A 702 ABC radio poll declared Sutherland residents had the right to exclusively call their area ``The Shire''.

Meanwhile, a southern cousin has proven that his loyalty to his birthplace is at least skin deep. Miranda resident Sean has thrown down the gauntlet to residents of the north-western shires, challenging them to match his commitment to his area by tattooing the words on their body.

A month ago, the 43-year-old decided to emblazon his upper back with a whopping big tattoo that simply states ``The Shire''.

``We've got a lot of history here,'' he said. ``I went to Endeavour High, my dad ran the newsagent's in Elouera Road 10 years ago, my sister was the captain of the girls' school and we've all lived in different parts of the shire.'' Sean said he was born and bred in Sutherland Shire and couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

He said he chose the old English font for his tattoo so it would look ``like an old fashioned newspaper''.

The Hills News' sister publication, the Sutherland Shire Leader has issued a challenge to Hills and Hornsby residents on its website asking: ``Is anyone from the Hills or Hornsby prepared to match this kind of commitment to the shire?''