to E or not to E

Poor Ballybog(e)y. As if it wasn’t bad enough being stuck with a name that, at best, sounds ridiculous; now it seems that the powers that be can’t make up their minds how it should be spelt.

Actually it’s been the case for years now that we have had this confusion. When I was growing up I learned to spell it with an E, Ballybogey. But then new road signs appeared sans E, Ballybogy. To say it has become an obsession is perhaps overstating the case but it has bothered me. You’d think they’d choose one spelling and stick with it. Even, after all this time, we are still uncertain which way any new signs going up will go.

If you find the place on Google maps it comes up as Ballybogy – and any of those address finder things that make internet spending easier spell it without an E. So it seems that the digital world has made up its mind. But surely the council should know what they are talking about and the most recent village boundary signs have gone back to the old spelling – and now even my satnav is confused. It uses both spellings on different occasions; I reckon I could programme it to sigh in a frustrated manner each time.

So, not that it resolves anything, I have decided to make this issue public. These photos, all taken on a day I must have been particularly bored, show the problem. These are all within two miles of each other. My favourite being:

For the record I have decided that I am going to take a personal stand for tradition and use the E as much as possible – well, either that or go completely left field. Let me explain.

I remember the Londonderry/Derry issue causing me similar confusion. I was under the impression that unionists called it Derry while nationalists called it Londonderry – but then I heard some unionists I know using the nationalist version and vice versa. Then someone in a factory where I once worked told me that the city was Derry while the county was Londonderry – but I later heard that was rubbish. Next it was that the area within the ancient defensive walls was Derry while the area outside was Londonderry – ahhhhhhhh! My life was made so much easier when a radio personality from the area came up with a solution. With two main variations – Londonderry/Derry, L/Derry – why not take the common element and run with that? He coined the phrase Stroke City.

So I have decided to rename Ballybog(e)y. From this point on I (un)officially christen it Parentheses Village. May God bless her and all who live in her.