificate in Irish. How difficult would it be to provide a list of translations of names to the staff at the registry office? Many parents were unaware that they had the option of registering their child's birth in Irish, or were told that they could only register their children's birth in English.

My next hurdle was the passport office. I need to be able to prove that I have been using the Irish form of my name for two years before I can get a passport in our first official language. To prove this I will need to produce documents with my name in Irish.

Hurdle number three. I went to the bank (Bank of Ireland) only to be told that they won't change my account information until I produce some form of official ID in Irish. Take a guess what kind of official document that they want to see - a passport of course.

Hurdle number four. The driving licence situation is the same; I can't get one without another form of ID (preferably a passport) in Irish.

It's a vicious circle; you can't get a passport without ID and you can't get ID without a passport. So much for the government's recent declaration that they want Ireland to be a bilingual society when the civil service and Irish institutions are doing everything they can to sabotage attempts by Irish citizens to express our national Identity. I can't wait until the canvassers from the main political parties come to my door looking for a vote.

Seán MacGabhann, Claonadh, Contae Chill Dara