A DEVELOPMENT agency which works to promote the Irish language in Belfast has criticised English-only signage on a bike shed in the Bog Meadows area of the Gaeltacht Quarter.
Piarais Mac Alastair, Project Manager with Forbairt Feirste, said the organisation is disappointed and frustrated, pointing to Belfast City Council's new Irish Language Policy.
“The erection of English-only signage in the Gaeltacht Quarter is a backwards step,” he said. “This isn’t just about signage, it’s about respect, equality and the promises that were made to develop and protect Irish.”
The Department of Infrastructure – whose logo appears on the shed – denied that the scheme was connected to them, instead saying that Belfast City Council is responsible for the new bike stand in the Bog Meadows.
Mr Mac Alastair continued: “Belfast City Council have recognised the Gaeltacht Quarter, and it is a main part of the West Belfast Language Plan, Fís an Phobail. English-only signage in this area sends the totally wrong message and takes away from the years of work by local residents, language activists and community organisations to promote the language.
“It’s time for public authorities to put an end to the old-fashioned English-only policies and install multi-lingual signage that represents the communities whom the authorities purport to represent. Irish is a living language with legal recognition, and a proper place in our public spaces. The era of English-only public policies should be consigned to the history books.”
Belfast City Council’s Irish Language Policy was affirmed in October 2025 at a meeting of the Council. A Judicial Review led to legal battles, but the review was thrown out in April, and the new policy was confirmed at a meeting of the Council at the beginning of June. The policy states the Council will take a bilingual approach regarding signage in Council facilities.
“The Council will adopt a dual-language approach to signage in all its facilities. These
signs will also include pictorial and tactile (Braille) options where possible,” the policy reads.
The policy footnotes state that priority will be given to all facilities of the Council in the Gaeltacht Quarter.
There was a similar outcry last year when an English-only mural was unveiled in the Bog Meadows. Ulster Wildlife took that decision and Conradh na Gaeilge expressed their dissatisfaction at the time.
