Ireland To Officially Add Quotation Marks Around The Word ‘Summer’

18th Aug 2023

The Government of Ireland, which also currently rules Cork, has passed legislation through the Dáil to officially add quotes around the word ‘summer’.

On the back of the wettest July of all time and an August that looks like it’s about to turn into November any minute, all government departments and the civil service must now, by law, use the correct punctuation when referring in writing to the season formerly known as summer.

When speaking on behalf of the government or a local authority, officials are also obliged to use air-quotes - physically indicating the word they are about to say is assumed to be in quotation marks.

Staff at Met Éireann (often referred to as ‘Wet Éireann) is Ireland’s meteorological service and all staff including TV and radio weather presenters are also obliged to comply with the new rules.

As a counter balance, it is hoped similar legislation will also be implemented later in the year for “winter”.