The Co Limerick village of Effin has been branded "offensive" by Facebook and users have been blocked from listing it on the site.

Ann Marie Kennedy is proud to live in Effin - and now she has launched an online campaign to have Facebook recognise the town whose name was blacklisted for being too offensive.



Ann Marie said the social networking site would not allow her to list Effin in Co Limerick,

Ireland, on her profile page because it deemed it obscene.



She contacted Facebook a number of times but received no reply, so she then tried to set

up the group “Please get my hometown Effin recognised”, but that was also rejected.



“It came back with an error message saying ‘offensive’,” said Ms Kennedy.



She went on: “It will recognise Limerick but I’m not from Limerick city, I’m from Effin.



“I’m a proud Effin woman. And I always will be an Effin woman.” Facebook allows the word “effin” in numerous other groups and profile names, including the community “Shut up! Stop the effin noise already! Shut up”.



But as a location, it refuses to recognise it.



Ms Kennedy, who now lives in Banogue, has rallied together other Facebook users from

Effin in a bid to put the town on the map.



“I would like to be able to put Effin on my profile page and so would many other Effin people around the world to proudly say that they are from Effin, Co Limerick, but it won’t recognise that,” she said.



“It keeps coming up as Effingham, Illinois; Effingham, New Hampshire; and it gives

suggestions of other places.”

A Facebook spokesman confirmed the company was looking into the oversight.

PA