Irish-only signs go up in Gaeltacht
Monday March 28 2005
And in the non-Gaeltacht areas of Galway, along with Dublin and Tipperary, the Irish language name will be made official as well as the English language version.
The new regulations introduced by Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Eamon O Cuiv come into legal effect today.
The decision to remove English versions from signs in the Gaeltacht prompted criticism from tourism concerns in the regions, who pointed out that it would cause confusion for non-Irish speakers travelling in Gaeltacht areas.
Irish language placenames were given official recognition for the first time ever under the Official Languages Act 2003.
Under section five of the legislation, Mr O Cuiv is gradually giving equal status to Irish language versions of the country's placenames.
To date, the minister has signed nine placenames orders on December 21 and February 5 last, confirming the official Irish language versions of placenames, including orders for the counties of Kilkenny, Louth, Limerick, Monaghan, Waterford and Offaly.
- Fionnan Sheahan
