The names of some new developments are too boring, councillors say

Too many of the names the council proposes for new developments are just dull, councillors said at a meeting on Tuesday of their Central Area Committee. 

Independent Councillor Cieran Perry said that he was “highly critical” of some of the names that have been put forward recently. His main issue being how mundane some are, he said.

Given places will bear these names for their entire existence, the views of the property developers don’t “register on the scale” for him, said Perry. Names are a “last minute thing” for them, he said.

Perry said suggestions for street names in a development on Emmet Street, near Mountjoy Square were “really poor”. 

Those three options being Eachlann an Teampaill/Church Mews, Radharc an Teampaill/Church View or Plás an Teampaill/Church Place.

He was also critical of developments bearing commercial names, citing one particular stadium on Lansdowne Road as an example.

Independent Councillor Nial Ring also criticised the blandness of some name choices like The Stables and Church Mews. There were churches and stables everywhere in the north inner-city, he said.

“I don't know if it's getting through to the Heritage Office that we really wanted to reflect the culture, the heritage and the history of the area,” Ring said.

The ideal choice for the development on Emmet Street, he said, is not Church Mews, but should celebrate Anne Devlin, the housekeeper of Robert Emmet.

Devlin was tortured and imprisoned for her part in the 1803 rebellion, he said. “We want more names after women,” Ring said, not place names that are “bog standard, generic”.

Not all the feedback was negative, though. Perry said that the names proposed for new developments on Stanley Street: Plás Flinter/Flinter Place and Eachlann Flinter/Flinter Mews, were excellent. 

Those are named after a local woman named Annie Flinter, who was born in 1896 in 4 Little Longford Street, the council report says. 

Flinter recalled using the Stanley Street depot as a store during the Civil War, in which she took the anti-Treaty side – and transporting arms from there to where they were needed, the report says. 

People behind the names

Independent Councillor Christy Burke said that aside from the issue of honouring historical figures with place names, there should be more information about them in those places.

He said that while men and women who fought in the 1916 Rising like Dermot O'Dwyer, Rory O'Connor, Kathleen Clarke and Countess Markievicz have places named after them, there aren’t always plaques there with history as to who they were and what they did for the country.

“So, I would like to add some type of structure that can be put in place,” Burke said. 

Heritage Officer Charles Duggan replied that the idea of putting some sort of plaque or explanation on the name is a “pretty good one”.

Change of plans?

On the agenda was a proposal to name a development at Croke Villas, Dublin 3, as Bailtíní Norgrove/Norgrove Villas. 

This references a local family from North Strand, members of whom were involved in the 1916 Rising, including sisters Emily and Annie Norgrove, the council report says. 

But Burke instead suggested that the development be named after the Ring family, who have been living in the area since the 1800s, he said. Five of the Ring brothers were active volunteers in the GPO garrison, he said.

“The Ring Brothers fought and were willing to die for this country, in relation to a British presence,” Burke said.

Independent Councillor Malachy Steenson then suggested that, as the Norgrove sisters were from the North Strand, that a new development at the junction of Seville Place would be more appropriate to honour them.

The naming process

Naming is regulated through the planning system to ensure order, urban legibility, and preservation of local place-name associations, council Heritage Officer Charles Duggan said at the meeting.

In most cases, he said, the naming proposal is submitted in order for the developer to obtain an Eircode for their development, which enables the developer to apply for ESB connections – which can take up to a year.

Once Dublin City Council receives the compliance documentation from the developer, the clock starts ticking, he said, with several processes to undertake within a short eight-week window. At the end of which, compliance is approved or rejected.

Steps undertaken during the eight weeks include review by the Heritage and Irish Language Offices, consultation with the Place Names Branch, listing in area committee agendas, and final approval from the area office manager.

If no decision is made within this period, Duggan said the name proposed by the developer is accepted by default, unless an extension is requested.

Since December 2022, all new residential developments must have Irish-language names, which adds complexity – especially when translating personal names due to regional language variations, he said.

The goal is to encourage names that are originally conceived in Irish, not just translated from English, Duggan said.

Names should reflect local historical, cultural, or natural heritage, he said.

Earlier involvement

The Central Area Committee’s chairperson, Green Party Councillor Janet Horner, said the committee doesn’t have the final say on whether to approve or reject names.

"It is when they come to us for comment, as I understand," Horner said.

But Sinn Féin councillors Séamas McGrattan and Janice Boylan said it would be better if councillors were allowed to have input earlier in the naming process. 

It would mean less work, in the long run for Duggan, McGrattan said.

He pointed to a senior citizen complex in Cabra called Broom Lodge. He said councillors rejected the name, but as it was so late in the process, it went ahead anyway. 

Duggan said they would have to think about how that earlier consultation with the councillors could be done within the eight-week time frame.

The Central Area Committee’s chairperson, Green Party Councillor Janet Horner, said that the committee could provide the Heritage Office with a shortlist of suggestions, ahead of time.

Duggan said he would come back with a response that can “hopefully meet everybody’s requirements”.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.