British Isles naming dispute often rejected in the Republic of Ireland, because some claim its use implies a primacy of British identity over all the islands outside the United Kingdom, including the Irish state, the Crown dependencies of the Isle of Man and Channel Islands that was historically dominating and is currently inaccurate, since Ireland is neither Britain nor British. Many political bodies, including the Irish government, avoid describing Ireland as being part of the British Isles; Éamon de Valera corrected John Gunther when the journalist used the term during a private meeting in the mid-1930s. However, the term "British Isles" has been used
British Isles naming dispute by individual ministers, as did cabinet minister Síle de Valera when delivering a speech including the term at the opening of a drama festival in 2002, and is used by government departments in relation to geographic topics. The term was formally disavowed in September 2005 by the Irish Government when Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern stated: "The British Isles is not an officially recognised term in any legal or inter-governmental sense. It is without any official status. The Government, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, does not use this term." "British Isles" has been used in a geographical sense in Irish