Just 27 streets in Dublin city are named after women in a 'historical deficit' for the capital.
Newstalk reporter Simon Tierney looked into the streets and statues in the city centre, finding they are overwhelmingly representing men.
He told The Hard Shoulder we have been slow to move on how we name places.
"I suppose there's many reasons for this, the entrenched patriarchy to begin with," he said.
"Also the fact that we're probably a little bit slow to evolve in how we name different parts of our built environment.
"For example, just 13% of the statues in the public space in Dublin city centre commemorate women - seven of which depict historical women, three of which are Countess Markievicz".
A statue outside Leinster House of Countess Markievicz in June 2020. Picture by: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ieSimon said the figures are 'more stark' when it comes to street names.
"There's just under 1,000 streets in Dublin city centre; just 27 of those are named after women," he said.
"Within that 27, 17 of them are saints, six of them are British monarchs - namely Elizabeth and Victoria.
"There's very few that are left to commemorate Irish women who played a role in the shaping of this city, of which there are many".
Simon said he believes 'denaming' streets is not the way to go.
"Rather what I'm arguing is perhaps retrospectively we can try and address this historical deficit that we have," he said.
"This is a city that's occupied by 50% women, yet it's a city that perhaps doesn't reflect those people.
"This is something that really came to me when I became a father of two young girls.
"I realised that they would grow up to experience the city in a very different way to the way I have experienced it.
"I'm here in an office that's named after a man, all the streets around me are named after men".
'It's taken on its own meaning'
Dublin Green Party Councillor Janet Horner said she believes education and engagement around place names would be helpful.
"For most of us, Grafton is a street that we walk along - it's not an Earl of Grafton who was a landlord and a British aristocrat," she said.
"I think it is interesting to think about that: some places, the names have almost superseded their origin.
"Moore Street isn't a street named after Henry Moore... it's a street, it is a place, it's taken on its own meaning.
"I think it is really useful to make the streets, the names, the history, the heritage of our city come to life if we actually interrogate and engage with the names a bit more.
"Statues are a more visible manifestation of the patriarchy, because men are visibly in statue form".
'Going forward'
On the possibility of changing street names, Cllr Horner said there should be such conversations.
"I think there is an argument to change some of our street names," she said.
"I think certainly going forward into the future... I think we should be very cognisant in the names that we are giving to new developments".
She said there is a need "to bring the presence of women, the contribution of women to the city into the naming of the places.
"At points, there will be an argument for renaming... I don't think there's anything to be shy about having that conversation.
"But it is good to start that conversation from a point of information and engagement, rather than ignorance," she added.
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