City mottos, much like the advice of Irish mammies, come with good intentions but are often out of touch with reality. Around the world, cities cling proudly to little sayings, preferably Latin and suitably obscure. Each carefully embroidered on their crests, as though a handful of words can neatly capture centuries of colloquial urban existence.
Many of the cities citizens might nit even know the city has a motto tull it resurfaces before a major event like the World Cup. London humbly pleads “Domine dirige nos” (Lord, guide us), Paris dramatically declares “Fluctuat nec mergitur” (Tossed but not sunk), while Seville cunningly puzzles us with “NO8DO,” a cryptic nod that rumour has it translates to “She [Seville] has not abandoned me”..
Dublin, for its part, boasts a motto straight from the stern heart of an authoritarian priest: “Obedientia Civium Urbis Felicitas”, roughly, “Citizens’ obedience makes a happy city.”
Obedience. Imagine! In Dublin! A city whose citizens view rules as mildly amusing obstacles. To true blue Dub’s “they’re more like guidelines anyway”. Dublin, after all, is the city of Joyce, Beckett, Sally Rooney. The city that has historically scoffed at authority with a genial shrug and a well-timed sarcastic retort.
For more than 400 years, Dublin has inexplicably lived under this solemn instruction,. This despite repeated gentle prodding from people who actually live here. Hazel Chu, the ever-sensible Green Party Councillor, stopped by NewsTalk this morning to chat through all things Motto this morning.
Do we really need a change? Maybe to something genuinely reflective of the city’s spirit. That said, finding the right phrase is trickier than navigating a Dublin bike lane at rush hour.
We’ve witnessed how wrong this can go. Edinburgh’s “Incredinburgh” fiasco, cost £300,000 and some executives their jobs before being tossed away. Leeds accidentally channelled Hong Kong with “Leeds. Live it. Love it.” leading to embarrassed ad executives frantically proclaiming innocence.
Here at Lovin Dublin, we’re more stubbornly creative and suspicious of anything pompous, so we have curated a suggested list of far more honest alternatives.
“Absolutely sending it” might capture the exuberance of a Dublin Saturday night, especially along Camden Street when everyone’s got notions.
Or how about the mystifying “Knock before MK,”?
If brevity is the soul of wit, then surely “Ah here” or “Scarlet for ya“ should win the day, perfectly encapsulating Dubliners’ unmatched talent for affectionate mockery.
The friendly, if slightly intrusive, “How’s Your Ma?” genuinely represents Dublin’s intergenerational communal spirit.
And let’s not forget “5 eggs per bloke per day,” which is a rallying cry north and south of the Liffey.
Perhaps the best candidate remains the ever-encouraging “Gowan ya Good Thing,” a motto that an anthropomorphic Turkey brought to the world along with his love of batter burgers.
What about the truism that is “ah sure look”? That one warmly embraces uncertainty while cheerfully ignoring the rulebook.
Dublin may be too contradictory to settle comfortably on one motto. Maybe the real motto is found not the Latin maxims but the friends we made along the way.
