Irish speakers in West Belfast were left speechless this week by the unveiling of an English-only mural in the Bog Meadows, epicentre of the area's burgeoning Gaeltacht Quarter.
The Bog Meadows Nature Reserve is maintained by Ulster Wildlife, which, say Irish language groups, has been repeatedly, though unsuccessfully, petitioned over the past two decades to implement a bilingual policy at the preserve.
But the decision of Ulster Wildlife to unveil an English-only mural, targeted largely at children, at its Bog Meadow base is regarded by Irish schools in the area — four of which are within a mile of the Bog Meadow — as adding insult to injury.
"To say we are disappointed in this decision is an understatement," said Cuisle Nic Liam, of national Irish language body Conradh na Gaeilge and member of St Gall's GAC which is located just yards from the preserve. "We hope this is a genuine oversight rather than a deliberate omission," she said.
Added Cuisle: "Despite representations being made for the inclusion of Irish alongside English at the earliest possible stage in this process, a decision was made somewhere down the line to ignore this request and proceed monolingual. When leading organisations like Ulster Wildlife decide to exclude the Irish language, their denial brings an additional cost and delay that could have been avoided through inclusion from the outset. The burden of blame s then often placed on the Irish language community rather than the organisation responsible."
For its part, Ulster Wildlife said the blame for excluding the Irish language lay not with them but firmly with the artist of the new owl mural. "We were largely guided by the artist, focusing on the species itself and obviously drawing attention to their plight," a spokesperson told the Andersonstown News, adding, "we will consider options for dual language text on artwork in the future."
But that excuse didn't wash with Conradh na Gaeilge which called on Ulster Wildlife to "rectify this decision immediately". "The site in question sits adjacent to my local GAA club, Naomh Gall, who run weekly Irish classes and have hundreds of juvenile members being educated through the medium of Irish," said Cuisle Nic Liam. "Facilitating a dual language approach helps reinforce the message that their language is welcome and celebrated beyond the realms of the classroom. We call on Ulster Wildlife to rectify this decision immediately and to ensure that our shared outdoor spaces are inclusive and welcoming to all."
Ironically, the Ulster Wildlife cold shoulder to the Irish language came as a former Belfast Lord Mayor and West Belfast representative, Tom Hartley, was praising the Free Presbyterian church for hosting an exhibition and talk on the history of the Irish language. The Sinn Féin man was among those attending the event 'Preispitéirigh agus an Ghaeilge' organised by the Free Presbyterian Church in Farranshane House in Antrim.
