Gendered titles such as “The Kerryman” newspaper should be changed to reflect present values, according to the Minister of State for Inclusion.
Josepha Madigan has suggested that the newspaper title be changed to “The Kerry People”.
Speaking to RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, the Minister defended her call for an end to gendered titles such as “chairman” and “spokesman”.
Ms Madigan said the issue was not about a particular newspaper but was much broader. Gender and language were important, and it was important not to use words that did not reflect present values.
Asked about the title of the magazine “Woman’s Way”, Ms Madigan agreed it too should be changed.
It was her duty as a female politician to look around her and see what could be improved, Ms Madigan said in response to a suggestion by Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae that she should be focusing on Covid-19.
'Political correctness nonsense'
Earlier Siobhán Murphy, general manager of The Kerryman newspaper, said that the content of the newspaper had changed with the times but there was no need to change the title which was their brand and had been since 1904.
Mr Healy-Rae said that The Kerryman was comparable to the bible and local people were always looking forward to reading it. “It plays an integral role in the community.”
It was time to stop “this political correctness nonsense,” Mr Healy-Rae said. Where would it stop, he asked. Would the name “manhole” have to be changed to “personhole”, he queried.
He said he had yet to hear a customer in his shop complain about the title of the newspaper.
Earlier on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Healy-Rae said: “What I would say to Government ministers at the minute is, ‘for God's sake do your job’. We have enough to be worried about than to consider the title of The Kerryman newspaper.”
