The council sought a legal opinion on its ability to change placenames following the debacle over the attempted renaming of Herzog Park last December. Photograph: Stephen Collins/CollinsProposed name changes for places such as Herzog Park in Rathgar, south Dublin, may be “legally unsafe” because of the “extraordinary” ongoing failure to fix a gap in legislation, according to legal advice received by Dublin City Council. The council sought a legal opinion on its ability to change placenames following the debacle over the attempted renaming of Herzog Park last December. Council chief executive Richard Shakespeare said he was contacted by the secretary general of the department querying whether the proposal was “legally sound”. A spokesman for the department said certain “legislative complexities” were involved which “may require primary legislation to resolve.

Source: The Irish Times February 26, 2026 21:21 UTC