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This is the speed sign which has been confounding motorists leaving the County Monaghan town of Emyvale.
lost in translation
'More attention to detail' needed as Irish language 'Westmeath' sign spotted 123km from county
If you’re travelling on the N2 out of Emyvale in County Monaghan, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve taken a wrong turning into Co. na hIarmhí – 120km away – thanks to a newly erected, mistranslated bilingual speed sign.
(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo)
DRIVERS COULD BE forgiven for feeling confused as they travel the road through Emyvale in County Monaghan, as a speed sign erected there indicates in Irish that they are in Co na hIarmhí (County Westmeath), while the very same sign reads ‘County Monaghan’ in English.
The village of Emyvale is 123km from County Westmeath.
Sinn Féin county councillor Niamh McCooey of Monaghan who brought the error to light, after Irish language activists working on Conradh na Gaeilge’s AthGhaelú campaign in the area pointed out the faulty sign to her.
The councillor told The Journal that she was surprised by the level of attention her post on social media had attracted.
“I had put this post up as a bit of tongue-in-cheek, not thinking it would get the traction that it did receive,” she said.
“But I think there’s a really important message behind it, which is that our language cannot be an afterthought.
“We need to see a plan put in place, due diligence and proper checks to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, as I’m sure it is one of many incorrect signs across the island.
“That needs to be implemented within TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland), which is ultimately the one that approves national road signage.”
She praised the efforts of the local authority to promote Irish.
“Monaghan County Council are making huge strides in their commitment to the Irish language, with confirmation only last week that they will be appointing a full-time Irish language officer,” she said.
“This is something I have been calling for since joining the council, working alongside Irish language activists. This will hopefully help ensure these same mistakes are not happening time and time again.”
A spokesperson for Monaghan County Council confirmed that it was TII who erected the mistranslated sign in this case.
“Monaghan County Council has reported the error and TII has confirmed that it will erect a new sign before the end of the month.”
A statement has been sought from TII.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
This article was originally written in the reporter’s native Irish and has been translated to English here. AI was used as part of the translation process before final edits.
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