A Chara, - I read Manchán Magan's brilliant, culture-consciousness- raising article "Where are all the Irish speakers?" with great interest (Features, January 5th).
You see, I had just returned from a visit to my local bank - Bank of Ireland, Blackrock - where I had requested that the name and address on my account, cheque book and laser card be changed from English to Irish.
I brought, as proof of my identity, my passport, driver's licence and bank cards. And as I also intend changing the personal details on my passport, I had called to the local post office to collect a passport application form for that purpose, and had that with me too.
The consternation caused by my request was both comical and sad. One bank official consulted another, then rang a third in some invisible, higher echelon.
The answer I eventually got was that the bank would change my name and address to the Irish language versions only if/when my passport was also in Irish. In other words, I had to prove that Noreen O'Carroll, Blackrock was actually Nóirín Ní Chearbhaill, An Charraig Dhubh. Apparently, the translation difficulties here are of such a magnitude that none of the bank staff could handle them.
I explained that Irish is the first official language and now formally recognised as such by the EU. That didn't make an iota of difference to the Bank of Ireland. So I returned home to fill out my application for my personal details to be changed to Irish on my passport - and read Manchán Magan's timely article over a cup of tea.
I will return to the bank with my name on my passport as Gaeilge in a couple of weeks and begin the process all over again.
In the meantime, may I, through your Letters page, appeal to the Bank of Ireland to hold an in-house seminar for its staff on the effects of colonisation on national identity and to reflect on its own role in fostering such colonisation through its attitude to Irish. - Is mise,
NÓIRÍN NÍ CHEARBHAILL, An Charraig Dhubh, Co Átha Cliath.
Madam, - 1. There are no Gaeilgeoirí of Manchán Magan's age unable to speak English.
2. Very, very few Irish people can speak Irish.
3. We all know this.
So when he asks for pint as Gaeilge in Dublin, refusing to speak English, the gruff barman knows that he isn't really interested in a pint. A pint is not his point - hence the "hostile reaction".
Granted, the barman's charm and patience were probably equal to his fluency in Irish. But the man probably spent 14 years in school learning the language with negligible results and doesn't like customers rubbing it in.
Reminding him that its the "first official language" probably doesn't help either. - Yours, etc,
JACK HYLAND, Serpentine Avenue, Dublin 4.