Irish village gets its 'harlot' back

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2008

DUBLIN (AFP) — A village in the southwest of Ireland won its battle to get its ancient "harlot" back on Thursday when a government order officially changed its name in the Irish language.

For centuries, the village in County Limerick, known as Doon in English, had been known in Gaelic as Dun Bleisce, or Fort of the Harlot, but the name was changed in 2003.

The village's Gaelic name was changed to An Dun, or The Fort in Gaelic, on the advice of the country's Placenames Commission, the official arbiter of names in Irish.

The unpopular move resulted in about 1,000 locals signing a petition seeking to have "harlot" added back to the name. They were backed by local politicians.

The community argued that, although the literal translation of the word is...