Bilingual signposts demanded

The names of estates and roads throughout Galway city may be sign-posted in Irish and English in the future because of confusion…

The names of estates and roads throughout Galway city may be sign-posted in Irish and English in the future because of confusion due to the exclusive use of Irish-language signs in new estates.

Cllr John Mulholland told a meeting of Galway Corporation that he was aware of problems experienced by residents and visitors because of signs in Irish only.

The city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, said the corporation had decided in the past to promote Galway as the capital of the Gaeltacht in many ways, including sign-posting exclusively in Irish. He said some estate and road name s would not translate well into English, and this could lead to problems with bilingual signs.

However, councillors decided to refer their concerns to An Post and Gaillimh le Gaeilge, which help the corporation to decide on the names of estates and roads with a view to having signs in both official languages.