Sir, - Sydney Parade train station is the next station from Booterstown on the way into the city. Sydney is the name of a person. The Irish translation for Sydney Parade is given as Paráid Shidní (pronounced Hidne). Apart from obliterating the person's name, there is no such word in the Irish language as Sidní, nor in any other language for that matter. Sidní is a makie-up word.
This crass ignorance, Paráid Shidní, is on public display no fewer than 16 times in the station and it is on exhibition there now for 18 years courtesy of Dart management.
The correct Irish for Sydney is Séanna. However, in my opinion it would not be appropriate to use Séanna for reasons which would take too much space to explain here.
The street outside the station is called Sydney Parade Avenue and that is correctly translated as Ascaill Paráid Sydney which also preserves the identity of the person's name.
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There is a similar sample in nearby Blackrock with its translation of Sydney Avenue. Would it not be more reasonable to harmonise the translation in the station with that of the street immediately adjacent to the station and simply call it Paráid Sydney (never Hidnie). - Yours, etc.,
MICHEÁL Ó NUALLÁIN, Monkstown, Co Dublin
